Class 9 Social Science: EARLY HUMANS AND BEGINNING OF CIVILISATION — Chapter Question Set

(b) Archaeological evidence

(b) Sindhu lipi

(b) Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation

(b) Sumerians

(b) Egypt

(c) Africa

(b) Exit Africa

(c) 300,000 years ago

(c) 3.3 million years ago

(b) Tool makers

(c) Homo habilis

(b) Old

(c) Stone

(c) 2 million years

(b) 1.5-1.7 million years

(b) Agriculture and domestication

(c) Revolution

(b) Cave paintings

(c) Mehrgarh

(b) Bolan River

(c) 7000 BCE

(a) Indus Valley Civilisation

(d) 2600 BCE

(b) Mesopotamia

(b) Ziggurats

(b) Wedge-shaped stylus

(b) Wheeled cart

(c) 60

(c) Egyptian hieroglyphs

(b) 1799

(b) Jean-François Champollion

(b) Kemet

(b) Three

(b) Saqqara

(b) Huang He and Yangtze

(b) 1600-1046 BCE

(c) 1046-256 BCE

(c) Qin dynasty

(b) Nomadic tribes

(b) Silk

(c) Babylonians

(c) Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation

(b) Burnt bricks

(a) Harappans

(a) Wedge

(b) Pyramids

(b) Spiritual double

(b) Sargon

(b) Irrigation cooperation

(b) Logographic

Archaeology helps understand our past through tools, fossils, and artefacts left by early humans. These remains are excavated, analysed, and interpreted to reconstruct how people lived long ago.

The Stone Age is divided into Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (New Stone Age), based on technological progress and changes in human lifestyle.

The Neolithic Revolution was the gradual transition from hunting-gathering to food-producing way of life, involving domestication of animals and plants, leading to permanent village settlements.

Major sources include stone tools, fossils, cave paintings, and archaeological remains. These provide evidence about human behaviour, technology, subsistence patterns, and settlement.

The Harappan script has not been deciphered because there are no bilingual texts like the Rosetta Stone, limited inscriptions, and the language it represents remains unknown.

Cuneiform is one of the earliest writing systems developed by the Sumerians. It was written by pressing a wedge-shaped stylus into soft clay tablets.

The Rosetta Stone had three types of writing including Greek. Since Greek could be read, it helped Jean-François Champollion decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822.

Ziggurats were tower-like stepped pyramid-shaped temples built by Sumerians. They served as chief god's temple, around which cities grew, and also functioned as treasuries.

Egyptians built pyramids as burial places for Pharaohs because they believed in life after death. The pyramids preserved the body through mummification for the spiritual double (ka).

The Code of Hammurabi was a compilation of rules and regulations for civil and social conduct compiled by Babylonian king Hammurabi. It served as a foundational model for future legal systems.

Harappans were agriculturists and practised arts and crafts including pottery, copper work, shell work, and semi-precious stone bead production.

The ploughed field at Kalibangan shows horizontal and vertical furrows indicating double crop cultivation, like the seasonal Rabi and Kharif cultivation practised even today.

Gabarbands were check dams built by Early Harappans across small streams to enhance irrigation in the foothills of Baluchistan and neighbouring regions.

The Great Wall of China was built over two thousand years as protection against nomadic tribes' raids. It is one of the world's largest architectural structures.

The Silk Route was a major trade route named after silk, which became a major item of external trade during the Han dynasty, connecting China with other civilisations.

Egyptian society had a social pyramid with Pharaohs at top, followed by nobles, priests, scribes, merchants, artisans, and farmers/labourers at the bottom.

Sumerians invented the number system based on 60, leading to the concepts of 60-minute hour, 60-second minute, and 360-degree circle.

Palaeolithic tools were large handaxes and cleavers for hunting. Neolithic tools were smaller, specialised tools for food production and processing like polished stone axes and sickles.

Oracle bones were animal bones and tortoise shells used for divination in ancient China. They were heated until cracked, and interpretations were based on crack patterns.

China developed civil services through public examination where officials were chosen after being examined in archery, horsemanship, calculations, writing, and music. 5-MARK QUESTIONS (100 Words with Intro - Points - Conclusion)

Introduction: Early human history is divided into stages based on technological progress, changes in lifestyle, and settlement patterns, from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic period.
Points:
• Palaeolithic Period (Old Stone Age): Humans were hunter-gatherers using large stone tools like handaxes, cleavers, and scrapers. They lived in caves or open camps and depended on hunting and gathering for food.
• Mesolithic Period (Middle Stone Age): Climate became warmer. Humans developed microlithic tools, bow and arrow, and occupied new habitats. They hunted small game and gathered aquatic food.
• Neolithic Period (New Stone Age): Marked the shift to agriculture and domestication of animals. Humans became food producers, made polished stone tools, pottery, and established permanent villages.
• Chalcolithic Period: Saw the use of copper along with stone tools, leading to increased productivity and prosperity in communities.
• Foundation for Civilisation: These developments laid the basis for the emergence of Bronze Age civilisations with urban centres, trade, and writing.
Conclusion: The gradual shift from hunting-gathering to farming was a revolution that transformed human society and led to the rise of civilisations.

