Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Past Chapter 1
Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1
In the academic discipline of history, the narrative is also employed to describe, examine, and analyse historical events as well as to explore cause-and-effect connections. Historians typically disagree about whose account of an event best captures its essence, in addition to analysing the significance of various causes and results. Chapter 1 of Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts is What, Where, How and When. While reading a newspaper, Rasheeda has a few questions about the past. . By comprehending how people lived in the past, where they lived, the names of the area, the insights we gain from old texts and inscriptions, and the signs and symbols used by people in the past, this chapter will systematically help in answering her questions. Chapter 1 Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Important Questions helps students grasp the concepts of the entire chapter.
Social Science Our Pasts Class 6 Chapter 1 Important Questions are put together by Extramarks specialists using the NCERT Textbook, other reference books, past years’ questions, and other sources. Our history experts have created a list of step-by-step answers to help students comprehend each chapter. The Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1 Important Questions are available for students once they register with Extramarks.
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Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1- with Solutions
The History subject experts of Extramarks have designed an entire list of Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1 with the help of several sources. While going through the chapter, Rasheeds has a few queries. . This chapter will step-by-step assist in answering her queries by understanding how people in the past lived, where they lived, the names of the region, the lessons we learn from ancient books and inscriptions, and the signs and symbols they employed to communicate. These questions and solutions help students better understand the topic. .
Mentioned below are a few Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1 and their solutions:
Question 1. Describe at least 2 ways in which you think the lives of kings would have been different from those of farmers.
Answer 1. The following are some ways in which the lives of kings are different from farmers:
- Farmers lacked the total power that kings had over all of their subjects, regardless of their occupation.
- Kings lived in palaces or palatial buildings While the farmers lived in a small hut and kutcha houses.
- The farmers’ job was to cultivate food, while the King’s job was to defend his country by fighting battles.
Question 2. What objects were discovered during an excavation, and how are archaeologists interpreting them to learn more about the past?
Answer 2. The historians and the anthropologists who write and interpret history are historians and anthropologists. The people who examine artefacts or other kinds of finds found at an excavation site are known as archaeologists. Both archaeologists and historians look into these finds, and their conclusions become a part of history. There are various ways of figuring out the past. Among other things, they read books, inscriptions, epics, and tales. These works address a wide range of prehistoric practises, including monarchies, science, medicine, and religious practises and beliefs. Tamil and Prakrit were the next most popular writing systems in ancient India, after Sanskrit.
Question 3. List one major difference between manuscripts and inscriptions.
Answer 3. Manuscripts – These were written by hand; typically, they were written on palm leaves or on specially prepared bark from the birch tree, which is a kind of tree native to the Himalayas.
Inscriptions are written words that have been etched on relatively hard materials like stone or metal.
Question 4. What do you mean by “Pasts”?
Answer 4. The term past is pluralised as pasts. This phrase draws great attention to the fact that history may exist in several iterations. Our textbook also mentions History as “Our Pasts”.Different people and characteristics can have quite different pasts. The emperors and queens lived in one world, while farmers and herders lived in another. For instance, merchants’ lifestyle was different from that of craftermens, and so on. In addition to it, there are other differences. Different kingdoms engaged in numerous wars, and they often kept records of their victories on inscriptions Sometimes Kings got their orders inscribed in order to make the common people aware of them.On the other hand, the common people like farmers, fishermen, hunters, and gatherers did not keep records of their daily activities. This explains why pasts rather than pasts were mentioned.
Question 5. Why do you think ordinary men and women did not generally keep records of what they did?
Answer 5. In the past, keeping records was more difficult than it is today. Kings typically kept records to highlight their military achievements. These records were kept by engraving on stones, a difficult process beyond the reach of the common men and they did not have any significant achievement to be recorded from their daily lives.
Question 6. Why did people in the past relocate from one location to another? Explain.
Answer 6. In the past, people would move from one place to another. They travelled across the Himalayas as well as other high mountains, rivers, deserts, and oceans. The rough and dangerous roads on their treks occasionally unsettled them, but they were never impossibly difficult. In search of food, shelter and to avoid natural calamities like floods and droughts, men and women relocated from one location to another. Men marched in armies to seize other people’s lands. Merchants employed caravans or ships to travel for business. They moved significant artefacts from one place to another. From one town to the next and from one hamlet to the next, religious leaders spread their Dharma. Some people only travel for adventure.
Question 7. Return to Rasheeda’s question. Can you think of some answers to it?
