Social Science [5 marks Questions]

In the Rig-Veda people were describe in term of the work they did and the language they spoke. In the table below fill the names fsix people you know, three men and three women: For each of them, mention the work they do and they language they speak. Would you like to add anything else to the description.

S.No.	Name	Work	Language	Anything else
1.	Teacher in my school (Female)	Teaching.	English and Hindi.	Sometimes they act the scene with the help of the children.
2.	Doctors (Male),	Gives medical treatment.	Generally Hindi sometimes English	Examines the body parts, gives medicine and sometimes a dose of injection.
3.	Vegetables Sellers (Male)	Sells vegitables.	Hindi	Use haggling and tries to give less weight.
4.	Maid-Servant (Female)	Does Households work.	Hindi.	Sometimes cooks food and very often take leave.
5.	Driver (Male)	Drive our cars.	Hindi.	Drop us to school, takes us to any other place.
6.	Salesgirl in the Shop (Female)	Display the goods in the shops and show them to customers.	English and Hindi.	Gossip a lot, tries to sell the goods as quickly as possible.

A Song which we have memorized is a song from film Jagriti (1954), sung and written by the legendary poet and singer kavi Pradeep.
Aao Bachcho Tumhe Dikhaye Jhanci Hindustan Kee
Iss Mittee Se Tilak Karo Yeh Dharatee Hai Balidan Kee
Vande Mataram Vande Mataram Vande Mataram Vande Mataram.
Aao Bachcho Tumhe Dikhaye Jhanci Hindustan Kee
Iss Mittee Se Tilak Karo Yeh Dharatee Hai Balidan Kee
Vande Mataram Vande Mataram Vande Mataram Vande Mataram.
Dekho Mulk Maratho Kaa Yeh Yaha Shivaji Dola Tha
Mughalo Kee Takat Ko Jisane Talavaro Pe Tola Tha
Har Pavat Pe Aag Lagee Thee Har Patthar Ek Shola Tha
Bolee Har Har Mahadev Kee Bachcha Bachcha Bola Tha
Yaha Shivaji Ne Rakhee Thee Laj Hamaree Shan Kee
Iss Mittee Se Tilak Karo Yeh Dharatee Hai Balidan Kee
Vande Mataram Vande Mataram Vande Mataram Vande Mataram.
We heard and saw this song in film Jagriti, 2-3 times on TV. Also during Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations, this song is very often broadcasted by All India Radio and even telecasted by Door Darshan on TV.

S.No	Keywords	S.No	Used For
1.	Sukta	(c)	Well-said.
2.	Chariots	(d)	Used in battles.
3.	Yajna	(b)	Sacrifice.
4.	Dasa	(e)	Slave.
5.	Megalith	(a)	Stone boulder.

	Dates	Important Event or Development
(i)	About 3500 years ago.	Beginning of the composition of the Vedas.
(ii)	About 3000 years ago.	Beginning of the building of megaliths (big stoned).
(iii)	Between 3600 and 2700 years ago.	Settlement at Inamgaon.
(iv)	About 2000 years ago.	Charaka, a famous ancient Indian physician and scientist.

1. Some of the looted wealth (or booty) obtained was kept by the leaders.
2. Some portion of looted wealth was given to priests (brahmins).
3. The rest of the looted wealth was distributed amongst the people.
4. Some wealth (looted in the war or battles) was used for the performance of yajanas or sacrifices in which offerings were made into the fire. These were meant for gods and goddesses. Offerings could include ghee, grain and in some cases animals.

1. Silent sentinels or stone boulders are known as megaliths (literally meaning big stones).
2. Megaliths were carefully arranged by people and were used to mark burial sites.
3. The practice of erecting megaliths began about 3000 years ago, and was prevalent throughout the Deccan, South India, in the north-east and Kashmir.
4. While some megaliths can be seen on the surface, other megalithic burials are underground.

1. Beas.
2. Sutlej.
3. Indus.
4. Sarasvati.
5. Ganga.
6. Yamuna.

Words of the Rigveda to describe different classes or categories of the people:

1. There are several ways of describing people-in the terms of the work they do, the language they speak, the place they belong to, their family, their communities and cultural practices.

2. Broadly speaking, we can confess that there are two groups (of people) who are described in terms of their work-the priests, sometimes called brahmins, who performed various rituals for the rajas. These rajas were not like the ones you will be learning about later (in coming chapters). They did not have capital cities or armies, nor did they collect taxes. Generally, sons did not succeed fathers automatically.