Introduction: Major Bronze Age civilisations developed independently in fertile river valleys and made significant contributions to human progress.
Points:
• Sindhu-Sarasvati (2600 BCE): Flourished in Indus and Ghaggar-Sarasvati basins. Known for urban planning, standard weights, water management (Dholavira tanks, Lothal dockyard), and undeciphered script.
• Mesopotamia (3500 BCE): Sumerians developed cuneiform script, ziggurat temples, wheeled cart, sailboat, and number system based on 60. They had city-states and the Code of Hammurabi.
• Egypt (3000 BCE): Developed hieroglyphic script, pyramids, advanced medicine, 365-day calendar, and papyrus writing. Pharaohs ruled with divine authority.
• China (1600 BCE): Developed logographic script, oracle bones, silk production, bronze metallurgy, and the Great Wall. Zhou rulers were both kings and priests.
• Common Features: All had agriculture, urban centres, writing systems, social hierarchies, trade networks, and monumental architecture.
Conclusion: These civilisations independently developed similar features while contributing uniquely to human civilisation.

Introduction: The Neolithic period in the Indian subcontinent marked the transition from hunting-gathering to settled agriculture, laying the foundation for the Harappan civilisation.
Points:
• Mehrgarh (7000 BCE): The oldest Neolithic site in the subcontinent. People built sun-dried brick houses, granaries, and buried their dead. They cultivated wheat and barley and raised sheep, goats, and cattle.
• Regional Variation: By 2500 BCE, most of the subcontinent was occupied by Neolithic agricultural communities. They cultivated cereals, millets, and pulses, and herded cattle, sheep, and goats.
• Technological Advances: The introduction of copper tools enhanced productivity. Pottery, semi-precious stone beads, shell bangles, and terracotta objects became common.
• Early Harappan Phase: Cultural continuity from Neolithic to Early Harappan is seen in pottery traditions, bead production, and copper working. Perimeter walls, seals, and script began to appear.
• Water Management: Gabarbands (check dams) in Baluchistan and water harvesting systems at Dholavira show advanced irrigation skills.
Conclusion: The Neolithic foundations of agriculture, craft production, and settlement patterns eventually led to the urban civilisation of the Harappans.

Introduction: Writing was a major innovation that enabled early civilisations to record economic transactions, compose literature, and preserve knowledge.
Points:
• Mesopotamia (Cuneiform - 3200 BCE): Developed by Sumerians using wedge-shaped stylus on clay tablets. Used for record-keeping, laws, myths, and epics. Widely used by different city-states despite different languages.
• Egypt (Hieroglyphic): Used pictorial symbols carved on stone or written on papyrus. Deciphered through the Rosetta Stone. Used for religious texts, records, and literature like the Book of the Dead.
• China (Logographic): Developed oracle bone script. Characters represent entire words or morphemes rather than sounds. Chinese script is still used today with modifications.
• Sindhu-Sarasvati (Harappan Script): Pictographic script found on seals and pottery. Not yet deciphered, limiting our understanding of their society.
• Importance of Writing: Writing enabled recording of economic transactions, laws, treaties, literature, and history. It allowed knowledge to be preserved and shared across generations.
Conclusion: Writing systems were crucial for administrative efficiency, cultural development, and historical documentation in early civilisations.

Introduction: Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisations made numerous contributions that shaped human civilisation and continue to influence us today.
Points:
• Mesopotamian Contributions: Sumerians invented cuneiform writing, wheeled cart, sailboat, and the number system based on 60 (60-minute hour, 360-degree circle). They built ziggurats and developed the Code of Hammurabi.
• Egyptian Contributions: Developed hieroglyphic writing, the 365-day calendar, advanced medicine (Papyrus Ebers listed over 700 cures), papyrus paper, and monumental pyramid architecture.
• Administration: Mesopotamians developed city-states with temple-centred administration. Egyptians developed the Pharaoh-led state with complex bureaucracy.
• Trade: Both civilisations engaged in extensive trade networks. Mesopotamians traded with Harappans (Meluhha), while Egyptians traded along the Nile and Mediterranean.
• Culture: Created rich literature including Epic of Gilgamesh, myths, animal fables, and religious texts like the Book of the Dead.
Conclusion: These civilisations laid the foundations for writing, law, science, architecture, and administration that influenced later societies.