From Hunting Gathering to Growing Food Class 6 History Chapter 2 Extra Questions are available here. These extra questions have been created by the subject experts of our website CBSE Wale.
From Hunting Gathering to Growing Food Class 6 History Chapter 2 Extra Questions
Question 1: Why did the earliest people move from place to place?
Answer: The earliest people, known as hunter-gatherers, moved because they needed to search for food, as staying in one place for too long would deplete local plant and animal resources.
Question 2: What were the primary food sources for hunter-gatherers?
Answer: Hunter-gatherers primarily obtained their food by hunting wild animals, catching fish and birds, and gathering fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks, and eggs.
Question 3: What factors influenced the movement of hunter-gatherers?
Answer: The movement of hunter-gatherers was influenced by several factors, including the need to follow animals as they migrated, the seasonal availability of different types of plants and fruits, and the necessity to find water sources, especially during dry seasons.
Question 4: How did the movement of animals affect hunter-gatherer societies?
Answer: Hunter-gatherers had to follow the movements of animals such as deer and wild cattle, as these animals moved in search of food sources like grass and leaves, thereby necessitating the movement of the hunter-gatherer societies as well.
Question 5: How do we learn about the early hunter-gatherer societies?
Answer: We learn about early hunter-gatherer societies through archaeological findings of tools and artifacts they made and used.
Question 6: What materials were commonly used by hunter-gatherers to make tools?
Answer: Hunter-gatherers commonly used stone, wood, and bone to make tools, with stone tools being the most durable and thus the most commonly found by archaeologists.
Question 7: What were some of the functions of stone tools used by hunter-gatherers?
Answer: Stone tools were utilized by hunter-gatherers for various tasks such as cutting meat and bone, scraping bark and hides, chopping fruits and roots, and crafting spears and arrows for hunting.
Question 8: How did hunter-gatherers utilize wood in their daily lives?
Answer: Hunter-gatherers used wood for multiple purposes, including chopping it for firewood, constructing huts, and crafting tools.
Question 9: How did hunter-gatherers select their living locations?
Answer: Hunter-gatherers selected their living locations based on various factors, including proximity to water sources like rivers and lakes and the availability of high-quality stone for making tools.
Question 10: What evidence do archaeologists use to identify sites inhabited by hunter-gatherers?
Answer: Archaeologists identify sites inhabited by hunter-gatherers by locating artifacts such as stone tools and other evidence of human activity.
Question 11: Why were water sources significant for hunter-gatherer settlements?
Answer: Water sources were crucial for hunter-gatherer settlements because they provided essential resources for survival, such as drinking water, food sources, and materials for various activities.
Question 12: How did the availability of good-quality stone influence the choice of settlement locations?
Answer: The availability of good-quality stone influenced the choice of settlement locations because stone tools were essential for various tasks, and having access to high-quality stone made tool-making easier and more efficient for hunter-gatherer communities.
Question 13: What are rock paintings, and where are some notable examples found?
Answer: Rock paintings are artworks found on cave walls, particularly notable for their depictions of wild animals. Some of the best examples are found in caves in Madhya Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh.
Question 14: What do the rock paintings in these caves depict?
Answer: The rock paintings depict wild animals, which are drawn with remarkable accuracy and skill, providing insights into the lives and surroundings of the early people who created them.
Question 15: What information do rock paintings provide about early human societies?
Answer: Rock paintings offer valuable information about the environment, wildlife, and artistic abilities of early human societies, shedding light on their culture, activities, and possibly their spiritual beliefs.
Question 16: Why are rock paintings considered important archaeological findings?
Answer: Rock paintings are considered important archaeological findings because they provide visual representations of early human life, offering clues about their hunting practices, artistic skills, and cultural traditions.
Question 17: What evidence indicates that people were familiar with the use of fire in the past?
Answer: Traces of ash have been found, suggesting familiarity with fire usage.
Question 18: What potential purposes could fire have served for the people in the area?
