WBBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 1 The Idea Of History

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History What is History?

You read history. Everyone else reads history. But the question may be asked – What is history? Why should we read history? And what is it here in history?

Let us first try to understand what history really is. History is an account of man’s past. It is an account of man’s social, economic, political, and cultural life.

In history, we have a chronological tale of social and political changes that took place in man’s life in the past.

At this point, you may ask

what does chronological mean? Chronology means a record of events or dates in the order of their occurrence. In very simple terms, the earliest event is described first. The next ones come next.

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Why should we read History?

You may now ask

why should we read history at all? Henry Ford the famous American motorcar manufacturer once said-History Is ‘bunk; By ‘bunk’ he meant ‘nonsense’. It is not difficult to understand that Ford was for some reason or other disappointed with history.

But we should not take his statement seriously. History is very far from being bunk. We, all of us, are eager to know what happened in olden times. We all want to know how our country grew and prospered.

It is only by reading history that we can learn how different countries progressed or changed through the ages. In fact, social order, religion, culture, administration, and everything that helps a country to prosper came through slow and gradual change.

This gradual change is called evolution. We need to study history in order to know our past. The present is the result of the past. History tells us how the present has come to be.

So the content of history is nothing but the records and accounts of the past. Human civilization is, therefore, reflected in history.

So when we read history we can learn about human civilization and its gradual progress in different countries and different parts of the world. Human civilization got the start in very old times and developed through the ages.

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History: History Is The Story Of Man.

You must remember that history is the story of man. The modern man appeared on earth thousands and thousands of years ago. Men were a new species of animals who could stand erect and walk straight.

For thousands of years, early modern men fought hard to earn their living. They first ate raw meat and fruits. Then they learned to use fire to burn the meat. Gradually over thousands of years, a vast change came in man’s life.

Men no longer ate raw meat. The fire was used to burn meat, to burn brick, and make pottery. Men learned to dress themselves up. They no longer lived in caves but built houses for themselves. Society emerged.

The evolution or gradual change in man’s life is a very interesting story. History tells us this story. So history Is mainly concerned with the history of man.

How do we come to know the past? Sources of history?

What is our source of knowledge of the past? How really do we come to know the past story of man? Here we must tell you a few words about that.

The means of our knowledge of the past are called the sources of history. And these sources are broad of two kinds ancient relics and ancient literature.

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History Ancient Relics

Ancient relics are the material remains that have been found on the ground or found by digging the ground. These are called archaeological remains.

They give us a fairly good account of the far past. Such remains or relics have been discovered as a result of excavation or digging-up conducted by archaeologists.

From different parts of the world, many articles daily used by pre-historic men have been unearthed. These articles include inscriptions on stone slabs, drawings, and paintings, figures, weapons made of metal and stone, utensils, ornaments, coins, ruins of buildings, etc.

Ancient cave paintings bear evidence of the social and cultural life of pre-historic men. All these have helped us a lot to know the history of ancient ages. Scholars have determined the ages of such relics after examining and analyzing the different layers of the earth.

Inscriptions

It is said that ancient inscriptions are the most important source of our knowledge of the ancient world. But first of all, we must tell you what inscriptions are. Engraved writings on stone or metal are called inscriptions.

Archaeologists have found many such inscriptions in caves and temples. Ancient people engraved writings on stone walls, pillars, on dried earth, and on metal. Many such inscriptions have been discovered from inside the pyramids in Egypt.

These inscriptions have been successfully deciphered and as a result, much of the ancient history of Egypt has come to light. Some inscriptions, of course, have baffled scholars.

For they have not been able to decipher them. Do you know what decipherment v means? To decipher is to be able to read and make out the meaning of a writing. Most of the writings by ancient Sumerians have been deciphered.

But the engravings by the ancient Flarappans have not been deciphered yet. Still then, inscriptions or engravings on stone and metal are the most important source for the study of ancient history.

King Ashoka’s inscriptions were engraved on rocks and pillars. They tell us about the condition of the people in his kingdom. The inscriptions of the Gupta period are also a very important source of ancient Indian history.

Apart from stone inscriptions, there were others also. Historians have discovered many writings or engravings on copper plaques and earthen plaques.

