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INDEX

Theory ................................................................... Page 02

Exercise – I ................................................................... Page 10

Exercise – II ................................................................... Page 12

Answer Key ................................................................... Page 16

Class

6th

SOCIAL SCIENCE

NEEV ACADEMYPRE-NURTURE & CAREER FOUNDATION

NTSE | OLYMPIAD | BOARD | NEETSCHOOL WITH COACHING

WHAT, WHEN, WHERE & HOW

NEEV ACADEMY SOCIAL SCIENCE

NEEV ACADEMY : Rampura House, Surya Nagar, Piprali Road, Sikar (Raj.) WHAT, WHEN, WHERE & HOW 2

WHAT IS HISTORY ?

Herodotus, the Greek historian, is regarded as the father of History. It was he who invented the word "history".

He said history meant 'study' or 'investigation of past time'. According to Leo Tolstoy, The subject of history is the

life of the peoples and of humanity.

HISTORY AND ITS IMPORTANCE : WHY DO WE STUDY HISTORY?

History is the life story of man from the earliest period to the present day. Now a question generally arises as to why

we studyhistory. The study of history is important in so many ways:

1. It helps us to know our past. Through it we come to know about our ancestors, their struggle for existence and the

great achievement theymade.

2. Through its study we come to know about kings and statesmen as well as ordinarypeople who have shaped the

pages of history.

3. It enables us to gain knowledge of the continuous development of man's culture and civilisation. It includes the

studyof art, architecture, literature, religion, etc.

4. Itis fromthe studyof historythatwe cometo knowthe originand evolutionof different languages that we speak today.

5. The study of history helps us to understand the basic nature of our society.

MEASURING THE PAST

To studyhistory, we must understand the measurement of time. The past is measured in years. The birth of Christ is

taken as the reference point. The years before Christ was born are written as BC or before the birth of Christ.

For example, 3000 BC means 3000 years before Christ was born. Nowadays, BC is also written as BCE which

means Before the Common Era.AD stands forAnno Domini meaning 'in the year of the Lord'.Anyevent that

occurred after the birth of Jesus Christ is written asAD. For example, India gained independence in 1947AD

meaning 1947 year after the birth of Christ. It can also be written as CE or Common Era. Sometimes you may also

come across dates like 'c. 1250 BC/BCE' . Here the small 'c' stands for circa. Circa is Latin for 'approximately'.

When the exact date of an event is not known circa is used.

* Birth of Jesus Christ (c. 5th BeE)

WHAT, WHEN, WHERE & HOW1



THE GEOGRAPHICAL FRAMEWORK

How is Geography Helpful in Shaping the Life and History of the People.

People of anycountryof the world are greatlyinfluenced bytheir country's geographical features. Their style of living,

wearing clothes, food habits are all influenced byit. People living in cold regions, like Siberia, wouldnaturallywear

woolenclotheswhile thoselivinginhotcountries wouldwearloose clothes, like inArabia.

The followingphysical or geographical divisionsof India have affectedIndian people and theirhistoryin their own

way :

1. The Great Himalayas

2. The Great Northern Plains

3. The Deccan Plateau

4. The Eastern and Western Coastal Regions.

The Great Himalayas have always been a barrier for invaders from the north. Hence veryfew invasions have taken

place from this side.

India was invaded again and again from the north-western side simply because of the presence of so many low-

lying passes such as the Khyber, the Kunlun, the Gomal, Trichi and the Bolan, etc. in the north-west.

The vast and fertile plains of north India formed a base for the establishment of the vast empires like that of the

Mauryas, the Guptas and the Mughals.

Bihar (including Jharkhand) was and it still is the storehouse of iron-ore. It was with the help of this iron that

weapons of war could be man factured in abundancewhich facilitated the establishment of two great empires, both

with their capital at Pataliputra.

The Deccan provided a good militarybase, so even the mightyempires of the north could not easilywin and keep

those areas under their control for a long time, This was the main reason why the Marathas with

theirscantymilitarypower could successfullychallenge the mightyMughal empire.

