6th History NCERT
Chapter: 1 What, where, How and when
-The places where rice was 1st grown are to the north of the Vindhyas.
-The area to the south along the river Ganga and its tributary son, was known as Magadha.
-People moved in search of livelihood, some driven by a spirit of adventure, to escape droughts or floods
-Traders moved to do trade
-Religious teachers moved to offer instruction
=>All this lead to exchange of ideas between people.
Chapter 2:On the trail of earliest People
Reasons why Hunter gatherers moved from place to place:
1).Limited resources at one place
2).Animals moved in search of prey so the hunters had to move along too.
3).Plants and trees have different seasons in which they bear fruit so people moved.
4).People living alongside seasonal rivers would have to move insearch of water during dry seasons.
Tools made of stone; bone and wood provide us info about these people.
Stone tools:
1).Cut meat and bone, scrape bark(from trees) and hides, chop fruits and roots
2).Making spears and arrows for hunting
3).Digging for edible roots
4).Stitching clothes made out of animal skin.
Hunter gatherer sites have been found alongside rivers.
People tried to find places where good quality stones were found for making stone tools.
Factory sites:places where people made tools.
Habitation cum factory sites: sites where people lived for longer spells.
Palaeolithic period –2million years ago till 12000 yrs ago. This period covers 99% of human history.
Paleo means old,lithic means stone.
-Divided into
1).Lower
2).Middle
3).Upper Palaeolithic periods
Meso(Middle)lithic period - Period about 12000yrs ago when Environmental changes began till 10000yrs ago.
-Microliths: Tiny stone tools.Stuck to handles of bone or wood to make tools such as saws & sickles.
Rock paintings found on the walls of the caves .eg - Southern UP and MP
Ostrich eggs - Paleolithihc period - Patne Maharashtra
Hunsgi - Number of paleolithic sites
Chapter: 3From Gathering to growing food
Domestication –A process in which people grow plants and look after animals.
-Began 12000yrs ago
Early farmers herders - Present day Kashmir, East and south India
Bones of animals, seeds of plants, burnt grain.
Traces of huts or houses at some sites: Burzahom in Kashmir(pit houses)
Stone tools different from Palaeolithic tools found at some sites.
Neolithic Tools:Fine cutting edge. Mortars or pestles used to grind grain and plant produce.
Diff between tribes and societies
Tribes are different from many other societies: land, forests, grasslands, water are regarded as wealth of entire tribe and everybody shares n uses these together.
Mehrgarh - Located in a fertile plain near Bolan Pass.
- -remains of square and Rectangular houses.
- -Burial sites found
Daojali Hading - near Brahmaputra Valley
- -Stone tools including mortars and pestles have been found
-jadeite - stone from china
-Tools made of fossil wood
-pottery
Chapter 4: In the earliest cities
Harrapan cities developed 400 yrs ago.
Special features of Harrapan Cities:
1).Divided into 2 or more parts.
Citadel -The Part to the west; smaller and higher.
-Great bath in Mohenjodaro built in this areaWestEast
Lower town - Larger but lowerCitadel Lower town
-Kalibangan & Lothal had fire altars
-Mohenjodaro,Harappa had elaborate store houses
2).Walls of baked brick built around each part.
Houses - 1 or 2 storey high;Built around a courtyard.
-Drains were covered and drainage of houses connected to the bigger drains.
Rulers - People who planned the construction of special buildings in the city
- -sent people to distant lands to get metal, precious stones etc
Scribes - Ppl who knew how to write;prepared seals
Objects found in Harrapan cities:
-Made of stone, shell and metal including Cu,Bronze, Gold and silver
-Cu n Bronze: tools, weapons, ornaments n vessels
-Gold n silver: ornaments n vessels
-Beads(made of carnelian), weights(made of chert)and blades found
- Rectangular seals made of stone
-Pots with black designs
Cotton pieces found in Mohenjodaro attached to a silver vase.
Specialists - person trained to do only one kind of work.for eg : cutting stone, carving seals .
Faience - artificially produced Gum used to shape sand or powdered quartz and then object was glazed; colours were usually blue or sea green
- -used to make beads, bangles, earrings and tiny vessels.
