CBSE Class 6 Social Science What Where How and When Notes

WHERE DID PEOPLE LIVE IN INDIA

In their march towards civilisation people in India had to pass through various stages of evolution like their counterparts in many other countries of the world.

The first was the stage of food-gathering and hunting when people had to wander from place to place in search of food. Some sites of these people has been found in a-vast area, excepting the Gangetic valley, in the Narmada valley (like Adamgarh and Lekhania), in the Godavari valley in Maharashtra (like Nevasa), in the Caveri valley in Karnataka (like Jalahalli) etc. This stage continued over thousands of years, upto 10,000 B.C.

Then came the stage when man became a farmer and a herder of animals. They developed the art of agriculture and learnt how to domesticate animals. Some sites of these people have been found in northwestern parts of the country (like Mehrgarh in Baluchistan in Pakistan and Burzahom in Kashmir), north-eastern parts of the country (like Sarutaru and Daojali Hading), and some Deccan states like Andhra Pradesh (Nagarjuna konda) and Karnataka (like Maski Brahmagiri etc.). These were village sites which flourished between (10,000 B.C to 4000 B.C).

Then came the stage when the people in India laid the foundation of cities like Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro in the Indus Valley and later on Pataliputra in Magadha in the Gangetic Valley between 350 B.C to 250 B.C

The story of human evolution is still continuing in India to this date.

SOURCES OF THE HISTORY

Still there are certain sources, though quite scanty,which enable us to build our past history. These sources are called historical sources which can be easily classified into two major groups (a) Literary Sources, (b) Archaeological Sources.

(a) Literary Sources

The story of man on this earth goes back to several thousand years. We can learn about it from the evidence left by our ancestors. About the near past, we have written records of different types. Thousands of years ago, when there was no paper to write on, our ancestors wrote their records on various objects like the dried 'bhojpatras', the bark of trees, plates of copper or even solid rocks, pillars and stones on which they inscribed important events of their time. Later on they wrote on paper. It is from this recorded evidence that our historians have constructed the history of mankind as we know it today.

Myths, legends and folklore sometimes provide us information about customs, religion, beliefs and culture of people. This source, however, is not a reliable source of factual history.

The handwritten accounts of contemporary events, that help us in knowing our past, are called

'manuscripts'. These manuscripts were prepared by the few learned men of their age in different languages and scripts. Remember, by script we mean the form of writing a particular language. Many of these manuscripts have been lost or destroyed through the past centuries but still the historians have succeeded in constructing the wonderful story of man.

The literary sources have proved very useful for the study of history in their own way.

The literary sources can be divided into religious and secular sources, as well as travellers' accounts.

Religious Literature : The religious books of the Hindus (i.e., the Vedas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, the Upanishads, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, Puranas etc.), the Buddhists (Tripitakas, Jatakas, Dipvamsa and Mahavamsa, etc.) and also those of the Jains (An gas), though purely religious, throw light on the social, religious, political and economic life of the people of ancient India. The Vedas tell us a lot about the life and culture of the Aryans.

The eighteen Puranas, though full of mythology, still provide useful information regarding certain historical dynasties and their rulers.

The Tripitakes and jatakas of the Buddhists and Angas of the Jains contain some very useful refer- ences to the contemporary society and the political and economic conditions of those days.

Secular or Historical Literature:

The Arthashastra by Kautilya gives us information about Mauryan administration and the contemporary society. The Mudra Rakshasa by Vishakhadatta yields valuable information regarding the Nandas and the Mauryas, particularly the overthrow of the Nandas by the Mauryas. Bana's Harsha Charita, which has been compared by Dr. VA Smith with Abul Fazal's Akbarnama, gives accurate and valuable informa- tion regarding Harsha, his conquests and administration. Rajtarangini by Kalhan traces the history of Kashmir from the earliest times to the 12th century A. D. The dramas of Kalidasa -Shakuntalal Meghaduta and Malvikagnimitra -shed light on the social life of his age and also on the early Sungas. Historians have also derived Important historical information from such literary works as Panini's Ashtadhyayi and Patanjali's Mahabhashya.

Travellers' Accounts:

A number of foreign travellers -Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Tibetans, Muslims, etc. -visited this country from time to time and have left valuable political and social accounts. Herodotus in his book "Histories" supply much -information regarding the Perso-Greek War and the political connection of north-west India with Persia in the fifth century B.C. Megasthenese in his book Indica throws a good deal of light on the Mauryan administration and society, and also the geography and products of India.

