Class 6 - Our Pasts - WHAT BOOKS AND BURIALS TELL US (Q and A)

Class 6 

Our Pasts 

WHAT BOOKS AND BURIALS TELL US 

Q & A based on NCERT Chapter

Megalith with port holes called cists

Q1: How many Vedas are there? Name them.

Answer: There are four Vedas. These are:
1. The Rigveda
2. The Samveda
3. The Yajurveda
4. The Atharveda


Q2: Name the oldest Veda.

Answer: The Rigveda. It was composed 3500 years ago.


Q3: Name the plant mentioned in the Rigveda which was used to prepare a special drink.

Answer: Soma


Q4: In which language The Rigveda was written?

Answer: Vedic Sanskrit


Q5: Give examples of Indo-European languages.

Answer: Sanskrit, Assamese, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, English, German




Q6: Give two examples of languages that belong to Dravidian family

Answer: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam


Q7: Languages spoken in Jharkhand and parts of central India belong to which family.

Answer:  Austro-Asiatic family


Q8: Name the rivers mentioned in the Rigveda.

Answer: Beas, Sutlej, Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati


Q9: Name the Veda composed of hymns. Some of these hymns praise the gods and talk about ritual sacrifices.

Answer: The Rigveda


Q10: Name the warrior god mentioned in the Rigveda whose thunderbolt and whose troops of charioteers dazzled and defeated enemies (non-Aryans).

Answer: Indra


Q11: Who were called non-Aryans in the Vedas?

Answer: Dasyu or Dasa.


Q12: Who were slaves? What were they called in Vedic period?

Answer: Slaves were women and men who were often captured in war. They were treated as the property of their owners, who could make them do whatever work they wanted. They were called Dasyus or Dasas.


Q13: What are stone boulders or big stones called? What do these boulders signify in Vedic period?

Answer: Megaliths. They often represent ritual grounds (eg altars) or burial grounds.


Q14:  (i) There were several things that people did to make megaliths. We have made a list here. Try and arrange them in the correct order: 
- digging pits in the earth, 
- transporting stones, 
- breaking boulders, 
- placing stones in position, 
- finding suitable stone, 
- shaping stones, 
- burying the dead. 
(ii) Was iron used in the Harappan cities?

Answer: (i) The correct order is :
- Digging pits in the earth,
- finding suitable stone,
- breaking boulders,
- shaping stones,
- burying the dead,
- placing stones in position;
- transporting stones.
(ii) yes. Tools and weapons of iron
     

Q15: What were the common features found in burials during Vedic Age?

Answer:
① The dead were buried with distinctive pots, which are called Black and Red Ware.
② Tools and weapons of iron
③ Skeletons of horses, horse equipment
④ Ornaments of stone and gold.

Q16 (NCERT): What kind of evidence from burials do archaeologists use to find out whether there were social differences amongst those who were buried?

Answer: Archaeologists found a skeleton buried with 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles, and one conch shell while other skeletons have only a few pots. It indicates there were social differences amongst those who were buried.


Q17: Name the famous Indian physician of Vedic age who wrote a book on medicine. Name the book also.

Answer: Charak. Name of the book is Charak Samhita.


Q18: List one difference between the raja of the Rigveda and these kings. 

Answer: The raja of Rigveda did not live in palaces. They did not have capital, cities, armies, etc. as the other kings of the same time.


Q19: The rigveda describes about two groups of people i.e. rajas and priests. What were their functions?

Answer: The two groups of people who are described in term of their work are the Priest and the Rajas. The priest performed various rituals whereas rajas were not like those who had capital cities, armies nor did they collect taxes.


Q20: Who composed the Vedic hymns?

Answer:
① These hymns were composed by sages (rishis).
② Priests taught students to recite and memorize each syllable, word, and sentence, bit by bit, with great care.
③ Most of the hymns were composed, taught and learnt by men. A few were composed by women.


Q21: Why were stone boulders or stone circles were placed on graves?

Answer: Probably these boulders acted as signposts so that people could return to the same place they wanted to.