Class-6 : Chapter 1

What Where How and When

 

Early Settlements:

• River Banks: Human habitation along riverbanks for hundreds of thousands of years.

• Skilled Gatherers: Early inhabitants were skilled gatherers, gathering food for sustenance.

• Agricultural Beginnings: Sulaiman and Kirthar Hills witnessed the early cultivation of crops like wheat and barley around 8000 years ago.

• Animal Rearing: People started rearing animals—sheep, goats, cattle—and established villages.

• Rice Cultivation: North Vindhyas marked the initial sites for rice cultivation.

• Migration and Conquest: Movement for livelihood, escape from disasters, and military conquests led to human migration across regions.

Cultural Exchange:

• Shared Knowledge: Exchange of skills like stone carving, music composition, and culinary techniques over centuries.

Manuscripts:

• Materials Used: Manuscripts written on palm leaves or the birch bark from the Himalayas.

Inscriptions:

• Surface Types: Writings on hard surfaces like stone or metal considered inscriptions.

Archaeological Studies:

• Remains: Archaeologists study building remnants, paintings, sculptures, tools, weapons, pottery, ornaments, coins, animal bones, and more.

Dating System:

• Chronology: Dates before Christ marked with BC or BCE (Before Common Era), counted backward in time.

Narmada Settlements:

• Long Habitation: People settled along the Narmada for thousands of years.

Agricultural Developments:

• Crops and Animal Rearing: Wheat, barley, and domestication of animals like sheep, goat, and cattle near Sulaiman and Kirthar hills.

• Rice Cultivation: Initiated in the north of the Vindhyas.

• Agricultural Expansion: Development near the Garo hills and the Vindhyas.

Urban Centers:

• Early Cities: Cities emerged around 4700 years ago along the Indus and its tributaries. Ganga banks also saw urban development.

Cultural Interaction:

• Travel and Exchange: People traveling, interacting, and sharing ideas enriched the culture.

Manuscripts:

• Materials Used: Old books (manuscripts) written on palm leaf or birch bark.

Inscriptions:

• Engraved Writing: Archaeologists find inscriptions on stone or metal surfaces.

Archaeologists:

• Object Study: Archaeologists study objects made and used in the past through exploration and excavation.

• Dietary Analysis: Bones of living beings help determine past diets.

Historians à Source of Information: Historians study manuscripts and inscriptions as sources for understanding the past.

• Archaeologists: People who study the objects made and used in the past are called archaeologists.

• Excavation: The process of digging under the surface of the earth in order to find old objects is called excavation.

• Historians: Scholars who study the past are called historians.

• Inscriptions: These are writings on very hard surfaces like stone or metal.

• Manuscripts : Books that were written long ago by hand on palm leaf or barks of trees are called manuscripts.

• Skilled Gatherers: The people who gathered their food. They have lived on the banks of the Narmada for several hundred thousand years.

• Tributaries: Smaller rivers that flow into a larger river are said to be its tributaries.

8000 years ago – beginning of agriculture

4700 years ago – the first cities

2500 years ago – the Magadha Kingdom