A very long coastline along the western and eastern coastal plains enabled the Indians, especially the southern

powers, to establish strong commercial relations both with the South-EastAsian states as well as with theAfrican

and European countries.





SOURCES OF HISTORY

To know about the lives of the people who lived before us, we depend on mainlytwo sources which give us

information: archaeological sources and literarysources.

EVIDENCE FROM ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeologistshavealsofoundfossilsandbonesprehistoricanimalslikedinosaurs.InIndia,archaeologists excavated the

ruins of the Indus Valley Civilisation. They found cities buried under the ground. Cities were well-planned with

houses, government buildings, public bath, granary and wide streets. Pots, jewellery and statues that are found

have uncovered India's glorious past.

Otherarchaeologicalevidenceincludescave paintings,coins, inscriptions, monuments andburials.Many cave paintings

done byearlymen have been found in manyparts of the world. Bhimbetka caves in India are famous for the cave

paintings. Theytell us about the animals that earlyman hunted, the weapons he used, etc. Some of the paintings at

Bhimbetka are approximately30,000 years old.

COINS

Coins are important source of history. The earliest coins were only pieces of metal with a mark to indicate that they

were really coins and not just bits of metal. Later on, the coins had the name or the portrait of the king. So, they give

us very useful information.Also, the places from which they were discovered give an idea of the size and extent of

the kingdoms. From the metal used for the coin, historians canguess whether thekingdomwas rich or

poor.Coinsalsogiveinformationabout the religion, clothes and even the pastimes of the people.



The above coin shows that Samudragupta was talented and enjoyed music. Playing musical instruments was his

favorite pastime.

OTHER ARTEFACTS

Besides coins, other objects like stone tools, pottery, seals, cooking vessels, jewellery, toys, clothing, etc., are also

recovered from excavation sites. Theygive us a lot of information about a particular period inhistory.

INSCRIPTIONS

These are very valuable and reliable sources of information. Theyare carvings on stone or metal. Many inscriptions

have been found all over the world. In India, EmperorAshoka had inscriptions put all over his kingdom.Theytellus

abouthis empire,lifestyle,administrationand Buddhismwhich washisreligion.

MONUMENTS

The studyof monuments 1S the keyto understanding a particular culture.Ancient Greek buildings like the Parthenon

and the Roman Colosseum are the windows of the early civilisations. The Hawa Mahal and the temples of South

India like the Meenakshi Temple indicate the magnificence of Indian architecture. The Taj Mahal is the finest

example of Mughal architecture.



The Parthenon in Athens, Greece

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

BURIAL SITES

The tombsof Egyptian pharaohs tellus about ancient Egypt.The mummies in thepyramids, the jewellery and the

articles of everydayuse which were kept with the mummies give a wealth of information.



EVIDENCE FROM LITERARY SOURCES

Literarysourcesincludebiographies,religioustexts,literarytextsor secularliteratureandalsotheaccounts of foreign

travellers and travelogues

BIOGRAPHIES

Biographies of rulers contribute a lot in reconstructing history.Akbarnama written byAbul Fazl and Harshacharita

by Bana give detailed accounts of the life and reign of Emperor Akbar and Emperor Harsha. Theydescribe how

these emperors came to power, the extent of their empires, how they ruled etc.Abul Fazl also wrote Ain-i-Akbari

which is the most complete account of the affairs ofAkbar's court.

RELIGIOUS TEXTS

Religious texts like the Vedas and Upanishads tell us about the VedicAge in India. These texts form the essence of

Hinduism and help define ancient India. Other religious texts include the Puranas and the Bhagavad Gita, the holy

book of the Hindus.

The Mahabharata was written bySage 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

Besides religious texts, writings not based on religion al so highlight other aspects of life. Kalidasa, the great

Sanskrit poethas written Shakuntala and Meghaduta. Some other famous'playwere Mricchakafika by Shudraka,

Svapna Vasavadattam byBhasa and Ratnavali by Sri Harsha. Later poetic works include Geeta Govinda by

Jayadeva.Another famous literary work isArthashastra by Chanakya.

