Maharashtra Board Class 11 History Solution Chapter 1 – First Farmers
Balbharati Maharashtra Board Class 11 History Solution Chapter 1: First Farmers. Marathi or English Medium Students of Class 11 get here First Farmers full Exercise Solution.
Std |
Maharashtra Class 11 |
Subject |
History |
Chapter |
11 |
Chapter Name |
First Farmers |
Q.1 (A) Choose the correct alternative and write the complete sentences.
(1) ‘Yellow River’ is the English translation of the Chinese name
(a) Kemet (b) Mother
(c) Sorrow (d) Huang He
Answer : ‘Yellow River’ is the English translation of the Chinese name (d) Huang He
(2) The Australian archaeologist …………………. coined the term ‘Neolithic Revolution’.
(a) Gorden Willey (c) Herodotus
(b) Gorden Childe (d) Collingwood
Answer : The Australian archaeologist (b) Gorden Childe coined the term ‘Neolithic Revolution’
(3) The neolithic people at Gilgal had systematically planted ………………..trees.
(a) Guava (b) Sapodilla
(c) Fig (d) Indian blackberry
Answer : The neolithic people at Gilgal had systematically planted (c) Fig trees
(4) ………………………….in the Shirur taluka of Pune district, is an important site of the village of Chalocolithic farmers in Maharashtra.
(a) Saradwadi (b) Ranjangaon
(c) Pabal (d) Inamgaon
Answer : .(d) Inamgaon , in the Shirur taluka of Pune district, is an important site of the village of Chalocolithic farmers in Maharashtra.
(B) Find the incorrect pair from set B and write the correct ones.
Set ‘A’ Set ‘B’
(1) The valley of Tigris and Euphrates Mesopotamia
(2) The valley of Nile Iran
(3) The valley of Huang He China
(4) The valley of Sindhu (Indus) and Indian subcontinent
Saraswati
Answer : In the above set of pairs, only one is incorrect ie. the 2nd pair. The rest are all correctly paired. It should be as mentioned below : –
Set ‘A’ Set ‘B’
(2) The valley of Nile Egypt
Q.2 Complete the concept map : –
Answer : – The concept map is as follows : –
Q.3 Explain the following statements with reasons.
(1) The camps of Mesolithic people developed into the first settled villages of neolithic people in Mesopotemia.
Answer : The Mesolithic people by careful and meticulous observation of the seasonal cycles in the nature could differentiate the various seasonal changes with some precisions, which facilitated in their learning, and let them take organised decisions to cultivate some plants and domesticate a few animals accordingly. It resulted into the rise of the ‘Neolithic Age’. Cultivation and pastoralism (animal husbandry) became their occupation, a newly found way of life for Neolithic people. Their life now slowly evolved and it marked the end of nomadic-semi nomadic life for them. Settled villages came into being. The archaeological evidence shows that systematic agriculture began some 12000-11000 years ago. Beginning of agriculture and rise of settled villages are the two phenomena that are inevitably associated with each other. The progress in the techniques of systematic cultivation resulted in the rise of the most ancient river valley civilisations of the neolithic age. The river valley civilisations grew in four regions of the world. Those regions were Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indian Subcontinent and China.
Ancient Mesopotamia included modern Iraq, Syria as well as the western regions of Iran and south-eastern regions of Turkey. Mesopotamia is the Greek name of the region between the two rivers, Tigris and Euphrates. The word Mesopotamia is derived from the terms – Mesos means the ‘middle one’. and ‘Potamos’ means ‘river’. The region between two rivers is ‘Mesopotamia’. The Mesolithic people began to stay in this region for longer times because of the availability of ample water. Also both the rivers flooded annually, making the soil on their banks very fertile. The camps of Mesolithic people developed into the first settled neolithic villages.
The camps of Mesolithic people developed into the first settled neolithic villages. These first villages are dated to 10000 years B.C.E. The farmers in these villages grew wheat and barley.
Q (2) ‘Huang He’ river is considered to be the mother of the Chinese culture.
Answer : Yellow River’ is the English translation of the Chinese name ‘Huang He’. The yellow silt that is carried by the river has earned her this name. ‘River’ and ‘Mother’ are her other names. These names indicate her extraordinary place in the Chinese culture. The name ‘River’ indicates that she is considered to be the only river of importance. The fact that she is considered to be the mother of the Chinese culture, is obvious in the name, ‘Mother’.
Huang He and Yangtse in China are the rivers, which receive waters from the Himalayan glaciers just like the rivers Ganga, Sindhu and Brahmaputra. The flow of Huang He flows is so rapid and turbulent that it continuously keeps changing its course and often results in devastating torrential floods, causing great loss of life and assets. Hence, she had earned one more name, ‘Sorrow’ or the ‘River of Tears’. Now the terrible river has been brought under control by creating a number of dams and bunds on her..
