History

What, Where, How and When?

Question:

What are the different ways to find out about the past? Describe briefly. [Imp.]

Answer:

The different ways to find out about the past are following:
(i) Manuscripts. These were hand-written matter. They were usually written on palm leaf or the bark of the birch tree. While many of these manuscripts got destroyed, many have survived in temples and monastaries. These books dealt with all kinds of subjects such as religious beliefs and practices, the lives of kings, medicines and science. These manuscripts also included epics, poems, plays.
(ii)Inscriptions are writings on relatively hard surfaces such as stone or metal. Sometimes, kings got their orders inscribed in order to make common people aware of them. Some inscriptions kept records of victories in battle.
(iii)Archaeological excavations or evidences. Archaeology means the study of cultures of the past and of periods of history by examining the remains of buildings and objects found in the earth. Archaeologists explore and dig earth to find tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and coins. These things provide us valuable information about the past.

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What, Where, How and When?

Q 1.

What were the subjects on which books were written in the past? Which of these would you like to read?

Q 2.

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

Q 3.

What was the job of religious teachers?     [V. Imp.]

Q 4.

What was used in the ancient times to write manuscripts?

Q 5.

What are tributaries? [V. Imp.]

Q 6.

Name the tributary of the river Ganga.

Q 7.

Where are the Garo hills located?

Q 8.

What are inscriptions?

Q 9.

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

Q 10.

Where was Magadha located?

Q 11.

From where does the word India come?

Q 12.

What do you know about the location of the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills?
Or
Where are the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills located?

Q 13.

Who are archaeologist? What do they do? [V. Imp.]

Q 14.

Find the word crafts persons' on page of textbook. In list at least five different crafts that you know about today. Are the crafts persons (a) men (b) women (c) both men and women

Q 15.

How are city people different from the people living in the Andaman Islands?

Q 16.

What is meant by manuscript?

Q 17.

List one major difference between manuscripts and inscriptions.

Q 18.

How can you say that historians and archaeologists are like detectives? [V. Imp.]

Q 19.

Fill in the blanks with appropriate words to complete each sentence:
(i) Men and women moved in search of……………… and to escape from ..
(ii)The name India was given by the Iranians and the ………………
(iii)The bark of the birch tree was used to prepare………………
(iv)Inscriptions were written on hard surfaces like………………
(v) Travelling from one place to another led to ……………..

Q 20.

People in the earliest times used to travel from one place to another. But their journeys were full of dangers. What type of dangers did they face?

Q 21.

How was travelling an important part of life of the people in the past? [V. Imp.]

Q 22.

Why was Magadha famous? [V. Imp.]

Q 23.

Why do archaeologists look for bones of animals, birds and fish?

Q 24.

Name any two animals which the people of the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills reared.

Q 25.

What are the occupations of the people of the Andaman Islands?

Q 26.

What are the different ways to find out about the past? Describe briefly. [Imp.]

Q 27.

What do you know about the earliest people who lived along the banks of river Narmada for several hundred thousand years?

Q 28.

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

Q 29.

Return to Rasheeda's question. Can you think of some answers to it?