The Jataka tales are short stories from the life of Buddha. They throw light on the culture of his time.

TRAVELLERS' ACCOUNTS

Manyforeign travllershave also given goodaccounts of ancient India. Megasthenes,aGreek ambassador in the

Mauryan court wrote Indica. Fa-hem and Hieun Tsang were Chinese travellers who came to India in search of

Buddhist manuscripts. Theyhave left detailed accOlmts that enable us to get a fresh look at ancient India.

These sources of history help us understand the past and relate it to the present. Understanding the past is important

to understand the present.And the present soon becomes history.

KEY WORDS

1. Secular Literature: Literature concerned with worldlysubjects, other than religion and philosophy.

2. Monuments: Old buildings, whether excavated or standing.

3. Manuscripts: Handwritten accounts.

4. Inscriptions: Writings engraved on stones, metals, rocks, pillars, etc.

5. Archaeological: Ancient remains of buildings, pottery, tools, images, seals, tablets, coins, etc.



6. Evidences: Proofs

7. Script: The form in which a language is written.

8. Artefacts: Works of art which are produced by human skill.

9. Reconstruct: to combine a lot of information in order to form a complete picture of what happened in the past

10. Excavation: digging up of earth in order to discover old objects buried in the ground for study

11. Artefact: an object of historical interest

12. Archaeology: Thestudyofancientculturesbyanalysisofartefacts,inscriptions,monumentsandexcavation of such remains

13. Mummy: dead bodywhich has been treated using special substances before wrapping up in cloth

14. Biography: account of a person's life

15. Travelogue: a book or film based on travels



EXERCISE – 1

SECTION – A

FILL IN THE BLANKS

Q.1 Tripitikas are the religious books of the _________.

Q.2 _________ was a great musician.

Q.3 Taxila has yielded important information about ________.

Q.4 Fahein was a _________ traveller.

SECTION – B

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION WITH ONE CORRECTANSWER

Q.1 Sumerians used the script called

(A) hieroglyphics (B) cuneiform (C) logarithm (D) none of these

Q.2 Harshacharita was written by

(A) Fa-hein (B) Bana (C) Megasthenes (D) Kalidasa

Q.3 Akbamama is a

(A) religious text (B) biography (C) autobiography (D) epic

Q.4 Nine hundred years after the birth of Christ is written as

(A) +900 AD (B) 900 BCE (C) 900 CE (D) none of these

Q.5 Mudra Rakshasa has been written by

(A) Vishakhadatta (B) Bana (C) Chandragupta (D) None of these

Q.6 Our two great epics are

(A) Puranas and Vedas (B) Mahabharata and Ramayana

(C) Tripitakas and Jatakas (D) None of these

Q.7 Kalidasa wrote

(A)Ashtadhyayi (B) Rajtarangini (C) Meghaduta (D) None of these

Q.8 AngkorvatTemple is in

(A) Cambodia (B) Java (C) Borneo (D) None of these

Q.9 Which river's bank did the people lives along in the ancient time?

(A) Ganga (B) Narmada (C) Satluj (D) None of these

Q.10 On which river's bank were the cities developed about 2500 years ago?

(A) Ganga (B)Yamuna (C) Narmada (D)All of these

Q.11 Bywhich name was Ganga known in the ancient time?

(A) Magadha (B)Vindhyas (C) Both (A) and (B) (D) None of these



Q.12 How did merchants travel?

(A) With Caravans (B) Ships (C) Both (A) and (B) (D) None of these

Q.13 From where did the Iranians and the Greek come?

(A) North west (B) North east (C) North south (D) None of these

Q.14 Where were the manuscripts written?

(A) On palm leaf (B) On peepal leaf (C) On banana leaf (D) On tulsi leaf

Q.15 Where did the manuscripts keep safe?

