CBSE Class 6 Social Science History Revision Notes Chapter 1

CBSE Class 6 History Chapter 1 Notes – What, Where, How and When?

History is about the cultural and historical significance of places. It enables students to learn and understand the pasts of ancient architecture and civilization.

Extramarks Class 6 Chapter 1 History Notes offers students with an introduction to the history that comes before humans. 

Students must consider the following three issues to comprehend their way of life:

What materials did humans earlier use, and how did they make their clothing?

What differentiating roles existed among the communities that coexisted back then?

When did they start developing civilisational traits like making up games and caring about the looks of their clothes instead of just scavenging for their basic needs?

What, Where, How and When? Class 6 Notes History Chapter 1

Access Class 6 Social Science (History) Chapter 1 – What, Where, How and When?

History Throws Light on Various Aspects Like:

• The way of life of those who lived there a long time ago.
• Their eating patterns, attire and the kinds of homes they formerly resided in.

This chapter includes stories about the lives of various people, including hunters, herders, farmers, rulers, traders, priests, craftspeople, artists, scientists and musicians.

The People’s Places of Residence: People once resided on the Narmada River’s banks and were expert hunters and gatherers. Previously, they collected their own food. They were well aware of the abundance of plants in the nearby forests, and they regularly collected fruits, roots and other forest products to help them survive.

The inhabitants of the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills in the northwest began cultivating crops like wheat and barley about 8000 years ago.

While residing in the village, the residents of Sulaiman and Kirthar learned how to raise livestock like sheep, goats and cattle in addition to growing crops.

In the northeast’s Garo Hills, agriculture underwent significant development.

Two of the earliest cities, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, both flourished on the Indus River and its tributaries around 4700 years ago (the smaller rivers that flow into a larger river are termed as tributaries). This was known as the Indus Valley Civilisation.

On the banks of the Ganges and its tributaries as well as along the sea coasts, various civilisations began to emerge a few centuries later, which was approximately 2500 years ago.

The Ganges’ southern branch and its tributaries were referred to as Magadha. The city is currently located within the state of Bihar.  The kings of Magadha were extremely powerful, and they founded a sizable kingdom. Various kingdoms were established across the nation.

People used to travel from one location to another. Numerous hills, tall mountains (including the Himalayas), deserts, rivers and seas served as barriers and occasionally made travel extremely dangerous.

In the past, people used to travel great distances in search of food as well as to flee from calamities caused by earthquakes, floods and droughts.

People used to frequently travel together and conquer other people’s lands.

Traditionally, merchants would travel by ships or caravans and transport valuable goods from one location to another.

Many religious leaders wanted to spread different religious messages among the people. They used to travel from place to place to do so. These leaders preached and counselled the residents of towns and villages.

Fewer people used to travel solely to seek out adventure and see new places. This has improved India’s cultural traditions.

People from different places exchanged ideas of how to carve stones, compose music and prepare food while travelling.

Hills, mountains and seas make up the subcontinent’s natural borders. Very few of them were able to cross these borders. People from all over the world arrived and settled there.

Names of the Land

India and Bharat are two names used to refer to our nation.

The Indus, also called Sindhu in Sanskrit is where the word India comes from.

Around 2500 years ago, the Iranians and the Greeks named the region as India and the people who lived there as Hindus or Indos. They travelled through the northwest of the subcontinent to reach India.

The same area of land was known as Bharat by the inhabitants of North-West India. The Rigveda provides a detailed description of these individuals. The Rigveda is the oldest composition in Sanskrit and dates back about 3500 years.

Finding Out About the Past

There are numerous ways to understand a nation’s past. Reading works of literature from that period is one approach. These were manually written books referred to as “manuscripts.” The Latin word “manu,” which means “hand,” is where the word’s root comes from.

The manuscripts were typically written on tree bark or palm leaves. The bark of the birch tree underwent special treatment to facilitate writing. These trees were discovered in the Himalayas.

Due to improper manuscript preservation, many of them were destroyed. However, a large number of them are still present in temples and monasteries.

These books mentioned above covered a wide range of topics, including religion, epics, poetry, plays, etc.

Sanskrit was primarily used to write those books. In addition to Sanskrit, Tamil and Prakrit were also used.

The inscriptions are also a significant source for learning about the past. Inscriptions are writings made on abrasive materials like metal or stone.

The majority of the time, kingly orders were written for people’s convenience.

At that time, another type of inscription that was well-known was one that was written by the men and women themselves. Even the kings and queens also maintained such inscriptions. The kings, for instance, kept tabs on battle victories.

