GAJERAI

NTERNATI
ONALSCHOOL
St
d:6St
udyMat
eri
al
Sub:
Soci
alSt
udi
es
WHAT,
WHERE,
HOW ANDWHEN?
Whatcanweknowaboutt
hepast
?

Thereareseveralthingswecanf indout—whatpeopl eate,t

hekindsofcl ot
hestheywore,t
he
housesinwhicht heyliv
ed.Wecanf i
ndoutaboutt heli
vesofhunters,
herders,
farmers,
rul
ers,
merchants,
priests,craf
tspersons,art
ists,musi
cians,
andscient
ists.Wecanal sofi
ndoutabout
thegameschildrenpl ayed,
thestori
est heyhear
d, t
heplayst
heysaw, thesongstheysang.

Wher
edi
dpeopl
eli
ve?

Peoplehaveli
vedalongthebanksoft hisr
iverforseveralhundredthousandyear
s.Someoft he
ear
li
estpeopl
ewhol ivedherewer eskill
edgatherers,—thatis,peoplewhogatheredthei
rfood.
Theyknewaboutthev astwealthofplantsinthesur r
oundingforests,andcol
l
ectedroots,f
rui
ts
andotherf
orestpr
oducef ortheirf
ood.Theyal sohunt edanimals.

NowfindtheSulaimanandKi rt
harhil
lst
ot henorthwest.Someoft heareaswherewomenand
menfir
stbegant ogrowcropssuchaswheatandbar l
eyabout8000y earsagoarelocatedhere.
Peopl
ealsobeganr eari
nganimalsli
kesheep, goat,
andcat t
le,
andl i
vedinvi
ll
ages.Locatethe
Garohil
l
stothenor t
h-eastandtheVindhyasincentralI
ndia.Theseweresomeoft heot her
ar
easwher eagr
icult
uredeveloped.Theplaceswher eri
cewasf ir
stgrownaretothenorthofthe
Vi
ndhyas.

About4700yearsago,
someoft heearl
i
estci
ti
esflour
ishedont
hebanksoftheseriv
ers.Later
,
about2500year
sago,cit
iesdev
elopedonthebanksoftheGangaandit
str
ibutar
ies,andalong
theseacoast
s.

TheGangaanditst
ri
but
arycal
l
edtheSon.Inanci
entti
mestheareaalongtheser
iver
stot
he
sout
hoftheGangawasknownasMagadha.Itsrul
erswerever
ypower f
ul,
andsetupalar
ge
ki
ngdom.Kingdomswer
esetupinotherpar
tsofthecount
ryaswell
.

Throughout,peopletravell
edf r
om onepar tofthesubconti
nenttoanother.Thehill
sandhigh
mountainsincludingtheHi malayas,deserts,r
iver
sandseasmadej ourney sdangerousatti
mes,
butneverimpossi bl
e.So, menandwomenmov edinsear
chofli
veli
hood, asalsotoescape
fr
om nat ur
aldisastersli
kef l
oodsordr oughts.Sometimesmenmar chedi narmies,conquer
ing
other
s’lands.Besides,mer chantstr
av el
ledwithcaravansorshi
ps,carr
yingv al
uablegoodsfrom
pl
acet oplace.Andr eli
giousteacherswal kedfrom vi
ll
agetovi
ll
age,townt otown,stoppi
ngto
off
erinst
ruct
ionandadvi
ceontheway
.Fi
nall
y,somepeopleperhapst
ravel
leddr
ivenbyaspir
it
ofadvent
ure,wanti
ngtodi
scov
ernewandexci
tingpl
aces.Al
lthesel
edtothesharingofi
deas
betweenpeople.

Whydopeopl
etr
avel
nowaday
s?I

Hil
l
s,mountainsandseasf or
mt henatur
alf
ronti
ersofthesubconti
nent.Whil
eitwasdi
ffi
cul
tto
cr
ossthesefronti
ers,t
hosewhowant edcoul
danddi dscal
ethemount ainsandcrosst
heseas.
Peopl
efrom acrossthefr
onti
ersalsocameintothesubconti
nentandsettl
edhere.

Thesemovement
sofpeopl
eenri
chedourcul
tur
altr
adit
ions.Peopl
ehaveshar
ednewway sof
car
vingst
one,
composi
ngmusic,
andevencookingfoodoversever
alhundr
edsofyear
s.

Namesoft
hel
and

Twooft hewor dsweof t

enusef orourcount r
yareIndiaandBharat.Thewor dIndiacomesf r
om
theIndus, cal
l
edSindhui nSanskr i
t.Fi
ndIranandGr eeceinyouratl
as.TheIrani
ansandt he
Greekswhocamet hrought henorthwestabout2500y earsagoandwer efamili
arwi t
ht heIndus,
call
edi ttheHindosortheI ndos,andthelandtotheeastoft heri
verwascalledIndia.Thename
Bharatawasusedf oragr oupofpeopl ewholivedinthenorth-
west,andwhoar ement i
onedi n
theRigv eda,t
heearli
estcomposi ti
oninSanskr i
t(datedtoabout3500y ear
sago) .Lateritwas
usedf orthecountry.