(A) In temples and monasteries (B) In museums

(C) Both (A) and (B) (D) None of these

Q.16 Who are historians?

(A) Who study past (B) Who study present

(C) Who study future (D) None of these

Q.17 How did the people ofAndaman Islands get their food?

(A)Byfishing (B)Byhunting

(C) By collecting the forest products (D)All of these

Q.18 What does help us to find out the records of hunters, fishing folk etc.?

(A)Archaeology (B)Astrology (C) Biology (D)All of these

Q.19 When did agriculture start?

(A) 4700 years ago (B) 2500 years ago (C) 8000 years ago (D) 5500 years ago

Q.20 In what ways the ancient coin was different from the ones we use today?

(A) Theymade of stones (B) They made of baked clay

(C) They made of bones (D)All of these

Q.21 In which language the manuscripts were written?

(A) Sanskrit (B)English (C) Hindi (D) None of these

SECTION – C

Q.1 Matchthe following.

Column-I Column-II

(a) Narmada Valley 1. The firstbigkingdom

(b) Magadha 2. Huntingandgathering

(c) Garohills 3. Cities about 2500 years ago

(d) Indus and its tributaries 4. Earlyagriculture

(e) GangaValley 5. The first cities



EXERCISE – 2

VERYSHORTANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q.1 Make a list of all the objects that archaeologists may find. Which of these could be made of stone?

Ans. Archaeologists mayfindpotteries, skeletons, ornaments,tools,statues,toys,clothes,etc.Statues, potteries and toys

could be made of stone.

Q.2 Which were the first crops grown byhumans?

Ans. Rice and barley

Q.3 Bark of which tree was used for writing?

Ans. Birch tree

Q.4 Which calendar is now being used in most parts of the world?

Ans. Gregorian calendar

Q.5 What is history?

Ans. The storyabout humankind’s past is called history.

Q.6 What is History?

Ans. It means life storyof man from earliest period till today.

Q.7 What areArtefacts?

Ans. The old objects like tools, weapons, pots, coins etc. which were used by early man.

Q.8 Which languages were used to write manuscripts?

Ans. Manyof the manuscripts were written in Sanskrit, Prakrit (language used byordinarypeople) andTamil.

Q.9 What are Inscriptions?

Ans. These are writings on relatively hard surfaces such as stone or metal.

Q10 What materials were used to make objects in the past?

Ans. Archaeologists have explored tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and coins of the past made of stone, bone,

baked clay and metal.

Q.11 Who are Historians?

Ans. Historians are the scholars who studythe past and use the word source to refer to the information found from

manuscripts, inscriptions and archaeology.

Q.12 What are the contents of the Manuscripts?

Ans. These books dealt with subjects such as religious beliefs and practices, the lives of kings, medicine and science.

Besides, there were epics, poems, and plays also.



SHORTANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q.1 Describe at least two ways in which you think the lives of kings would have been different from those of farmers.

Ans. Afarmer has to work in the field while a ruler does not need to do so.Aking’s main responsibility was to protect its

subjects, while a farmer’s main responsibility was to produce food grains.Afarmer’s life must have been full of

hardships.Aking’s life mayhave been more comfortable.

Q.2 What is an inscription?

Ans. A text inscribed on stone or any other hard surface is called inscription. Most of the inscriptions were written on

stone slabs or pillars. Such inscriptions usually contained order or message from the king. Some inscriptions

contained details of good deed by important people.

Q.3 Explain theimportance of history?

Ans. Importance of historyis as follows:

Historyhelps us in knowing about the past kings, kingdoms and the society.

History tells us about the way people lived, the food they ate and the clothes they wore.

History tells us about the great achievements or our ancestors.

Q.4 Where did man grow rice and wheat and barley for the first time?

Ans. Rice- The places where rice was first grown are to the north of the Vindhyas.

