Chapter 4: Timeline and Sources of History

Answer: To measure time in history, we use specific dates, years, and a timeline. Generally, time is counted relative to the birth of Jesus Christ.

• The years after the birth of Jesus are called 'CE' (Common Era) or 'AD' (Anno Domini).
• The years before the birth of Jesus are denoted as 'BCE' (Before Common Era) or 'BC' (Before Christ).

Additionally, to understand long periods, we use terms like decade (10 years), century (100 years), and millennium (1000 years). In India, according to most almanacs (Panchangs/calendars), the positions of the sun and moon are used as the basis to determine months and days, which also allows for the accurate measurement of time.

Answer: Various sources play a crucial role in understanding history because they are evidences of the past. Sources of history can mainly be divided into two parts:

• Literary Sources: These include the Vedas, poems, historical writings, and travelogues of foreign travelers.
• Archaeological Sources: These include old houses, bones, weapons, pottery, coins, inscriptions, and monuments found from excavations.

With the help of these sources, we can get accurate information about the kings of that time, people's lifestyles, their food, occupations, religious beliefs, and arts and crafts. Historians act like detectives, studying these evidences to present a true picture of the past before us.

Answer: From the pictures and information given in the textbook, we can learn the following about the life of early humans:

• Shelter: They lived in groups in stone caves (Rock Shelters).
• Food and Fire: They hunted for food, and after discovering fire, they roasted meat, obtained light, and protected themselves from wild animals.
• Tools: They made tools and weapons for hunting by rubbing and shaping stones and wood.
• Clothing: They cleaned animal skins and used them as clothing.
• Art: In their free time, they drew pictures of animals and scenes from their lives on cave walls using colors (Rock Art).

Over time, they settled down on river banks, started agriculture and animal husbandry, built thatched houses, and began living a settled life.

Answer/Outline: This is a personal question. You have to think about your own earliest memory. (For example: your first day of school, a trip with your family, or your fifth birthday). Note down these memories and think that you might have been 3 or 4 years old at the time of the event. These small memories are a part of your own personal history (past).

Answer: Yes, understanding the past helps us a lot in understanding the present world. The modern facilities, languages, food, and social systems we see today did not happen overnight. Today's human society has developed from the discoveries made by our ancestors in the past (like fire, the wheel, agriculture) and their experiences. History tells us where we came from and how our culture evolved.

How to do it (Outline):

1. Draw a horizontal line (timeline) on a paper.
2. Write 1900 CE at the starting point on the left and the current year (e.g., 2024 CE) at the end point on the right.
3. Make marks at intervals of 10 years on the timeline (like 1910, 1920, 1930...).
4. Indicate "Beginning of the 21st century" near the 2000 CE mark.
5. Draw an arrow and write the names on the marks corresponding to the birth year of your grandparents (e.g., 1950), your parents (e.g., 1980), and yourself (e.g., 2010).

Answer: Yes. Going backward to the left from zero (the birth of Jesus) on the timeline, where the period from 8000 to 7001 years ago falls, that period can be marked as the '8th Millennium BCE'.

How to do it (Outline): Sit with the elders of your house and fill out the table below. (A fictional example is given here; you must fill in your real information).

Answer: Yes, old copper-brass utensils or old coins can be found in our homes. From such old objects and buildings, we get accurate information about the lifestyle of the people of that time, their economic condition (e.g., what metal the coins are made of), their arts and crafts (carvings on utensils or jewelry), and the technology of that time. All these objects are important sources for knowing history.

How to do it (Outline): There are pictures of coins, Bhojpatra/Tadpatra (birch bark/palm leaf manuscripts), inscriptions, and monuments (like Ashoka's pillar) on pages 62, 63, and 68. You have to note next to the picture that:

• Coins: Provide information about kings, their time periods, and metals.
• Manuscripts/Bhojpatra: Reveal the language, script, and social rules of that time.
• Monuments (Ashoka Chakra/Pillar): Show ancient art, sculpture, and the messages of kings.

Answer: From observing the picture on pages 69-70, the following activities of early humans can be identified:

• Use of fire: In the picture, humans are seen lighting a fire and sitting around a campfire, which could be for keeping warm or roasting meat.
• Drawing cave paintings (Rock Art): A human is drawing pictures of animals on the cave wall, showing their art and medium of communication.
• Making tools: Some people are seen making weapons or tools by rubbing stones, which were used for hunting.
• Use of leather: Towards the bottom, some humans are cleaning animal skins and making them wearable.

Answer: The following activities of a settled farming community are seen in the picture on pages 71-72:

• Harvesting crops in the field (with a sickle-like tool).
• Gathering the harvest and taking it towards the dwellings.
• Animal husbandry (rearing sheep, goats, and dogs).
• Activities of women grinding grain or cooking (using hearths and clay pots).
• The activity of cutting wood and building huts (thatched dwellings).

Outline for discussion: Discuss in class that initially, both men and women probably worked equally in hunting and gathering food. As depicted in the picture, women might have spent more time making colors, doing household chores, or raising children, while men might have been hunting or doing heavy farming work. However, these roles could also differ in each tribe.

Outline:

• Interview the oldest people in your village.
• Note the year of construction of an old temple, well, or panchayat building in the village.
• Collect old family documents or photos, create a beautiful file, and write a chronological history.

Answer: Yes, we can certainly compare historians to detectives. Just as a detective pieces together the whole event and reaches the truth by collecting small clues like fingerprints, objects, or witnesses from a crime scene, historians minutely study historical sources like old coins, inscriptions, ruins, and manuscripts. By connecting these pieces of evidence, they reconstruct historical events that happened hundreds of years ago.

A. Arrange the following dates in chronological order on a timeline: 323 CE, 333 BCE, 100 CE, 100 BCE, 1900 BCE, 1090 CE, 2024 CE

Answer (from oldest to newest):

1. 1900 BCE
2. 333 BCE
3. 100 BCE
4. 100 CE
5. 323 CE
6. 1090 CE
7. 2024 CE

B. If Emperor Chandragupta was born in 320 CE, which century did he belong to? What is the time difference in years between the birth of Buddha and his birth?

Answer: 320 CE means the fourth (4th) century. Buddha was born before the birth of Jesus Christ (around 563 BCE). Therefore, adding the years 563 (BCE) and 320 (CE) (563 + 320), there is a gap of approximately 883 years between the birth of Buddha and the birth of Chandragupta.

C. The Rani of Jhansi was born in 1828 CE. Which century does she belong to? How many years before India's independence was she born?

Answer: 1828 CE means the nineteenth (19th) century. India got independence in 1947 CE. Therefore (1947 - 1828 = 119), she was born 119 years before India's independence.

D. Convert '12,000 years ago' into a date.

Answer: To calculate 12,000 years ago from today (which is roughly 2000 CE), we have to subtract 2,000 years from 12,000. Therefore, 12,000 years ago refers to the period of 10,000 BCE.

Outline: Organize a visit to a nearby museum from the school. Before the visit, ask the teacher which king's or which period's relics are there. Go there and carefully observe old coins, swords, pottery, and inscriptions. Note down in a notebook what metal each object is made of and how old it is, and prepare a 1-2 page report upon returning to the classroom.

Outline: With the help of your principal, write an invitation letter to a well-known archaeologist or a college history professor in the city. When they arrive, listen to a lecture on why local history (the history of your city or village) should be known and how archaeological excavations are conducted, and finally, ask them questions.