HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of the Earliest People

Haryana State Board HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of the Earliest People Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.

Haryana Board 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of the Earliest People

HBSE 6th Class History On The Trail of the Earliest People Textbook Questions and Answers

LET’S RECALL

Question 1.
Complete the following sentences:

1. Hunter-gatherers chose to live in caves and rock shelters because ————-.
2. Grasslands developed around ————- years ago.
3. Early people painted on the ————- of caves.
4. In Hunsgi, tools were made of ————- .

Answer:

  1. they provided shelter from the rain, heat and wind
  2. 12,000
  3. walls
  4. Lime-stone.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of The Earliest People

Question 2.
Look at the present-day political map of the subcontinent on page 136 of the textbook. Find out the states where Bhimbetka, Hunsgi, and Kurnool are located. Would Tushar’s train have passed near any of these sites?
Answer:
Bhimbetka – Madhya Pradesh
Hunsgi – Karnataka
Kurnool – Andhra Pradesh
Thushar’s train would have passed near Bhimbetka, Hunsgi and Kurnool, since they all lie on tfie possible train route’ from Delhi to Chennai.

LET’S DISCUSS

Question 3.
Why did the hunter-gatherers travel from place to place ? In what ways are these similar to/different from the reasons for which we travel today.
Answer:
The hunter-gatherers travelled from place to place for the following reasons:
(a) If they had stayed at one place for a longtime, they would have eaten up all the available plant and animal resources. Therefore, they would have to go elsewhere in search of wood.
(b) Hunters also had to follow the movements of animals from place to place who moved in search of smaller prey or in search of grass and leaves.
(c) People also moved from season to season in search of different kinds of plants.
(d) People living on the banks of seasonal rivers would have had to move in search of water during the dry seasons.

Question 4.
What tools would you use today for cutting fruit ? What would they be made of?
Answer:
We will use knife, cutter, shilter, dagger, spoon, fork, etc., for cutting fruits.

  • They would be made of different metals like copper, bronze, iron, steel etc.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of The Earliest People

Question 5.
List three ways in which hunter-gatherers used fire. Would you use fire for any of these purposes today?
Answer:
Hunter-gatherers used fire for purposes like:

  • A source of light
  • A resources of cooking meat
  • A way to scare away wild animals.

Now-a-days we use fire for:

  • Cooking
  • To keep ourselves warm.

LET’S DO

Question 6.
Make two columns in your note book. In the left hand column, list the foods hunter-gatherers ate. In the right hand column, list some of the foods you eat. Do you notice any similarities/differences?
Answer:
Hunter-gatherers:
They ate meat of wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruits, roots, nuts seeds, leaves and shalks and egg. Most probably they ate raw meat.

Food which we eat:
Food consists of several cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables. It also contains meat, milk and milk products. Some of the food like vegetables can both be cooked or eaten raw.

Question 7.
List two tasks that are performed 1 by both men and women at present. List another two that are performed only by women, and two that are performed only by men. Compare your list with that of any two of your classmates. Do you notice any  similarities/differences in your lists?
Answer:
(a) Both men and women work in the offices as clerks and managers.
(b) Both men and women work in the police department.
(c) They work as pilots, doctors and engineers.
(d) Newsreaders on television and radios anchors other programmes.
Men
(a) Water transport. Mostly men row the boats or captain of the ship.
(b) Under water divers, who explore the sunk ships.
Women
(1) Nursing
Student should compare this list with others yourself.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of The Earliest People

HBSE 6th Class History On The Trail of The Earliest People Important Questions and Answers

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is a flint?
Answer:
A flint is a hard grey stone that can produce a spark whenever it is rubbed.

Question 2.
Who are hunter gatherers?
Answer:
‘Hunter-gatherers’ is the name which comes from the way people collected food. Generally they hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruitsroots, nuts, seeds etc.

Question 3.
What did the immense variety of plants in a tropical land suggest?
Answer:
It meant that gathering plant produce was an extremely important means of obtaining food.

Question 4.
Where is water found?
Answer:
Water is found in lakes, streams and rivers.

Question 5.
What was fire used for?
Answer:
Fire was used to cook meat, as a source of light and to scare away animals.

Question 6.
Why did people choose to live in the Narmada valley?
Answer:
People choose the Narmada valley because water was easily available. Natural caves and rock shelters are found in the Vindhyas and Deccan plateau, close to the river.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of The Earliest People

Question 7.
How do we come to know about these early people?
Answer:
Archaeologists have found some of the things used by hunter-gatherers. They may have made tools of stone, wood and bone tools which could help them to survive easily.

Question 8.
What are factory sites?
Answer:
Places where stone was found and where people made tools are known as factory-sites.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
How did the hunter-gatherer used the stone-tools?
Answer:
Some of the stone tools were used to

  1. cut meat and bone
  2. scrap bark from trees and hides
  3. chop fruits and roots.
  4. Some may have been attached to handles to make spears and arrows for hunting arrows.
  5. Chop wood which was used as fire wood.
  6. Wood was also used to make huts and tools.
  7. Digging the ground to collect edible roots.
  8. Stitching clothes made of animal skin.

Question 2.
How were the cave paintings found in France? Describe the paintings.
Answer:
The cave paintings in France were discovered by four school children, more than a hundred years ago. They were made between 20,000 and’10,000 years ago. Many of these were of animals, such as wild horses, Aurochs (order wild form of cattle), bison, woolly rhinoceros and bear painted in bright colours.

