chap 6 The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation

The Big Questions (Page 1)

1. What is a civilisation? Answer: A civilisation is an advanced stage of human society. It usually has a government, well-planned cities (urbanism), different types of crafts, trade, a writing system, cultural ideas (like art and customs), and productive agriculture that can feed everyone.
2. What was the earliest civilisation of the Indian Subcontinent? Answer: The earliest civilisation of the Indian Subcontinent is known as the Harappan, Indus, or Indus-Sarasvatī Civilisation. It began around 2600 BCE.
3. What were its major achievements? Answer: Its major achievements included building planned cities with wide streets, creating excellent drainage and water management systems, developing a writing system, and mastering crafts like making beads, shell bangles, and bronze tools.

Think About It (Page 2)

Question: Which of the above characteristics do you think is the most fundamental — that is, a characteristic essential to the development of all others?

Answer:

Productive agriculture is likely the most fundamental characteristic.

• Reason: Before people can build cities, trade, or create art, they need enough food to survive. Productive agriculture allows farmers to grow enough food to feed not just themselves, but also the people living in cities who do other jobs like ruling, crafting, or trading.

Let’s Explore (Page 3)

Question: For each characteristic in the list above, can you make a list of professions or occupations that might exist in such a society?

Answer: Here is a list of professions based on the characteristics of civilisation:

• Government: Kings, ministers, officials, tax collectors.
• Urbanism/Town-planning: Architects, builders, brick-makers, drain cleaners.
• Crafts: Potters, goldsmiths, bead-makers, weavers, blacksmiths (or bronzesmiths).
• Trade: Traders, merchants, sailors, boat-makers, transporters.
• Writing: Scribes (people who write records), teachers.
• Agriculture: Farmers, herders (people who raise livestock), fishermen.

Let’s Explore (Page 5)

Activity Explanation: Look at the map in Fig. 6.3 on page 5. You need to find the location of the ancient cities listed in the table and match them with the modern state or region where they are located today.

Question: As a class activity, can you try to match these cities with the modern states or regions in the table on the next page?

Answer: Here is the correct match based on the map and text:

• Dholavira: Gujarat (India).
• Harappa: Punjab (Pakistan).
• Kalibangan: Rajasthan (India).
• Mohenjo-daro: Sindh (Pakistan).
• Rakhigarhi: Haryana (India).

(Note: The map shows Harappa in the Punjab province of Pakistan and Mohenjo-daro in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Kalibangan is shown in Rajasthan, and Dholavira and Lothal are in Gujarat.)

Let’s Explore (Page 9)

Question: Have a debate in class about the last two interpretations. Can you think of any others? (Referencing the Great Bath: a bath for the royal family only; or a tank used for religious rituals).

Answer: Debate Points:

• Religious Rituals: This is a strong possibility because in India, bathing in holy water or tanks is still a very important part of religious ceremonies today. The tank was special and elaborate, suggesting it was for something more important than just washing.
• Royal Bath: It might have been for the royal family because the “Citadel” or upper town where it was found was likely where the elite lived.
• Other Possibilities: It could have been a public swimming pool for exercise or a community gathering place for festivals.

Let’s Explore (Page 11)

Activity Explanation: This activity asks you to measure a real space in your school (like your classroom) and compare it to the size of the ancient water reservoir found at Dholavira.

Question: As a class activity, measure the length of your classroom, a school corridor or a playground with the help of any measuring tape. Compare these lengths with the length of the largest reservoir in Dholavira.

Answer:

• Step 1 (Measure): Suppose you measure your classroom and it is 10 metres long.
• Step 2 (Compare): The largest reservoir in Dholavira was 73 metres long.
• Conclusion: The Dholavira reservoir was more than 7 times longer than the classroom. If you measured a playground that is 50 metres long, the reservoir was still much bigger!

Think About It (Page 12)

Question 1: Who do you think organised their work and gave them precise instructions? Answer: It was likely the rulers, administrators, or engineers of the city who planned the work and gave instructions. Building such huge reservoirs required careful planning and expert knowledge.

