WBBSE Chapter 2 Topic B Primitive Man In The Indian Subcontinent Long Answer Type
Question 1. How was the lifestyle of man in the Old Stone Age?
Answer:
The lifestyle of man:
We get an idea about the lifestyle of man in the Old Stone Age from different archaeological specimens.
A lifestyle of man during the Old Stone Age
1. Community life:
A man had learnt to work together from the very beginning of the Old Stone Age.
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2. Food habits:
The food-gathering man subsisted on leaves, fruits, and birds’ eggs and hunted small animals due to the non-availability of adequate weapons.
3. Shelter:
Primitive men had no fixed dwelling place because they had to roam about from one place to another in order to gather food as well as to hunt. They sought shelter in caves and also used twigs, leaves and animal skins to build crude shelters.
4. Weapons:
Primitive man learnt to use branches of trees and stones as weapons for hunting and defence purposes.
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Question 2. What were the features of nomadic life?
Answer:
Features of nomadic life are:
1. Food gatherer:
The early men moved from place to place in search of food. They lived on fruits and raw meat.
2. Crude weapons:
They used blunt and heavy stones as weapons.
3. No permanent dwelling:
The primitive men were nomads and had no fixed shelter. They lived either in caves or in the open air.
4. Clothes:
The primitive people did not know how to weave or stitch clothes. So they protected themselves from the cold by wrapping animal fur, hide and bark of trees around themselves.
WBBSE Class 6 Primitive Man in India Notes
Question 3. How did primitive society change into a more complex and advanced society?
Answer:
The primitive society underwent a radical change and gradually turned into a more complex and advanced society.
1. Advanced tools and weapons:
The tools and weapons of the New Stone Age were smaller, lighter and sharper than those of the Old Stone Age. These advanced tools helped to cultivate land as well as to make other necessary things.
2. Agriculture and settled life:
Men learnt the art of agriculture in the New Stone Age and began to settle down in the areas suitable for cultivation which were mostly river banks.
3. Cattle rearing:
Agriculture also ensured a steady supply of straw and hay besides surplus food. So more animals could be domesticated.
4. Development of crafts:
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Agriculture did not involve everybody and people had a lot of spare time to concentrate on other activities. So various crafts like pottery, weaving and woodwork emerged.
Question 4. How did early man gather and produce food?
Answer:
At first, early man was a food gatherer but later on, they learnt the art of cultivation and became a food-producer.
Food gathering and production by early man
1. First phase:
Hunting by men:
The early men practised fishing and hunting to gather food.
Women’s food collection:
Women collected fruits, vegetables and eggs from the nearby forests.
2. Second phase:
The invention of agriculture:
The women of the Middle Stone Ages discovered agriculture by planting roots and seeds near their houses.
Development agriculture:
The invention of spades, sickles, thresher instruments and other instruments led to the improvement of agriculture.
Question 5. Describe the cave paintings of Bhimb- etka.
Answer:
The cave paintings of Bhimb- etka:
A number of caves were discovered in 1957 in Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh). Primitive men used to live in these caves in the Old Stone Age. On the walls of the caves, paintings have been found. Most of the paintings found are hunting scenes.
There are paintings of different kinds of animals, birds, fish, squirrels, etc. There are also paintings of man hunting alone or in groups. Some of them are found to wear masks and jewels.
In some paintings, dogs are found accompanying men. Besides yellow and green colours, white and red colours were also used in those paintings.
Question 6. In what ways the New Stone Age had been ‘new’ in the history of primitive man?
Answer:
The New Stone Age had been ‘new’ in the history of primitive man because
- Small weapons and tools were made,
- Men learnt to cultivate the land and produce their own food.
- Women came to know how saplings grew from seeds and plants from saplings.
- People began to settle down in the agricultural areas.
- Primitive people had to wander around many places for hunting and grazing animals. With the introduction of agriculture, their wandering days came to an end.
Question 7. Give an account of the Middle Stone Age in the Sarai Nahar Rai region of Uttar Pradesh.
Answer:
Evidence of the Middle Stone Age has been found in the Sarai Nahar Rai region of Uttar Pradesh.
- Two-edged knives and arrow blades made of bone have been discovered.
