Class 6 - Our Pasts - CH2 - On the Trail of The Earliest People

NCERT Chapter Solutions and other Q & A

Stone Age Breakfast
(source:http://www.clipart-history.com)

Q1: Complete the sentences:
Answer:
(a) Hunter-gatherers chose to live in caves and rock shelters because they provided shelter from the rain, heat and wind.

(b) Grasslands developed around __12000__years ago.

(c) Early people painted on the walls of caves.

(d) In Hunsgi, tools were made of  limestone.


Q2: Look at the present-day political map of the subcontinent on page 136. 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

Yes, Tushar’s train would have passed near any of these sites.




Bhimbetka Rock shelters  is world heritage site famous for its Stone age rock paintings.These are believed to be 150,000 years old.

Bhimbetka Rock Paintings
(source:wikipedia)

Q3: 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 following possible reasons:

1. To search for food once the available animal and plants resources had exhausted.
2. Animals move to one place to another place. Hunter-gathers might move to another place while hunting them.
3. Plants bear fruits in different seasons. They might move season to season in search of these plants and fruits.
4. Some Rivers and lakes are seasonal. people living near to these regions moved to other places when these area dried up.  
5. They might travel to meet their friends and relatives.

Now-a-days people travel for different reasons. They usually travel for picnics, business purposes, meet their friends and relatives and visit places for leisure.

Q4: What tools would you use today for cutting fruit? What would they be made of?
Answer: Now-a-days we use knives, peelers for cutting, peeling and chopping fruits. These tools are made of stainless steel with wooden or plastic handles. The modern knives are very different from stone age tools used to cut fruits. Stone age tools were made of stones with handles made up of wood or bones.

Q5: List three ways in which hunter-gatherers used fire (see page16). Would you use fire for any of these purposes today?

Answer: The ways hunter-gathers used fire are:

1. They used fire to scare away animals.
2. To cook meat.
3. To warm themselves during the cold weather.
4. Used as as a source of light.

Q6: Who were hunter-gatherers? When did they exist in our sub-continent?

Answer: Hunter-gatherers were groups of people who went hunting wild animals, fish and birds and gathering for food, items like fruits, seeds etc.They hunt and gather in small groups and move from place to place (nomads) with all the animals. Later they were replaced by agricultural societies.
They lived in the subcontinent as early as two million years ago.

Q7: What do you mean by Pre-History? How it is divided into different phases?

Answer: Pre-history means a period of no written evidences. It is divided into many phases as shown.

Q8(Important): What were the techniques applied in making stone tools?

Answer: Usually two types of techniques were used for making stone tools:

1. Stone on Stone: In this technique, the pebble from which the tool was to be made (called the core) was held in one hand. Another stone,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.
2. Pressure Flaking: Here the core was placed on a firm surface. The hammer stone was used on a piece of bone or stone that was placed on the core, to remove flakes in order to obtain required shape.