Answer 7. Four options come to mind:
- Tools and weapons
- Inscriptions
- Reading books written in the past.
- Manuscripts
Question 8. What role do manuscripts and inscriptions have in reconstructing the past?
Answer 8. Manu, meaning “handmade writing,” is used to interpret manuscripts. Latin is the source of the term “Manu.” Usually, these scripts were written on palm leaves or carefully prepared bark of the birch tree. These kinds of trees are still present in the Himalayas. These writings addressed a wide range of prehistoric practises, including royal families and kingdoms, science, and medicine.
Inscriptions were carved on hard surfaces like metal and stones. For their commands to be read and carried out, rulers used to write them down in this manner. The military histories and lives of rulers were also chronicled in these inscriptions. Sometimes, kings got their orders inscribed in order to make common people aware of them. Some inscriptions kept records of victories in battle.
Question 9. Make a list of all objects that archaeologists may find. Which of these could be made of stone?
Answer 9. Archaeologists may make nine distinct kinds of discoveries:
- Ornaments
- Coins
- Pots
- Pans
- Tools
- Weapons
- Paintings
- Sculpture
Following are some examples of products that can be created with stones:
- Weapons
- Ornaments
- Buildings
- Tools
Question 10. How did our nation’s names come about?
Answer 10. Names for our nation:
- India and Bharat are two of the terms we frequently use to refer to our nation. The Indus, known in Sanskrit as Sindhu, is where the term India originates.
- The Indus River was known as the Hindos or the Indos by the Iranians and the Greeks who travelled all through the northwest some 2500 years ago. India was the name given to the region east of the Indus River.
- A group of people who resided in the northwest and are referenced in the Rigveda, the oldest Sanskrit work, used the name Bharat (dated to about 3500 years ago). Later, it was applied to the nation.
Question 11. “The people of India shared their ideas since the earliest days”. Briefly describe the statement.
Answer 11. The explanation is as follows:
- India’s population moved throughout the continent from one region to another. Travel was occasionally hazardous but never impossible due to the Himalayas, hills, steep mountains, deserts, rivers, and oceans.
- The inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent travelled in pursuit of work as well as to avoid natural disasters (such as floods, earthquakes, drought, and epidemics).
- Men have occasionally marched in armies to seize territory from others.
- Merchants moved from place to place on ships or caravans carrying precious items.
- Religious leaders usually travelled on foot from town to town and village to hamlet, pausing along the way to impart knowledge and counsel.
- Maybe some folks finally travelled because they were adventurous and loved to explore different places in search of new pastures and land…
All of these encouraged Indians to share and exchange ideas.
Question 12. How well do you know about Magadha?
Answer 12. The following are some facts about Magadha:
- The earliest and biggest empire in India was called Magadha.
- The name Magadha was given to the region south of the Ganga and along some significant northern Indian rivers.
- Its kings possessed great authority (Bimbisara, Ajatashatru and Udaibhadra).
- They founded a sizable kingdom. (A few lesser kingdoms were also established in other regions of the nation.)
Question 13. What are the many methods for learning about the past? Justify briefly.
Answer 13. The following are some of the several methods for learning about the past:
- Manuscripts: These were handwritten documents. Usually, they were penned on palm leaves or the bark of birch trees. Despite being destroyed and burnt in large numbers, many of these writings are still preserved in temples and monasteries. These publications covered various topics, including science, king’s lives, medicine, and religious beliefs and customs. Epics, poetry, and dramas were also contained in these texts.
- Inscriptions: Writings on relatively hard surfaces, such as stone or metal, are called inscriptions. Sometimes rulers had their decrees written down to inform the populace about them. Some inscriptions recorded military triumphs.
- Archaeological excavations or evidence: Archaeology is the study of ancient civilisations and historical eras via examination of the remnants of structures and artefacts discovered underground. Archaeologists scour and excavate the ground to find tools, weapons, pots, pans, decorations, and coins. These objects give us important historical knowledge.
Question 14. How did people’s lives in the past involve travelling in a significant way?
Answer 14. In the past, people enjoyed travelling from one location to another. . Even though deserts, rivers, oceans, and high mountains like the Himalayas and hills provided significant challenges to travellers, that didn’t deter them. . They relocated in search of work, food and shelter. Additionally, they had the idea of escaping from calamities caused by nature, including floods and droughts. Men have occasionally marched in armies to conquer the countries of others.
