Page 1: The Big Questions
1. Question: How do we measure historical time?
Answer: We measure historical time in several ways:
CE and BCE: We use the Gregorian calendar, which is common worldwide. Years are counted forward from the birth of Jesus Christ, called the Common Era (CE). Years before that are counted backward and are called Before Common Era (BCE).
Decade: This is a period of ten years.
Century: This is a period of 100 years. We are currently in the 21st century CE, which is from the year 2001 to 2100.
Millennium: This is a period of 1,000 years. We are currently in the 3rd millennium CE, which is from the year 2001 to 3000.
2. Question: How can various sources help us understand history?
Answer: Various sources act like pieces of a puzzle that help us understand the past. Historians study many types of sources to get information. These include:
Archaeological Sources: These are found by digging up remains. They include things like monuments, tools, weapons, pottery, coins, and even human and animal remains.
Literary Sources: These are written texts. They can be Indian literature like the Vedas , poems and plays , or accounts from foreign travellers.
Oral Sources: These are stories and information passed down by speaking, such as folklore.
Artistic Sources: These include old paintings, sculptures, and panels.
By studying these sources, we can piece together the story of what happened long ago.
3. Question: How did early humans live?
Answer: Early humans, or Homo sapiens, have been on the planet for about 300,000 years.
They lived in groups or bands to help each other.
They were mainly hunters and gatherers, meaning they hunted animals and collected plants and fruits to eat.
They lived in caves, rock shelters, or temporary camps.
They used fire and made tools from stone, like axes and blades, to make their lives easier.
They created rock paintings inside caves, which show scenes with animals and humans.
Later, when the climate warmed up after the last Ice Age (which ended around 12,000 years ago), humans started settling down, growing crops, and domesticating animals like cattle and goats.
Page 2: THINK ABOUT IT
Question: What is the earliest memory you can recollect? Do you remember how old you were at that time?
Answer: This is a question about your own life. Think about the first thing you can remember. Maybe it was a birthday party, a family trip, or your first day at school. These memories are a part of your own personal past, just like the textbook says.
Question: How do you think understanding the past will help us understand the present world?
Answer: Understanding the past helps us understand the present world because, as the historian E.H. Carr said, we can only understand today by looking at yesterday. Learning about past events, societies, and people shows us how the world we live in came to be.
Page 5: In-Text Question & LET’S EXPLORE
Question: The Buddha was born in approximately 560 BCE. Can you calculate how many years ago that was?
Answer: Yes. The textbook explains how to do this. If we are in the year 2024 CE, we need to add the BCE years to the CE years and then subtract 1 (because there is no “year zero”).
The calculation is:
560 + 2024 – 1 = 2,583 years ago.
Activity: Draw a simple timeline marking every year from 2 BCE to 2 CE.
Answer: To do this activity, draw a straight line. Mark points on it for 2 BCE, 1 BCE, 1 CE, and 2 CE. You will see there is no mark for a year zero. If you count the years between the start of 2 BCE and the end of 2 CE, you will find only 3 years have passed.
Page 7: In-Text Question & LET’S EXPLORE
Question: In the timeline given on pages 62 and 63 (Fig. 4.3), can you mark the beginning of the 8th millennium BCE?
Answer: Yes. A millennium is a period of 1,000 years. The 8th millennium BCE would begin at the year 8000 BCE. On the timeline on page 63, you can see the mark for
8000 BCE, which is where the first settlements and agriculture began.
Activity: Create a timeline stretching from 1900 CE to the current year and place the dates of birth of your grandparents, parents, siblings and yourself. Also, mark the years that the 20th century CE begins with and ends with.
Answer:
Timeline: To do this, draw a long line. Mark 1900 CE on one end and the current year on the other. Then, ask your family for their birth years and mark them on the line in the correct order.
20th Century: A century is a period of 100 years. The 21st century runs from 2001 to 2100. Using the same logic, the
20th century begins with the year 1901 and ends with the year 2000.
Page 8: LET’S EXPLORE
Activity: Can you collect information about at least three generations of your family on your mother’s and father’s sides? Create a family tree with your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Find out their names, what they did for a living and where they were born. Also, write the sources from where you got this information.
Answer: To do this activity, you can create a chart like the one in the book.
Ask your family: Talk to your parents and grandparents to get the names, birthplaces, and occupations of your relatives.
Look for sources: Your sources of information are the people you talk to (like your parents), but you might also find information from old photographs, diaries, or identity cards.
Fill the chart: Write down all the information you find. In the “Source of information” column, you can write “Told by my mother” or “From an old photograph.”
Page 9: THINK ABOUT IT
Question: Have you ever seen old coins, books, clothes, jewellery or utensils in and around your house? What type of information can we gain from such objects? Or from old houses or buildings?
Answer: Old objects in our homes, like jewellery or utensils, can tell us a lot. Each object has a story and is a piece of your family’s history. For example, an old coin could tell you about the time it was made. Old clothes can show you what kind of fashion people followed long ago. Old buildings can tell us what materials people used to build houses in the past.
Page 10: LET’S EXPLORE
Activity: There are a few images of different sources of history on the next page. Who and what do you think the objects show? Write down in the boxes next to the images any information that you get from these objects.
Answer: Looking at the images on page 11, here is what we can learn:
The Gold Coin (top left): This is a very old coin. It shows a picture of a king or a god. Coins like this help historians learn about the rulers of the past, their religion, and the art of that time.
