2. The Himalayas are a vast mountain range
covering the northern part of India
• They include the highest mountains in the world, and create a
natural border between India and its neighbouring countries.
3. As with the rest of India, the himalayas are an
extreme habitat for people – the climate swings
between incredibly wet and cold, to dry and arid,
to endless ice and snow
4. What are the obvious challenges of living on a
mountain range as huge and impressive as the
himalayas? What would we expect family homes
to be like?
What building
materials would
we expect to
see being used?
How would
they INSULATE
their buildings?
5. It seems that many of the inhabitants of the
himalayas are semi-nomadic…why?
• Unlike the nomads of the deserts, they generally do not have to
move to find water (water is not SCARCE in most of the mountain
region).
• However, extreme weather and heavy snowfall, or flooding caused
by melting ice can destroy homes and create dangerous
environments for living in.
• Not only this, but many people here use the mountains to herd
goats and yak (a mountain cow) which need fresh grass in the
summertime, and so must travel.
• So whilst some houses are built of strong, DURABLE materials,
others are more like the nomadic homes we saw in previous
lessons.
6. Examples of durable and semi-nomadic homes
What is the reason for this
building’s strange design?
7. Most human habitations are founded close to
rivers and other settlements, places where
farming or keeping animals, or trade can occur
Why, then, would people choose to live
here? What could motivate people to
come here to live their entire lives?
However, the himalayas are empty,
still, lonely. There are few
opportunities for industry of any
kinds, life is cut off from civilisation
by the extreme landscape.
8. The answer can only really be religion, and, in
this case, Buddhism. But what is Buddhism?
Which of these images
represents Indian Buddhism,
the original Buddhism?
Where are the others from?
9. Almost all religious buildings, as we have seen,
try to incorporate pieces of their message or
imagery into their architectural design…
• Obvious examples can be seen in the design of European
cathedrals. How?
What can we
say about the
shape and
the
components
of this
building plan?
10. Buddhism is a very ‚visual’ religion, which gives
architects lots of ideas to play with. Here are
some of the symbols of Buddhism we might
expect to find included in their architecture
11. One of the most recognisable and very Indian examples of
Buddhist architecture is the Stupa. Stupas are found all over
India, some are almost as old as the religion itself – but what are
they? What is their function?
Early dome Stupa
What Buddhist images or symbols can we see
incorporated into the shape or the design of the
Stupas?
Medieval (later) Stupa
13. In the first 500 years of Buddhism, India saw a
fascinating return to cave-dwelling by the early
Buddhists…
• What can we remember about the caves we looked at in lesson 2?
• Why is it strange that people would return to live in caves, only
2000 years ago?
• How might we expect these cave homes to be different?
• What would have changed? Or stayed the same? Why?
• How would advances in technology make a difference?
14. The Aurangabad caves are some of the most
beautiful structures in India.
What is so amazing about
these buildings?
15. Not only are the buildings carved from out of the side of the
mountain, but the artistic skill continues inside, using the same
techniques to decorate the walls. What can we see here? How
was this done?
In pairs, look at the worksheet and memorise the verbs and nouns listed
describing the cave architecture. Then try to write sentences describing the
photo…
16. But how on earth were these amazing feats of
engineering and architecture done?