The legal code of the Babylonian king Hammurabi was inscribed on burnt clay plaques. These plaques give us a faithful and dependable account of the kings who issued them. Sometimes court poets wrote the life history of kings.

Most accounts were overstated because they were written in praise of the kings. Such accounts are called ‘prashastis’ or panegyrics. A panegyric is a written account in praise of someone.

Harisen the court poet of king Samudragupta wrote one such prashasti. Although overstated, it is nonetheless an important source of our knowledge about Samudragupta.

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History Coins And Seals

Though not as important as the inscriptions as a source of ancient history, coins to help us a lot in knowing the past. One thing must be borne in mind.

Many old coins have been found on the surface, and many others have been found by digging up the ground. Ancient coins were made of metal. The metals used in making coins were copper, bronze, gold, and silver.

At various places of the world, many coins and seals have been found from underneath the soil. A coin usually bears the name of the ruler who made and circulated it.

His or her image or some other picture was engraved on it. In most cases, the year in which the coin was first issued was engraved too. A coin of Samudragupta the great Gupta king bears the figure of a horse.

This indicates that Samudragupta performed the horse sacrifice. Another coin of Samudragupta shows the King playing on a vena. This indicates the king’s interest in music.

Figures of gods and goddesses were also engraved on coins which historians to find out the age of the ruler and the religion which he followed.

The metal content of the coins gives us an idea of the economic condition of the state or kingdom at the time of issuing the coin. Gold coins.

point towards the economic prosperity of a kingdom. The distribution of coins is very important. The places where coins were found throw some light on the extent of the kingdom of a ruler.

If a number of coins are found in Punjab, it is naturally thought that the ruler who issued those coins had control over Punjab. Coins often tell us which ruler ruled earlier and which ruler ruled later.

Thus it cannot be denied that coins are a very important source for the study of ancient history.

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History Monuments

Among the relics of the past are ancient monuments. Monuments are buildings and memorial structures like pillars, tombs, etc. Historians have discovered remains of ancient cities like Harappa and Mohenjodaro.

These have been found as a result of digging the ground. In Greece ancient tombs, theatre halls, temples, etc. have been found in almost broken condition.

In our country, too many remains of ancient civilization have been found in many parts, of the country. The Ashoka pillar, the pillar of Sarnath, the ancient site of the Nalanda university, and the Kailashnath temple of Ellora are all examples of such relics and monuments.

Some have been found almost intact, while others have been found in broken and nearly ruined condition. Among relics are also potteries, weapons, and tools which the ancient people used.

Remains of food grains have also been unearthed. These give us an idea of the type of tools they used, the dress they wore, and the food they consumed. Sometimes human skeletons and animal skeletons were unearthed at different places.

These give us a good amount of information about these men and animals. There is a scientific method of determining the age of such relics. This method is called ‘carbon dating” or ‘radio-carbon dating”.

By using this scientific method the approximate age of a stone or statue etc. is known.

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History Ancient Literature

So far we have described the archaeological sources of history. Now what remains to be told is ancient literature. It is also called the literary source.

You surely know that the printing of books is a relatively modern event. Before printing was invented all books were handwritten. They were written either by the authors themselves or by scribes employed by them.

Such handwritten books are called manuscripts. When we speak about the literary sources of ancient Indian history, we should divide them into two divisions-indigenous or Indian literature and literature left behind by foreigners.

Literary sources— Indian

Our country has a rich treasure of ancient literature. Such literature is of two kinds-religious and non-religious. Among the earliest literary sources are the Vedas, Smritis, and Puranas.

These give us an idea of the social, political, religious, and economic life of the Vedic Aryans. The two epics, the Howayana and the Mahabharata are two important sources of knowledge about ancient India.

The epics are not historical in nature. But we get quite a good amount of historical information from them. The Jatakas, the Buddhist scriptures named the Tripitaka, Dipavamsa, and Mphoivamso give us information about the growth of Buddhism.

Arthashastra is a very important source. It was probably written by Kautilya, the minister of Chandragupta Maurya. During the rule of the Guptas and after the Gupta period many plays and biographies were composed.

Some important works are those of Kalidasa, Shudraka, and Bishakhadatta. The Harshadharita by Banabhatta and Ramacharita by Sandhyakara Nandi are some such works. They are important as sources.