Cu - Harrapans got it from rajasthan, Oman
Tin+Cu = bronze: Afghanistan and Iran
Gold - Karnataka
Precious stones - Gujarat , Iran and Afghanistan
Farming: Farmers and herders supplied food to cities
- Plough was used
- Stored water was used for irrigation as region gets less rainfall
- Reared sheep, goat, buffalo
- Caught fish, hunted wild animals and collected fruits
Dholavira in Gujarat (Rann of Kutch) -
- Divided into 3 parts not 2
- Each part surrounded by massive stone walls with entrances through gateways
- Open area for public ceremonies
Lothal -Located beside a tributary of Sabarmati close to Gulf of Khambat
- Situated near areas where raw materials like semi-precious stones were easily available
- Imp centre for making objects out of stone,shell and metal
The end:
3900 yrs ago ppl stopped living in many cities
- writings, weights, seals no longer used
-Raw materials became rare
-In Mohenjodaro garbage piled up on the streets
-Drainage system broke
-Less elaborate houses
Reasons suggested:
1).Drying up of rivers
2).Deforestation:Fuel was required for smelting Cu ores and baking bricks
3).Destruction of Green cover due to grazing by large herds of cattle
4).Floods in some areas
Chapter: 5 What Books and burials tell us
Oldest Veda:Rigveda (3500yrs ago)
Rigveda:
Contains Suktas or hymns (well - said)
-written in Old or Vedic Sanskrit
-Agni, Indra, Soma(plant from which spl drink was prepared)
-Most hymns were composed by men, few by women
Rigveda was recited and heard rather than read.
-written down several centuries after it was first composed
Prayers in Rigveda for cattle, children (esp. sons) and horses
Description of People as per Rigveda:
2 groups described in terms of their work,
- Brahmins(performed rituals)
- Rajas
2 words used to describe people or community as a whole:
-jana
-vish (vaishya comes from vish)
Aryas:who composed hymns
dasas or dasyus -their(aryas) opponents
-Rigveda composed in NW of the subcontinent
Megaliths - Big stones used tomark burial sites
-Practice was prevalent throughout in
-Deccan
-South India
-NE
-Kashmir
Burials in megaliths have some common features:
- -Dead buried with distinct pots (black n red ware)
- -tools n weapons of iron
- -ornaments of stone and gold
Megaliths:
-some were buried with more beads, ornaments etc which show some kind of status difference
-one family had same burial site
Chapter: 6Kingdoms, Kings and an early republic
3000yrs ago some men became rajas by performing very big sacrifices like Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice.
Period after Rigveda = Later vedic
samveda, yajurveda and atharvaveda are all later vedic texts
-Varna system - priests divided people into 4 groups
-Brahmins - priests
-Kshatriyas- rulers
-vaishyas - farmers, herders, traders
-Shudras - had to serve other groups; couldn’t perform rituals
-Women and shudras cudnt study vedas
-Varna decided by birth
Janapadas:The land where jana sets its foot and settled down.
Rajas who performed these big sacrifices were now known as rajas of janapadas rather than janas(vish).
-rajas of janapadas were given gifts by the jana
Some janapadas became more important and were now called as Mahajanapadas
-They had a capital city, many were fortified.
Rajas now began to maintain armies;soldiers paid regular salaries;some payments were thru punch marked coins
-Taxes were imposed now to maintain armies and to raise resources to build forts
-Bhaga or a share: tax on crops =1/6th of what was produced;
-Tax on craft persons in form of labour like work for a day
-Herders:animals or animal produce
-Hunters n Gatherers:forest produce
2 major Changes in Agriculture:
1).Growing use of Iron ploughshares which meant more grain as iron plough could turn the soil over better then wooden ones
2).Transplantation of paddy began:Instead of scattering seeds, saplings were grown n then planted on fields.It lead to an increased productionas many more plants survived
-dasas or agricultural labourers (Kammakaras) did this work.
Magadha:
- -Became important Mahajanapada in 200yrs
- -Ganga n son flowed thru it
- tranport
- water supply
- made land fertile
-iron ore mines
-Bimbisara n Ajatsattu were 2very powerful rulers of Magadha
-used all means to conquer other Janapadas
-Mahapadma Nanda:
-Extended his control to North West part of subcontinent
-Rajgriha(present day rajgir ) was capital of Magadha for many years. Later it was shifted to pataliputra(patna)
Vajji:
Capital:Vaishali(Bihar)
Government type:Gana or sangha
Gana or sangha :
- -Not one but many rulers'each one individually called as raja
- -performed rituals together
- -met in assemblies to decide what to do n how
-women, dasas, kammakaras cud not participate in such discussions.
