Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation - Social Science Class 9 In English

Chapter 4. Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation

Extra Questions with Solutions

Very Short Answer Questions

Q1. What is meant by early human history?

Answer: Early human history refers to the long period of human history before the invention of writing. It is studied mainly through archaeological evidence such as tools, fossils, bones, and cave art.

Q2. Where did the earliest human ancestors evolve?

Answer: The earliest human ancestors evolved and lived in Africa.

Q3. What is a hominin?

Answer: Hominins are a group that includes modern humans and our early human-like ancestors.

Q4. What is Homo erectus?

Answer: Homo erectus refers to an upright or bipedal early human ancestor.

Q5. What is an artefact?

Answer: An artefact is a material object made or modified by humans and used as evidence for understanding their past.

Q6. What is a fossil?

Answer: A fossil is a preserved remain, trace, or impression of a plant, animal, or human from the distant past.

Q7. Which period is known as the Old Stone Age?

Answer: The Palaeolithic period is known as the Old Stone Age.

Q8. What are microliths?

Answer: Microliths are very small stone tools that became widely used during the Mesolithic period.

Q9. What was the major change during the Neolithic period?

Answer: The major change was the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and settled life.

Q10. What is meant by domestication?

Answer: Domestication is the process of bringing selected plants and animals under human control for cultivation and use.

Q11. Name the oldest Neolithic site mentioned in the Indian subcontinent.

Answer: Mehrgarh, located on the Bolan River in present-day Pakistan, is identified as the oldest Neolithic site in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.

Q12. What is the Chalcolithic Age?

Answer: The Chalcolithic Age is the Copper and Stone Age, when people used copper along with stone tools.

Q13. What is the Bronze Age?

Answer: The Bronze Age is the period associated with the development of bronze metallurgy, expansion of trade, towns, and early civilisations.

Q14. What is a city-state?

Answer: A city-state is a sovereign state centred around a city that controls the surrounding territory.

Q15. What was cuneiform?

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

Q16. What was a ziggurat?

Answer: A ziggurat was a stepped, pyramid-shaped temple structure built by the Sumerians for their chief gods.

Q17. Which rivers were associated with Mesopotamian civilisation?

Answer: The Mesopotamian civilisation developed in the region drained by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

Q18. Which river was central to Egyptian civilisation?

Answer: The Nile River was central to the development of Egyptian civilisation.

Q19. Which river basin is associated with early Chinese civilisation?

Answer: The Huang He basin in northern China is associated with early Chinese civilisation.

Q20. Which four major early civilisations are discussed in the chapter?

Answer: The Sindhu–Sarasvatī, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Chinese civilisations.

Short Answer Questions

Q21. How do archaeologists help us understand early human life?

Answer: Archaeologists excavate early human sites and study tools, bones, fossils, pottery, ornaments, paintings, and other remains. These objects provide clues about food habits, technology, occupations, settlements, and lifestyles. Archaeologists also recreate and use similar tools to understand how early humans may have used them.

Q22. Why are tools important in the study of early humans?

Answer: Tools provide important evidence of human behaviour and technological development. Early humans used stone tools for cutting meat, digging, scraping animal skins, breaking bones, hunting, and other activities. Changes in tools also help historians identify different stages of early human history.

Q23. How did early humans adapt to changing environmental conditions?

Answer: Early humans developed new tools, techniques, food-gathering methods, and technologies according to changes in climate and environment. They learned to use available natural resources and gradually developed agriculture and animal domestication.

Q24. What were the main features of the Palaeolithic period?

Answer: The Palaeolithic period was characterised by hunting and gathering, the use of stone tools, and mobile ways of life. People used tools such as handaxes, cleavers, scrapers, and choppers. Later, they developed blades, microblades, bows and arrows, and symbolic forms of communication such as cave paintings.

Q25. What changes took place during the Mesolithic period?

Answer: Around 12,000 years ago, the climate became warmer and forests and grasslands expanded. People developed microlithic tools and made greater use of fish, small animals, and wild grains. Fishing became an important part of their subsistence economy, and caves and rock shelters continued to be used.

Q26. Why is the Neolithic Revolution considered an important turning point?

Answer: The Neolithic Revolution marked the transition from hunting and gathering to food production. Humans began cultivating plants and domesticating animals. They developed new tools, pottery, and permanent settlements. The growth of villages laid the foundations for later urban development.

Q27. Why did agriculture not begin everywhere at the same time?

