What, Where, How and When Class 6 Important Questions and Answers
Class 6 History Chapter 1 What, Where, How and When Important Questions and answers cover all the topics and help students to understand the concepts better. Students can solve these for practice. They may come across some of these questions in the final exam.
Students can clear their doubts from the chapter by solving these CBSE Class 6 History Important Questions and prepare well for the board exams. The links to download the PDF version of these questions are given in a link to this article.
Class 6 History Chapter 1 What, Where, How and When Important Questions
1. Fill in the blanks.
(i) The places where rice was first grown are to the north of the _________
(ii)_______ is the earliest composition in Sanskrit.
(iii) Along the river ________ people lived for several hundred thousand years.
(iv) __________ is a town on the north coast of Egypt.
Answer:
(i) Vindhyas.
(ii) Rigveda
(iii) Narmada
(iv) Rosetta
2. Write True/False against each of the following statement:
(i) People who gathered their food are called gatherers.
(ii) The kingdom of Magadha was located in the areas along Ganga’s tributaries in the North of Ganga.
(iii) Prakrit was the language used by ordinary people.
(iv) River Ganga was addressed as Indos or Hindos by the Iranians and Greeks.
Answer:
(i) True
(ii) False
(iii) True
(iv) False
Answer the following questions:
1. Name one tributary of Ganga.
Answer: Son
2. What is the meaning of Indus in Sanskrit?
Answer: Sindhu
3. Write the full form of BCC.
Answer: Before Common Era
4. Write the full form of CE.
Answer: Common Era
5. Write the full form of AD.
Answer: Anno Domini
6. When did agriculture begin?
Answer: Agriculture began 8000 years ago.
7. Name any two animals that people of the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills reared.
Answer: Sheep and Goat
8. Who are historians?
Answer: Historians are the scholars who studies and writes about the past.
9. What do you understand by tributaries?
Answer: Tributaries are smaller rivers that flow into a larger river.
10. Where does the word India come from?
Answer: The word India comes from the Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit.
11. What do you mean by manuscript?
Answer: Manuscript means any book or document written by hand.
12. What are inscriptions?
Answer: These are writings on relatively hard surfaces such as stone or metal.
13. Where were manuscripts preserved?
Answer: Manuscripts were often preserved in temples and monasteries.
14: What information do we get from Bones of animals?
Answer: Bones of animals, birds, and fish tells what people ate in the Past.
15. Name the ruler whose inscription has been found from Kandahar.
Answer: Ashoka’s inscription has been found from Kandahar.
16. Where are Garo hills located?
Answer: The Garo hills are located to the north-east and the Vindhyas in central India.
17. What is source?
Answer: The word source refers to the information found from manuscripts, inscriptions and archaeology.
18. What was the advantage of writing on a hard surface?
Answer: The writing on a hard surface do not get destroyed easily, hence survives for long period of time.
19. What do religious teachers do in the past?
Answer: Religious teachers walked from village to village, town to town, stopping to offer instruction and advice on the way.
20. How could anyone know what had happened so many years ago?
Answer: One can know what had happened so many years ago through manuscripts, inscriptions and objects found in excavations.
21. Why do men and women moved from one subcontinent to another?
Answer: Men and women moved in search of livelihood, as also to escape from natural disasters like floods or droughts.
22. What do people of Andaman Islands do to earn their living?
Answer: Most people living in the Andaman Islands get their own food by fishing, hunting, and collecting forest produce.
23. What is Cartouche?
Answer: Scholars who could read Greek figured out that the names of kings and queens were enclosed in a little frame, called a cartouche.
24. Where manuscripts were usually written?
Answer: Manuscripts were usually written on palm leaf, or on the specially prepared bark of a tree known as the birch, which grows in the Himalayas.
25. How is the life of people living in city different from people living in the Andaman Island?
Answer: Most people living in the Andaman Islands get their own food by fishing, hunting, and collecting forest produce. By contrast, most people living in cities depend on others for supplies of food.
26. Who gave the name India to our country?
Answer: The Iranians and the Greeks who came through the northwest about 2500 years ago and were familiar with the Indus, called it the Hindos or the Indos, and the land to the east of the river was called India.
27. Where was the kingdom of Magadha located?
Answer: In ancient times the area to the south of the Ganga was known as Magadha. Its rulers were very powerful, and set up a large kingdom. Kingdoms were set up in other parts of the country as well.
28. How many languages were inscribed on stone found in Rosetta?
Answer: Rosetta is a town on the north coast of Egypt, and here an inscribed stone was found, which contained inscriptions in three different languages and scripts (Greek, and two forms of Egyptian).
29. Name some areas where women and men first began to grow crops such as wheat and barley?
Answer: Sulaiman and Kirthar hills to the northwest were some areas where women and men first began to grow crops such as wheat and barley about 8000 years ago.
30. In ancient times, people travelled from one part of the subcontinent to another. What kind of danger they used to face during their journey?
Answer: Throughout, people travelled from one part of the subcontinent to another. The hills and high mountains including the Himalayas, deserts, rivers and seas made journeys dangerous at times, but never impossible.