Fi
ndi
ngoutaboutt
hepast

Therear
esev eral
way soffi
ndi
ngoutaboutthepast .Oneistosearchforandreadbooksthat
werewri
ttenlongago.Thesearecall
edmanuscripts,becausetheywerewritt
enbyhand(thi
s
comesfrom theLatinword‘manu’
,meaninghand).Thesewer eusuall
ywrit
tenonpalmleaf,or
onthespecial
lyprepar
edbarkofatreeknownast hebi r
ch,whichgrowsintheHimalay
as.

Thi
smanuscr
iptwaswr
it
tenaboutathousandyear
sago.Thepal
mleav
eswer
ecuti
ntopages
andti
edt
oget
hertomakebooks.Toseeabirchbar
kmanuscri
pt.

Overtheyear s,manymanuscr i
ptswereeatenawaybyi nsects,
somewer edestroyed,
butmany
havesurvi
v ed,oft
enpreser
v edintemplesandmonasteries.Thesebooksdealtwit
hallkindsof
subj
ects:reli
giousbel
ief
sandpr acti
ces,thel
iv
esofkings, medici
neandscience.Besi
des, t
her
e
wereepics,poems, pl
ays.Manyoft hesewerewrit
teninSanskrit,
other
swer einPrakr
it
(l
anguagesusedbyor dinarypeople)andTamil.

Wecanalsostudyinscr
ipt
ions.Thesear ewrit
ingsonrel
ati
velyhardsur
facessuchasstoneor
met
al.Someti
mes, ki
ngsgottheirordersinscr
ibedsothatpeoplecoul
dsee,readandobey
t
hem.Thereareotherki
ndsofi nscr
ipti
onsaswel l,
wheremenandwomen( i
ncludi
ngki
ngsand
queens)r
ecor
dedwhatt
heydi
d.Forexampl
e,ki
ngsof
tenkeptr
ecor
dsofv
ict
ori
esi
nbat
tl
e.

Anol di
nscri
pti
on.Thisinscri
pti
ondat estoabout2250yearsago, andwasf oundinKandahar ,
present
-dayAfghanist
an.Itwaswr i
tt
enont heor der
sofarulernamedAshoka.Youwi l
lread
abouthiminChapt er8.Whenwewr i
teany t
hing,weuseascr i
pt.Scri
ptsconsistoflet
tersor
si
gns.Whenwer eadwhati swri
tten,orspeak,weusealanguage.Thi sinscr
ipti
onwaswr i
tten
i
nt wodiff
erentscri
ptsandlanguages, Gr
eek( t
op)andAramaic( bel
ow), whi
chwer eusedi nthi
s
area.

Canyouthi
nkoft
headv
ant
agesofwr
it
ingonahar
dsur
face?Andwhatcoul
dhav
ebeent
he
di
ff
icul
ti
es?

Therewer emanyotherthi
ngsthatweremadeandusedi nthepast.Thosewhost udythese
objectsarecal
l
edarchaeologi
sts.Theystudytheremainsofbui
ldi
ngsmadeofst oneandbr i
ck,
painti
ngsandsculpt
ure.Theyalsoexploreandexcavat
e( di
gunderthesurfaceoftheearth)t
o
fi
ndt ool
s,weapons,pot
s,pans,ornamentsandcoins.Someoftheseobj ectsmaybemadeof
stone,other
sofbone,bakedclayormet al
.Object
sthataremadeofhar d,imper
ishabl
e
substancesusual
lysurvi
veforalongtime.

Archaeologist
salsol
ookforbones—ofani
mals,bi
rds,andfi
sh—t ofindoutwhatpeopl
eatein
thepast.Plantremai
nssurv
ivefarmor
erar
ely—ifseedsofgrai
norpiecesofwoodhav ebeen
burnt,
theysurvivei
nacharredfor
m.Doyouthi
nkclothisf
oundfrequentl
ybyarchaeol
ogi
sts?

Histor
ians,t
hatis,schol
arswhost udythepast,oft
enusethewor dsourcetorefertothe
i
nformat i
onfoundf r
om manuscripts,
inscri
pti
onsandarchaeology.Oncesourcesaref ound,
l
earningaboutthepastbecomesanadv ent
ure,aswereconst
ructitbi
tbybit.Sohistori
ansand
archaeologi
stsareli
kedetect
ives,whouseal lt
hesesourcesl
ikecluestofi
ndoutaboutour
pasts.

Eg.
Pot
sli
ket
hesewer
eusedabout4700y
ear
sago.

Coi
nssuchast
hisonewer
einusef
rom about2500y
ear
sago.

I
nwhatway
sist
hecoi
ndi
ff
erentf
rom t
heonesweuset
oday
?

Onepastormany
?

