Class 6 History Chapter 8 Practice Question Answers - Villages, Towns and Trade

Q1: Name the capital of Augustus.
Ans: Rome

Q2: A sailor who has described all the ports he visited belongs to ________.
Ans: Greek.

Q3: Who were Kadaisiyar?
Ans: Landless people in the Tamil region.

Q4: What were Shren is?
Ans: The associations formed by crafts persons and merchants.

Q5: Who were Dasa karmakara?
Ans: Dasa karmakara were landless people who earned their living by working on the fields owned by others.

Q6: Who were Grihapatis?
Ans: Independent farmers

Q7: Of what materials the metal of the coins was made?
Ans: Silver or copper.

Q8: Write a short note on the shrenis.
Ans: During this period 2500-2000 BC, many craft persons and merchants formed associations known as shrenis. Their function was to provide training, procure material, and distribute the finished product. Then shrenis of merchants organised the trade. Shrenis also functioned as banks where rich people deposited their money.

Q9: What was punch marked coins?
Ans: The earliest coins which were in use for about 500 years were punch marked coins. They are called as punch marked coins because the designs were punched on the metal such as silver and copper.

Q10: State the importance of Arikamedu.
Ans: Arikamedu was an important trade center around 2200 and 1900 years ago. According to Wheeler Arikamedu was a Tamil fishing village which was formerly a major Chola port dedicated to bead making and trading with Roman traders.

Q11: How did the pottery design got its name?
Ans: The pottery design got its name due to its predominant presense in the northern parts of the sub continent. The pottery design was popular in the later Vedic period. Some sites where the NBPW have been found are Mahasthan, Chandraketugarh, Bangarh, etc.

Q12: Why was grama bhojaka powerful?
Ans: Grama bhojaka was the village headman. He was the largest landowner. He did not cultivate his own land and had slaves and hired workers to work on his fields. The King had given him the duty to collect taxes from the village. He functioned as a judge. He also had to perform the duties of a policeman. This added to his prestige and made him powerful.

Q13: Write short note on the Northern Black Polished Ware.
Ans: Archaeologists, while looking for evidence for fine pottery, found the Northern Black Polished Ware. It got this name since it was found in the northern part of the subcontinent, was black in colour and had a fine luster.

Q14: What were aqueducts? Why did the Roman emperor build huge aqueducts?
Ans: Aqueducts were huge channels to supply water. The Roman emperors built these aqueducts to bring water to the city for the baths, fountains and toilets.

Q15: During the period between 200 BCE to 300 BCE India enjoyed a good deal of prosperity. Explain.
Ans: During the period between 200 BCE to 300 BCE India enjoyed a good deal of prosperity. The number of artisans and craftsmen increased particularly in cities. The growth in art and craft led to specialization and greater technical skill in certain spheres of production.

Q16: Name three different kinds of people living in the villages of Tamil region?
Ans: The three different kinds of people living in most villages in the southern parts of the subcontinent or the Tamil region were the landowners known as vellala, ordinary ploughmen known as uzhavar, and landless labourers such as slaves known as kadaisiyar and adimai.

Q17: What is the sangam literature and when were they composed?
Ans: Some of the earliest works in Tamil are known as sangam literature. They were composed around 2300 years ago. These texts were called Sangam because they were composed and compiled in assemblies, known as sangam, of poets that were held in the city of Madurai.

Q18: Mention some of the evidence which tell us about the life in early cities.
Ans: The following evidence tell us about the life in early cities:

• Sculptures used to decorate railings, pillars and gateways of buildings. They depicted scenes of peoples’ lives in towns and villages, as well as in the forest.
• Accounts of travellers and sailors who visited these early cities.
• Rows of pots or ceramic rings arranged one on top of the other which seems to have been used as toilets in some cases and as drains and garbage dumps in others have been found by archaeologists.

Q19: Mathura has been an important settlement for more than 2500 years. Explain.
Ans: Many distinctive features made Mathura an important settlement.
Some such features are: 

• Its location at the cross roads of two major routes of travel and trade from northwest to east and from north to south. 
• There were fortifications around the city.
• It was an important centre for the production of some extremely fine sculpture. 
• It became the second capital of the Kushanas around 2000 years ago. 
• Several inscriptions on surfaces such as stone slabs and statues were found in Mathura.
• Buddhist monasteries and Jaina shrines made Mathura an important religious centre and it was an important centre for the worship of lord Krishna.

Q20: Briefly discuss the different kinds of people living in villages in the northern parts of the subcontinent.
Ans:

• Villages in the northern part of the country were mostly inhabited by the village headman, independent farmers, field workers and craftsmen.
• The village headman was known as the grama bhojaka. He was the largest land owner and generally very powerful.
• The independent farmers were called grihapatis, most of whom were smaller landowners. Then there were people who did not own land and earned their living by working on the fields owned by others.
• This segment was called dasa karmakara. In most villages, there were also some crafts persons such as the blacksmith, potter, carpenter and weaver.