-Buddha n mahavira belonged to ganas
Chapter: 7 New Questions and Ideas
Buddha:
-Siddhartha aka Gautama founder of Buddhism was born around 2500yrs ago
-Belonged to a small Gana: Sakya Gana
-was a Kshatriya
-left hishome in search of true knowledge
-attained enlightenment under a peepal tree at Bodh gaya in Bihar; now he was known as Buddha or the Wise One
-Went to sarnath near Varanasi nd taught there for the first time
-passed away at Kusinara
Teachings of Buddha:
1).Life is full of suffering and unhappiness due to cravings n desires;
2).Tanha or thirst -we always want more n are never satisfied.It can be removed by following moderation in everything
3).taught people to be kind
-to respect lives of others incl animals
4).Karma ie the result of our actions affects us in this life n the next
-He taught in Prakrit
5).Encouraged people to think for themselves rather than accepting what he tells them.
Upanishad:
-means approaching and sitting near
-Later Vedic text
-Contains conversations between teachers n students
-ideas presented thru simple dialogues
-Upanishadic thinkers were rajas and brahmins mostly
-Gargi:famous women thinker and took part in debates held in royal courts
-Though poor ppl seldom took part 'Satyakama Jabala' was an exception
Panini prepared a grammar for Sanskrit
Jainism:
TImeline:2500yrs ago around same time as buddha
-Kshatriya prince pf Lichchhavis, a group that was part of Vajji sangha
-At 30 he left his home and after 12yrs he attained enlightenment
Teachings of Mahavira:
1).Men n women who wish to know the truth must leave their homes
2).Must follow Ahimsa very strictly
3).Taught in Prakrit
4).Followers of Mahavira known as Jainas(comes from word jina meaning the conqueror) had to lead simplelives, begging for food.
-had to be absolutely honest,never to steal
-Observe celibacy
-Men had to give up everything including their clothes
Jainism was mainly supported by traders as farmers had to kill insects to save their crops
-Jainism spread to parts of North India, Gujarat, TN,Karnataka
The sangha:
-Mahavira n Buddha arranged for the ppl who left their homes to stay together in form of an association ie sangha
-Vinaya Pitaka:Book containing rules made for Buddhist sangha
-all men cud join
-women needs permission of husband
-debitors of creditors
-children of parents
- men n women who joined sanghas were known as Bhikkhus(prakrit for beggar)n Bhikkhunis.
-Varna system was not followed inside sanghas
Monastries were built as the need for a permanent shelter was felt by nuns and monks .They were known as Viharas
-They were made of wood earlier n then later on of wood
-Some were in caves in western india
Brahmins developed system of ashramas .It was done at the same time when buddhism n jainism were becoming famous.
1).Bramhcharya -Brahmin , Kshatriya n Vaishya men lead simple lives , studied vedas during early years of life
2).Grihastha-marry n live as householders
3).vanaprastha- live in forest and meditate
4).Samnyasa-give up everything and become samnyasins
Women had to follow the ashrama chosen by their husbands
Chapter: 8Ashoka, the emperor who gave up war
Mauryan Empire -
-Important cities
- :Pataliputra
- -Taxila
- -Ujain
Area around Pataliputra was under direct control of the emperor.
-officials appointed to collect taxes from farmers, herders etc
-officials punished those who disobeyed ruler's orders
-Messengers were used
-Spies kept watch on officials
-Other areas or provinces were ruled from a provincial capital such as taxila or ujjain.
-Rulers tried to control roads, rivers and tried to collect resources as tax n tribute
Megasthenes was sent to the court of Chandragupta Maurya by Greek Ruler Seleucus Nicator
Ashoka:The most famous Mauryan ruler
-First ruler who tried to take his message to the people through inscriptions written in Brahmi script n were in Prakrit.
-Horrified at the bloodshed in the war for Kalinga(orissa) that he gave up the conquest after winning the war.
-He decided to spread his message of Dhamma(Prakrit word for the sanskrit term 'Dharma') .