- Bones of different animals have been found but bones of sheep and goats have not been found. This shows that primitive men of the Middle Stone Age were hunters and did not know the domestication of animals.
- They could not produce food crops. They used fire to roast animal flesh.
- A grinder-like tool used for grinding grain has been found.
- Skeletons of primitive people and burial pits have also been discovered.
WBBSE Chapter 2 Topic B Primitive Man In The Indian Subcontinent Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. How the different periods of the Old Stone Age can be determined?
Answer:
The different periods of the Old Stone Age can be determined:
In the Old Stone Age the process of making stone weapons and tools gradually changed. The weapons became sharper, smaller and lighter. Big stones were hammered and the small flints were used as weapons.
As a result, heavy flint stone weapons decreased. These differences in the making of tools and weapons determined the different periods of the Old Stone Age.
Question 2. How were the small stone weapons of the Middle Stone Ages used? Name two places in India where Middle Stone Age weapons have been found.
Answer:
The small stone weapons of the Middle Stone Ages used:
Small stone weapons of the Middle Stone Age were tied or fixed with branches. Such handles helped them to hold the weapons properly.
Two places in India where Middle Stone Age weapons have been found are Mahadaha in Uttar Pradesh and Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh.
Question 3. What have been discovered from Sarai Nahar Rai in Uttar Pradesh?
Answer:
From Sarai Nahar Rai in Uttar Pradesh, two-edged knife, and arrow blades made of bones have been discovered. Bones of different animals have also been found here.
Moreover, a grinder-like tool has been found here. At this archaeological site, burial pits and skeletons of primitive people have also been found.
Question 4. How did the wandering days of primi- primitive men suffer from it? In order to save Primitive men come to an end?
Answer:
Primitive people used to wander around many places for hunting and grazing animals. In the New Stone Age, men had learnt agriculture and could produce their own food.
With the beginning of agriculture, men began to settle down around food-producing areas. With the introduction of agriculture, the wandering days of primitive men came to an end.
Question 5. Why did the number of pastoral animals increase in the New Stone Age?
Answer:
Primitive men used to wander around many places for hunting and grazing animals. With the beginning of agriculture in the New Stone Age primitive men began to settle around food-producing areas.
Agriculture and settled life made rearing of animals easier by ensuring sufficient straw and hay. So the number of pastoral animals increased.
Question 6. What were the different ways by which primitive men used to protect themselves from the cold?
Answer:
Once the world was extremely cold and Primitive men suffered from it. In order to save themselves from the cold, primitive men used to cover themselves with the barks of trees. Sometimes they used animal skin to cover their body.
Practice Questions on Early Human Life in India
Question 7. Why was human life in the Old Stone Age quite hard and miserable?
Answer:
Human life in the Old Stone Age was quite hard and miserable because
- They did not know how to prepare food and how to domesticate animals.
- They had to move about in different places for hunting and gathering fruits.
- They had no permanent settlements and had to live in caves or under the open sky.
- They had to use animal furs and bark from trees to protect themselves from the cold.
Question 8. Do we find traces of primitive men in the Indian subcontinent?
Answer:
Traces of primitive men in the Indian subcontinent:
We do not find traces of very primitive people in the Indian subcontinent. Very few bones of primitive men have been found. It is conjectured that primitive men had migrated to the Indian subcontinent from Africa.
However, specimens of tools and weapons used by primitive men have been found in a number of regions in the Indian subcontinent.
Question 9. In which part of India were the oldest stone tools discovered?
Answer:
India were the oldest stone tools discovered Part:
The oldest stone tools of the Indian subcontinent were found in the Swan valley of Kashmir, the Patawar plateau of Pakistan and the mountainous region of the Shivalik in Himachal Pradesh.
Important Definitions Related to Primitive Man
Hand axes and choppers made of heavy flint stones were mostly found. Many stone weapons were also unearthed from Hunsgi valley of Karnataka, Didwana in Rajasthan and Nevasa in Maharashtra.
Question 10. What do you mean by microlith? In which regions of India microliths have been found?
Answer:
Microlith:
‘Microlith’ means small stone weapons. The weapons of the Middle Stone Age were much smaller and sharper than those of the Old Stone Age. Some crude handles were attached to these weapons to hold them properly.
