NCERT Solutions Class 6 Social Science History

Chapter 2: From hunting - gathering to growing food

1. Complete the sentences:

a) Hunter-gatherers chose to live in caves and rock shelter because it provides the protection from bad weather, wild animals, and sunlight.

Explanation: Rock shelter and caves have long life. It provides the protection from bad weather, wild animals, and sunlight.

b) Grasslands developed around 12000 years ago.

Explanation: Grasslands developed due to the warm weather conditions due to the rise in the temperature of the climate.

2. Why do people who grow crops have to stay in the same place for a long time?

Answer: Planting a crop requires several week, months, or years. People who grow crops had to stay in the same place for long time looking after the crops, watering, and weeding them till the grains ripened. Once ripened, the grains had to be stored for both food and seed.

3. Why do archaeologists think that many people who live in Mehrgarh were hunters to start with and that herding became more important later?

Answer: During the initial years, people including men and women were adapted to hunting and gathering food. Slowly, people also adopted farming and herding over several thousand years. Archaeologists found many animal bones of the deer, pig, sheep, and goat at the Mehrgarh site. Hence, they think that many people who live in Mehrgarh were hunters to start with and that herding became more important later.

4. Why did the hunter-gatherers travel from place to place? In what ways are these similar to/different from the reason for which we travel today?

Answer: Hunter-gatherers travels from place to place in search of the following reasons:

• Staying at a single place would decrease the amount of available plant and animal resources.
• In search of animals, because animals move from place to place in search of grass and leaves or prey.
• In search of plants that bear different fruits in different seasons.
• In search of water required for the survival of plants and animals. Water is found in rivers and lakes, where some are perennial while some are seasonal.

These reasons are different from the ways we travel today. There are various transportation mediums and resources available in various regions today that have made the life of people much easier.

5. List three ways in which hunter-gatherers used fire. Would you use fire for any of these purposes today?

Answer: The three ways in which hunter-gatherers used fire are as follows:

• Source of light
• To roast meat
• To scare away animals

Yes, the fire is sued today for all the above three purposes. Fire is used as a source of light and to scare away animals is places, such as forests. Fire is an important source to cook food. It also provides the warmth in winters.

6. List three ways in which the lives of farmers and herders would have been different from that of hunter-gatherers.

Answer: The three ways in which the life of farmers and herders was different from that of hunter-gatherers are as follows:

• Farmers cultivate and grow the crops, while herders keep the animals in herds to protect them from the wild animals. Hunter-gatherers hunt the animals for the meat.
• Farmers and herders stay at one place for a long time, while hunter-gatherers move from place to place.
• Farmers and herders stay in houses and huts, while hunter-gatherers stay in caves and rock shelter.