Social Studies [5 marks Questions]

There are many ways of finding out about our past. One way is to read books that were written long ago.
Manuscripts: They were written by hand on palm leaves or specially prepared bark of a tree called birch. These deal with all types of subjects. There were epics, poems and plays written in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tamil. Though many have been destroyed by in sects, many still remain preserved carefully in monasteries and temples.
Biographies: These contribute in reconstructing history. Harshacharita by Banabhatta gives a detailed account of the life and reign of Emperor Harsha.
Religious Texts: Religious texts like Vedas and Upanishads tell us about the Vedic age of India. Other religious texts include the Puranas and Bhag vad Gita. The Mahabharata was written by sage Ved Vyasa and the Ramayana by Sage Valmiki. Historians draw information on the economic, social and religious life of the people from these epics.
Secular Literature: Other texts highlight other aspects of life. Traveller's accounts: Many foreign travellers have also given good accounts of ancient India. These are called travelogues. These help us understand the past and relate it to the present.

S.No		S.No
1.	Narmada Valley	(b)	Hunting and gathering.
2.	Magadha	(a)	The first big kingdom.
3.	Garo hills	(d)	Early agriculture.
4.	Indus and its tributaries	(c)	Cities about 2500 years ago.
5.	Ganga Valley	(e)	The first cities.

S.No.	Important Dates	Important Events
(i)	8,000 years ago.	The beginning of agriculture.
(ii)	4,700 years ago.	The first cities on the Indus.
(iii)	2,500 years ago.	Cities in the Ganga Valley, a big kingdom in Magadha was formed.
(iv)	2,000 AD/CE.	The present (age).

1. Magadha was the first largest empire of India.
2. The area along some of the important rivers of the Northern India and to the south of the Ganga was known as Magadha.
3. Its rulers were very powerful (Bimbisara, Ajatashatru and Udaibhadra).
4. They set up a large kingdom. (Some smaller kingdoms were set up in other parts of the country as well).

1. People lived on the banks of Narmada River for several hundred thousand years.
2. Some of them lived by food gathering.
3. They collected roots, fruits and other forest products for their food.
4. They also hunted animals.

The archaeological sources of knowing history include:

1. Monuments: Buildings of historical importance are called monuments. They include temples, forts, palaces or any other structure. Ashoka pillars, Sanchi Stupa are some important monuments which tell us about the past.
2. Artefacts: Objects like pottery, tools, weapons, sculptures, toys, coins, jewellery, etc. made by human beings are called artefacts. They tell us about skills of people at that time.
3. Inscriptions: Writings engraved on rocks, pillars, metal pillars, temple walls, palaces, copper plates, clay tablets, houses and towns are called inscriptions. They give us valuable information about names, achievements and events under a ruler.
4. Coins: Coins are a valuable source of telling us about the reign, economy, trade and extent of a king’s empire.

1. The area along these rivers was known as Magadha.
2. Its rulers were very powerful and set up a large kingdom.
3. People travelled from one part of the subcontinent to another.
4. Merchants travelled by caravans or ships, carrying valuable goods from place to place.
5. Men and women moved in search of livelihood, as they also wanted to escape from disasters like floods and famines.

Many geographical locations in India were inhabited by the early settlers. Humans began settlements near rivers. This gave them access to water. Historians have identified many such sites. The banks of the River Narmada were inhabited by humans thousands of years ago. They were hunter-gatherers. They hunted wild animals for food. Also, they gathered fruits, leaves and seeds or dug up roots of plants for their food. The Kirthar and Sulaiman Hills are the areas where humans first began growing crops about 8000 years ago. They grew wheat and barley and also began domesticating animals. The Vindhyas in Central India close to the Narmada River and the Garo hills in the north-east show evidence of the development of agriculture. It is here that rice was first cultivated. Humans also lived near the River Indus and its tributaries. In fact, it is here that the first cities came up about 4700years ago. There is evidence that cities came up near the river Ganga and its tributaries about 2500 years ago. Large kingdoms came up near the rivers. Magadha was a large kingdom which grew near the River Son.

1. BC.

1. The letters BC means Before Christ.
2. Dates are generally counted (i.e., the day, the month and the years) or assigned to the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity.
3. So 2000 BC means 2000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
4. All dates before the birth of Jesus Christ are counted backwards and generally have the letter BC (Before Christ) added on.

2. AD.

1. We sometimes find AD before dates. This stands for two Latin words, “Anno Domini”, and mean in the year of the lord (i.e., Jesus Christ).
2. For example 2005 can also be written as AD 2005.

3. CE.

Sometimes, CE is used instead of AD. The letters CE stand for ‘Common Era’.

4. BCE.

1. Sometimes BCE is used instead of BC. The letters BCE stand for ‘Before Common Era’.
2. We use these terms because the Christian Era is now used in the most countries of the world.

5. Script.

1. Way or style of writing of a language is called a script. It consists of letters or signs.
2. For example, ‘Devnagri’ is script of Hindi.

6. Language.

When we read what is written, or speak, we use a language. It is a media of expression through speech or through writing.

7. Decipherment.

Languages which are used, as well as ways of writing (scripts) have changed since then. So how do scholars understand what was written? This can be done through a process known as decipherment.

1. The people of India travelled from one part of the subcontinent to another. The hills and high mountains including the Himalayas, deserts, rivers and seas made journeys dangerous at time, but never impossible.
2. The people of the Indian subcontinent moved in search of livelihood, as also to escape from natural calamities (such as flood, drought, earthquake, epidemic).
3. Sometimes men marched in armies, conquering others’ land.
4. Merchants travelled with caravans or ships carrying valuable goods from place to place.
5. Religious teachers walked from village to village, town to town, stopping to offer instruction and advice on the way.
6. Finally some people perhaps travelled, driven by a spirit of adventure.

All these led to the sharing of ideas among the Indians.

The skills and knowledge needed in hunter - gatherer communities were:

1. There were several animals that ran fast so they need was to run faster.
2. To hunt animals or catch fish and birds, people needed to be alert, quick and have a good presence of mind.
3. To collect plant produce – they needed to find out which plants or parts of plants were edible (that can be eaten) as many plants or their parts were poisonous.
4. They needed to know the seasons when the fruits would ripen.
5. They needed the skills and knowledge to make weapons and arms for hunting animals easily.
6. They needed the skills to use their weapons effectively.

	Column A		Column B
(i)	Herodotus	(b)	Father of history.
(ii)	History	(a)	The study of past.
(iii)	Pre-history	(d)	Period for which we have no written rocods.
(iv)	Epigraphy	(c)	Study of inscriptions.
(v)	Archaeology	(f)	The study of remains of past.
(vi)	Scripts	(e)	The way of from in which some language is written

Archaeologists and historians are scholars who study things that were made and used in the past through the process of excavation. Manuscripts, inscriptions, tools, coins, monuments are the source of information used by these scholars to know about the past of the people. Once these sources are found, learning about the past becomes an adventure, and gradually history is reconstructed. That is why historians and archaeologists use various sources to study about our past.