Such weapons have been found at Mahadaha in Uttar Pradesh and Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh A double-edged knife was found in Sarai Nahar Rai in Uttar Pradesh.
Question 11. How do you know that the people of Adamgarh learnt to domesticate animals?
Answer:
The people of Adamgarh learnt to domesticate animals:
Some bones of wild animals as well as cattle and dogs have been found at Adamgarh in the Narmada Valley. No mark of injury has been detected on these bones which shows that they were not slaughtered.
This shows that the people had learnt to domesticate animals.
Question 12. Where do we find evidence of cave dwellings in the Indian subcontinent?
Answer:
In some regions of the Indian subcontinent there are evidence of cave dwellings like Sanghao in north-west Pakistan, Kurnul in Karnataka and Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.
Question 13. What does culture imply in a broader sense?
Answer:
Culture imply in a broader sense:
Culture generally implies dance and music, dress, art and literature. However, the various day-to-day activities of man are also included in culture.
It is the culture which helps human beings to adjust themselves to different kinds of environments. The manner in which they adapt themselves is also included in their culture.
Question 14. Where do we find evidence of the presence of Homo Erectus species in the Indian subcontinent?
Answer:
Evidence of the presence of Homo Erectus is found in Hunsgi valley of Karnataka, Didwana in Rajasthan and Nevasa in Maharashtra.
Examples of Cave Paintings by Primitive Man
Question 15. How did primitive men of the Old Stone Age in the Indian subcontinent satisfy their hunger?
Answer:
Primitive men of the Old Stone Age in the Indian subcontinent did not know how to domesticate animals. They wandered about in different areas and satisfied their hunger by gathering fruits and hunting animals.
Question 16. What was discovered in Bhimbetka?
Answer:
Bhimbetka:
In 1957 at Bhimbetka a number of caves were discovered. During the Old Stone Age primitive men used to live in these caves. Their paintings have been found on the cave walls.
Question 17. Where in India do we find stone weapons of the Middle Stone Age?
Answer:
Stone weapons of the Middle Stone Age have been found in Mahadaha in Uttar Pradesh, Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Sarai Nahar Rai region in Uttar Pradesh.
WBBSE Chapter 2 Topic B Primitive Man In The Indian Subcontinent Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. From where did primitive man come to the Indian subcontinent?
Answer: The probably primitive man had come from Africa to the Indian subcontinent.
Question 2. What have been discovered in the Patawar plateau of Pakistan?
Answer: In the Patawar plateau of Pakistan stone tools of the Old Stone Age have been discovered.
Question 3. What have been discovered in the Narmada Valley of Madhya Pradesh?
Answer: In the Narmada Valley of Madhya Pradesh, human skulls have been discovered that are more than 1,30,000 years old.
Question 4. Why primitive man had a nomadic life?
Answer: Primitive men had a nomadic life because they had to wander around different places to satisfy their hunger by hunting and gathering fruits.
Conceptual Questions on Evolution of Early Humans in India
Question 5. How were the shelters of the men of the Old Stone Age?
Answer: For shelter, Old Stone Age men used to choose natural caves or they lived under the open sky.
Question 6. What types of weapons have been found in Isampur village of the Hunsgi valley?
Answer: In the Isampur village of the Hunsgi valley varieties of the axe, knives, scrappers, etc. have been found.
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Question 7. What did women of the New Stone Age do?
Answer: Women of the New Stone Age used to look after their children and gather fruits.
Question 8. What do we come to know about the primitive man from the painting of Bhimbetka?
Answer: In the paintings of Bhimbetka man is found to hunt alone or in a group wearing masks on their face and jewels.
Question 9. Mention one of the weapons of the middle period of the Old Stone Age.
Answer: One of the weapons of the middle period of the Old Stone Age was a knife.
Question 10. Describe the small weapons of the Middle Stone Age.
Answer: The small weapons of the Middle Stone Age were tied or fixed with branches which helped to hold hand tools and weapons properly.
Question 11. Why were vessels needed in the Middle Stone Age?
Answer: Men of the Middle Stone Age needed vessels to store food and milk which was ensured through the rearing of cattle.
Question 12. How were vessels made by men of the Middle Stone Ages?
