On The Trail of the Earliest People
On The Trail of the Earliest People (CBSE class 6 history/social science chapter 2): Extra Questions, fill in the blanks, Notes, MCQ, Solutions
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| Textual Questions with Their Answers (Pages 20-21) |
LET’S RECALL
Q. 1. Complete the sentences :
(a) Hunter-gatherers choose to live in caves because ……….
(b)Grasslands developed around……………….. years ago.
(c) Early people painted …………………on the caves.
(d) in Hunsgi tools were made of ……….
Ans.
(a) they provided shelter from the rain, heat, and wind.
(b) 12,000
(c)walls
(d) limestone.
Q. 2. Look at the present-day political map of the subcontinent on page 14 (of your textbook). Find out the states where Bhinbetka, Hunsgi, and Kurnool are located. Would Tushar’s train have passed near any of these sites?
Ans. Self-study. For map please see ahead page 11 of this book. Hints/Brief Answers:
(1) Bhimketka = (M.P Madhya Pradesh).
(2) Hunsgi (Karnataka).
(3) Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh).
Tushar’s train will have to pass by Hunsgi and Kurnool.
LET’S DISCUSS
Q. 3. Why did the hunter-gatherers travel from place to place ? In what ways are these similar to/different from the reasons for which we travel today?
Ans. I. There were at least four reasons why hunter-gatherers moved from place to place.
First. If they (hunter-gatherers) had stayed at one particular place for a long time. they would have eaten up all the available plant and animal resources. Therefore, they would have had to go elsewhere in search of food.
Second. Animals moved from place to place-either in search of smaller prey or in the case of deer and wild cattle, in search of grass and leaves. That is why, those who hunted them had to follow their (Le., animals) movements.
Third. Plants and trees bear fruit in different seasons. So, people may have moved from season to season in search of different types of plants.
Fourth. People, plants, and animals need water to survive water is found in lakes, streams, and rivers. While many rivers and lakes are perennial (with water throughout the year) others are seasonal. People living on their banks would had to go in search of water during the dry seasons (winter and summer).
Fifth. People may had travelled to meet their friends and relatives. Remember, they (hunters-gatherers) travelled on foot or on sledges (carts without wheels).
II. In the following ways people, may travel in similar reasons:
- In search of employment (or food) even the people have to move from one place to another.
- Due to shortage of land, raw-material, means of transportation, sources of energy (or power), capital etc. the people have to move from one place to another.
- People of some areas or regions have to move with their animals in search of grass or for their own protection due to adverse season or natural calamities (flood, drought or earthquake etc.).
III. In the following ways the people move or travel differently from the regions now-a-days. - 1.The people now-a-days travel from one place to another by bus, train, aeroplane or car
- Generally they do not like to give up their place due to shortage of water or change of seasons. Rather they arrange water through regular supply of water and they use electronic means (air-conditioners/fans/heaters etc.) according to seasons.
- People move from one place to another for better facilities of education, health, employment, business, tourism etc.
Q. 4. What tools would you use today for cutting fruit ? What would they be made of ?
Ans. We will use knife, cutter, shilter, dagger, spoon, fork, machine etc. for cutting fruits. They would be made of different metals like copper, bronze, iron, steel etc.
Q. 5. List three ways in which hunter-gatherers used fire. Would you use fire for any of these purposes today?
Ans. I.
- Hunter-gatherers used fire as a source of light.
- They used fire to cook meat or food.
- They used fire also to scare away animals.
- Fire keeps him or her warm.
II. Yes fire is used as a source to cook food including meat. We also use it us warm. Some people use it for religious purposes and burn their dead bodies.
Lets Go
Q. 6. Make two columns in your notebook. In the left hand column, list the foods hunter-gatherers, etc. In the right hand column, list some of the foods you eat. Do you notice any similarities/differences.
Ans. For self-study.
Hints: Food-hunter-gatherers-used to eat meat or flesh of animals, fish and birds. They used to eat uncooked food, because they did not know how to cook food and unawared of the use of fire. They also ate gathered fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks and egg
Q. 6. Make two columns in your notebook. In the left hand column, list the foods hunter-gatherers, etc. In the right hand column, list some of the foods you eat. Do you notice any similarities/differences.
Ans. For self-study.
