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Iron Tools and Agriculture

Use of iron can be traced back 3000 years with growing use reflecting some 2500 years ago. These iron tools used included axes for clearing forests and the iron ploughshare, most useful for increasing agricultural production.

Other steps to increase production: irrigation

Kings and kingdoms needed the support of flourishing villages to exist. The new tools and the system of transplantation increased production. Irrigation was also used. Irrigation works built during this time included canals, wells, tanks, and artificial lakes.

Who lived in the villages?

3 different kinds of people lived in villages in the southern and northern parts of the subcontinent. Large landowners were known as vellalar, whereas ordinary ploughmen were known as uzhavar. Meanwhile, landless labourers, including slaves, were known as kadaisiyar and adimai. The northern part of the country had village headman or grama bhojaka. The men from the same family held the position for generations and post was hereditary for grama bhojaka. He was the largest landowner and had slaves. He hired workers to cultivate the land and was powerful. King often used him to collect taxes from the village. He functioned as a judge and policeman. Apart from the grama bhojaka, other independent farmers-grihapatis were smaller landowners. The men and women such as the dasa karmakara did do not own land, but had to earn a living working on the fields owned by others. In most villages, there were also some crafts persons such as the blacksmith, potter, carpenter and weaver.

Jatakas are stories that were composed by ordinary people and written down and preserved by Buddhist monks. Other kinds of evidence to find out about life in some of these early cities. Sculptor’s carved scenes depicting peoples’ lives in towns, villages and forest and were used to decorate railings, pillars and gateways of buildings that were visited by people.

Cities developed from about 2500 years ago as capitals of the mahajanapadas. Some of these cities were surrounded by massive fortification walls and archaeologists have found rows of pots or ceramic rings arranged one on top of the other, known as ring wells. They were used as toilets in some cases and as drains and garbage dumps. These are usually found in individual houses. There was hardly any remains of palaces, markets, or of homes of ordinary people. They are yet to be discovered by archaeologists. Others, made of wood, mud-brick and thatch, may not have survived. Find out about early cities from accounts of sailors and travellers who visited them. Most detailed accounts that have been found was by an unknown Greek sailor, which described all the ports he visited.

Coins

Wealth measured in terms of coins and archaeologists found several thousands of coins belonging to this period. Earliest coins were in use for about 500 years with punch marked coins that are generally rectangular or sometimes square or round in shape. These are cut out of metal sheets or made out of flattened metal globules (a small spherical body) and not inscribed, but were stamped with symbols using dies or punches. These coins found over most parts of the subcontinent were in circulation till the early centuries CE.

Cities with many functions

Mathura is an important settlement for more than 2500 years which is important, located at the crossroads of two major routes of travel and trade — from the northwest to the east and from north to south-fortifications around the city and several shrines. Farmers and herders from adjoining areas provided food for people in the city. Mathura a centre where some extremely fine sculpture was produced, around 2000 years ago became second capital of the Kushanas. Mathura was also a religious centre  and there were Buddhist monasteries, Jaina shrines-an important centre for the worship of Krishna. The inscriptions on surfaces such as stone slabs and statues found in Mathura are short inscriptions, recording gifts made by men (and sometimes women) to monasteries and shrines-made by kings and queens, officers, merchants, and crafts persons who lived in the city.

Crafts and crafts persons

Archaeological evidence for crafts-extremely fine pottery, known as the Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW)- generally found in the northern part of the subcontinent-know from texts-manufacture of cloth was important-famous centres such as Varanasi in the north-Madurai in the south-men and women worked in these centres-crafts persons and merchants now formed associations known as shrenis–shrenis of crafts persons provide training, procured raw material, and distributed the finished product- shrenis of merchants organised the trade-also served as banks, where rich men and women deposited money- invested, and part of the interest was returned or used to support religious institutions such as monasteries.