31. Why do you think ordinary men and women did not generally keep records of what they did?
Answer: Generally, ordinary people such as hunters, fishing folk, gatherers, farmers or herders did not keep records of what they did because they did not feel the need of recording what they did and they lacked proper means of writing.
32. What led to the sharing of ideas between people?
Answer: People travelled from one part of the subcontinent to another in search of livelihood, as also to escape from natural disasters like floods or droughts, conquering others’ lands, teaching people, adventure etc. All these led to the sharing of ideas between people.
33. Why were inscriptions used?
Answer: Kings got their orders inscribed so that people could see, read and obey them. There are other kinds of inscriptions as well, where men and women (including kings and queens) recorded what they did. For example, kings often kept records of victories in battle.
34. Write a note about the people who lived along the banks of river Narmada for several hundred thousand years?
Answer: Some of the earliest people who lived here were skilled gatherers, — that is, people who gathered their food. They knew about the vast wealth of plants in the surrounding forests, and collected roots, fruits and other forest produce for their food. They also hunted animals.
35. What do the terms B.C. and A.D. mean?
Answer: The years are counted from the date generally assigned to the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity. All dates before the birth of Christ are counted backwards and usually have the letters BC (Before Christ) added on and A.D. stands for two Latin words, ‘Anno Domini’, meaning ‘in the year of the Lord’ (i.e. Christ).
36. Differentiate between manuscripts and inscriptions.
Answer: Difference between manuscripts and inscriptions are:
| Manuscripts | Inscriptions |
| Manuscripts 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. | These are writings on relatively hard surfaces such as stone or metal. Sometimes, kings got their orders inscribed so that people could see, read and obey them. |
37. Describe at least two ways in which you think the lives of kings would have been different from those of farmers.
Answer: Two ways in which the lives of kings would have been different from those of farmers are:
- The kings set up a large kingdom whereas farmers engaged in agriculture.
- Kings often kept records of victories in battle whereas farmers did not keep records of what they did.
38. Who are archaeologists and what they study?
Answer: There were many things that were made and used in the past. Those who study these objects are called archaeologists. They study the remains of buildings made of stone and brick, paintings and sculpture. They also explore and excavate (dig under the surface of the earth) to find tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and coins.
39. Make a list of all the objects that archaeologists may find. Which of these could be made of stone?
Answer: Objects that archaeologists may find are:
- remains of buildings made of stone and brick, paintings and sculpture
- tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and coins.
- bones — of animals, birds, and fish
- manuscripts and inscriptions
The ones that could be made of stone are inscriptions, remains of buildings, tools, weapons etc.
40. Why are archaeologists and historian like detectives?
Answer: Historians, that is, scholars who study the past, often use the word source to refer to the information found from manuscripts, inscriptions and archaeology. Once sources are found, learning about the past becomes an adventure, as they reconstruct it bit by bit. So historians and archaeologists are like detectives, who use all these sources like clues to find out about our pasts.
41. Why was travelling so important in the past?
Answer: Throughout, people travelled from one part of the subcontinent to another. Men and women moved in search of livelihood, as also to escape from natural disasters like floods or droughts. Sometimes men marched in armies, conquering others’ lands. Besides, merchants travelled with caravans or ships, carrying valuable goods from place to place. And religious teachers walked from village to village, town to town, stopping to offer instruction and advice on the way. Finally, some people perhaps travelled driven by a spirit of adventure, wanting to discover new and exciting places. All these led to the sharing of ideas between people.
42. What are the different ways to find out about the past?
Answer: Different ways to find out about the past are:
Manuscripts – One is to search for and read books that were written long ago. These are called manuscripts, because 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 hard surfaces such as stone or metal. Sometimes, kings got their orders inscribed so that people could see, read and obey them. There are other kinds of inscriptions as well, where men and women (including kings and queens) recorded what they did. For example, kings often kept records of victories in battle.
Archaeological excavations or evidences – Archaeologist study the remains of buildings made of stone and brick, paintings and sculpture. They also explore and excavate (dig under the surface of the earth) to find tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and coins.
Practice Worksheet
1. How can anyone know what happened in the past?
2. Can you think of the advantages of writing on a hard surface? And what could have been the difficulties?
3. What do dates mean?
4. Where is Rosetta located? Write a very short note about the town.
5. Make a list of all the objects that archaeologists may find. Which of these could be made of stone?
6. Why do you think ordinary men and women did not generally keep records of what they did? Discuss.
7. Describe at least two ways in which you think the lives of kings would have been different from those of farmers.
8. Explain briefly about Sulaiman and Kirthar hills.
9. In ancient times, what was the area along these rivers to the south of the Ganga known as?
10. Explain the term “manuscripts.”
11. When did agriculture begin? Where were manuscripts preserved?
12. Define the word tributaries. Mention any one tributary of Ganga.
13. Who are archaeologists? What do they do?
14. Give a reason why some of the earliest people are called skilled gatherers.
15. Find the origin of the word “India.”
16. Define “Inscriptions.” How do they help?
17. Give a reason why South Asia is referred to as a subcontinent. Mention the name of the countries that form South Asia.
18. What do BC and AD stand for?
19. List one major difference between manuscripts and inscriptions.
20. Define the study of inscriptions.