Another very important work is Kalhana’s Rajatarangini which gives us a good account of Kashmir till the 12th century. Among ancient literature, there are dictionaries such as the Amarakosha by Amarasingha, and treatises on health, and medicine such as Char aka by Shushruta.

Ancient Indian literature was not always historical in nature. But historical elements are easily gleaned from them.

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History Foreign Accounts

Accounts written by foreign travelers help us a lot to know ancient India. Alexander, the king of Macedonia invaded India in 331 BC. Some Greeks like Curtius and Niarchus accompanied Alexander.

They afterward wrote about India. But the most important account was left by Megasthenes who came to India as a messenger of Seleucus, a Greek ruler who ruled parts of Syria and Bactria.

Megasthenes’ account named WPika” is a very important source of information about the Mauryas in Chandragupta’s period. About trade in the Indian Ocean in those days, we have to depend on the account named Periplus of the Erythraean Thrt written by an unknown traveler.

We are indebted to the Chinese and Tibetan travelers also. Ta-Hien (now called Fa-hsian), (now called Xuang Zang), and l-tsing (now called Yi jing) left important accounts about the Gupta period and Harshavardhana’s reign respectively.

Taranatha the Tibetan historian has left much information about Buddha and Buddhism.

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History: History And Geography

To understand a country’s history, we must understand its geography. This may cause you a little surprise. History and geography are two different subjects. Why then should history depend upon geography? The answer is simple enough.

The physical features and climate of a country influence the character and habits of its people. In other words, the character and occupation of the people are very much influenced by the position of the country and its climate.

Our country has three broad geographical divisions— the mountains of the north, the plateau of the south, and the Gangetic plain, Besides, there is the Thar desert in Rajasthan.

The three rivers of the southern peninsula, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri flow from west to east and fall into the Bay of Bengal. There is one major river that flows from east to west. That is the Narmada.

These geographical features have reared the character of Indians over hundreds of years. The geographical features also influence the profession or calling of the people.

The people of the Himalayan regions are different in habit from those who live in the plains. People living in the desert area do not depend upon river water.

Camels that are found in abundance in Rajasthan are not found elsewhere in the country. The mediums of transport are different in different regions. Agricultural crops are different from region to region.

India’s crops and vegetation depend largely on the monsoon. The monsoon brings showers that moisten the soil and fill the rivers. This makes the country rich in agricultural products.

The Himalayas have protected the country from foreign attacks from the north. Most of the rivers of north India have their source in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have a good contribution in causing rainfall by obstructing the monsoon wind.

The three great rivers of the north, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmaputra have a great influence on the profession and character of the people who live alongside these rivers.

Moreover, like the mountains of the north and northwest, the rivers provided political and cultural boundaries. Thus geographical features are so important in a country’s history. What we are and what we do are in many ways determined by the geography of our country.

Chapter 1 The Idea Of History Stone And Metal Ages

Primitive men used stone first to drive away wild beasts as also to kill them. As days went by, men used stone in many ways and for many purposes. But at first, the stone weapons were crude. Men had not learned to polish or sharpen them.

This went on for thousands of years. This age is known as the ‘Old Stone Age or the r’Paiaeoilthic Age7. ‘Palaeo’means old, and ‘litho’ means stone. Many thousand years later men learned to make stone implements and weapons.

The first such weapon was perhaps the stone axe. This, again, went on for thousands of years. This age is known as the New Stone Age or the Neolithic Age. Neo, you can easily guess, means ‘new7.

The intermediate period, that is the period between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic Ages is known as Mesolithic Age. Men gradually discovered metals too. Not just discovering, they learned to use metal in various ways.

The first metal discovered and used was copper. Copper was used to make utensils. But it was found that copper was rather a soft metal. Soon after, men were able to make an alloy of copper and tin.

A new metal was made. It was bronze. Bronze was much harder than copper. For many years only copper was used. This period is called the Copper Age, The next one was called the Copper-Bronze Age.

Other metals also followed, but over a long period of time. However, the most important metal in man’s life was iron. No other metal was used in such varied ways as iron.

In fact, iron brought as great a change in men’s life as no other metal did. One more thing to remember. You must not think that only bronze was used in the bronze age, or that only iron was used in the iron age.

In the copper age, copper was the most-used metal; in the bronze age, bronze was the most-used metal. Other metals too were used at the same time but secondarily.