Class 6 History Chapter 1 Practice Question Answers - What, Where, How and When?

Q1: How did India get its name?
Ans: India got its name from river Indus by Persians and Iranians. Indus is called Sindhu in Sanskrit. While the Arab traders gave the name Hindustan to the land beyond Indus.

Q2: What were the occupations of the people in early days?
Ans: People in early days were hunters, herders, farmers, rulers, musicians, merchants, priests, craftsmen, artists and scientists.

Q3: What is Cartouche?
Ans: Scholars who could read Greek figured out that the names of king and queen were enclosed in a little frame called Cartouche.

Q4: Why River basin of river Indus is called sapta saindhav?
Ans: Because it consists of the basin of seven rivers altogether.

Q5: Name the emperor whose inscription has been found from Kandahar.
Ans: Ashoka

Q6: Which is the best successful example in understanding history through decipherment?
Ans: The history of Egypt.

Q7: What is the meaning of Indus in Sanskrit?
Ans: Sindhu

Q8: What do you mean by the term ‘tributaries’?
Ans: Tributaries are smaller rivers that flow into a larger river.

Q9: Where did women and men first began to cultivate crops such as wheat and barley?
Ans: In Sulaiman and Kirthar hills

Q10: What do you mean by the term ‘Epigraphy’?
Ans: Study of inscriptions is called Epigraphy.

Q11: What evidence do we get from Bones of animals?
Ans: Bones of the animals helped to know the eating habits of the people.

Q12: Where is Rosetta located?
Ans: Rosetta is a town on the north coast of Egypt.

Q13: Where did the early people live?
Ans: Early people lived along the banks of River Narmada.

Q14: What do you mean by manuscripts?
Ans: Manuscripts are a very important source to know about our past.

• They were usually written on the palm leaf or on the bark of a tree, by hand.
• The palm leaves or the bark of a tree were cut into pages and tied together to make books.
• These books deal with varied subjects such as, science, medicine, religious beliefs and practices and lives of kings. Besides, there were epics, poems and plays.
• The language used in the manuscripts was Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tamil.

Q15: Why do historians and archaeologists use various sources to study about our past?
Ans: Archaeologists and historians are scholars who study things that were made and used in the past through the process of excavation. Manuscripts, inscriptions, tools, coins, monuments are the source of information used by these scholars to know about the past of the people. Once these sources are found, learning about the past becomes an adventure, and gradually history is reconstructed.

Q16: Why did ancient men and women move to different places?
Ans: Men and women travelled from one place to another for the following reasons:

• In search of livelihood.
• To escape from natural disasters like flood or drought.
• Sometimes men marched in armies, conquering other's lands.
• Merchants travelled with caravans or ships, carrying valuables.
• Religious teachers walked from one place to another to offer instructions and advices on religion.
• Some people travelled to new & exciting places for adventure purposes.

Q17: Why is South Asia often called a sub-continent?
Ans: South Asia is often called a sub-continent because although it is smaller than a continent, it is very large and is separated from the rest of Asia by seas, hills and mountains. It is a home to over one-fifth of the world’s population.

Q18: When did the early cities develop in India?
Ans:

• About 4700 years ago some of the earliest cities (Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal, Chun-hu-daro, Rupar, Banwali, Kalibangam, Surkotada etc.) flourished on the banks of the Indus and its tributaries.
• Later, about 2500 years ago, cities developed on the banks of the Ganga and its tributaries, and along the sea coasts.

Q19: What do AD and BC stand for?
Ans: AD stands for two Latin words, ‘Anno Domini’, meaning 'in the year of the Lord' (i.e. Christ) . The year 2014, also written as AD 2014, means 2014 years after the birth of Christ. BC stands for 'Before Christ', meaning before the birth of Christ. A time period written as 200 BC means 200 years before the birth of Christ.

Q20: What can we know about the past?
Ans: There are several things we can find out about the past:

• We can find out about what people ate, the kinds of clothes they wore, the houses in which they lived.
• We can find out about hunters, herdsmen, farmers, rulers, merchants, priests, crafts persons, artists, musicians and scientists.
• We can find out about the games children played, the stories they heard, the dramas (or plays) they saw or enjoyed, the songs they sang.