WheatandBarley-TheplacesnearSulaimanandKirtharhillstotheNorthwestofIndia(NowinPakistan).

Q.5 Where did the first cities develop?

Ans. About 4700 years ago, some of the earliest cities flourished on the banks of Indus and its tributaries.

Later, about 2500 years ago, cities developed on the banks of the Ganga and its tributaries, and along the seacoasts.

Q.6 State different ways through which we can find about past? We can know about our past through

Ans. 1. Manuscripts,

2. Inscriptions,

3. Through the findingsbytheArchaeologists,

4. Studies of the Historians

Q.7 Whywere Inscriptions made in the earlier times?

Ans. Sometimes, kings got their orders inscribed on the inscriptions so that people could see, read and obey them and

Thereareotherkindsofinscriptions,wheremenandwomen(includingkingsandqueens)recorded what theydid. For

example, kings often kept records of victories in battle.



Q.8 Who areArchaeologists? How do theyfunction?

Ans. There were manythings that were made and used in the past. Those who study these objects are called Archaeologists.

They studythe remains of buildings made of stone and brick, paintings and sculpture. They also exp lore and

excavate (dig under the surface of the earth) to find tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and coins.

Q.9 Why do you think ordinary men and women did not generally keep records of what they did?

Ans. Ordinary men and women generally did not keep records of what they did Because-

May be they were not educated enough.

They did not know how to keep records.

There were just few learned men who were busy writing records for king

Q.10 What things can be found through history?

Ans. There are several things we can find out —

What people ate,

The kinds of clothes they wore,

The houses in which theylived.

We canalso find out about the lives of hunters,herders, farmers, rulers, merchants,priests, crafts persons, artists,

musicians,and scientists.

LONGANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q.1 What are the two names by which our country is known? How did they originate?

Ans. India and Bharat are the names used for our country.

The word India comes from the river Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit. The Iranians and the Greeks who came

through the northwest about 2500 years ago and were familiar with the Indus, called it the Hindos or the Indos, and

the land to the east of the river was called India.

The name Bharata was used for a group of people who lived in the northwest, and who are mentioned in the

Rigveda, the earliest composition in Sanskrit. Later it was used for the country.

Q.2 State the difference between BC andAD.

Ans. BC

1. It stands for Before Christ.

2. It is counted backward.

3. All the dates are before the birth of Christ.

4. Sometimes BCE is used instead of BC. The letters CE stand for ‘Common Era’ and BCE for ‘Before Common

Era’



AD

1. It stands for ‘Anno Domini’, meaning ‘in the year of the Lord’ (i.e. Christ).

2. It is counted forward.

3. All the dates are after the birth of Christ.

4. Sometimes CE is used instead of AD. The letters CE stand for ‘Commo

Q.3 Why did people move from one place to another?

Ans. The people travelled from one part of the subcontinent to another for the following reasons-

1. Some men and women moved in search of livelihood,

2. They also moved to escape from natural disasters like floods or droughts.

3. Sometimes men marched in armies, conqueringothers’ lands.

4. Besides, merchants travelled with caravans or ships, carrying valuable goods from place to place.

5. Religious teachers walkedfrom village to village,town to town, stopping tooffer instruction and advice on the

way.

6. Some people perhaps travelled driven by a spirit of adventure, wanting to discover new and excitingplaces.



ANSWERS KEYEXERCISE – 1

SECTION – A

Q.1 BUDDHISTS

Q.2 SAMUDRAGUPTA

Q.3 KANISHKA J. HARSHA

Q.4 CHINESE

SECTION – B

Q.1 A Q.2 B Q.3 B Q.4 C Q.5 A Q.6 B Q.7 C

Q.8 A Q.9 B Q.10 A Q.11 A Q.12 C Q.13 A Q.14 A

Q.15 A Q.16 A Q.17 D Q.18 A Q.19 C Q.20 D Q.21 A

SECTION – C

Q.1 (A) 2 (B) 1 (C) 4 (D) 5 (E) 3

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