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| What, Where, How and When? (Class 6 History Chapter 1 Notes) |
There are several things that we can know about past such as food, clothing, lifestyle, houses, profession, art, craft, music, beliefs and science.
Where did people live?
Prehistoric time
- The earliest evidence of human activity is found along the banks of Narmada river.
- They were hunter-gatherers. They hunted small animals and gathered fruits and other food items for their survival.
~8000 years ago
- Around 8000 years ago, they first started growing crops like wheat and barley near Sulaiman and Kirthar hills. They also began rearing animals such as sheep, goat and cattle.
- Garo hills in northeast India and Vindhyas in central India are some of the ealiest places where agriculture developed. The rice was first grown in north of the Vindhyas.
- First village settlements are of this period.
~4700 years ago
Around 4700 years ago, the first cities in India are settled nearby the bank of Indus and its tributaries.
~2500 years ago,
Around 2500 years ago, major cities settled around the banks of Ganga and its tributaries
The Magadha Empire, first well known Indian empire, grew alongwith the bank of Ganga river.
Why People Travelled?
Throughout history, people travelled for a variety of reasons. Some of them are:
1. better livelihood
2. escape natural disaster such as floods, droughts and so on.
3. trade
4. to spread religion
5. conquer new land
The influence of these travels can be seen in food, music and other cultural makings.
Names of the land
- India is majorly known by two names India and Bharat.
- The name India comes from the Indus or Sindhu in Sanskrit. Usually, Arabian and Iranian trader used to refer India as Indos or Hindos, which means land east of the river Indus.
- The name Bharat come from Bharat tribe who used to live in north-west and mentioned in Rigveda.
Finding out about the past
There are several ways to find about the past. Some of them are
Manuscript
Books are excellent source of information. The books which were handwritten are known as manuscripts. The word originates from latin word "manu" which means hand. The old manuscripts are usually written on palm leaf or bark of tree (birch).
These books dealt with a variety of subjects such as relgion, cultural practices, the lives of kings, medicine and science. Many of these were written in Sanskrit, Tamil, Pali and Prakrit.
Inscription
These are writings on stone or metal. These are usually made on the order of kings and noblemen. These are usually used as mass communication tools to inform people about new orders, rules and other instructions.
Excavations and remains
Tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and coins which are unearthed by digging the surface are known as excavates. They are very helpful in learning about daily life. Sometimes, plant remains and food gains also survive the test of time. They shed light on food items of that time.
Other
Other items such as paintings, building material and sculpture are excellent source of history.
Archaeologist
Those people who study these materials are known as archaeologists. Archaeologists alongwith historians are detectives who use all these resources and information to reconstruct the past.
One past or many?
There is no single past. We all observe same event differently. There is a past of king, a past of queen, a past of farmer and so on. Henceforth, one can say, there are many pasts.
What do dates mean?
- BC means Before Christ and AD means Anno Domini.
- Sometimes CE (Common Era) is used instead of AD and BCE (Before Common Era) is used to denote BC.