1. Why do people who grow crops have to stay in the same place for a long
time?
Answer
People who grow crops have to stay in the same place for a long time because
they had to look after the crops. The plants had to be watered and had to be
protected from birds and animals so that they could grow and the seeds would
ripen.
2. Look at the table on page 25. If Neinuo wanted to eat rice, which are the
places she should have visited?
Answer
If Neinuo wanted to eat rice, she should have visited Koldihwa and Mahagara
(both are in present-day Uttar Pradesh).
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
Archaeologists think that many people who lived in Mehrgarh were hunters to
start with and that herding became more important later because at earlier
levels of the excavation site bones of wild animals such as the deer and pig
were found but at later levels more bones of sheep, goat and cattle bones are
most common.
4. State whether true or false:
(a) Millets have been found at Hallur.
► True
(b) People in Burzahom lived in rectangular houses.
► False
(c) Chirand is a site in Kashmir.
► False
(d) Jadeite, found in Daojali Hading, may have been brought from China.
► True
Let's Discuss
5. List three ways in which the lives of farmers and herders would have been
different from that of hunter-gatherers.
Answer
Three ways in which the lives of farmers and herders would have been different
from hunt-gatherers are:
• Hunt-gatherers keep moving from place to place in search of food while farmers
and herders grow their food from their living place.
• Hunt-gatherers did not build any permanent houses mostly they live in caves
while farmers and herders build huts and houses.
• Hunt-gatherers had no role in protecting animals and plants while famers and
herders protect animals and plants.
6. Make a list of all the animals mentioned in the table (page 25). For each
one, describe what
they may have been used for.
Answer
Animal - Use
Sheep Meat and Wool
Goat Milk and meat
Cattle Milk and its products
Dog Look after fields
Buffalo Milk
Ox Ploughing the fields and pulling carts
Pig Meat
7. List the cereals that you eat.
Answer
Wheat, Rice, maize, barley, bajra etc.
8. Do you grow the cereals you have listed in answer no. 7? 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
No, I don't grow these cereals.
The cereals reach from the farmers through following process.
Farmers → Middle man → Wholesaler → Retailer → We (buyer)