Ashoka's Dhamma:
- -didnt involve worship of a god or any sacrifice
- -Inspired by teachings of Buddha
- -Appointed officials as Dhamma Mahamatta who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma.
-inscribed his message on rocks and pillars
-sent messengers to other lands such as Egypt, Syria, Greece and Srilanka
Chapter: 9 Vital villages, thriving towns
Megalithihc burial sites had large collections of iron tools and weapons
Villages:
-Tamil region:large landowners - Vellalars;
Ordinary ploughmen- uzhavar;
landless labourers including slaves - Kadaisiyar n adimai
Northern region Villages:
-Grama Bhojaka-Village headman (hereditary post)
- largest landowner often
- hired slaves to work on his land
- King used him to collect taxes from village
- functioned as a judge n policeman sometimes
Grihgapatis: other independent famers,smaller landowners
Dasas/karmakaras:Men n women who didnt own land and worked in fields to earn a living
Jatakas:Stories composed by ordinary people;written down n preserved by buddhist monks
Sangam Literature:
Called sangam bcz was composed n compiled by assemblies of poets held in city of madurai
Find out more ?
Many cities that developed from about 2500yrs ago were capitals of Mahajanapadas.
-Ring wells found in many such cities
punch marked coins used during this period
Mathura:
imp city as it was located at the cross roads of 2 major routes of travel
-from NW to east and from North to South
-Became a capital for kushanas around 2000yrs ago
-Religious centre with monastries, Jaina shrines and krishna worship.
Northern Black Polished Ware:
Extremely fine pottery;found in Northern part of subcontinent;Black in color with fine sheen
Shrenis:
Associations formed by merchants n craft persons
Shrenis of craft persons:
-provided training, procured raw material n distributed finished product
Shrenis of merchants:
-organised trade
Shrenis served as banks also
Arikamedu:
A coastal settlement between 2200 n 1900 yrs ago
Pottery, Arretine ware, roman lamps, glassware n gems
Chapter: 10 Traders, Kings and pilgrims
South India: known for pepper n spices
-roman coins found in south India
-pepper was known as black gold in Rome
Muvendar:Mentioned in sangam poems
-tamil word meaning used for heads of 3 ruling families i.e.
-Cholas
-Cheras
-Pandyas
-Became powerful in south india around 2300 yrs ago
-Each chief had an inland and coastal centre of power
-2 important out of 6 were:
-Kaveripattinam:port of Cholas
-Madurai:Capital of Pandyas
-chiefs didnt collect taxes instead demanded regular gifts from ppl
-Went on military expeditions n collected tributes n distributed them amongst their followers including their own family members n poet soldiers etc.
Satvahanas:
200 yrs later they became powerful in western india
-gautamiputra Shri Satakarni
Satavahan rulers werre known as Lords of Dakshinapatha
Silk Route:
: Techniques of making silk was first invented in China 7000yrs ago
:ppl from china went to distant lands on foot, on camels n horseback and the route they followed came to be known as Silk Route
-Chinese rulers sent gifts of silk to Iran n West Asia and from there the knowledge of silk spread further west.
-Rulers tried to control the route for tributes n gifts from traders and they protected them instead from robbers
-Kushanas controlled silk route
ruled over central asia n NW India
Peshawar n Mathura their major centres of Power
Taxila also came under their kingdom
-Kushanas issued gold coins and were amongst the earliest rulers in the subcontinent to do so
Spread of Buddhism:
Kanishka - an imp Kushana ruler
-organised a buddhist council
-Ashvaghosha -Poet who composed biography of Buddha i.e.budhhacharita lived in his ocurt.
-Ashvaghosha n other poets now began writing in Sanskrit
- Mahayana Buddhism developed now
:features
-Earlierin sculptures buddha was shown thru signs like by peepal tree but now his statues were made in mathura n taxila.
-Bodhisattvas - those who attained enlightenment cud live in complete isolation but now they lived in the wrld teaching other ppl
- worship of boddhisattvas spread to central asia ,china n later to korea n japan
- Buddhism also spread to western n southern India
Buddhism also spread SE to Srilanka, Myanmar, Thailand n Indonesia.Theravada Buddhism was more popular here.
Caves were hollowed in the hills for the monks to live in.