Didy ounoti
cethetitl
eoft hi
sbook, OurPasts?Wehav eusedt hewor d‘
pasts’inplural
todr aw
attenti
ontothefactthatthepastwasdi ff
erentfordifferentgroupsofpeopl e.Forexampl e,the
l
ivesofherdersorfarmer swer edif
fer
entfrom thoseofki ngsandqueens, t
hel i
vesof
mer chant
sweredi f
ferentfrom thoseofcraftspersons, andsoon.Al so,asistrueevent oday,
peoplefoll
oweddifferentpracti
cesandcust omsi ndif
f erentpartsofthecountry.Forexampl e,
todaymostpeopl eli
vingint heAndamanIslandsgett hei rownf oodbyfishi
ng, hunti
ng,and
col
l
ecti
ngforestproduce.Bycont
rast
,mostpeopl
eli
vi
nginci
ti
esdependonot
her
sforsuppl
i
es
off
ood.Di
fferencessuchastheseexi
stedi
nthepastaswel
l.

Besides,t
hereisanotherki
ndofdiffer
ence.Weknowagr eatdealaboutki
ngsandthebat
tl
es
theyfoughtbecausetheykeptrecordsofthei
rvictori
es.General
ly,or
dinar
ypeopl
esuchas
hunters,
fishi
ngfol
k,gather
ers,
f ar
mer sorher
der sdidnotkeeprecordsofwhattheydi
d.Whil
e
archaeol
ogyhelpsust ofi
ndoutaboutt hei
rli
ves,thereismucht hatremai
nsunknown.

Whatdodat
esmean?

Ifsomebodyasksy out hedate,youwi llpr

obabl
ymentiontheday,mont handy ear,
2000and
somet hing.Theseyearsar ecount edfrom t
hedategener
all
yassignedt othebirt
hofJesus
Christ,t
hef ounderofChristi
anity
.So, 2000means2000y earsaft
erthebirthofChrist
.All
dat
es
beforethebi r
thofChristarecount edbackwardsandusuallyhavethelett
ersBC( Befor
eChri
st)
addedon.I nt hi
sbook,wewi l
lrefertodatesgoi
ngbackfrom thepresent,usi
ng2000asour
starti
ngpoi nt
.

Let
ter
swi
thdat
es

BC, wehav eseenst andsfor‘Befor

eChrist.
’.
Youwi l
lsomet imesfi
ndADbef oredates.This
standsf ort
woLat i
nwor ds,‘
AnnoDomi ni’
,
meaning‘inthey earoftheLord’(
i.
e.Christ
).So2012
canal sobewr i
tt
enasAD2012. Someti
mesCEi susedi nsteadofADandBCEi nst
eadofBC.
Thel ett
ersCEstandf or‘
CommonEr a’
andBCEf or‘
Bef oreCommonEr a’.Weuset heseterms
becauset heChrist
ianEr aisnowusedi nmostcount ri
esoft hewor l
d.I
nIndiawebeganusi ng
thisform ofdat
ingf rom abouttwohundredy ear
sago. Andsomet i
mes, t
helett
ersBPmeani ng
‘
Bef orePresent
’areused.

Q:
1Mat
cht
hef
oll
owi
ng:

A. B

1.
Nar
madaVal
l
ey a.Thef
ir
stci
ti
es

2.Magadha b.
Ear
lyagr
icul
tur
e

3.Gar
ohi
l
ls c.
Hunt
ingandgat
her
ing

4.I
ndusandi
tst
ri
but
ari
es d.Ci
ti
esabout2500y
ear
sago

5.GangaVal
l
ey e.
Thef
ir
stbi
gki
ngdom

Q:
2St
atet
hesent
encesar
etr
ueorf
alse:

1.Hi
stor
yteachesust
ocar
eful
l
yexami
nef
act
s.
 2.I
nIndi
a,ear
lymanuscr
ipt
swer
ewr
it
tenonpaper
.

3.Ri
gvedacont
ainst
heear
li
estcomposi
ti
onsi
nSanskr
it
,dat
edabout3500y
ear
sago.

4.Manymanuscr
ipt
swer
eeat
enawaybyi
nsect
s,somewer
edest
roy
ed.

5.I
nscr
ipt
ionswer
enotusedf
orkeepi
ngr
ecor
dsofv
ict
ori
esi
nbat
tl
e.

Q.
3Answeri
nonewor
d:

1.Whatdowecal
lthet
ri
but
aryoft
heGangar
iver
?

2.Namet
hel
anguagewhi
chwasnotusedi
ntheAnci
entPer
iod.

3.Namet
hel
eafonwhi
chManuscr
ipt
sinAnci
entper
iodwer
eusual
l
ywr
it
ten.

4.Whati
sthef
ull
for
m ofBCE?

5.Whati
sthef
ull
for
m ofAD?

Q:
4Makeal
i
stofal
lobj
ect
sthatar
chaeol
ogi
stsmayf
ind.Whi
choft
hesecoul
dbemadeof
st
one?

Q:
5Descr
ibeatleast2way
sinwhi
chy
out
hinkt
hel
i
vesofki
ngswoul
dhav
ebeendi
ff
erentf
rom
t
hoseoff
armers.