NCERT Solutions for Class 6th History Chapter 2 On the Trail of the Earliest People

NCERT Solutions for Chapter 2 On the Trail of the Earliest People Class 6 History

A hunter-gatherer culture relies on hunting and fishing animals for food and foraging for wild vegetation and other nutrients like honey. Hunting wild animals led to their name. Archaeologists have discovered a few devices used by hunter-gatherers. A variety of materials like stone,wood were used for making tools. In ancient era Various tools were used to chop fruits, cleave natural products, and cut meat. Fire was discovered by rubbing two flint stone. fire was used for light, cooking and frightening away animals. As early as the stone age, stone tools were used for cutting meat and bone, scraping bark from trees, cutting into animal hides, and chopping fruits and roots. Handles were used on some of them. The spears and arrows they made were used for hunting.

On the Trail of the Earliest People Questions and Answers

Chapter Name	On the Trail of the Earliest People NCERT Solutions
Class	CBSE Class 6
Textbook Name	History
Related Readings	NCERT Solutions for Class 6 NCERT Solutions for Class 6 History Summary of On the Trail of the Earliest People

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.

(c) Early people painted on the_________ of caves.

(d) In Hunsgi, tools were made of_________.

Answer

(a) Hunter-gatherers chose to live in caves and rock shelters because these shelters saved them from heat, rain, wind and wild animals.

The hunters and gatherers needed a safe place for their survival, because climate was extreme and wild animals were a threat to life.

(b) Grasslands developed around 12000 years ago.

The Earth became warmer around 12000 years ago. The warm climate was good for the growth of grass.

(c) Early people painted on the walls of the caves.

The early people used to paint pictures of animals and humans on walls of their caves as a part of the ritual.

(d) In Hungsi, tools were made of limestone.

Archeologists found habitation and factory sites in Hungsi. In those factories people made tools from limestone.

Fact: Hungsi is a town in Karnataka, now it's is known as Hunasagi. Early stone-age sites were found in Hungsi.

Question 2: Look at the present-day political map of the subcontinent on page 136. Find out the states where Bhimbetka, Hunsgi and Kurnool are located. Would Tushar's train have passed near any of these sites?

Answer

Bhimbetka is located in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. It is famous for it's Paleolithic (Stone age) rock shelters.

Hungsi is located in the Yadgir district of Karnataka state. It is famous for its habitation cum factory sites of Stone Age. A number of tools and weapons made of stone were discovered there.

Kurnool is located in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. It is famous for the rock painting which dates back to the Paleolithic era. Some of the paintings are 35000-40000 years old.

Tushar's train may have passed near Bhimbetka, as the route of the train from Delhi to Chennai passes through Madhya Pradesh near Bhimbetka.

LET'S DISCUSS

Question 3: 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

Early humans' needs were limited to food and shelter, so they moved from one place to another due to the following reasons,

1. After exhausting the food resources they had with them, they moved to new places.

2. Due to changes in seasons, the fruits in trees appeared and disappeared, the early men also moved in search of fruit-bearing trees.

3. In search of animals to hunt, as animals also migrated.

4. In search of water resources, as water was very important.

Nowadays, we move to different places;

1. In search of jobs.

2. For exploring new places.

3. For spending our vacations.

4. To meet our loved ones.

Question 4: What tools would you use today for cutting fruit? What would they be made of?

Answer

The tool we use today for cutting fruits is knives.

 Knives are made up of stainless steel. We use stainless steel so that it remains shiny and sharp for a long time.

Question 5: List three ways in which hunter-gatherers used fire (see page16). Would you use fire for any of these purposes today?

Answer

The earlier hunter-gatherers used fire:

1. For keeping away animals.

2. For cooking food.

3. As a source of light.

We, today use fire primarily for cooking purpose. In rural areas where there is no electricity, fire is the primary source of light. Fire is also used for keeping ourselves warm.

LET'S DO

Question 6: Make two columns in your notebook. In the left-hand column, list the foods hunter-gatherers ate given below. In the right-hand column, list some of the foods you eat. Do you notice any similarities/differences?

Answer

S. no.	Hunter gatherers	Modern day
1	Fish	Fish
2	Birds	Meat
3	Wild animals	Fruits
4	Fruits	plants
5	Stalks	Canned food
6	Roots	Fast food
7	leaves

I find that not much has changed when it comes to what we eat. Modern day people have a better way to gather, process and prepare the food as compared to hunters and gatherers. Now we consume highly processed foods, whereas early men ate raw food.

Question 7: If you had a natural pebble-like the ones shown given below, what would you use it for?

Answer

If I had such pebbles, I would like to use it to:

1. Crushing and grinding food items.

2. Cutting fruits.

3. Cutting meat.

4. As the sharp heads of the spear.

Question 8: 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

1. Tasks performed by both men and women: Teaching, Parenting.

2. Tasks only performed by a woman: Nursing, caring for the home, breast feeding.

3. Tasks only performed by man: Mining, a Construction worker.

Note: Due to advancements in science and technology, and due to various social changes, there are no defined tasks which only one gender can do. Except for logical tasks like birth giving, breast feeding.