Answer: Fire could have been utilized as a source of light, for roasting meat, and for scaring away animals.
Question 19: What is the term used by archaeologists to refer to the earliest period studied?
Answer: The earliest period is called the Palaeolithic, derived from the Greek words ‘palaeo’ meaning old, and ‘lithos’ meaning stone, emphasizing the significance of stone tools.
Question 20: How long does the Palaeolithic period span, and how is it further categorized?
Answer: The Palaeolithic period spans from 2 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago and is divided into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Palaeolithic.
Question 21: What is the significance of the Mesolithic period, and how is it characterized?
Answer: The Mesolithic period, beginning approximately 12,000 years ago until about 10,000 years ago, marks environmental changes. It is characterized by the use of tiny stone tools called microliths, likely attached to bone or wooden handles to create tools such as saws and sickles, alongside the continued use of older tool varieties.
Question 22: What does the term ‘Neolithic’ signify?
Answer: The term ‘Neolithic,’ starting around 10,000 years ago, refers to the next stage following the Mesolithic period.
Question 23: Why are present-day names often used to refer to ancient places?
Answer: Present-day names are often used because the original names of the places where people lived in the past are unknown.
Question 24: What significant changes occurred in the climate around 12,000 years ago?
Answer: Around 12,000 years ago, there was a notable shift to relatively warm conditions globally, leading to the development of grasslands in many areas.
Question 25: How did the development of grasslands affect animal populations?
Answer: The development of grasslands resulted in an increase in the number of animals such as deer, antelope, goat, sheep, and cattle, which relied on grass for survival.
Question 26: How did the changes in animal populations influence human behavior?
Answer: Those who hunted these animals began to follow them, gaining knowledge about their food habits and breeding seasons, likely prompting thoughts about herding and rearing these animals themselves.
Question 27: What other significant shift occurred in human activities alongside the changes in animal populations?
Answer: Fishing also became important alongside the changes in animal populations and the shift to warmer conditions.
Question 28: What led to the transition of people into farming?
Answer: People likely collected naturally growing grains such as wheat, barley, and rice for food, learning about their growth and ripening patterns, which possibly prompted the idea of growing plants independently, leading to the transition into farming.
Question 29: How did people begin the process of animal domestication?
Answer: People began the process of animal domestication by leaving food near their shelters to attract and tame animals. The first animal to be tamed was the wild ancestor of the dog, followed by the encouragement of relatively gentle animals such as sheep, goat, cattle, and pigs to come near human camps.
Question 30: What characterized the lifestyle of early herders?
Answer: Early herders lived alongside animals such as sheep, goat, cattle, and pigs, which lived in herds and primarily consumed grass. They often protected these animals from attacks by other wild animals, leading to the development of herding practices.
Question 31: What is domestication, and how does it affect plants and animals?
Answer: Domestication is the process by which people grow plants and care for animals, often resulting in significant differences from their wild counterparts. People select plants and animals for specific traits such as disease resistance, large grain yield, and strong stalks in plants, and gentleness in animals, leading to distinct characteristics in domesticated varieties.
Question 32: How do people ensure that desirable traits are passed on in domesticated plants?
Answer: Seeds from selected plants are preserved and sown to ensure that new plants inherit the desired qualities, maintaining consistency in traits across generations.
Question 33: What distinguishes domesticated animals from their wild counterparts?
Answer: Domesticated animals often have differences from wild animals, such as smaller teeth and horns compared to their wild counterparts.
Question 34: When did the process of domestication begin, and what are some examples of early domesticated plants and animals?
Answer: The process of domestication began approximately 12,000 years ago, resulting in virtually all the plants and animals used as food today. Some of the earliest domesticated plants include wheat and barley, while early domesticated animals include sheep and goats.
Question 35: What changes did the practice of growing plants bring to human lifestyle?
Answer: The practice of growing plants required people to remain in one place for extended periods, tending to the plants by watering, weeding, and protecting them from animals and birds until the grain ripened. Additionally, they had to carefully store the harvested grain for both food and future seed use.
