Let’s recall
Question 1. Complete the sentences:
(a) Hunter-gatherers chose to live in caves and rock shelters because _________.
(b) Grasslands developed around ______ years ago.
Answer 1 (a) Hunter-gatherers chose to live in caves and rock shelters because they provided shelter from wild animals, rain, heat and wind.
(b) Grasslands developed around 12000 years ago.
Question 2. Why do people who grow crops have to stay in the same place for a long time?
Answer 2 People who grow crops have to stay in the same place for a long time to look after plants-protecting them from birds, animals and their other fellows so that they could grow and crops or seeds could-ripen safely. Settled life is useful and essential to lead a civilized life. People grow crops to meet their daily food and some other needs.
Question 3. Why do archaeologists think that many people who lived in Mehrgarh were hunters to start with and that herding became more important later?
Answer 3 Archaeologists think that many people who lived in Mehrgarh were hunters to start with and that herding became more important later because on excavation, archaeologists have found bones of wild animals such as the deer and pig in the lowermost levels and on upper levels, they found cattle and sheep bones.
Let’s discuss
Question 4. Why did the hunter-gatherers travel from place to place? In what ways are these similar to/different from the reasons for which we travel today?
Answer 4 Hunter-gatherers travelled from place to place in search of food. When the food at one place is exhausted then they travel to another place where they can find the food. Animals move from place to place. Humans followed them as they hunted them. Plants and trees bear fruit in different seasons. So when season changes, people moved to another place. In search of water, people travelled from place to place. Water is necessary for survival.
However, nowadays we travel for different purposes, like:
(1) Education. We travel to schools.
(2) Work. We travel to work.
(3) Business. People travel from place to place for business purposes.
(4) Entertainment. We travel from one place to another to amuse and entertain ourselves, like going to a circus, a zoo or sightseeing.
Question 5. List three ways in which hunter-gatherers used fire (see page15). Would you use fire for any of these purposes today?
Answer 5 Hunter-gatherers used fire as a source of light, to cook meat or food, to scare away animals also and fire keeps them warm.
Yes, fire is used as a source to cook food including meat. We also use it to keep us warm. Some people use it for religious purposes and burn their dead bodies.
Question 6. List three ways in which the lives of farmers and herders would have been different from that of hunter gatherers.
Answer 6 The lives of farmers and herders had been different in the following ways:
(1) They started leading a settled life instead of a nomadic life, like that of hunter-gatherers.
(2) They became food producers instead of food gatherers. The domestication of plants and animals became part and parcel of the people of the Neolithic stage.
(3) Different types of houses were built by farmers and herders. They used tools of different forms from the earlier Palaeolithic stage people. These include tools that were polished to give a fine cutting edge and mortars and pestles used for grinding grain and other plant produce.
(4) Generally, farmers ate cooked and well-prepared foods, while on the other hand hunter-gatherers ate uncooked and raw food.
Let’s do
Question 7. List two tasks that are performed by both men and women at present. List another two that are performed only by women, and two that are performed only by men. Compare your list with that of any two of your classmates. Do you notice any similarities/differences in your lists?
Answer 7 Two tasks performed by both men and women are
(a) Teaching in schools, colleges or institutions.
(b) Driving a car.
Two tasks performed by only men are :
(a) Working as carpenter
(b) Driving large vehicles.
Two tasks performed by only women are :
(a) Taking care of kids
(b) Household work.
Question 8. List the cereals that you eat. Do you grow the cereals you eat. If yes, draw a chart to show the stages in growing them. If not, draw a chart to show how these cereals reach you from the farmers who grow them.
Answer 8 Some cereals eaten by us are Wheat, Rice, Maize, Millets, Barley, Lentil and Grains.
We live in a big city. We do not grow grain. We get the grains indirectly from the farmers.
(1) Farmers bring their produce to market.
(2) The grain traders buy cereals.
(3) We as customers go and purchase cereals.
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