Nowadays we eat chapati of wheat, rice, pulses, vegetables, fruits, meat, chicken, eggs, etc.
Q. 7. If you had a natural pebble like the ones shown on page 13 (of your text book) what would you use it for ?
Ans. (1) I would have used some of these stone tools to cut meat and bone, scrape bark (from trees) and hides (animal skins), chop fruit and roots.
(2) Some may have been attached to handles of bone or wood, to make spears and arrows for hunting..
(3) Other stone tools were used to chop wood, which was used as firewood
Q. 8. List two tasks that are performed by men and women at present. List another two that are performed only by women, and two that are performed only by men. Compare your list with that of any two of your classmates. Do you notice any similarities/differences in your lists ?
Ans. For self study.
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| II. SOME OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS WITH THEIR ANSWERS |
Q. 1. What was Tushar doing?
Ans. Tushar was going from Delhi to Chennai.
Q. 2. How was Tushar going and why was he going?
Ans. Tushar was going by train to attend his cousin’s wedding.
Q. 3. Do you know when trains were used first of all ?
Ans. Yes, I know that trains were first used about 150 years ago.
Q. 4. When were the buses used first of all ?
Ans. People began using buses a few decades later after the trains were first used about 150 years ago.
Q. 5. Write the name given to pre-historic age.
Ans. Stone Age.
Q. 6. What is Stone Age ?
Or
Define Stone Age.
Ans. In the pre-historic age or period when mainly tools, weapons and implements made of stone were used, that period is known as Stone Age
Q. 7. Explain the term “Palaeolithic Age”.
Ans. The word “Palacolithic” is derived from two Greek (language) words-Palaco and Lithic. The literary meaning of Palaco is old one the literary meaning of Lithic is Stone. In short we can say that the term “Palaeolithic Age” stands for old Stone Age or the earliest Stone Age.
Q8. What do you mean by “Neolithic Age”.
Ans.
The word Neo means new and Lithic means stone. In short we can say the meaning of “Neolithic Age” is New Stone Age.
Q. 9. Who were the earliest people of the Indian subcontinent ? Write a few lines about them.
Ans.
- The earliest people who lived in the Indian subcontinent as early as two million years ago. Today we describe them as hunter-gatherers. The name comes from the way in which they got their food.
- Generally hunter-gatherers hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks and eggs.
Q. 10. How do we know about hunter-gatherers ? Write also about their tools.
Ans. - Archaeologists have found some of the things people made and used. It is likely that people made and used tools of stone and bone, of which stone tools have survived best.
- Some of stone tools were used for cutting wood, which was used as firewood. Wood was also used to make huts and tools. 3. Other stone tools were used to cut meat and bone, scrape barks and hides, chop fruit and roots. Some may have been attached to handle bone or wood. to make spears and arrows for hunting.
Q. 11. What is flint ?
Ans. A flint is a hard grey stone that can produce a spart, whenever it is rubbed.
Q. 12. Discuss living places or sites of hunter-gathe rs of the subcontinent.
Ans.
1 Some sites known as habitation sites, are places where people of the subcontinent lived. These include caves and rock shelters.
- Many living places or sites of the hunter-gatherers are located near sources of water (rivers, lakes, springs etc.)
- People choose natural caves because they provided shelter from the rain heat and wind.
- Natural rock shelters were close to the Narmada Valley, which natural caves were found in the Vindhyas and the Deccan Plateau:
Q.13. What do you mean by “Factory Sites” and “Habitation-cum-factory” ?
Ans.
- As in Stone Age stone tools and implements were important, therefore, the people (hunter-gatherers) tried to find places where good qualit stone. easily available. Places where natural stone was found and where people made tools are known as factory sites.
- Usually, we find blocks of stone, tools that were made and perhaps discarded because they were not perfect and chips of waste stone left behind at these sites (Le.. factory sites). Sometimes, people lived here for longer spells of time These sites are called habitation-cum-factory sites.
Q. 14. Discuss “Making Stone Tools” by the people of Stone Age.
Ans. Making Stone Tools. Stone tools were probably made using two different
1 The first is called stone on stone. Here, the pebble from which the tool was to techniques be made (also called the core) was held in one hand. Another stone, which was used as a hammer was held in the other hand. The second stone was used to strike off flakes from the first, till the required shape was obtained.
