Class 6 History Chapter 4 Notes, What Books and Burials tell us

Chapter 4 Notes
What books and Burials tell us
Class 6 – Social Science

Class	Class 6
Subject	Social Science
Chapter Name	What Books and Burials tell us
Chapter No.	Chapter 4
Category	Class 6 History Notes

Question 1 Name the 4 Vedas.

Question 2 Name the gods that were praised in hymns.

Question 3 How historians study the Rigveda?

Question 4 Why battles were fought?

Question 5 How was the wealth obtained utilised?

Question 6 What were the several ways of describing people?

Question 7 Explain the two groups who are described in terms of their work?

Question 8 Who were Aryans and Dasas or Dasyus

Question 9 What was the story of Megaliths?

Question 10 What do you mean by Black and Red Ware?

Question 11 What evidences showed the difference in status amongst the people?

Question 12 What does megaliths containing more than one skeleton shows?

Question 13 Write a short note on special burial at Inamgaon.

Question 14 What evidences were found by archeologists about the occupation of people at Inamgaon?

Question 15 What does port holes used for?

Question 16 What kind of evidence from burials do archaeologists use to find out whether there were social differences amongst those who were buried?

Question 17 In what ways do you think that the life of a raja was different from that of a dasa or dasi?

There are four Vedas

(1) The Rigveda

(2) The Samaveda

(3) The Yajurveda

(4) The Atharvaveda

The Rigveda

The oldest Veda is the Rigveda, composed about 3500 years ago. The Rigveda includes more than a thousand hymns, called sukta or “well-said”. These hymns are in praise of various gods and goddesses. Three gods are especially important:

(1) Agni, the god of fire

(2) Indra, a warrior god 

(3) Soma, a plant from which a special drink was prepared.

These hymns were composed by sages (rishis). Priests taught students to recite and memorise each syllable, word, and sentence, bit by bit, with great care. The Rigveda is in old or Vedic Sanskrit. The books we use are written and printed. The Rigveda was recited and heard rather than read. It was written down several centuries after it was first composed, and printed less than 200 years ago.

How Historians Study the Rigveda

(1) Some of the hymns were found in the form of dialogue. One of the conversations between Vishvamitra, Sutlej, and Beas is worshipped as a goddess.

A page from a manuscript of the Rigveda, on birch bark, was found in Kashmir. About 150 years ago, it was used to prepare one of the earliest printed texts of the Rigveda, as well as an English translation. It is now preserved in a library in Pune, Maharashtra.

(2) There are many prayers in the Rigveda for cattle, children (especially sons), and horses.

Horses were yoked to chariots that were used in battles, which were fought to capture cattle.

Battles were also fought :

(a) for land, which was important for pasture.

(b) for growing hardy crops that ripened quickly, such as barley.

(c) for water, and to capture people.

Some of the wealth that was obtained 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. These were meant for gods and goddesses. Offerings could include ghee, grain, and in some cases, animals.

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. They also chose leaders, who were often brave and skillful warriors.

Words to describe people

There are several ways of describing people — in terms of the work they do, the language they speak, the place they belong to, their family, their communities and cultural practices.

There are two groups who are described in terms of their work —

(1) The Priests:  They were called brahmins, who performed various rituals

(2) The Rajas: They did not have capital cities, palaces or armies, nor did they collect taxes. Sons did not automatically succeed fathers as rajas.

Two words were used to describe the people or the community as a whole.

(1) One was the word jana 

(2) The other was vish.

Several vish or jana are mentioned by name. So we find reference to the Puru jana or vish, the Bharata jana or vish, the Yadu jana or vish, and so on.

The people who composed the hymns described themselves as Aryas and called their opponents Dasas or Dasyus. These were people who did not perform sacrifices, and probably spoke different languages. Later, the term dasa (and the feminine dasi) came to mean slave. Slaves were women and men who were often captured in war. They were treated as the property of their owners, who could make them do whatever work they wanted. 

Megaliths

Big stones are known as megaliths, which were arranged by people and were used to mark burial sites. The practice of erecting megaliths began about 3000 years ago and was prevalent throughout the Deccan, south India, in the north-east and Kashmir. All burials have some common features. The dead were buried with distinctive pots, which are called Black and Red Ware.

Archeologists also found tools and weapons of iron, skeletons of horses, horse equipment and ornaments of stone and gold.

Social Differences

Archaeologists think that objects found with a skeleton probably belonged to the dead person. Sometimes, more objects are found in one grave than in another. These finds suggest that there was some difference in status amongst the people who were buried. Some were rich, others poor, some chiefs, others followers.

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. The bodies of those who died later were brought into the grave through the portholes. Stone circles or boulders placed on the surface probably served as signposts to find the burial site, so that people could return to the same place whenever they wanted to.

A special burial at Inamgaon

It is a site on the river Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima. It was occupied between 3600 and 2700 years ago. Here, adults were generally buried in the ground, laid out straight, with the head towards the north. Sometimes burials were within the houses. Vessels that probably contained food and water were placed with the dead. One man was found buried in a large, four legged clay jar in the courtyard of a five-roomed house (one of the largest houses at the site), in the centre of the settlement. This house also had a granary. The body was placed in a cross-legged position.

Occupations at Inamgaon

(1) Archaeologists have found seeds of wheat, barley, rice, pulses, millets, peas and sesame.

(2) Bones of a number of animals, many bearing cut marks that show they may have been used as food, have also been found. These include cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, dog, horse, ass, pig, sambhar, spotted deer, blackbuck, antelope, hare, and mongoose, besides birds, crocodile, turtle, crab and fish.

(3) There is evidence that fruits such as ber, amla, jamun, dates and a variety of berries were collected.