Archaeologists are currently studying such inscriptions and manuscripts. They examine the remnants of structures made of stones and bricks as well as artwork and sculptures. They explore and excavate the lands of various regions in search of various tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and coins used by the people of that time.

The aforementioned items were made of metal, baked clay, stone or bone. They were constructed from solid, long-lasting parts and typically lasted for a long time.

Archaeologists also looked at the bones of animals, birds and fish to learn more about the  eating habits of ancient people. They learnt that they used to burn the seeds of grains or pieces of wood, as they found the charred remains of plants.

So, there are three ways to learn about a person’s past: through manuscripts, inscriptions, and archaeology.

Different Past of Different People

Each group of people had a unique history. The past of farmers and herders was very dissimilar from that of kings and queens. Both the merchants and the artisans had unique pasts.

People in different regions of the country had different customs and practises.

There were not much records found about hunters, fishermen, gatherers, farmers and herders. Therefore, the majority of these people’s lives are still unknown.

Important Questions and Answers

1. Make a brief note about inscriptions.

Ans: Inscriptions are hard-surfaced written records of historic events. The most commonly notes events were of kings’ and queens’ conquests and heroic performances. Archaeologists discovered records that were inscribed thousands of years ago. Each inscription is made up of different scripts and languages. Languages and scripts were constantly changing from time to time. The languages and scripts on the inscriptions are identified using a specific technique. Decipherment is the process of identifying the language of scripts. The majority of inscriptions were written in pictorial forms. It was the simplest way to express emotions.

1. What do you mean by numismatics?

Ans: Numismatics is the study or collection of currency. Currency includes coins, tokens, paper money, and other related objects. Numismatics is one of the important studies that sheds light on the country’s history. Various coins were used as a medium of exchange in the Indus Valley Civilisation a long time ago. The types of coins and their characteristics had gradually changed over time. Different eras are represented by coins from different periods. Images of the reigning kings and queens were inscribed on the coins. Numismatics is the study of coins to learn about our country’s history.

Revision Notes for Class 6 History Chapter 1 What, Where, How and When

Civilisations & How People Used to Live

People have found shelter and developed a way of life along the banks of the Narmada river for the longest time (possibly hundreds of thousands of years). The way of life they developed for themselves as a result of their knowledge and use of the numerous plants that grew in the nearby forests and fields. One can also assume that animals lived there because of the abundant vegetation that was present at the time. Keeping this in mind, the people of that time hunted animals for food as well as gathered and ate various roots, fruits and other foods to support themselves and their families. Civilisation-like behaviours emerged 8000 years ago with people cultivating grains like wheat and barley. Additionally, they began domesticating animals like sheep and cattle and started living in villages.

The first rice-growing regions can be found in the north of the renowned Vindhya Mountains. The most notable advancement in human development occurred 2500 years ago for the civilisation that inhabited the Narmada Banks. At this time, cities began to grow and their foundations were established along the sea coasts as well as the banks of the Ganges. Class 6 History Chapter 1 Notes on What, Where, How and When? extensively cover these topics for quicker revisions and aid students in their exam preparation.

History

Magadha, which was formerly found south of the Ganga and its tributary rivers, is now part of Bihar. A sizable portion of India’s cultural traditions can be attributed to locations like Magadha because they represent migratory behaviour. For example,  men and women shifted to different areas to seek refuge from natural disasters. These movements had an impact on their upbringing, as well as the types of tastes they have for things like food, music and how they developed over time. One of the topics covered in the “What, Where, How and When” Class 6 History Chapter 1 Notes is understanding Magadha.

The Land

The definitions of our country gave rise to the names India and Bharat.

India

The word Indus is the root of the name “India.” When the Greeks first arrived in the northwest of our country, 2500 years ago, they called the local people ‘Indos’ or ‘Hindus’. The term “India” was first used by  the Greeks.

Bharata

The word “Bharata” is derived from the word “Bharatvarsha,” which was the given name of the nobleman Bharata Chakravarti, the eponymous ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas and the founder of the Bharata Dynasty.

Understanding the Past

Reading about the past is the only way to comprehend the past. The earliest writing materials included leaves, such as banana and palm leaves and occasionally wood as well.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts are important historical records that detail the evolution of ideologies and philosophical/religious beliefs. It also includes religious texts and interpretations of kingship. Such manuscripts have even been found to contain texts referring to gods.

Inscriptions

They were composed of writings and orders from kings that were permanently engraved into metals and stones. One of the earliest types of historical documentation was an inscription, which included notes and discoveries made at the time.