NCERT Explained: Class VI History, Chapter 1 - What, Where, How and When?

Introduction to the Topic

Have you ever wondered how we know what happened thousands of years ago? How do we know what people ate, what clothes they wore, or the games children played in ancient times? History is not just a collection of old dates and dusty kings; it is an incredible mystery story of human discovery. In Class VI History, Chapter 1, 'What, Where, How and When?', we take our first exciting step into the vast ocean of the past. This chapter introduces young learners to the methods historians and archaeologists use to piece together the puzzle of human civilization.

Key Concepts Explained

To understand how history is studied, we must explore several core concepts that define this chapter:

1. Finding Out What Happened: The Timeline of the Past

History is broadly divided into periods. When we talk about the past, we use terms like BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era). These help us arrange events in chronological order. But before written records began, humans lived through a vast prehistoric era. How do we know about them? Through clues left behind!

2. Where Did People Live?

Human settlement patterns are closely linked to geography. If you look at a map of India, you will notice that early people lived along the banks of rivers:

• The Narmada Valley: People have lived along the banks of this river for several hundred thousand years. They were skilled gatherers who knew about the vast wealth of plants in the surrounding forests and hunted animals for food.
• Sulaiman and Kirthar Hills: To the northwest, these are areas where women and men first began to grow crops such as wheat and barley about 8,000 years ago. People also began rearing animals like sheep, goats, and cattle, and living in villages.
• Garo Hills and Vindhyas: Agriculture developed in these regions, and rice was first grown to the north of the Vindhyas.
• The Indus and its Tributaries: About 4,700 years ago, some of the earliest cities flourished on the banks of these rivers. Later, about 2,500 years ago, cities grew along the Ganga and its tributaries, leading to the rise of large kingdoms.

3. Names of the Land

Our country is known by two major words today: India and Bharat.

• The word 'India' comes from the Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit. Iranians and Greeks who came through the northwest about 2,500 years ago called the river the Hindos or the Indos, and the land to the east of the river was called India.
• The name 'Bharat' was used for a group of people mentioned in the Rigveda (the earliest composition in Sanskrit, dated to about 3,500 years ago) and eventually came to be used for the country.

4. How Do We Know the Past? Sources of History

Historians rely on different types of sources to reconstruct the past:

• Manuscripts: These were books hand-written long ago (derived from the Latin word manu, meaning hand). They were usually written on palm leaf or on the specially prepared bark of the birch tree. Over the years, many manuscripts were eaten away by insects or destroyed, but some survived, often preserved in temples and monasteries.
• Inscriptions: These are writings on relatively hard surfaces such as stone or metal. Kings often got their orders inscribed so that people could see, read, and obey them. Others recorded victories in battle, royal achievements, and everyday events.
• Archaeology: Archaeologists are people who study the objects of the past. They explore and excavate old sites to find tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments, and coins. They also look for bones of animals, birds, and fish to find out what people ate. Plant remains survive far more rarely, but if seeds of grain or pieces of wood are burned, they survive in a charred form.

5. One Past or Many Pasts?

Have you noticed the title of our history textbook is Our Pasts, not Our Past? This plural form is significant. The lives of herdsmen or farmers were different from those of kings and queens; the lives of merchants were different from those of craftspersons. Even today, people in different parts of India follow different customs and practices. Thus, the past was different for different groups of people.

Summary & Key Takeaways

History is a fascinating journey that helps us understand our roots. Here are the core takeaways from this chapter:

• Geography and river valleys played a crucial role in shaping where early human settlements and civilizations emerged.
• The names India and Bharat have deep historical roots tied to the Indus river and ancient Vedic texts.
• Historians use manuscripts (written on palm leaves or birch bark), inscriptions (engraved on stone or metal), and archaeological remains (artifacts, bones, and ruins) as primary sources of information.
• The past is plural; different groups of people experienced vastly different lifestyles, proving that we have many pasts rather than a single unified narrative.