Question 36: How did people adapt to the need for grain storage?
Answer: To address the need for grain storage, people in many areas began making large clay pots, weaving baskets, or digging pits into the ground to store the grain.
Question 37: Do you think hunter-gatherers would have made and used pots? Provide reasons for your answer.
Answer: The likelihood of hunter-gatherers making and using pots depends on various factors. They might have used alternative methods for food storage such as leather bags or woven containers due to their nomadic lifestyle. Pots require settled communities with access to clay deposits and firing technology, which may not have been feasible for hunter-gatherer groups on the move. However, if they encountered pottery from other settled communities, they might have adapted it for their own use.
Question 38: What benefits do animals provide when they are reared?
Answer: Animals, when cared for attentively, offer natural multiplication and serve as a source of milk, an essential food staple, and meat, as needed, essentially functioning as a food reserve.
Question 39: How do animals serve as a ‘store’ of food?
Answer: Animals reared by humans can serve as a ‘store’ of food by providing a continuous supply of milk and meat when necessary, ensuring a readily available source of sustenance.
Question 40: Where are some of the most significant sites of early farmers and herders located?
Answer: Some of the most important sites of early farmers and herders are located in present-day Kashmir in the northwest, as well as in eastern and southern India.
Question 41: How do scientists determine whether these sites were settlements of farmers and herders?
Answer: Scientists study evidence of plants and animal bones found at these sites. One notable discovery includes burnt grain remains, which scientists can identify, indicating the cultivation of various crops across different regions of the subcontinent. Additionally, scientists can identify the bones of different animals at these sites.
Question 42: What types of structures have archaeologists found at some sites indicating towards settled life?
Answer: Archaeologists have found traces of huts or houses at certain sites. For instance, at Burzahom in present-day Kashmir, people built pit-houses dug into the ground with steps leading into them, possibly providing shelter during cold weather.
Question 43: What evidence suggests that cooking was carried out both indoors and outdoors at these settlements?
Answer: Archaeologists have discovered cooking hearths both inside and outside the huts at these sites, indicating that depending on the weather conditions, people could cook food either indoors or outdoors.
Question 44: What distinguishes Neolithic tools from earlier Palaeolithic tools?
Answer: Neolithic tools, found at many sites, differ from earlier Palaeolithic tools. Neolithic tools often include those that were polished to provide a fine cutting edge, as well as mortars and pestles used for grinding grain and other plant produce.
Question 45: How did the introduction of earthen pots impact food storage and cooking practices?
Answer: Earthen pots, often decorated, were utilized for storing items and cooking food, especially grains like rice, wheat, and lentils, which became significant parts of the diet.
Question 46: Did changes in lifestyle occur uniformly across all regions and at the same time?
Answer: No, changes did not occur uniformly across all regions and simultaneously. In many areas, some individuals continued hunting and gathering food, while others gradually adopted farming and herding over several thousand years. Additionally, some people attempted to combine these activities, engaging in different tasks during different seasons.
Question 47: Where is Mehrgarh located, and what significant activities were likely carried out there?
Answer: Mehrgarh is situated in a fertile plain near the Bolan Pass, an important route into Iran. It is believed to be one of the places where people first learned to grow barley and wheat and rear sheep and goats in this region, making it one of the earliest known villages.
Question 48: What types of animal bones were found at the Mehrgarh site?
Answer: At Mehrgarh, archaeologists discovered bones of various animals, including wild animals such as deer and pig, as well as bones of sheep and goats.
Question 49: What architectural features characterize the houses found at Mehrgarh?
Answer: The houses at Mehrgarh were square or rectangular in shape and contained four or more compartments, some of which may have been used for storage purposes.
Question 50: What evidence of burial practices has been found at Mehrgarh?
Answer: Several burial sites have been discovered at Mehrgarh, indicating practices related to death and the afterlife. In one instance, a person was buried with goats, likely intended as food for the deceased in the afterlife.