Answer: The transition to agriculture depended on regional environmental conditions, available plants and animals, climate, resources, and human adaptation. Therefore, different regions adopted cultivation, animal domestication, pottery, and settled life at different times.

Q28. What were the important features of Mehrgarh?

Answer: Mehrgarh was an early Neolithic agricultural village dating to about 7000 BCE. Its people built handmade sun-dried brick houses and granaries, cultivated wheat and barley, and raised sheep, goats, and Indian cattle. They also produced ornaments and later copper objects.

Q29. How did agriculture contribute to the emergence of civilisation?

Answer: Agriculture provided a more stable source of food and encouraged permanent settlements. Increased food production supported larger populations and allowed people to specialise in crafts, trade, administration, and other activities. Over time, villages developed into towns and urban centres.

Q30. How did the Early Harappan period contribute to the growth of the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation?

Answer: During the Early Harappan period, agriculture, copper working, pottery, bead production, shell working, and trade developed. Settlement walls, seals, graffiti, and early forms of writing also appeared. Technological development and economic integration helped create the conditions for the emergence of urban centres.

Q31. Why were standard weights important for the Harappans?

Answer: Standard weights helped maintain uniformity in trade and economic activities. The Harappans used a systematic system of weights, including binary multiples for smaller units and multiples of ten for larger denominations. This would have facilitated interregional and long-distance trade.

Q32. Why were rivers important for early civilisations?

Answer: Rivers provided water and fertile land for agriculture. They also supported settlement, transportation, trade, and other economic activities. The four major civilisations discussed in the chapter developed in fertile river plains.

Q33. Why did Mesopotamia become suitable for the development of civilisation?

Answer: Mesopotamia was located around the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and included fertile agricultural regions. Farming, irrigation, copper technology, craft production, and trade supported the growth of settlements and eventually city-based civilisations.

Q34. What were the main achievements of the Sumerians?

Answer: The Sumerians developed city-based civilisation, irrigation systems using dams and canals, brick construction, ziggurats, and cuneiform writing. They also developed wheeled carts and sailboats and used a number system based on 60.

Q35. Why is cuneiform important for understanding Mesopotamian civilisation?

Answer: Cuneiform tablets provide information about Mesopotamian myths, epics, hymns, laws, education, farming, crafts, and economic activities. Since cuneiform has been deciphered, historians can obtain direct information about various aspects of Mesopotamian society.

Q36. How was the Harappan script different from cuneiform?

Answer: Both writing systems existed around the same broad period. Cuneiform was developed by the Sumerians and has been deciphered. The Harappan script, found on objects such as seals and pottery, has not yet been deciphered. Therefore, our understanding of the Harappan civilisation is more dependent on archaeological evidence.

Q37. Why was the Nile important for Egyptian civilisation?

Answer: The Nile provided water and supported agriculture. Its annual flooding deposited rich mud along its banks, making the land highly suitable for growing crops. The river therefore played a major role in the growth and prosperity of Egyptian settlements.

Q38. What was the importance of writing in early civilisations?

Answer: Writing allowed societies to record information about administration, agriculture, trade, laws, religion, education, and other activities. It also provided historians with written evidence for reconstructing the lives of people in the past.

Long Answer Questions

Q39. Explain the development of human life from the Palaeolithic period to the Neolithic period.

Answer: During the Palaeolithic period, humans mainly depended on hunting and gathering and used stone tools. Over time, their tools became more specialised and they developed hunting techniques, symbolic communication, cave paintings, and ornaments.

During the Mesolithic period, the warming climate created new forests and grasslands and provided new resources. Humans developed microlithic tools and made greater use of fish, small animals, and wild grains.

During the Neolithic period, humans gradually shifted towards agriculture and food production. They domesticated plants and animals, developed tools for farming and food processing, made pottery, and established permanent settlements. This transformation laid the foundation for later village and urban societies.

Q40. Explain the major stages of early human history.

Answer: Early human history can be divided into several stages based mainly on technological and lifestyle changes.

• Palaeolithic: Hunting and gathering and simple stone tools.
• Mesolithic: Use of microliths and a transitional lifestyle between hunting-gathering and agriculture.
• Neolithic: Agriculture, domestication, polished stone tools, pottery, and settled villages.
• Chalcolithic: Use of copper along with stone tools and development of early metallurgy.
• Bronze Age: Bronze metallurgy, expansion of trade, towns, and early civilisations.
• Iron Age: Widespread use of iron metallurgy and development of stronger tools and weapons.

Q41. Explain how human beings gradually moved from hunting and gathering to settled agricultural life.