Question 2: How do you think they were paid for their labour? (Hint: there was no money at that time in the way we have today.) Answer: They were likely paid in food (like grain, barley, or wheat) or goods (like cloth or tools). This system of exchanging goods for work is called barter or payment in kind.

Question 3: Since the reservoirs needed to be cleaned from time to time, was there some local authority to manage their maintenance? Answer: Yes, there must have been a municipal authority or local administration. Regular cleaning and maintenance of drains and reservoirs suggest a strong civic system that looked after public facilities.

Let Us Explore (Page 13)

Question: Imagine you cook a meal in a Harappan house. What dish or dishes would you prepare, based on the data given above?

Answer: I would prepare a meal with the following items:

1. Rotis (Flatbread): Made from wheat or barley flour.
2. Dal: Made from pulses (lentils). 
3. Curry: A vegetable curry seasoned with turmeric and ginger.
4. Side Dish: Roasted fish or meat.
5. Dessert: Something made with milk or dairy products.

Let’s Explore (Page 15)

Question: Looking at these three Harappan seals with some writing signs, what goes through your mind? Would you like to suggest any interpretations?

Answer:

• The Unicorn Seal (Fig 6.13-1): The animal looks like a mythical creature with one horn. It might represent a powerful clan or a magical story.
• The Bull Seal (Fig 6.13-2): The bull looks strong. It shows that cattle were very important for farming and transport.
• The Horned Tiger Seal (Fig 6.13-3): This tiger has horns, which is unusual. It might be a god or a supernatural spirit of the forest.
• The Writing: The symbols above the animals might be the name of the owner of the goods or a title.

Think About It (Page 18)

Question: Looking at the objects on pages 100 and 101 — or any other pictured in this chapter — can you make out what activities or aspects of life were important for the Harappans?

Answer:

• Games and Play: They valued fun and leisure, shown by the stone gamesboard and the terracotta whistle.
• Grooming and Fashion: Appearance was important, shown by the bronze mirror, ivory combs, and carnelian beads.
• Trade and Measurement: Fairness in business was important, shown by the standard stone weights.
• Art and Dance: They loved art and performance, shown by the “Dancing Girl” statue.

Let’s Explore (Page 18)

Question 1: Complete the story found on the Lothal pot. How was such a story remembered for more than 4,000 years, in your opinion? Answer:

• The Story: The painting shows a thirsty bird (crow) and a pitcher. The crow cannot reach the water, so it drops stones into the pot to raise the water level and drink. This is the story of “The Thirsty Crow”.
• How it was remembered: It was likely passed down through oral traditions (grandparents telling stories to children) from generation to generation for thousands of years before being written down in books like the Panchatantra.

Question 2: Consider the ‘Dancing Girl’ figurine. What do you make of the attitude the figurine expresses? Answer: The figurine stands with one hand on her hip and head held high. This expresses confidence, boldness, and spirit.

Question 3: Observe her bangles covering an entire arm… Where else in this chapter can you spot bangles worn in this manner. What conclusion should we draw from this? Answer:

• Location: You can see similar bangles on the arm of the terracotta figurine seated in ‘namaste’ shown in Fig. 6.15-5 on page 17.
• Conclusion: Wearing stacks of bangles all over the arm was a common fashion or tradition for women in the Harappan civilisation, a style still seen in Gujarat and Rajasthan today.

Think About It (Page 18)

Question: What caused this decline? (Why did people return to rural settlements?)

Answer: The decline was likely caused by climatic changes and environmental issues.

1. Less Rain: Around 2200 BCE, rainfall reduced, making it hard to grow enough food for large cities.
2. Drying Rivers: The Sarasvatī River dried up, forcing people to abandon cities on its banks like Kalibangan. People returned to rural settlements because it was easier to find food and water for survival in villages than in large, crowded cities. 

Questions, activities and projects (Page 20)

1. Why does the civilisation studied in this chapter have several names? Discuss their significance. Answer:

• Indus Valley Civilisation: Named because the first sites discovered (like Mohenjo-daro) were near the Indus River valley.
• Harappan Civilisation: Named after Harappa, the very first city to be discovered and excavated in 1920-21.
• Indus-Sarasvatī Civilisation: Named because many settlements were also found along the dried-up bed of the Sarasvatī River, not just the Indus. 

