Class 6 History Chapter 4 Question Answers - What Books and Burials Tell us

Short Q & A :

Q1: Write about Gods and Goddesses of early Aryans.

Ans : Early Aryans worshipped different forces of nature such as sun, earth, sky, wind, rain, fire and so on. all these became their gods and goddesses. These gods were given a human form. Lord Indra was one of the supreme deities in Rigveda and a symbol of courage and strength. Lord Indra was the king of the cosmic gods and was called Purandhar- 'destroyer of enemies'.

Q2: The megaliths of a particular family were recognized by stone circle. Explain.

Ans : Stone boulders placed on the surface of the graves served as signposts to find the burial site. Sometimes, megaliths contain more than one skeleton. These indicate that people, perhaps belonging to the same family, were buried in the same place though not at the same time.

Q3: How cow held an important place in the life of the Aryans?

Ans : The Aryans lived in very well planned villages. They lived in huts. these huts were surrounded by fences. Fields lay close to the huts. The cow held an important place in the life of the Aryans. Each household had a number of cows.

Q4: How slaves were treated?

Ans : Slaves were treated as the property of their owners. They made them do whatever they wanted.

Q5: Write about Megalithic culture.

Ans : The practice of erecting Megaliths started about 3,000 years ago. In this culture, burial sites are marked by extremely large stones called megaliths. The megalithic graves contained several iron implements and weapons. A variety of pots have also been found in some graves.

Q6: How were Yajnas performed?

Ans : Yajnas were also performed by offering ghee and grains to the fire in order to please Gods and Goddesses

Q7: Write about Dasas.

Ans : Dasas were the people who did not perform sacrifices and probably spoke different language that Aryans could not understand. They were regarded as the opponents of the Aryans.

Q8: Write few lines about Charaka .

Ans : Charak was the physician of Kanishka. He is also considered as the first physician to put forward the concepts of digestion, immunity and metabolism. He wrote a medical treaty popularly known as 'Charak Samhita'.

Q9: Write a short note on the Wars fought in the Rigvedic period?

Ans : In Rigvedic times, wars were fought for land, water, cattle and people. Some of the booty obtained from these battles was kept by the leaders, some was given to the priests and the rest was distributed amongst the people. Some wealth was used for the performance of yajnas or sacrifices in which offerings were made into the fire. Most men participated in these wars. There was no regular army during this period. People discussed matters of war and peace in the assemblies. Very often brave and skilful warriors were chosen as the leaders.

Q10: Describe the Dravidian language family.

Ans : Dravidian language family: This language family comprises of languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. These languages are spoken in the southern part of India.

Q11: Mention three important Rigvedic gods.

Ans : Important gods of the Rigvedic age were: Agni, the god of fire; Indra, a warrior god and Soma, a plant from which a special drink was prepared.

Q12: Why were battles fought in the Rig Vedic period?

Ans : 

Battles were fought in the Rigvedic period for various reasons such as:

• Battles were fought to capture cattle.
• They also fought for land, which was important for pasture and for growing hardy crops that ripened quickly, such as barley.
• Some battles were fought for water and to capture people.

Q13: How can we say that the people of Inamgaon were hunters and gatherers?

Ans : 

The varieties of evidence that have been discovered by the archaeologists suggest that people at Inamgaon were hunters, gatherers and farmers. The evidence were -

• Bones of a number of animals and many bearing cut marks show that they may have been used as food were also found. This shows that the people of Inamgaon practiced hunting.
• There is evidence that fruits such as ber, amla, jamun, dates and a variety of berries were collected, which shows that they gathered food.

Q14: How can we say that the people of Inamgaon were farmers?

Ans : Seeds of wheat, barley, rice, pulses, millets, peas and sesame have been found from the site which shows that these cereals were grown by them.

Q15: What does the Rigveda tell about battles?

Ans : According to the Rigveda, battles were fought to capture cattle. They were also fought for land which was important for grazing land, and for growing stable crops. Some battles were fought for water, and to capture people. The wealth obtained by the war was kept by the leaders, some was given to the priests and the rest was distributed amongst the people. Some wealth was used for the performance of Yajnas or sacrifices in which offerings were made into the fire. Most men took part in these wars. There was no regular army, but there were assemblies where people met and discussed matters of war and peace. The armies were basically militias. They also chose leaders, who were often brave and skilful warriors known as Sainani. Sainani’s duty was to gather the army and lead the war.