Answer: Hunter-gatherers gradually developed detailed knowledge of seasons, plants, animals, and available food resources. As environmental conditions changed, people learned to cultivate useful plants and domesticate selected animals.

The production of food encouraged people to remain in one place for longer periods. Neolithic communities developed agricultural tools, pottery, and methods of food processing. Permanent villages were established, and new forms of social and economic organisation developed. This gradual transition is known as the Neolithic Revolution.

Q42. Explain the development of the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation from earlier farming communities.

Answer: Early agricultural communities such as Mehrgarh developed farming, animal herding, permanent settlements, pottery, and later copper technology. These developments spread to other parts of the Indian subcontinent.

In the Indus and Ghaggar–Sarasvatī regions, copper tools improved productivity, while pottery, bead production, shell working, and other crafts expanded. Standard weights and increasing economic integration encouraged interregional trade. Over time, these developments contributed to the emergence of urban centres of the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation.

Q43. Explain the relationship between rivers and the growth of early civilisations.

Answer: Rivers were important because they provided water for agriculture and supported fertile agricultural land. They also helped communities establish settlements and facilitated transportation and trade.

The Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation developed around the Sindhu and Sarasvatī river systems, Mesopotamia around the Euphrates and Tigris, Egypt along the Nile, and early Chinese civilisation around the Huang He basin.

At the same time, rivers could also create challenges such as floods. Therefore, early societies developed water-management systems, irrigation methods, dams, canals, and other techniques to control and use water resources.

Q44. Describe the main features of Mesopotamian civilisation.

Answer: Mesopotamian civilisation developed around the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Agriculture was supported by fertile land and irrigation. Over time, large settlements developed into city-states.

The Sumerians developed dams and canals and constructed buildings using mud bricks and burnt bricks. They built ziggurats as major temples and developed specialised crafts, trade, and administrative systems.

The Sumerians also developed cuneiform writing. Written tablets recorded laws, economic activities, farming, crafts, myths, hymns, and educational material. Later, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian powers became important in Mesopotamia.

Q45. How did writing change our understanding of early civilisations?

Answer: Before writing, historians mainly depended on archaeological evidence such as tools, fossils, pottery, buildings, and paintings. Such evidence provides important information but does not usually reveal people's exact names, thoughts, events, or detailed administrative records.

After writing developed, written documents provided information about political events, social life, laws, economic activities, religious beliefs, and cultural practices. For example, deciphered cuneiform tablets provide detailed information about Mesopotamian society. In contrast, the Harappan script has not yet been deciphered, so archaeological evidence remains particularly important for understanding the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation.

Q46. Compare the four major Bronze Age civilisations discussed in the chapter.

Q47. Why is the Neolithic Revolution called a revolution rather than simply a change?

Answer: The shift to agriculture brought several connected changes in human life. People changed from mainly hunting and gathering to producing food. Plants and animals were domesticated, permanent settlements developed, pottery and new tools appeared, and villages became established.

These changes transformed the economy, settlement patterns, technology, and social organisation of human communities. Therefore, the transition had consequences far beyond a simple change in food collection and is described as the Neolithic Revolution.

Q48. “The environment offers human societies both opportunities and challenges.” Explain with reference to early societies.

Answer: Natural environments provided early humans with water, fertile land, plants, animals, minerals, and other resources. River valleys offered fertile soil and water, helping agriculture and settlement develop.

However, the environment also created challenges. Floods could damage settlements and crops, while changes in climate could alter the availability of food and other resources. Human societies therefore developed tools, agricultural practices, irrigation systems, water-management techniques, and other technologies to adapt to their surroundings.

Q49. Why do historians divide early human history into different ages?

Answer: Historians divide early human history into different periods to understand major changes in technology, economy, lifestyle, and settlement patterns.

The Palaeolithic is associated mainly with stone tools and hunting-gathering; the Mesolithic with microlithic tools; the Neolithic with agriculture and settled life; the Chalcolithic with copper and stone tools; the Bronze Age with bronze metallurgy, towns and early civilisations; and the Iron Age with widespread iron technology.

Q50. How did technological development contribute to the emergence of civilisation?

Answer: Technological development increased the ability of humans to obtain and produce food, process raw materials, build settlements, manage water, make crafts, and conduct trade.

Improved agricultural tools supported food production. Metallurgy provided copper and bronze objects. Water-management techniques supported farming. Standard weights helped trade, while writing supported administration and record-keeping. Together, these developments contributed to the growth of towns, cities, organised societies, and early civilisations.