Page 44

Question 1.
Do you notice any similarities between Intro-European languages?
Answer:
Indo-European language has a group of languages. Soi de Indian languages are Assamese, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri. Many European languages such as English, German, French, Spanish, etc. belong to this family. They have similar words Mata (Sanskrit) me. (Hindi mother (English)

Question 2.
List the languages you have heard about and try’ and identify the families to which they belong.
Answer:
The languages used in the sub-continent are :

1. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam belong to the Dravidian family.
2. Assamese, Manipuri belong to the Tibeto Butman family.
3. Marathi, Oriya Santhali Austro – Asiatic family

Question 3.
Name the two rivers that were worshipped as goddesses and find them on the map.
Answer:
The two rivers worshipped as goddesses are Beas and Sutlej.

Page 45

Question 1.
Do you think chariots were also important? Give reasons for your answer. Read the verses and find out what are the modes? transport that is mentioned.
Answer:
Chariots were important because they were the main means of transport. The other means of transport were carts.

Question 2.
Look at Map 1 (Page 2 of the textbook) and list 5 rivers not mentioned in the Rigveda.
Answer:
The rivers which were no mentions in the Rigveda are :

1. Ganga
2. The Yamuna
3. Narmada
4. Tapi
5. Mahanadi

Page 47

Question 1.
Read the previous section in the textbook and see whether you can find out what the rajas did
Answer:
The rajas did not have capital cities, palaces, or armies, nor did they collect taxes. Generally, the sons did not automatically succeed fathers as rajas. The assemblies chose leaders who were often brave and skillful warriors.

Question 2.
Do any of the names like ‘Jana’ and ‘Vish’ sound familiar.
Answer:
The word ‘Jana’ is familiar, which was used to describe people or the community as a whole. It is still used in Hindi and other languages.

Page 48

Question 1.
There are several things that people did to make megaliths. The list is given in the textbook on page 48. Try and arrange them in the correct order.
Answer:

1. Digging pits in the earth.
2. Find suitable stones
3. Breaking boulders
4. Shaping stones
5. Burying the dead
6. Placing stones in position

Question 2.
Was iron used in the Harappan cities?
Answer:
The archaeologist has not found any evidence which can show that the lion was used in the Harappan cities.

Page 50

Question 1.
Do you think this was the body of a chief? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
Most probably this was the body of a chief because he had a different type of burial from file rest of the people. He was found buried in a large, four-legged clay jar in the courtyard of a five-roomed house (one of the largest houses at the site) in the center of the settlement.

This house also had a granary. The body had a cross-legged position. The other was buried in the ground, laid out straight, with file head towards the north.

Question 2.
How do you think Charak found out about the human body in such great detail.
Answer:
Charak mentions in his book Charak Samhita that the human body has 360 bones. Charak arrived at this figure by counting the teeth, joints, and cartilage. He may have made a detailed study of the skeletal remains of the human body. He may have taken bony structure from the burial places (maybe of the poor people).

Page 51

Question 1.
Use this evidence to list the possible occupations of the people at Inamgaon.
Answer:
Archaeologists have found seeds of wheat, barley, rice, pulses, millets, peas, and sesame. Bones of a number of animals, many bearing cut marks that show that they have been used as food have also been found. They include cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, dog, horse; ass, pig, sambhar, Antelope hare, and mongoose, besides birds, crocodiles, turtles, crab, and fish.

There is evidence that fruits such as ber, amla, Jamun dates, and varieties of berries were collected. From this, we can conclude that the main occupation of the people.

1. Farming
2. Hunters
3. Collection of fruits and berries

Question 2.
List one difference between the raja of the Rigveda and these kings.
Answer:
The “Raja” of the Rigveda did not live in palaces. They did not have capital, cities, and armies, as the Chinese kings of the same time.

Question 3.
Imagine you live in Inamgaon 3000 years ago and the chief has died last night. Today your parents are preparing for the burial. Describe the scene, including how food is being prepared for the funeral. What do you think would be offered?
Answer:
The chief had died last night. The whole community had gathered near Iris’s house to pay their last homage. Maybe they are wearing white-colored clothes. In the fields outside people had collected things needed for the burial. The fire is lighted and some people are cooking food.

Maybe the rice is being cooked along with vegetables in the mud pot or they may be cooking that food which was relished by the chief. The people may be chanting the holy prayers, otherwise, there was silence all around.

Class 6 History Chapter 5 What Books and Burials Tell Us Exercise Questions and Answers

Let’s Recall

Question 1.
Match the columns:
Answer:

Sukta	Well-said
Chariots	Used in battles
Yajna	Sacrifice
Dasa	Slave
Megalith	Stone boulder

Question 2.
Complete the sentences:

1. Slaves were used for ……….
2. Megaliths are found in ……….
3. Stone circles or boulders on the surface were used to ……….
4. Port-holes were used for …………
5. People at Inamgaon ate ………..

Answer:

1. Slaves were used for various kinds of work.
2. Megaliths are found in Deccan in the north, east, and Kashmir.
3. Stone circles or boulders on the surface were used to cover the burial places.
4. Port-holes were used for entering the burial places.
5. People at Inamgaon ate fruits, cereals, and meat.

Let’s Discuss

Question 3.
In what ways are the books we read today different from the Rigveda?
Answer:
The most important point of difference between the Rigveda and the modem books is that today books are written and read. The Vedas, instead, were memorized by students, and later passed on to the later generations by speaking, listening and then memorizing.

Question 4.
What kind of evidence from burials do archaeologists use to find out whether there were social differences amongst those who were buried?
Answer:
Archaeologists have found burial places that help them to reconstruct the past and tell about society. At Brahmagiri, the archaeologists have found one skeleton buried with 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles, and one conch shell. Other skeletons have only a few pots.

These finals suggest that there was some difference in status amongst the people who were buried. Some were rich, others poor, some chiefs other followers.

Question 5.
In what ways do you think that the life of the raja was different from that of a-Dasa or Dasi?
Answer:
The life of a raja was quite different from that of a dasa/dasi:

• Raja participated in religious rites. Took part in wars, whereas dasas were not allowed to do so.
• Rajas had no palaces and collected no taxes but they were free whereas dasas were treated as the property of the owners.

Let’s Do

Question 6.
Find out whether your school library has a collection of books on religion, and list the names of five books from this collection.
Answer:
The live books on religion are

1. Gum Granth Sahib – Sikhs
2. Zoroastrianism – Zend-Ei-Avesta
3. Islam – Quran
4. Christians – Bible
5. Judaism – Old Testament

Question 7.
Write down a short poem or song that you have memorized. Did you hear or read the poem or song? How did you learn it by heart?
Answer:

We heard the poem and learned it by heart with the help of a teacher.

Question 8.
Write down a short poem or song that you have memories of. Did you hear or Racow the poem or song? How did you learn it by heart?
Answer:
In the Rig-Veda, people were described in terms of the work they did and the language they spoke. In the table below fill the names f six people you know, three men and three women. For each of them, mention the work they do and the language they speak Would you like to add anything else to the description.