NA CB

FJ EDP

A Y

G

JAPAN5 letters

AI LY

BB MSA

A D

C

MALAYSIA8letters

AR DBCE ALS

I B

F

ISRAEL6 letters

YR EA

AC UKD

T B

C

TURKEY6 letters

NT HF

UB OAH

J B

P

BHUTAN6 letters

AI FC

GV NHB

K D

T

CHINA5 letters

KT OBOR HAD

N R

E

North Korea 10letters

KG LO

OO INA

M P

X

MONGOLIA8letters

VT EA

NI ZMO

V K

P

VIETNAM7letters

PEOPLE

LANGUAGE

RELIGION

People

Asia has a cultural heritage of great diversity.

4000B.C. urban life & civilization developed in Mesopotamia.

3000 B.C. at Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley.

2000 B.C. Chinese culture.

5 Major Cultural Regions

Recognized in Asia:

Southwest Asia(Islamic)

South Asia (Indic)

East Asia (Sinic)

Southeast Asia

Northern & Central Asia

(interior)

SOUTH

WEST

Dry belt of desert and semi-desert lands

( Eastern Mediterranean- Afghanistan). Linked with North

Africa and near Middle East or Arab World.

Non-Arabs constitute a majority of the population in Iran, Israel, & Turkeys.

SOUTH

WEST

SOUTH

WEST

Development of early agriculture in Mesopotamia

Unified by Islam in 7th century.

Christians in Syria, Armenia & Lebanon, and Jews mainly in Israel.

SOUTH

ASIA

SOUTH

ASIA

Located on the Indian subcontinent & dominated by India.

Culture dates from about 1500 B.C. , when Aryans invaded northern India.

Vedic religion merged w/ Indigenous customs & beliefs to produce Hinduism.

6th century B.C. Buddhism founded in India.

EAST

ASIA

EAST

ASIA

Culture developed by the ancient Shang dynasty about 1500 B. C.

100 B.C. East Asian culture religion ( modern China);

(400 A.D) began to move southward into Vietnam, and reached out to Korea and Japan.

EAST

ASIA

Social organization & structure are strongly influenced by ancient Chinese concepts

Ancestor worship; Confucianism, Japanese Shinto and Taoism and Chinese Buddhism.

SOUTHEAST

ASIA

SOUTHEAST

ASIA

Indigenous peoples of this region were pushed from lowlands into isolated hill areas by migrants from China& the rest of Asia (2, 500 years ago).

Buddhism is the dominant religion.

Islamic brought by Arab traders 12th century A.D., by British, French, Dutch, Spanish and Americans.

NORTH

&

CENTRAL

ASIA

(Asiatic Russia). In 17th century Russians brought European influences.

Occupied by great variety of different tribal groups; European Russians about 40% of population of former Soviet Asia.

Minorities in southern include the Buryat, Kalmyk, and Chukchi.

NORTH

&

CENTRAL

ASIA

Central (inner) Asia is made up of 5 former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Isolated by high mountains or broad dessert.

Indigenous peoples : Mongols, Tartars, Tungus and Yakuts.

NORTH

&

CENTRAL

ASIA

2/3 of all Asian people belonging to Mongoloid group.

Han Chinese-largest ethnic group that constitutes about 94% of the total population of China. ( Mongols, Uigurs, Huis, Zhuangs &Tibetans)

Japanese- second largest Asian group

LANGUAGE

1. Chinese is the language spoken by more than one billion in China, Southeast Asia, & other parts of the continent. Mandarin Chinese & distinctive dialects like Cantonese, Wu, Min, & Hakka.

LANGUAGE

2. Hindi, spoken by more than 215 million people ; spoken mainly in northern India & Pakistan.

LANGUAGE

3.Arabic, spoken mainly in Southwest Asia.

4.Russian, widely spoken and used as a second language in former Soviet Asia.

RELIGION

Major religions in Asia are:

Hinduism

Islam

Buddhism

RELIGION

Hinduism

Has about 520 million followers; main religion of India.

RELIGION

Has an estimated 430 million adherents in Asia and it is the principal religion in Southwest Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, & Indonesia.

Large Muslim minorities exist in Philippines and Central Asia.

Islam

RELIGION

Originated primarily in India, 250 million followers in Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Cambodia.

Buddhism

RELIGION

Tibetan Buddhism- dominant in Tibet & Bhutan

Buddhism- well-represented in Japan.

Taoism- indigenous Chinese religion

Confucianism- widespread in China in pre-Communist times.

RELIGION

Catholicism & Protestantism- Philippines.

Sikhs, Parsis and Jains in India- less well-represented religions.

Asian Countries

COUNTRY

CAPITAL

CURRENCY

BANGKOK

THAILAND

BAHTSOUTHEAST ASIA

DILI

EAST TIMOR

DOLLARSOUTHEAST ASIA

BEIJING

CHINA

YUANEAST ASIA

DHAKA

BANGLADESH

TAKASOUTH ASIA

ULAANBAATAR

MONGOLIA

TUGRIKNORTH & CENTRAL ASIA

KABUL

AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISOUTH WESTASIA

JAKARTA

INDONESIA

RUPIAHSOUTHEAST ASIA

TAIPEI

TAIWAN

TAIWAN DOLLAREAST ASIA

NEW DELHI

INDIA

RUPEESOUTH ASIA

MOSCOW

RUSSIA

RUBLENORTH &

CENTRAL ASIA

BAGHDAD

IRAQ

IRAQI DINARSOUTH WESTASIA

EMILYN M. POTESTAD