Q (3) In the later half of the Neolithic age, pottery-making had become an art that required special skills.
Answer : Pottery-making seemed to have become an art in the 2nd part of the Neolithic age almost at all places where excavations have taken place in the world, except for the ‘Jomon culture’, in Japan, where some kind of pottery was seen to have come in existence in the Mesolithic period itself.
Pottery making, along with the polished stone tools, is supposed to be an essential characteristic of the neolithic cultures. Earthen pots were used for the purpose of cooking, serving food and for storage. In the beginning these pots were handmade. At a later stage, with passing time, as human knowledge grew and added wisdom, wheelmade pottery was introduced. The Neolithic pottery in the beginning was in monochrome (single colour), with a burnished surface (polish or shine obtained by rubbing with stone or wooden tools). Some pots had carved designs, on others the techniques of stamping and applique work (wet clay ribbons being pasted to make patterns) was used. Gradually neolithic people began to decorate their pots with painted designs. Thus, in the later half of the neolithic age, pottery making had become an art that required special skills.
To master the art of pottery-making one needs to possess knowledge of following things:
(1) To know the source of clay of excellent quality.
(2) To manage to obtain clay.
(3) To knead and prepare the clay for pottery production.
(4) To be able to turn the pot to the desired shape.
(5) To have artistic skill for decorating the pottery.
(6) To know the technique of baking pottery at proper temperatures (approximately 850º-900º Celsius). The class of skilled potters, equipped with essential knowledge of all stages of pottery-making, was already established in the 2nd phase of the neolithic period. Ancient pottery can throw light on various aspects of ancient cultures. We get to know about the cultural history, the material richness of the
place where it was found. With the help of pottery we can also know about the contacts of the residents of the place with other cultures.
Q.4 State your opinion.
(1) There were radical changes in the way of human life during the neolithic age.
Answer – There were indeed radical and evolving changes in the way of human life during the Neolithic age and in order to describe this, the term ‘Neolithic Revolution’ was coined by the Australian Archaeologist ‘Gordon Childe’.
The Neolithic Age marked the end of hunting, gathering and nomadic life style of humans as was seen in the Mesolithic age. Cultivation, domestication of animals, and colonisation marked the beginning of Neolithic age which gave a new dimension to the civilisations. Later on, pottery seemed to have come into existence, where earthen pots, clay utensils were used for cooking, storage of grains and eating. Invention of wheel added another feather and was indeed one of the greatest revolutions in human history that aided transportation, trade, and improved the quality of pottery to a great extent. Paintings and decorations on pottery had also to come into existence in this period. Human skill set in various fields were greatly improvised and a better quality of their work could be seen in every field, as their tools improved.
(2) The neolithic people invented wheel and the technology they had developed so far, underwent a revolution.
Answer – The neolithic people invented wheel and all the technology they had developed so far, underwent a revolution by the application of the wheel. The neolithic people began to produce wheel-made pottery. The wheel technology made it possible to produce pottery on mass scale. The invention of wheel also made it possible to obtain raw material from distant places in much lesser time, as these were now being used in carts thereby aiding trade and transportation. It became easier to send the finished goods to distant markets where it was in more demand. It helped to develop trade and transport on a greater scale.
Q.5 Observe the map on page 2 of your textbook and answer the following questions based on it.
(1) What is the name of the sea at the north of the African continent?
Answer – Mediterranean Sea
(2) In which continent did the Harappan civilisation originate ?
Answer – Indian Subcontinent
3) What is the name of the ocean at the south of India?
Answer – Indian Ocean
Q.6 Write short notes.
(1) Neolithic ‘Jericho’
Answer – Jericho, the Palestinian city on the banks of the river Jordan, is a historical city, first known to have settled as a village in 9000 B.C.E. It was one of the first neolithic permanent settlements. Later, it started getting organised into a well knit society by about 8000 B.C.E. By this time, the village had a protective wall around it, complete with a watch tower, which was undoubtedly an evidence of an organised society.
The beginning of cultivation at Jericho and in the surrounding region began earlier than the establishment of the village by a few centuries. Its evidence has been discovered at Gilgal, a site near Jericho. A fire stricken house at Gilgal was excavated, which yielded burnt remains of figs. After carrying out laboratory analysis of these fig remains, scientists have concluded that the neolithic people at Gilgal had systematically planted fig cuttings. This stands to be the first attempt of planned cultivation.