Why did Some Travellers Go to Distant Lands?

Some people travelled to distant lands in search of livelihood and better service opportunities, while others travelled to avoid natural calamities like earthquakes and floods. Merchants travelled with caravans to sell their valuable articles at high prices while religious leaders travelled for preaching their own faith and bettering humanity. Certainly some conquerors marched to other lands to conquer them and win military laurels. Last but not the least, there were certain persons who went to distant lands driven by the spirit of adventure.

Similarly, the Chinese Pilgrims, especially Fahein (A.D. 399-414), Hieun Tsang (A.D. 629-45) and Itsing (A.D. 673-95), who visited this country in search of knowledge and Buddhist literature, have left valuable accounts about the religious, social and political conditions of India. Fahein's description of Pataliputra and Gupta administration, and Hieun Tsang's account of the political, rellgious and social conditions of India towards the middle of the 7th century A.D. have proved very useful to us in reconstructing the history of India from A.D. 400-700.

(b) Archaeological Sources:

The archaeological sources like inscriptions, coins, monuments and artefacts have a significant effect on the writing of ancient history.

1. Inscriptions: The inscriptions engraved on stone, copper plates etc. provide us information about important events of ancient rulers. The rock edicts of Ashoka, the Sanchi inscriptions, the Allahabad Pillar Inscription, the Iron Pillar Inscription at Mehrauli in Delhi tell us about important events, . admin- istration, the personal qualities of the rulers, important dates, specimens of art and the mutual rela- tions of different rulers.

2. Coins: A large number of coins belonging to ancient times have also been found. These coins are made of gold, silver, copper and other metals. They help us in fixing the dates of several dynasties. They also help us in many other ways in the study of Indo-Bactrian and Indo-Greek periods in India.

Similarly, the coins issued by Samudragupta tell us that he was a devotee of Vishnu, Samudragupta is depicted on his coins playing Veena. This proves he was a great musician. Coins also tell us about the economic condition of the period and the extent of the empire of the kings concerned.

3. Monuments: The ruins of old buildings, temples, palaces, stupas, caves, old towns, etc., provide important information regarding our past heritage.

The excavations at Mohen-jo-Daro, Harappa, Sanghol and several other sites have proved that a great civilisation existed in the Indus Valley about 5,000 years ago. The excavations at Taxila have yielded valuable information about the Kushan dynasty and excavations at Pataliputra have helped us a lot in our knowledge about the Mauryas.

They throw light not only on the development of architecture but also on the social and religious life of the people. In this respect, the stupas built by Ashoka at Sanchi and Bharhut and the temples at Bhitrigaon and Deogaon belonging to the Gupta period are also Important. The ruins of Nalanda and Vikramshila enlighten us about the ancient (contemporary) system of education.

Things such as bones and wood found during excavations can be dated by a method called Carbon Dating.

4. Artefacts: Artefacts or works of art comprising sculptures and paintings also help us in forming an idea of the cultural life of the people of the past.

The specimens found at Taxila that belonged to the period of Kanishka throw light on the beauty of the Gandhara Art and the Greek influence on the Indian sculpture as well as on the religious beliefs of the Kushan kings. Similarly, the images and paintings of Shiva, Vishnu, Buddha and Mahavira, and sculp- tures of the Gupta period (which are still found in the Ellora Caves) not only tell us about exquisiteness of the contemporary sculpture but also the religious tolerance of the Gupta rulers.

Besides sculptures, the paintings and frescos found at Ajanta, Ellora and other places give valuable information regarding contemporary religious and social customs as well as clothing, food habits and means of entertainment of the people.

Many caves which date back to early stone age (palaeolithic caves) have been discovered in Andhra Pradesh. Bones of stone age mammals have been discovered on the ground in some caves. These give valuable information to archaeologists.

IMPORTANCE OF HISTORICAL SOURCES: ONE PAST OR MANY

In fact historical sources have a great Importance of their own for every country. From them we form an idea of our ancient culture and about the people who lived in this land from time to time. From them we learn how the different groups of people like herders, farmers, merchants, craftsmen etc. whom we can call ordinary people lived a different life from the rulers and the kings. The kings, for Instance, led a luxurious life in great palaces while farmers lived In ordi nary houses and found it difficult to make the both ends meet. Again, where the kings kept a record of their battles, courts, leisure and pleasures the ordinary people like the farmers did not keep a record of what they did. The lives of the ordinary people and the ruling class were so different that some historians even believe that we have not one past but many pasts.