List one major difference between manuscripts and inscriptions.
Manuscripts : they were written by hand. These were usually written on palm leaf, or on the specially prepared bark of a tree known as the birch which grows in the Himalayas. Inscriptions : these are writings on relatively and surfaces such as stone or metal.
Why do you think ordinary men and women did not generally keep records of what they did?
Match the following:
Narmada Valley The first big kingdom
Magadha Hunting and gathering
Garo hills Cities about 2500 years ago
Indus and its tributaries Early agriculture
Ganga Valley The first cities
Return to Rasheeda’s question. Can you think of some answers to it?
Describe at least two ways in which you think the lives of kings would have been different from those of farmers.
Make a list of all the objects that archaeologists may find. Which of these could be made of stone?
Match the following
Stupa Place where the image of the deity is installed
Shikhara Mound
Mandapa Circular path around the stupa
Garbhagriha Place in temples where people could assemble
Pradakshina patha Tower
1. Complete the sentences:
(a) Hunter-gatherers chose to live in caves and rock shelters because ————————.
(b) Grasslands developed around ———————— years ago.
How do archaeologists know that cloth was used in the Harappan civilisation?
Match the columns
Sukta Stone boulder
Chariots Sacrifice
Yajna Well-said
Dasa Used in battles
Megalith Slave
Describe the ways in which the Buddha tried to spread his message to the people.
Make a list of the occupations of the people who lived within the Mauryan empire.
Fill in the blanks:
(a) ———————— was a word used for large landowners in Tamil.
(b) The gramabhojaka often got his land cultivated by the ————————
(c) Ploughmen were known as ———————— in Tamil.
(d) Most grihapatis were ———————— landowners.
Match the following:
Muvendar Mahayana Buddhism
Lords of the dakshinapatha Buddhacharita
Ashvaghosha Satavahana rulers
Bodhisattvas Chinese pilgrim
Xuan Zang Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas
1. State whether true or false:
(a) Harishena composed a prashasti in praise of Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni.
(b) The rulers of Aryavarta brought tribute for Samudragupta.
(c) There were twelve rulers in Dakshinapatha.
(d) Taxila and Madurai were important centres under the control of the Gupta rulers.
(e) Aihole was the capital of the Pallavas.
(f) Local assemblies functioned for several centuries in south India.
Fill in the blanks:
(a) ———————— was a great astronomer.
(b) Stories about gods and goddesses are found in the ————————
(c) ———————— is recognised as the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana.
(d) ———————— and ———————— are two Tamil epics.
Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ganas?
What were the questions that Upanishadic thinkers wanted to answer?
Why do you think Anagha’s mother wanted her to know the story of the Buddha?
Match the columns
Copper Gujarat
Gold Afghanistan
Tin Rajasthan
Precious stones Karnataka
In what ways do you think that the life of a raja was different from that of a dasa or dasi?
What were the means adopted by Ashoka to spread the message of dhamma?
Why do archaeologists think that many people who lived in Mehrgarh were hunters to start with and that herding became more important later?
Make a list of the occupations of the people who lived within the Mauryan empire.
State whether true or false:
(a) Ujjain was the gateway to the north-west.
(c) Chandragupta’s ideas were written down in the Arthashastra.
(d) Kalinga was the ancient name of Bengal.
(e) Most Ashokan inscriptions are in the Brahmi script.
What were the problems that Ashoka wanted to solve by introducing dhamma?