How to find out about the History
Main means of knowing the History
- Stone tools
- Fossil
- Clay pots
- Inscription
- Coins / seals
- Temple / Mosque
- Building/castle
- Bhojpatra / Palm leaf / Copper leaf
- Archeology
- Travellers’ stories
- Handwriting
- Sand clock
What can we know about the past?
Much can be known about the past –
- What did people eat / from where did they get it?
- How did you wear clothes?
- What kind of houses did you live in?
- hunters
- cultivators
- rulers
- merchants
- priests
- How did Vaid treat you? What herb did you use?
Where did the people live?
- On the banks of river Narmada
- On the banks of tributaries of the Indus and Ganges rivers
- Suleiman and Kirthar Paharia
- Garo and Son
Names of the lands
We know and use our country by the name of India or India.
The word India is derived from the Indus from which it is also called Sindhu.
About 2500 years ago some Iranians and Greeks called the Indus Hindus or Indos and the land area east of this river was called India, and thus the names Bharat and India came to be used.
Some Important Dates
- Beginning of agriculture – 8000 years ago
- First cities of Indus Civilization – 4700 years ago
- The city of Ganga Ghat, the kingdom of Magad – 2500 years ago
- Present – about 2000 years ago
Natural map of the subcontinent
Let’s Recall
Question 1. Match the following:
| Narmada Valley | First Large State |
| Magad | Hunting and Collecting |
| Garo Hills | Cities of about 2500 years ago |
| Indus and its tributaries | Early agriculture |
| Ganges Valley | First City |
Answer: The correct matching of the above question is as follows.
| Narmada Valley | Hunting and Collection |
| Magad | The first big kingdom |
| Garo Hills | Early Agriculture |
| Indus and its tributaries | First city |
| Ganges Valley | Cities of about 2500 years ago |
Question 2. State one major difference between manuscripts and inscriptions.
Answer: Manuscripts – Manuscripts were written by hand on palm leaves or Bhojpatras.
Inscriptions – Inscriptions were engraved on hard surfaces such as stone or metal and were engraved and written.
let’s discuss
Question 3. Read Rashida’s question again. What can be the answer to this?
Answer: We can get information about the past by studying the manuscripts and inscriptions. Apart from this, there are many such things, through which information is also available. Such as: – Remains of buildings made of bricks and stones, statues, tools, paintings, weapons, utensils and coins etc.
Question 4. Make a list of all the objects found by archaeologists. Which of these objects can be made of stone?
Answer: Object found by archaeologists:-
Weapon/Equipment
Jewelery
Murtia
Buildings
Question 5. Why did ordinary men and women not keep a record of their work? What do you think about this?
Answer: Ordinary women and men did not keep the details of their works. This can be due to the following reasons:-
- Ordinary women and men would not consider their actions to be so important that their descriptions should be made.
- Or those people will not be able to read and write.
- Those people should be poor and the work of getting the writing done should be expensive.
Question 6. Mention at least two such things which according to you show the difference between the lives of kings and peasants.
Answer: Differences in the lives of kings and farmers:-
The life of the kings was full of comfort, comfort, and splendor. On the other hand, the life of the farmers was very simple and full of hard work.
The king used to get an account of everything related to his kingdom, whereas the farmers did not keep any account of their work.
Question 7. Find out the word craftsman on page 1. List at least five different crafts in use today. is this artist
(a) woman,
(b) male,
(c) There are both male and female?
Answer: (a) Building Crafts – Men
(b) leather crafts – Men
(c) handicrafts – Men and Women
(d) wood crafts – Men and Women
(e) Sculpture – Male and Female
Question 8. What were the books written in the past? Which of these books would you like to read?
Answer: In the past, books were written on the following subjects:
Business
Religion
herbs and science
epic poems and plays
life of kingdoms and kings
I would like to read books on herbs and science.
