In the Earliest Cities - Solutions

 CBSE Class–VI Social Science

NCERT Solutions
History Chapter 4
In the Earliest Cities

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Question 1. How do archaeologists know that cloth was used in the Harappan Civilisation?
Answer: i. Archaeologists have found spindle whorls from the excavation sites.
ii. Presence of large number of spindles proves the use of cotton for weaving cloth.
iii. Actual pieces of cloth were found attached to the lid of a silver vase and some copper objects.
The above mentioned findings proves that people used cloth in the Harappan Civilization.

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Question 2. Match the columns:

Column I	Column II
Copper	Gujarat
Gold	Afghanistan
Tin	Rajasthan
Precious stones	Karnataka

Answer: - Copper : Rajasthan
- Gold : Karnataka
- Tin : Afghanistan
- Precious stones : Gujarat, Afghanistan

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Question 3. Why were metals, writing, the wheel, and the plough important for the Harappans?
Answer:

1. Metals: Metals were used for making various tools, utensils, jewelry and seals. Many ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper, bronze, terracotta and several types of beads.
2. Writing: Writing was useful for maintaining the records related to trade and for various other purposes.the wheel and the plough were important for the Harappans in many ways.
3. Wheel: The wheel was used in carts to ferry people and goods. Wheel was also used as potter’s wheel.
4. Plough: Plough was used for tilling the land so that farming could be done.

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Question 4. Make a list of all the terracotta toys shown in the lesson. Which do you think children would have enjoyed playing with the most?
Answer: Animal figures, model cart, marbles, dolls, whistles and plough are some of the terracotta toys mentioned in this lesson. I think, children would have liked playing with the model cart and dolls the most. Even today, most of the children enjoy playing with toy cars and barbie dolls.

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Question 5. Make a list of what the Harappans ate, and put a tick mark against the things you eat today.
Answer: The people of Harappa ate various kinds of grains (rice, wheat, barley, pulses, mustard, sesame, linseed etc.), fruits (ber), fish, meat and milk. Most of these things we eat even today. Even at the present times, we eat rice, wheat, pulses, fish, meat and milk. Barley is used rarely by us.

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Question 6. Do you think that the life of farmers and herders who supplied food to the Harappan cities was different from that of the farmers and herders you read about in Chapter 3? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: In chapter 3 discussion is mainly on rural people. But in this chapter, the discussion is mainly on urban people. In both the cases; farmers and herders did the same type of work. But their group was much bigger in case of the Harappan cities. Their work could have been more organized like using wooden tools, irrigation, storage of grains, compared to what it was in the earlier societies. Farmers and herders (in previous chapter) mainly produced for their own use. But in case of the Harappan cities; the farmers and herders sold their surplus production to crafts person, scribes and rulers living in cities.