A closer look — Arikamedu

Arikamedu (in Puducherry)-a coastal settlement where ships unloaded goods from distant lands-massive brick structure (a warehouse found at the site)-pottery from the Mediterranean region, such as amphorae (tall double-handled jars that contained liquids such as wine or oil) -stamped red-glazed pottery, known as Arretine Ware, named after a city in Italy- made by pressing wet clay into a stamped mould-another kind of pottery made locally, though Roman designs were used-Roman lamps, glassware and gems found at the site. Small tanks found-were probably dyeing vats, used to dye cloth-plenty of evidence for the making of beads from semi-precious stones and glass.

Elsewhere

Rome-one of the oldest cities in Europe-developed around the same time as the cities in the Ganga valley-capital of one of the largest empires — spread across Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. Augustus- most important emperors-ruled about 2000 years ago-found Rome a city of brick-made it into a city of marble-He, and later rulers, built temples and palaces-also built huge amphitheatres— open arenas surrounded by tiers of seats — where citizens could watch all kinds of shows, and public baths (with separate timings for men and women), where people met and relaxed. Huge aqueducts — channels to supply water — were built to bring water to the city — for the baths, fountains and toilets.

Frequently asked Questions on CBSE Class 6 History Notes Chapter 8: Vital villages and Thriving towns

Where is ‘Arikamedu’ located?

Arikamedu is now an archaelogical site which is present few miles south of the southeastern Indian city of Pondicherry, at present situated in Kakkayanthope.

Which is identified as the oldest village in India?

Malana is an ancient Indian village in the state of Himachal Pradesh. This village is known to be the oldest village in India.

The story of Buddha

About 2500 years ago, Siddhartha the founder of Buddhism was born. He was also known as Gautama Buddha. The Buddha belonged to a small gana known as the Sakya gana, and was a kshatriya. When he was a young man, he left the comforts of his home in search of knowledge. He meditated for days on end under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, where he attained enlightenment. After that, he was known as the Buddha or the Wise One. He then went to Sarnath, near Varanasi, where he taught for the first time. He spent the rest of his life travelling on foot, going from place to place, teaching people, till he passed away at Kusinara.

Buddha’s Teaching

The Buddha taught that life is full of suffering and unhappiness. Even if we get what we want, we are not satisfied and want even more. The Buddha described this as thirst or tanha. He taught that this constant craving could be removed by following moderation in everything. He also taught people to be kind, and to respect the lives of others, including animals. He believed that the results of our actions (called karma), whether good or bad, affect us both in this life and the next.

Upanishads

Upanishad means ‘approaching and sitting near’. The texts contained in the Upanishad were the conversations between teachers and students.

1. Most Upanishadic thinkers were men, especially brahmins and rajas.
2. There is mention of women thinkers, such as Gargi, who was famous for her learning and participated in debates held in royal courts.
3. Many of the ideas of the Upanishads were later developed by the famous thinker Shankaracharya.

Jainism

The last and 24th Tirthankara of the Jainas was Vardhamana Mahavira. He was a kshatriya prince of the Lichchhavis, a group that was part of the Vajji sangha. At the age of 30, he left home and went to live in a forest. For 12 years he led a hard and lonely life, at the end of which he attained enlightenment.

He taught a simple doctrine: men and women who wished to know the truth must leave their homes. They must follow very strictly the rules of ahimsa, which means not hurting or killing living beings.

Followers of Mahavira, who were known as Jainas, had to lead very simple lives. They had to be absolutely honest and were especially asked not to steal. Also, they had to observe celibacy. And men had to give up everything, including their clothes. It was very difficult for most men and women to follow these strict rules. Jainism was supported mainly by traders. The teachings of Mahavira and his followers were transmitted orally for several centuries.

The sangha

Sangha was an association of those people who left their homes. The rules made for the Buddhist sangha were written down in a book called the Vinaya Pitaka. Men and women who joined the sangha led simple lives. They meditated for most of the time, and went to cities and villages to beg for food during fixed hours. That is why they were known as bhikkhus (the Prakrit word for renouncer – beggar) and bhikkhunis. Those who joined the sangha included brahmins, kshatriyas, merchants, labourers, barbers, courtesans and slaves.

