NCERT Class 6th History Solutions Chapter 2 On The Trail of the Earliest People
1. Complete the sentences:
- Hunter-gatherers chose to live in caves and rock shelters because
- Grasslands developed around……….. years ago.
- Early people painted on the……… of caves.
- In Hunsgi, tools were made of……….
Answer:
- They wanted to be protected from wild animals and severe weather.
- 12,000
- walls
- limestone
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 Kumool are located. Would Tushar’s train have passed near any of these sites?
Answer: Bhimbetka — Madhya Pradesh
Hunsgi — Karnataka
Kumool — Andhra Pradesh
Tushar’s train would have travelled via Bhimbetka, Hunsgi, and Kumool, which are all on the Delhi-Chennai railway route.
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: Hunter-gatherers travelled from place to place for four basic reasons which are as follows: (also see flow-learning).
- They would have consumed all available plant and animal supplies if they remained in one place for a long period of time. As a result, they moved to another location to get additional meals.
- Animals go from one location to another. They were hunted by humans as they hunted them.
- Plants and trees produce fruit at various times of the year. As a result, as the seasons changed, people relocated.
- People travelled from place to place in search of water. Water is essential for life.
Nowadays, though, we travel for a number of reasons, including:
1. School- We go to schools for education.
2. Work.
3. Travel- We have to travel to go to work.
4. Business- For business objectives, people move from place to place.
5. Entertainment- We go from one location to another to entertain and amuse ourselves, such as visiting a circus, a zoo, or sightseeing.
4. What tools would you use today for cutting fruit? What would they be made of?
Answer: Today, for cutting fruit, we would use modem tools like knives, which are made of iron or steel.
5. List three ways in which hunter-gatherers used fire. Would you use fire for any of these purposes today? ,
Answer:
(a)
- Hunter-gatherers used fire as a source of light.
- They used fire to cook meat or food.
- They used fire to scare away animals also.
- Fire keeps him or her warm.
(b) Yes, fire is used as a cooking source, even for meat. We use it to stay warm as well. Some individuals use it to bury their dead bodies for religious reasons.
6. Make two columns in your notebook. 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:
Differences between the two eating habits: Today, we largely eat processed and cooked food, whereas the early people did not cook their food. They ate everything raw.
7. If you had a natural pebble-like like the ones shown on page 13 in the textbook, what would you use it for?
Answer:
1. I would have cut flesh and bone, scraped bark (from trees) and hides (animal skins), chopped fruit, and roots using some of these stone tools.
2. Some may have been connected to bone or wood handles to produce hunting spears and arrows.
3. Wood was chopped using other stone implements and used as firewood.
8. List two tasks that are performed 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: Two tasks that are performed by both men and women:
(a) Teaching (b) office jobs
Two tasks that are performed by only men:
(a) Mining (b) Working in a shipyard
Two tasks that are performed by only women:
(a) Nursing (b) Looking after home and hearth
Compare your lists yourself.