- Pressure flaking Here the core was placed on a firm surface. The hammer stone was used on a piece of bone or stone that was placed on the core, to remove flakes that could be shaped into tools.
Q.15. What were the main effects of changing environment on rearing of animals and other activities?
Ans. 1. Around 12,000 years ago, there were major climatic changes with a shift to relatively warm conditions. In many areas, this led to the development of grass lands, and animals that depended on grass, such as deer antelope goat, sheep and cattle, flourished.
- Those who hunted animals now followed them, learning about their food habits and their breeding seasons. It is likely that this helped people to start thinking about herding and rearing some animals themselves.
- Fishing also became an important activity of the people.
- This was also a time when several grain beaning grasses, including wheat, barley and rice grew naturally in different parts of the subcontinent. Men, women and children probably collected these grains as food, and learnt where they grew, and when they ripened. This may have led them to think about growing plants on their own.
Q. 16. Explain the following words:
(a) Palaeolithic
(b) Mesolithic and
(C) Neolithic
Ans. (a) Palacolithic. The earliest period of the Stone Age is called the Palaeolithic. This comes from two Greek words, ‘Palaeo’ meaning old, and lithos’ meaning stone. The name points to the importance of finds of stone tools. The Palaeolithic period extends from 2 million years ago to about 12,000 years. ago. This long stretch of time is divided in into the Lower, Middle and Upper Palacolithic
(b) Mesolithic. The period when we find environmental changes, beginning about 12,000 years ago till about 10,000 years ago is called the Mesolithic (middle stone). Stone tools found during this period are generally tiny and are often called microliths. Microliths were probably stuck on to handles of bone or wood to make tools such as saws and sickles. Older varieties of tools continued to be in use.
(c) Neolithic. The next age (Le., from the Mesolithic) from about 10,000 years ago, is known as the Neolithic in this Stage farming and herding began and the people started leading a settled life
Q. 17. Discuss in short the art of Rock Paintings done by the people of the early stone age.
Ans. Many of the caves in which the early people lived in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods have painting on the walls, Some of the best examples are from Madhya Pradesh and Southern Uttar Pradesh. These paintings show wild animals, drawn with great accuracy and skill.
Q. 18. Explain the meaning of the following keywords:
(1) Hunter-gatherers, (2) Sites, (3) Habitation, (4) Factory, (5) Palaeolithic, (6) Mesolithic, (7) Microlithic
Ans. (1) Hunter–gatherers. They were early people of the Indian subcontinent. They lived in the subcontinent as early as two million years ago. Today, we describe them as hunter-gatherers. The name comes from the way in which they got their food Generally, they hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks and eggs
(2) Sites. In this lesson this word is used for those places from where archaeologists have found evidence of hunter-gatherers. Many sites are located near sources of water.
(3) Habitation Some sites, known as habitation sites, are places where people lived. These include caves and rock shelters.
(4) Factory Places where natural stone was found and where people made tools are known as factory sites
(5) Palaeolithic. Archaeologists have given lengthy names for the time that we are studying in chapter first, second and third. They call the earliest period the Palaeolithic. This comes from the Greek words ‘palace’, and ‘lithos’. The name points to the importance of finds of stone tools. The Palaeolithic period extends from 2 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago. This long stretch of time is divided into the Lower Middle and Upper Palaeolithic
(6) Mesolithic. It means middle stone age It began about 12,000 years ago and ran till 10,000 years ago.
(7) Microlithic. Stone tools found during mesolithic (middle stone age) are called microliths. Generally, these stone tools were tiny Microliths were probably. stuck on to handles of bone or wood to make tools such as saws and sickles.
Q. 19. Mention important historical events against the following dates:
(1) 12.000-10,000 years ago
(2) 10,000 years ago
aNS.
| Dates | Events |
| (1) 12,000-10.000 years ago (2) 10.000 years ago Events | The Mesolithic period The beginning of the Neolithic Age |
Q20. Match the contents of the following columns correctly
| Column A | Column B |
| 1 Chalcolithic Age 2 Palaeolithic Age Neolithic Age 4 Megalithic Age 5 Flint | (a) discovery of agriculture (b) discovery of metal (c) consider animal very important (c) hard grey stone (e) discovery of fire by man |
Ans. 1 (b), 2 (c), 3. (a), 4 (c). 5 (d).