These colours were made from minerals like ochre or ion ore and charcoal. They were possibly made on ceremonial occasions or for special rituals.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of The Earliest People

Question 3.
Write a note on Mesolithic Age.
Answer:
(a) The period when we find environmental changes, beginning about 12,000 years ago till about 10,000 years ago is called the Mesolithic (middle stone).
(b) Stone tools found during this period are generally tiny, and are called microliths.
(c) Microliths were probably stuck on to handles of bones or wood to make tools such as sows and sickles.

Question 4.
How can we say that the people know about fire? How was it used? How do we use it?
Answer:
Traces of ash have been found in the Kurnool caves in Tamil Nadu. This suggested that people knew about fire. Fire could have been used as a
(1) source of light
(2) to cook meat
(3) to scare away animals.
We use fire for cooking food.

Question 5.
How can we say that ostrich once lived in India ? Where do we find ostriches today?
Answer:
Ostrichs were found in India during the Palaeolithic period. Large quantities of ostrich shells have been found at Patne in Maharashtra. Designs were engraved on some pieces, white beads were also made out of them. They may have been used to make ornaments. Today ostriches are found in South Africa, where ostrich farms have been developed. They are used to give joy ride to the people.

Question 6.
Why were ‘hunter-gatherers’ called so?
Answer:
The ‘hunter-gatherers’ were called so because of the way in which they got their food. Generally, they hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks and eggs. Gathering plant produce was an extremely important means of obtaining food in a tropical land.

Question 7.
What are sites? Write about the things found at the sites.
Answer:
Sites are places where the remains of things (tools, pots, buildings etc.) were found. The things found were made, used and left behind by people. These things may have been found on the surface of the earth, buried under the earth, or sometimes even under water.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of The Earliest People

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What are the sites found at Hunsgi?
Answer:

  • A number of early Palaeolithic sites were found at Hunsgi.
  • At some sites, a large number of tools used for all activities were found. These were probably habitation-cum-factory sites.
  • At some other sites, tools were made.
  • Some of the sites were close to the springs.

Question 2.
Do we know how the work was distributed between men and women?
Answer:
The earliest people hunted animals and gathered plants produce, made stone tools and painted on cave walls. At present we do not know who went to hunt animals, or made stone tools or painted on the walls of the caves or gathered plant produce. It may be likely that both men and women did many work together. It is also possible that the men performed some tasks and women did some other work. Again there could have been different practices in different parts of the sub-continent.

Question 3.
How did the people learn about herding and growing of plants?
Answer:
Around 12000 years ago, there were major changes in the climate of the world, with a shift to warm conditions. In many areas, this led to the development of grasslands, this in turn led to an increase in the number of deer, antelope, goat, sheep and cattle i.e., animals that survived on grass.

People learnt herding:
Those who hunted these animals now followed them, learning about their food habits and their breeding season. It is likely that this helped people to start thinking about herding and rearing these animals themselves.

People learn to grow plants:
This was also the time when several grain bearing grasses including wheat, barley, rice etc. grow naturally in different parts of the sub-continent. Men, women and children probably collected these grains as food and learnt where they grew and when they ripened, this may have led them to think about growing plants on their own.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of The Earliest People

Question 4.
How were stone tools made by the people?
Answer:
There were two techniques to make tools. They are:
(i) The first is called stone on stone. Here the pebble, from which the tool was to be made (also called the core) was held in one hand. Another stone which was used as a hammer was held in the other hand. The second stone was used to strike off flakes from the first, till the required shape was obtained.

(ii) Pressure Flaking:
Here the core was placed on a firm surface. The hammer stone was used on a piece of stone or bone that was placed on the core, to remove flakes that could be 7 shaped into tools.

Question 5.
Give four reasons why hunter-gatherers moved from place to place.
Answer:
The hunter-gatherers moved from place to place:
(i) First, if they had stayed at one place for a long time, they would have eaten up all the available plants and animal resources. Therefore, they would have had to go elsewhere in search of food.

(ii) Animals move from place to place-either in search of small prey or in case of deer and wild cattle, in search of grass and leaves. That is why the hunters had to follow the animals.

(iii) Third plants and trees bear fruit in different seasons so people may have moved from season to season in search of different kinds of plants.

(iv) People, animals and plants need water to survive. Water is found in lakes, streams, and rivers. While many lakes and rivers get water throughout the year, others are seasonal. People living on their banks would have had to go in search of water during the dry seasons (summer and winter).

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 2 On The Trail of The Earliest People

On The Trail of the Earliest People Class 6 HBSE Notes

  • Food gatherer: It means a living being that roams in search of food.
  • Food producer: It means a living being that can sow and grow food giving plants for his food.
  • Barter system: The system of exchange of articles is called the barter system.
  • Flint: Hard grey stones that can produce a spark by rubbing are called flint.
  • Old Stone Age: The period when man used crude stone tools and weapons. They even led a nomadic life called the Palaeolithic age. It is also known as Old Stone Age.
  • Mesolithic age: The transitional phase between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic ages is called the Mesolithic age.
  • Site: A site is a place where archaeological evidence is found. Habitation is the site where the people live.
  • Microliths: Microliths are very small-sized tools: which were used by people at the beginning of the Neolithic age.

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