Merchants used caravans or ships to travel. They moved priceless cargo from one location to another. Religious instructors once travelled by foot from town to town and village to hamlet. The individuals they encountered along the route received guidance and counsel from them. Some folks travelled because they were inherently adventurous and enjoyed travelling to new locations.
Question 15. How did humans in the Stone Age survive?
Answer 15. The Stone Age People’sPeople’s Way of Life:
- Along the banks of some rivers, some of the earliest populations were found. They had a knack for gathering food. They gathered roots, fruits, and other forest products for nourishment since they were aware of the enormous variety of plants in the nearby forests.
- In the Stone Age, the earliest humans were also engaged in animal and bird hunting. They formerly caught fish as well.
- River-valley regions are some places where people started growing crops like barley and wheat roughly around 8000 years ago. They also started raising cattle, goats, dogs, sheep, and other animals, such as cows.
Question 16. Hunter-gatherers: who were they? What kind of lifestyle did they lead?
Answer 16. Hunter-gatherers were people who used to hunt and collect food. They had mastered hunting and gathering. They were well-versed in a variety of cuisines. They obtained their food from roots, forests, and trees, as well as by hunting animals. They used to live next to a river since it provided water, animals, and different kinds of trees, and the settlements were close to forests. It made it easier for them to procure items of daily necessities, tools, fishing, hunting and forest produce.
Question 17. What differentiates residents of cities from those of the Andaman Islands?
Answer 17. The inhabitants of the Andaman Islands can manage their food supply by hunting, fishing, and gathering foraged goods. On the other hand, people in cities rely on outside sources for their sustenance.
Question 18. How is it possible to compare historians and archaeologists to detectives?
Answer 18. The term “source” is frequently used by historians to describe the knowledge gleaned through manuscripts, inscriptions, and archaeology. Finding sources enables us to piece together the past, making learning about it an experience. So, like detectives, historians and archaeologists utilise these sources as hints to piece together the past.
Question 19. From the very beginning, people have moved from one location to another. But there were many risks involved during their travels. What kinds of threats did they encounter?
Answer 19. Indeed, humans have always travelled from one area to another. However, their travels were perilous. They faced threats from the hills, and high mountains like the Himalayas, deserts, rivers, and oceans. However, they were never terrified of them. Instead, they bravely overcame these dangers and continued to travel.
Question 20. How do archaeologists work? How do they conduct?
Answer 20. People who examine and analyse artefacts from the past are known as archaeologists. They examine the murals, sculptures, and architectural remnants constructed of stone and brick. Additionally, they dig and investigate the dirt in search of money, tools, weapons, pots, and pans.
Question 21. How do archaeologists determine the past’s dates?
Answer 21. The period and date are indicated by historians using several techniques. The two most widely used abbreviations are “BC” and “AD.” The pre-Christ period is indicated by the letter “BC,” which stands for “Before Christ.” “Anno Domini,” the Latin term for “in the year of the Lord,” is represented by the letter AD.
Question 22. How do archaeologists and historians learn about the past?
Answer 22. As well as helping historians and archaeologists define and understand the history and its different parts, the site has produced scripts, tools, weapons, pans, pots, decorations, coins, metals, and the remnants of stone and brick constructions.
Question 23. How did the kings command their subjects?
Answer 23. The stones were updated every time a king issued a new decree or order. This was done because the orders might easily be removed or harmed after staying in place for a long time using this method.
Question 24. Which Indian archaeological sites were first investigated?
Answer 24. The first sites in India to be unearthed belonged to the Indus Valley and Harappan Civilizations. These areas feature stunning buildings and a well-run way of life. They enjoyed a plethora of agricultural and mineral resources and engaged in cross-border commerce.
The above section of Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1 covers all the chapter’s important concepts.
Benefits of Solving Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1
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Q.1 Two statements are given in the question below as Assertion (A) and Reasoning (R). Read the statements and choose the appropriate option.
Assertion (A): Some people perhaps traveled driven by a spirit of adventure, wanting to discover new and exciting places.
Reason (R): The manuscripts were written about a thousand years ago. The palm leaves were cut into pages and tied together to make books.
Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
Both A and R are true, and R is not the correct explanation of A.
A is true but R is false.
A is false but R is true.
Marks:1
Ans
Some people may have travelled with an adventurous spirit, desiring to see new and fascinating areas, in the past. Ancient manuscripts date back over a thousand years. To make them, palm leaves were sliced into pages and tied together.
Q.2 Consider the following statements about people travelling from one place to another and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
I. Merchants travelled with caravans or ships, carrying valuable goods from place to place.
II. Religious teachers walked from village to village, town to town, stopping to offer instruction and advice on the way.