2. Write a brief report (150 to 200 words) summing up some of the achievements of the Indus-Sarasvatī civilisation. Answer: The Indus-Sarasvatī civilisation was one of the most advanced ancient societies. Its greatest achievement was Town Planning. Cities like Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were built with a grid system, having wide, straight streets and distinct Upper and Lower towns. Another major achievement was Sanitation. They had the world’s first planned drainage system. Houses had bathrooms connected to street drains, showing a high concern for hygiene. They were experts in Water Management. In Dholavira, they built massive reservoirs and stone dams to harvest and store water. In Crafts and Trade, they made standardized stone weights, bronze tools, and beautiful jewelry from carnelian and gold. They traded these goods with distant lands like Mesopotamia. They also developed a writing system found on seals.

 

3. Imagine you have to travel from the city of Harappa to Kalibangan. What are your different options? Can you make a rough estimation of the amount of time each option might take? Answer:

• Option 1: River Travel. Since both cities were near river systems (Indus and Sarasvatī tributaries), you could take a boat. This would be faster for carrying goods.
• Option 2: Bullock Cart. You could travel by land using a bullock cart, as we know they had carts (toy models were found).
• Option 3: Walking.
• Time Estimation: The distance is several hundred kilometers.
  • Walking: might take 2-3 weeks.
  • Bullock Cart: might take 10-15 days.

4. Let us imagine a Harappan man or woman being transported to an average kitchen in today’s India. What are the four or five biggest surprises awaiting them? Answer:

1. tainless Steel/Plastic: They used clay, bronze, or copper pots. Seeing shiny steel or plastic containers would be shocking.
2. Gas Stove/LPG: They cooked on wood or cow-dung fires. A blue flame from a pipe would be magic to them.
3. Tap Water: Turning a knob to get water instead of going to a well would be a big surprise.
4. New Foods: They did not have potatoes, tomatoes, or chillies (which came to India much later). They ate wheat, barley, and lentils.
5. Electricity: Electric lights and fridges would be completely new.

5. Looking at all the pictures in this chapter, make a list of the ornaments / gestures / objects that still feel familiar in our 21st century. Answer:

• Namaste: The figurine in Fig. 6.15-5 is doing the ‘namaste’ greeting, which we still use.
• Bangles: The style of wearing many bangles on the arm (Fig. 6.15-4) is still seen in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
• Sindoor/Hairstyle: The female figurines often show hairstyles and jewelry styles still common in India.
• Plough: The shape of the plough (Fig. 6.9) is very similar to what farmers use today.
• Games: The board game (Fig. 6.14-5) looks like modern chess or Ludo.

6. What mindset does the system of reservoirs at Dholavira reflect? Answer: It reflects a mindset of conservation and foresight. The people of Dholavira lived in an arid (dry) region. They understood that rain was scarce and precious. Therefore, they planned ahead to save every drop of water during the rainy season to survive the dry months. It shows they were responsible and scientifically advanced.

7. In Mohenjo-daro, about 700 wells built with bricks have been counted. They seem to have been regularly maintained and used for several centuries. Discuss the implications. Answer: This implies that:

1. Water was Essential: They prioritized easy access to clean water for everyone.
2. Strong Maintenance: The wells didn’t collapse or dry up, meaning people repaired and cleaned them regularly for hundreds of years.
3. Community Effort: It shows a society that worked together to keep public utilities running for future generations.

8. It is often said that the Harappans had a high civic sense. Discuss the significance of this statement. Do you agree with it? Compare with citizens in a large city of India today. Answer:

• Agreement: Yes, I agree. “Civic sense” means caring for the community and following rules for the public good.
• Significance: The Harappans built drains that were covered and ran under streets. They didn’t throw waste on the road; it went into the drains. They built houses of the same quality for poor and rich. They had dustbins and public wells. 
• Comparison: Today, in many Indian cities, we sometimes see garbage on streets or blocked drains. The Harappans were perhaps more disciplined about public hygiene and town planning than many modern cities.