3. Two words were used (in the Rigveda) to describe people or the community as a whole. One was the word jana, which we still use in Hindi and other languages. The other was Vish. The word Vaishya comes from Vish.

1. Vedas are known one of the oldest books in the world.
2. There are four of them-the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
3. The oldest veda is the Rigveda, composed about 3500 years ago.
4. The Rigveda includes more than a thousand hymns, called sukta or “well-said’. These hymns are in praise of different gods and goddesses.
5. These hymns were composed by sages (i.e., rishis).
6. These vedas are written in Vedic Sanskrit. The Vedic or old Sanskrit is different from the Sanskrit that you learn in school these days.

1. The oldest Veda is the Rigveda.
2. It was composed about 3500 years ago.
3. The Rigveda is in old or Vedic Sanskrit, which is different from the Sanskrit that you learn in school these days.
4. The Rigveda includes more than a thousand hymns, called sukta or well-said.
5. These hymns are in praise of various gods and goddesses.
6. The Rigveda was recited and heard rather than written or read.
7. The Rigveda was written down several centuries after it was first composed and printed less than 200 years ago.

1. Buddha taught that life is full of sufferings and unhappiness.
2. This is due to desires in one’s life, one should forget these desires.
3. He taught people to be kind, to respect the lives of others, including animals.
4. He believed that results of one actions, whether good or bad, affect us both in the present life and the next.
5. He encouraged people to think for themselves rather than to simply accept what he said.

1. The Rigveda is one of the oldest books in the world.
2. It was composed about 3500 years ago.
3. The Rigveda includes more than a thousand hymns, called sukta or well said songs of praise.
4. These are in praise of various gods and goddesses.
5. These hymns were composed by sages (rishis).
6. Most of the hymns were composed, taught and learnt by men. Only a few were composed by women.
7. The Rigveda is in old or Vedic Sanskrit, which is different from the Sanskrit that students learn in school these days.

A Special Burial found at Inamgaon and its Major Features

1. At Inamgaon the scholars have found out a special burial. It is a site on the river Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima. It was occupied between 3600 and 2700 years ago.
2. Here, adults were often buried in the ground, laid out straight, with the head towards the north.
3. Sometimes, burials were within houses. Vessels that probably contained food and water were placed with the dead.
4. One man was found buried in a large four legged clay jar in the courtyard of a five- roomed house (one of the largest houses at the site) in the centre of the settlement. This house also had a granary. The body was placed in a cross-legged position.

Kings of China got scribes to write questions on the bones of animals (called oracle bones).
For example:

1. Would they (the kings) win battles?
2. Would the harvest be good?
3. Would they have sons? The bones were then put into the fire, and they – cracked because of the heat.

Fortune-tellers studied the cracks of oracle bones. They tried to predict the future. They sometimes made mistakes also.

In some graves more objects were found than in others. In Brahmagiri, one skeleton was buried with 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles and one conch shell. Other skeletons have only a few pots. This evidence suggests that there was some difference in status amongst the people who were buried.

Yes, some burial spots were definitely meant for certain families. We can give the following facts to prove our answer:

1. Sometimes, megaliths, contained more than one skeleton. These indicated that people, perhaps belonging to the same family, were buried in the same place though not at the same time. The bodies of those who died later were brought into the grave through the port-holes.
2. Stone circles or boulders on the surface probably served as sign posts to find the burial site so that people could return to the same place whenever they wanted to.

Finding out about Social Differences.

1. Archaeologists think that objects found with a skeleton probably belonged to the dead person. Sometimes more objects were found in one grave than in another. For example, in Brahmagiri one skeleton was buried with 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles, and one conch shell.
2. Other skeletons found out from the graves had only a few pots. Perhaps there was some difference in status amongst the people who were buried. Perhaps some were rich while others poor, some chiefs while others followers.

We know who was buried in the grave with the help of following clues:

1. It is easy to check out the skeleton of a child from its small size. However, there are no major skeletal differences between a girl and a boy.

2. We can check out whether a skeleton was that of a man or a woman also. We can decide this thing on the basis of what is found with the skeleton. For example, if a skeleton is found with jewellery, it is sometimes thought to be that of a woman. However, there are problems with this. Generally, men also wore ornaments.

3. A better (or more reliable) way of figuring out the sex of a skeleton as to look at the bone structure. The hip or the pelvic area of women is generally larger to enable child bearing.