III. Some people never wanted to travel and discover new places.
IV. All these led to the sharing of ideas between people.
Only III
II, III, and IV
III and IV
I, II, and IV
Marks:1
Ans
Traders travelled by caravans or ships, transporting important items from one location to another. Religious teachers went from village to village, town to town, pausing along the way to give instructions and guidance. Finally, some people may have travelled with an adventurous attitude, desiring to see new and intriguing areas. All of this resulted in people exchanging ideas.
Q.3 Explain the meaning as well as the limitation of manuscripts. (3+2)
Marks:5
Ans
There are various methods for learning about the past. One option is to look for and read works from the past. Manuscripts are so-called since they were written by hand; the name comes from the Latin word ‘manu,’ which refers to hand. These were usually inscribed on palm leaves or the specially prepared bark of a Himalayan tree known as birch. Many of the manuscripts were written in Sanskrit, Prakrit (a language used by common individuals) and Tamil. The manuscripts include information about religious practices and beliefs and also about the lives of the king and medicines. Most of the manuscripts were written on perishable material.
Q.4 Throughout, people travelled from one part of the subcontinent to another.
Q.1 How did merchants and religious teachers travel? (3 marks)
Q.2 What led to sharing of ideas between people? (2 marks)
Marks:5
Ans
1. Moreover, traders travelled by caravans or ships, transporting important items from one location to another. Religious teachers also went from village to village, town to town, pausing along the way to give instruction and guidance.
2. Finally, some people may have travelled with an adventurous attitude, desiring to see new and intriguing areas. All of this resulted in people exchanging ideas.
Q.5 Historians and archaeologists are like detectives. Elucidate.
Marks:1
Ans
Archaeologists and historians both use the information that we receive from sources like manuscripts, archaeology, and inscriptions as clues to find out more about our past. Archaeologists study the remains of paintings, buildings, and sculptures, along with exploring and excavating to find ornaments, tools, weapons, pots, coins, and so on. After studying these objects, archaeologists gather a lot of information which is used further by historians to recover our pasts. Similarly, historians and archaeologists also work like detectives to investigate our past. Hence, archaeologists and historians are similar to detectives who use information as clues to investigate cases.
Q.6 Why do we have less information about the lives of ordinary people as compared to those of kings?
Marks:1
Ans
We have a great deal of information about the lives of kings, whereas we do not have as much information about the lives of ordinary people. This is because kings usually kept records of their lives, battles, and victories, while ordinary people did not write or keep records about their lives.
Q.7 How did the movement of people affect the culture of India?
Marks:1
Ans
The movement of the people helped enrich and strengthen the cultural traditions of the country by introducing various new methods of music composition, stone carving, cooking, etc.
Q.8 Highlight the role of the Indus River in naming the land.
Marks:1
Ans
The word “India” is derived from the word Indus. In ancient times, the Greeks and Iranians referred to the land to the east of Indus as India and called the Indus River the Indos or Hindos.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. What historical information can we gather from Class 6 history?
History for Grade 6 begins with a chapter devoted to historical sources and historical research techniques. The whole Class 6 syllabus focuses on how the early inhabitants of ancient India lived. It provides students with knowledge about everything from the great historical kingdoms to the development of religions to society as a whole. It includes a range of subjects and educates students about historical practises, traditions, and culture. To gather more information on the same, students can refer to Extramarks Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1.
2. Which of India's early civilizations have archaeologists discovered?
Numerous themes from ancient history are covered in class 6 history. The first chapter discusses the historical sources and how archaeologists get reliable data and conduct their research. The Harappan Civilization and the Indus Valley Civilization have the first discovered archaeological sites in India. These unearthed civilisations proved to be excellent historical sites and gave us a lot of knowledge about the prehistoric way of life. These civilisation’s inhabitants were intelligent and led well-organised lives.
3. How do archaeologists investigate the past?
People who study and analyse ancient texts and unearthed artefacts are called archaeologists. These artefacts, which help archaeologists reconstruct ancient culture and way of life, include weapons, writings, inscriptions, medals, decorations, coins, pots, utensils, carvings on walls and stones, and the remnants of old structures and buildings. They try to determine the approximate year of the occurrence of a historic event by the unearthed artefact and use a chronology to date the events in chronological order. To know more about this, students can refer to Extramarks Important Questions Class 6 Social Science Our Pasts Chapter 1.