The Stone Carving (right): This looks like a panel from a monument or a temple. It shows many people in different scenes. This carving can tell us stories from the past, what people wore, what their boats looked like, and how they lived. It is an artistic and archaeological source.
The Lion Statue (bottom left): This is the famous Lion Capital of Ashoka. It is a sculpture that was once on top of a pillar. As a historical source, it tells us about the great Emperor Ashoka and is a symbol of India’s heritage.
Page 12: LET’S EXPLORE
Activity: In the above picture, look at some activities of early humans in a rock shelter. Which ones can you recognise? Give a brief description for each.
Answer: In the picture of the rock shelter, I can recognize these activities:
Painting: One person is painting pictures of animals on the cave wall. Rock paintings like these are found all over the world.
Making Tools: Some people are sitting and shaping stones, probably to make axes, blades, or other tools to make their lives easier.
Cooking: A group is gathered around a pot, which could be for cooking food. They used fire in their daily lives.
Butchering an Animal: In the front, a few people are cutting up a hunted animal. Early humans were hunters and gatherers.
Community Life: The picture shows many people living together in a group, helping each other.
Page 13: LET’S EXPLORE
Activity: Observe the scene on the next page. It depicts an agricultural community from a few millenniums ago. List the main activities you can identify.
Answer: In the picture on page 14, I can identify these activities:
Farming: Some people are in the field cutting crops with sickles.
Herding: There are sheep grazing in the front, and a domesticated animal that looks like a dog is with them. Early humans domesticated animals like cattle and goats.
Building: People built huts to live in, and you can see a small village or hamlet.
Processing Food: A woman is grinding grains, and another is washing food near a basket of fruits.
Carrying Tools: A man is walking with a farming tool over his shoulder.
Community Living: The scene shows a whole community that has settled near a river and is working together.
Page 14: THINK ABOUT IT
Question: Both in the earlier picture of a rock shelter and in this one, men and women are given certain roles. While they may appear to be ‘natural’, they are not necessarily accurate and do not cover all situations. Keeping in mind that we have only limited information, think about such roles and situations, and discuss in class.
Answer: The textbook says that the roles shown in the pictures might not be completely accurate because our information is limited. For example:
In the rock shelter, women might have also done some of the painting, not just men.
In both the hunter-gatherer and farming scenes, men might have helped with cooking or taking care of children.
It is important to remember that people in the past could have shared many different jobs, and we should not assume that only men did certain things and only women did others.
Page 16: Questions, Activities and Projects
1. Activity: As a project, write the history of your family (or village if you live in one), using sources of history at your disposal. Ask your teacher to guide you.
Answer: For this project, you can be a historian of your own family!
Gather Information: Talk to your parents, grandparents, and other relatives.
Use Sources: Look for old photographs, letters, diaries, or important documents. These are your historical sources.
Write the Story: Write down what you learn in order, starting from your great-grandparents. Write about where they lived, what they did, and any interesting stories you hear.
2. Question: Can we compare historians to detectives? Give reasons for your answers.
Answer: Yes, we can compare historians to detectives.
A detective collects clues to solve a mystery. A historian collects information from many different sources (like archaeological and literary sources) to understand the past.
A detective checks if clues match. A historian also checks if different sources confirm each other or if they give contradictory information.
Just like a detective uses clues to figure out what happened, a historian uses sources to recreate the history of a period they are studying.
3. Question: A few exercises with dates:
Place these dates chronologically on the timeline: 323 CE, 323 BCE, 100 CE, 100 BCE, 1900 BCE, 1090 CE, 2024 CE.
Answer: 1900 BCE, 323 BCE, 100 BCE, 100 CE, 323 CE, 1090 CE, 2024 CE
If King Chandragupta was born in 320 CE, which century did he belong to? And how many years was that after the Buddha’s birth?
Answer: He belonged to the 4th century CE. The Buddha was born around 560 BCE. Using the formula (BCE date + CE date – 1), it was
560 + 320 – 1 = 879 years after the Buddha’s birth.
Rani of Jhansi was born in 1828. Which century did she belong to? How many years was that before India’s Independence?
Answer: She belonged to the 19th century CE. India gained independence in 1947 CE. So, she was born
1947 – 1828 = 119 years before India’s independence.
Turn ‘12,000 years ago’ into a date.
Answer: The timeline on page 63 shows that the last Ice Age ended 12,000 years ago, which is marked as 10,000 BCE.
4. Activity: Plan a visit to a nearby museum: the visit should be prepared with some prior research on the kind of exhibits the museum holds. Keep notes during the visit. Write a brief report afterwards, highlighting what was unexpected / interesting / fun about the visit and the exhibits.
Answer: To do this activity:
Research: Before you go, find out what kind of objects are in the museum. For example, the National Museum in New Delhi has statues, coins, and ornaments from the past.
Visit and Take Notes: During your visit, write down what you see and what you find interesting.
Write a Report: After the visit, write a few paragraphs about your experience. What was the most interesting object you saw? Did you learn something new and unexpected?
5. Activity: Invite to your school an archaeologist or a historian and ask them to speak on the history of your region and why it’s important to know it.
Answer: This is a great idea for a class activity. You can ask your teacher to help you find and invite an expert. An archaeologist studies the past by digging up remains , and a historian studies and writes about the past. They can tell you amazing stories about the history of the place where you live.