Monasteries

Both Jaina and Buddhist monks went from place to place throughout the year, teaching people. The only time they stayed in one place was during the rainy season, when it was very difficult to travel. Then, their supporters built temporary shelters for them in gardens, or they lived in natural caves in hilly areas. The permanent shelters, which monasteries were built were known as viharas. The earliest viharas were made of wood, and then of brick. Some were even in caves, especially in western India. Over the centuries, Buddhism spread to many parts of the subcontinent and beyond. You will learn more about this in Chapter 9 of History.

We hope you have found CBSE Notes Class 6 History Chapter 6 helpful for your exam preparation. Keep learning and stay tuned for more updates on CBSE and NCERT.

Frequently asked Questions on CBSE Class 6 History Notes Chapter 6: New Questions and Ideas

Who was ‘Buddha’?

Gautama Buddha was an ascetic, a religious leader and teacher who lived in ancient India.

What is the significance of ‘Upanishad’?

The Upanishad document has a wide variety of information on the “rites, incarnations and esoteric knowledge” departing from Vedic ritualism and interpreted in various ways in the later commentarial traditions.

Who is a ‘Sanyasi’?

A yogi or a sanyasi is one who has total control over his indriyas. He is therefore beyond joy or sorrow and any other worldly desire or involvement.

How some men became rulers

• Around 3000 years ago, some men became recognised as rajas by performing very big sacrifices.

• The later rajas gained recognition by performing very big sacrifices.

• Ashvamedha or a horse sacrifice was an important ritual for a raja.
→ The raja who organised the sacrifice was recognised as being very powerful, and all those who came brought gifts for him.

Varnas

• The priests divided people into four groups called Varnas.

• According to them, each Varna had a different set of functions.

• These groups were decided on the basis of birth.

→ Brahmin: They were expected to study and teach the Vedas, perform sacrifices and receive gifts.
→ Kshatriyas: They were the rulers and were expected to fight battles and protect people.
→ Vish or the Vaishyas: They were expected to be farmers, herders and traders. Both the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas could perform sacrifices.
→ Shudras: They had to serve the other three groups and could not perform any rituals. Often, women were also grouped with them. They were not allowed to study the Vedas.

Janapadas

• The rajas who performed these big sacrifices were recognised as being rajas of janapadas.

• The word janapada literally means the land where the Jana set its foot and settled down.

• Archeologists found that in janapadas, people lived in huts, kept cattle and other animals.

→ They also grew a variety of crops — rice, wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, sesame and mustard.

• They made earthen pots. Some were grey and others were red.

→ A special type of pottery found at these sites is known as Painted Grey Ware.

Mahajanapadas

• About 2500 years ago, some Janapadas became more important than others and were known as Mahajanapadas.

• Most mahajanapadas had a capital city, many of these were fortified which means that huge walls

of wood, brick or stone were built around them.

Taxes

• Rulers of the mahajanapadas needed more resources for building huge forts and maintaining armies.

• The started collecting regular taxes.

• Taxes were collected from farmers, craft persons, herders, traders, hunters as per their skills.

Changes in agriculture

• The growing use of iron ploughshares helped in more grain production.

• People began transplanting paddy which meant that instead of scattering seeds on the ground, from which plants would sprout, saplings were grown and then planted in the fields. This led to increased production, as many more plants survived.

A closer look — (a) Magadha

• Magadha became the most important mahajanapada in about two hundred years.

• Many rivers such as the Ganga and Son flowed through Magadha which helped in transport, water supplies and making the land fertile.

• Two powerful rulers of Magadha were Bimbisara and Ajatasattu.

• The first capital of Magadha was Rajagriha in Bihar and the second was Pataliputra.

A closer look — (b) Vajji

• Vajji, with its capital at Vaishali (Bihar), was under a different form of government, known as gana or sangha.

• In a gana or a sangha there were many rulers, each one was known as a raja.

• The rajas performed rituals together and met in assemblies.

• Women, dasas and kammakaras could not participate in these assemblies.

• Both the Buddha and the Mahavira belonged to ganas or sanghas.

• The last of the sanghas were conquered by Gupta rulers around 1500 years ago.