Q16: How did the people of Inamgaon dispose of their dead?

Ans : 

Inamgaon is a site on the river Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima. There are three ways of disposing deads found in Inamgaon, which are as follows:

• The adults were generally buried in the ground, with the head towards the north.
• Sometimes dead were buried inside the houses. Vessels that probably contained food and water were placed with the dead.
• Evidence of a man buried in a large, four legged clay jar in the courtyard of a five roomed house has also been found. It shows that people at Inamgaon were buried in clay jars also

Q17: What do you mean by Indo-European languages?

Ans : It is a family of languages comprising of Indian language such as Sanskrit, Assamese, Gujarati, Kashmiri and Sindhi, and many European languages such as Gothic, Greek, Italian, Latin, old English, French, German and Spanish. These languages are known so because they are from the same family of languages and have words in common.

Q18: Who composed hymns of the Rigveda and what are its characteristics?

Ans : The hymns of the Rigveda were composed by sages (rishis). Priests taught students to recite and memorise each syllable, word, and sentence, with great care. It was the basic condition that every hymn should be uttered clearly and with proper pronunciation. Most of the hymns were composed, taught and learnt by men. A few were composed by women like Gargi and Vishveshwara

Q19: Write about the importance of horses during the Rigveda period.

Ans : Horses are mentioned in many prayers along with cattle and children (especially sons) in the Rigveda. Horses were yoked to chariots and used for battles for capturing cattle. Even there were yajanas like Ashvamedha performed with horses.

Q20: How are people described in the Rigveda?

Ans : People are described in the Rigveda in terms of the work they do, the languages they speak, the place they belong. There are two groups; the priests known as brahmins, who performed various rituals and the rajas. Apart from these there are many terms such as jana and vish used to describe people.

Q21: What are the features of the megaliths?

Ans : During the archaeological excavations, megaliths were found in a circle of stone boulders or a single large stone standing on the ground. These are the indications that there are burials beneath. Generally the dead were buried with distinctive pots, which were called Black and Red Ware. Some tools and weapons of iron and skeletons of horses, horse equipments and ornaments of stone and gold were buried along with the dead. Sometimes, Megaliths contained more than one skeleton. It reflects that people belonging to the same family were buried in the same place in different time. Megaliths are commemorated grave areas marked with stone boulders surroundings.

Q22: List some of the common features of all the burials.

Ans : 

The common features of all the burials are as follows:

• Normally, the dead were buried with distinctive pots, which are called Black and Red Ware.
• Tools and weapons of iron were also found buried with the dead.
• Sometimes, skeletons of horses, horse equipments and ornaments of stone and gold were also found buried with the dead.

Q23: Why did the Rig Vedic people pray for horses and cattle ?

Ans : Agriculture was a prime occupation. Cattle were important to till the land. Cows provided food items in the form of dairy products, horses were prayed for because they were an important mode of transport and were used in battles to pull chariots.

Q24: How much does the RigVeda tell about the human society in ancient India?

Ans : The Rigveda tells us about various bifurcations in the Indian society. It talks about a group of people known as the Brahmins who performed rituals and rites related to gods. Then, it talks about Rajas who did not have armies and were unable to collect taxes.Two words were used to describe people as a whole namely, Jana and Vish. The word Vaishya emerged from the word Vish. People who composed hymns called themselves Aryas and Dasyus and were described as people who did not perform any rights or rituals. Later, the term dasa came to mean slave.

Q25: How was the Rig Veda different from the books that we read today?

Ans : As writing still had not developed, the Rig Veda was recited by the teachers and heard by the students. The books that we have today are written and printed. We then read the printed books.

Q26: What was the system of distribution of wealth captured in the war?

Ans : Some of the wealth that was captured was kept by the leaders. A portion was given to the priests and the rest was distributed amongst the people. Some of this wealth was also used to perform yagnas and offer sacrifices into the fire for the well-being of the tribe.

Long Q & A : 

Q1: There was some difference in status amongst the people who were buried. Explain.
 Ans : In some graves more objects were found than in others. In Brahmagiri, one skeleton was buried with 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles and one conch shell. Other skeletons have only a few pots. This evidence suggests that there was some difference in status amongst the people who were buried. .