Notes of Chapter 2 On the Trail of the Earliest People Class 6th History
The earliest people: why were they on the move?Hunter-gatherers
• The name comes from the way in which they got their food.
• Generally, they hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks and eggs.
• The reasons why hunter-gatherers moved from place to place:-
→ They eaten up all the available plants and animals resources where they stay for the long time, for the search of food they have to move from place to place.
→ Some of the animals move from place to place in search for food that is why the hunters have to follow their movement.
→ Because of seasons change some of the plants and trees don’t bear fruits so people have to move place to place in search of different kinds of plants.
→ Plants, animals and people needs water, people need water during dry seasons that’s why they travelled on foot from place to place.
How do we know about these people?
• Archaeologists have found some of the things hunter-gatherers made and used. It is likely that people made and used tools of stone, wood and bone, of which stone tools have survived best.
Choosing a place to live in
• Many sites of hunter-gatherers were located near sources of water, such as rivers and lakes.
• Places where stone was found and where people made tools are known as factory sites.
• The blocks of stone, tools that were made and perhaps discarded because they were not perfect, and chips of waste stone left behind at these sites. Sometimes, people lived here for longer spells of time. These sites are called habitation-cum-factory sites.
• Making stone tools:
→ Stone on stone:- The tool which is made up of two stones in which one stone is act as hammer and other stone is used to strikes off flakes from the first, till the required shape was obtained.
→ Pressure flaking: The core was placed on a firm surface. The hammer stone was used on a piece of bone or stone that was placed on the core, to remove flakes that could be shaped into tools.
→ Kurnool caves: Traces of ash have been found here. They must have used the fire of many things like cooking, lightening the house and scaring the animals away.
• Around 12,000 years ago, there were major changes in the climate of the world, with a shift to relatively warm conditions. In many areas, this led to the development of grasslands.
• The caves in which these early people lived have paintings on the walls. Some of the best examples are from Madhya Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh. These paintings show wild animals, drawn with great accuracy and skill.
• There is no clear evidence but it is proposed that both men and women may have done their work together or they may be some tasks which were to be performed only by men or women alone. There may have been different practices in different parts of the sub-continent.
• Hunsgi: A number of early Palaeolithic sites were found here. At some sites, a large number of tools, used for all sorts of activities, were found. These were probably habitation-cum factory sites. In some of the other, smaller sites, there is evidence to suggest that tools were made. Some of the sites were close to springs. Most tools were made from limestone, which was locally available.
NCERT Solutions of Chapter 2 On the Trail of the Earliest People