Answer: Clay was applied to baskets and vessels were made out of them by the men of the Middle Stone Age.
Question 13. In many ways, the New Stone Age had been ‘new’ in the history of primitive man. Give an example.
Answer: The New Stone Age had been ‘new’ in the history of primitive man because much advancement was made in the skills of making stone tools and weapons which became smaller in size.
Question 14. What did women of the New Stone Age understand by observing the trees?
Answer: Women of the New Stone Age loved to understand by observing the trees how saplings grew from seeds and plants from saplings.
Question 15. When and where the New Stone Age man began to settle down?
Answer: With the beginning of agriculture the New Stone Age man began to settle down in the agricultural areas.
Question 16. Why did the wandering days of primitive people of the New Stone Age come to an end?
Answer: The wandering days of primitive people of the New Stone Age came to an end with the introduction of agriculture.
Question 17. Why all members of the community in the New Stone Age did not have to engage themselves in cultivation?
Answer: All members of the community in the New Stone Age did not have to engage themselves in cultivation because at the time surplus, agricultural crops were produced. Therefore to feed themselves, everyone did not have to engage in cultivation.
Question 18. In which Stone Age there was a gradual transition from primitive society to a more complex and advanced society?
Answer: In the New Stone Age there was a gradual transition from a primitive society to a more advanced society.
Question 19. How did primitive men of the Stone Age protect themselves from the cold weather?
Answer: Primitive men of the Stone Age covered themselves with barks of trees and animal skin to protect themselves from cold weather.
Question 20. In which phase of the Stone Age men learnt to cultivate the land and produce food?
Answer: In the New Stone Age men learnt to cultivate the land and therefore were able to produce their own food.
WBBSE Chapter 2 Topic B Primitive Man In The Indian Subcontinent Fill In The Blanks
Question 1. Old stone weapons have been found in the Shavlik mountainous region of ________ (Himachal Pradesh/Uttar Pradesh/Madhya Pradesh).
Answer: Himachal
Question 2. Bhimbetka cave is situated at some distance from Bhopal in _________ (Himachal Pradesh/ Uttar Pradesh/Madhya Pradesh).
Answer: Madhya
Question 3. A ______ (hatchet/knife/sickle) with two sharp ends was found at Sarai Nahar Rai in Uttar Pradesh.
Answer: Knife
Question 4. Eight thousand years old animal bones have been found at ________ (Azamgarh/ Mehrgarh/Adamgarh) in the Narmada Valley.
Answer: Adamgarh
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Question 5. Skeletons and bones of primitive man have been found in Africa, Java and _______ (Japan/China/Indonesia).
Answer: China
Question 6. In the Narmada valley of ________ human skulls have been discovered (Uttar Pradesh/ Rajasthan/Madhya Pradesh).
Answer: Madhya Pradesh
Question 7. A number of caves were discovered in Bhimbetka in __________. (1957/1956/1960).
Answer: 1957
Question 8. In the Middle Stone Age burial sites have been found in __________ (Bhopal/Mahadaha/ Nevasa).
Answer: Mahadaha
WBBSE Chapter 2 Topic B Primitive Man In The Indian Subcontinent True Or False
Question 1. The oldest stone tools of the Indian subcontinent have been found in the Swan Valley of Kashmir.
Answer: True
Question 2. The painting of a huge bull on the ceiling of Altamira cave was painted by ancient cavemen almost fifty to thirty thousand years ago.
Answer: True
Question 3. Some cave paintings were found at the Bhimbetka cave.
Answer: True
Question 4. The man had been able to adjust himself to all sorts of environments due to his culture.
Answer: True
Question 5. Seven hundred years old animal bones have been found at Adamgarh.
Answer: False
Question 6. The Hunsgi Valley of Karnataka, Didwana in Rajasthan and Nevasa of Maharashtra were the dwelling places of the Homo Erectus.
Answer: True
WBBSE Class 6 History Chapter 2 Questions And Answers
Question 7. The use of Potter’s wheel was unknown in the Middle Stone Age.
Answer: True
Question 8. Women of the New Stone Age used to look after their children and gather fruits.
Answer: True
Question 9. There was discrimination in society during the New Stone Age.
Answer: False