(2) ‘Holocene’ epoch
The last Glacial period in the history of our planet Earth, came to an end at about 12000-11000 years ago. This marked the beginning of a new epoch, and is known as ‘Holocene’. With the beginning of the Holocene, melting of glaciers began resulting in the increase of volume in the water bodies like rivers and oceans to a great extent. As a result, the availability of animals and vegetation for food increased. This period also witnessed extinction of gigantic animal species like mammoth. However, varied species of fish and small animals like goat, sheep, deer, etc. were amply available for food. The heavy tools of Palaeolithic times were of no use either for fishing or for hunting small animals. The technique of removing long stone blades had been developed in the Upper Palaeolithic age. In the Mesolithic age the same technique was used and blades as small as fingernails were removed to make tools. These blades known as microliths were either hafted* on the tips of wooden/bone shafts or in the grooves made on those shafts. Thus, modified composite tools like fishing harpoons, spears and arrows could be made. Ample cereals and fruits, grown naturally, were available. Tools like sickle and scythe were made by hafting microliths for harvesting the cereals and fruits.
Q.7 Answer the following questions in detail.
(1) Write in detail about the ‘first farmers’ and beginning of agriculture in India.
Answer – The site of Mehrgarh, in Baluchistan, which had come into existence around 7000 B.C.E is of great importance among the neolithic villages in the Indian subcontinent, as it was established by the first farmers. The Mehrgarh farmers cultivated barley and wheat. Another neolithic village that is contemporary to Mehrgarh, was found at Lahuradeva’ in Sant Kabirnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
Transition of occupation and way of life of the people from nomadic, semi-nomadic or hunting gathering, as in the Mesolithic to settled, organised or civilised life with occupations such as cultivation and domestication of animals marked the end of Mesolithic and beginning of Neolithic age. Neo means ‘new’. Lithic means ‘of stone’. Neolithic age got its name because of the stone tools of completely new types. It included short and long heads of axe, made of polished stone and polished stone rings. The axe heads were hafted on wooden shafts and used for cutting trees, scraping wood to give it a desired shape, etc. It was essential to clear jungles by felling trees in order to obtain land for cultivation and settlement. The new tools came handy for this work.
In Maharashtra, the mesolithic man existed during 10000-4000 B.C.E. He stayed in natural caves and under rock-shelters. He moved along the river banks. He made microliths from silicious* stones. However, no evidence of purely neolithic sites have been found in Maharashtra, instead, there are the Chalcolithic villages. The Chalcolithic people were the first farmers of Maharashtra. Inamgaon, in the Shirur taluka of Pune district, is an important site of the village of Chalcolithic farmers in Maharashtra
(2) What knowledge was essential for the neolithic people to make pottery?
Answer – To master the art of pottery-making one needed to possess knowledge of following things:
(1) To know the source of clay of excellent quality.
(2) To manage to obtain clay.
(3) To knead and prepare the clay for pottery production.
(4) To be able to turn the pot to the desired shape.
(5) To have artistic skill for decorating the pottery.
(6) To know the technique of baking pottery at proper temperatures (approximately 850º-900º Celsius).
The class of skilled potters, equipped with essential knowledge of all stages of pottery-making, was already established in the 2nd phase of the neolithic period. Ancient pottery can throw light on various aspects of ancient cultures. We get to know about the cultural history, the material richness of the place where it was found. With the help of pottery we can also know about the contacts of the residents of the place with other cultures.
(3) Write about the trade and transport in the neolithic age.
Answer – A system of barter was well in place from the Mesolithic period, where things were given or taken in exchange of one another, thereby trade was very much in prevalence before the Neolithic age. Transportation of goods starting from raw materials (like clay for pottery, or wood or stone for making tools) or finished goods like clay utensils, pottery or tools were possible with the help of animals in the beginning of the Neolithic age. Later, the invention of wheel in the 2nd half of Neolithic age made transportation a lot more quicker and then the movement of larger quantities to farther distances was easily possible. The wheel brought in a revolutionary breakthrough in almost all walks of life including trade commerce and transportation. The goods with the help of wheeled carts could be taken to farther distances, where they were in demand and therefore, trade flourished immensely, largely benefitting all associated occupations.
(4) Write about the beginning of urbanisation in the neolithic age.
Answer – The Neolithic people upon settling down at a place for quite some time, a sense of ownership grew among them which mainly focussed on the land they cultivated and their individual dwellings or belongings. This resulted in the expansion of villages and need for organisations and an administration. Along with it, awareness of collective land holdings and the village boundaries became prominent. Thus, it was felt that the village community had a natural right over the immediate territory around the village periphery. This kind of awareness of natural right over a particular region is known as ‘territoriality’. Rules regulations and social norms were created in order to manage the collective resources, water sources, crafts dependent on it, trade and community life, etc. Consequently rituals and their details gained importance. The need of managing and keeping records of trade, rituals, writing systems and administrative machineries developed. It gave rise to administrative centres. Such administrative centres attract large number of population which includes officials, people from various occupations. As a result, periphery of the original settlement kept expanding and cities came into being. Thus began the process of urbanisation in the neolithic age.
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