NCERT CLASS 6 History Chapter – 2 On the Trail of the Earliest People

Revision Notes

History Chapter – 2

On the Trail of the Earliest People

v  Human life has evolved over millions of years. In early stages, people were hunters and food gatherers.

v  They hunted wild animals, caught fish and gathered fruits, nuts and seeds.

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Why did the Earliest people lead a Nomadic life:

1.    If they stayed at one place, resources would finish, like plants and animals.

2.    Animals, which were an important source of food moved from one place to another in search of their own prey, which lead people to move from one place to another.

3.    Plants bear different fruits in different seasons. So, people too had to move in search of these, as per seasons.

4.    People had to move wherever they found availability of water.

5.    People moved in search of such places where the good quality of stones were available, which were used for making of tools.

How do we know about Early People:

1.    Archaeologists have found out several tools used by hunters and gatherers.

2.    Tools were made of stone, wood, etc.

3.    Tools were used to chop fruits, cut meat, hunting etc.

4.    Some tools may have been attached to the handles of bone or wood in order to make spears and arrows for hunting.

5.    Wood was used to make tools, huts and firewood.

Where did Early Man Live:

1.    Early man lived near sources of water.

2.    They lived in places where stones were found and people made tools with these stones.

3.    The place was called factory sites.

4.    The factory sites were found near discarded blocks of stone but it is also evident people lived there for a longer spell of time.

5.    These were known as habitation-cum-factory sites.

Stone Age:

1.    The period/Age when mostly stone tools were made is known as Stone Age.

2.    It is divided into three parts:

a)    Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age

b)    Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age

c)    Neolithic or New Stage Age

Making Stone Tools:

1.    Stone tools were made using following two techniques:

a)   Stone on stone

b)   Pressure flaking.

2.    In stone on stone technique the pebble from which the required tool was to be made was held in one hand and another stone, which was used as a hammer was held in other hand. The second stone was used to strike off flakes from the first stone until the required shape was not obtained.

3.    In pressure flaking technique, the core stone (from which the tool was to be made) was placed on a hard surface and the hammer stone was placed on the core to remove flakes that could be shaped into tools.

Man Discovers Fire:

1.     Fire was one of the biggest discoveries made by man.

2.     Over a period of time people learnt several uses of fire.

3.     It was used as a source of light, to cook meat, scare away animals and to keep warm during winters.

Change in environment and agricultural development:

1.    Change in climate of the world led to the development of grasslands and increasing grasslands led to an increase in the number of deer, antelope, goat sheep and cattle i.e. animals that survived on grass.

2.    People had the curiosity to know the food habits and breeding seasons of such animals and began to follow them.

3.    This helped people to think about the herding and rearing of such animals and fishing became one of the most important activities among them.

4.    At that time grain bearing grasses including wheat, barley and rice grew naturally.

5.    These grains were collected by men, women and children and they learned the factors by which these plants can be grown. Hence agriculture began to develop.

Early Rock Paintings:

v  Man early caves had paintings on the walls.

v  These were found in M.P. and Southern U.P.

v  People depicted men hunting, women grinding, children jumping, etc.

The Deccan:

v  Palaeolithic sites have been found in the Deccan.

v  Some major sites of Deccan are Chirki - Nevasa in Maharashtra.

Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and Hunsgi in Karnataka:

1.    Rivers like Godavari, Tapti and Krishna drained the region.

2.    Large number of Palaeolithic tools made from stone have been found along the river.

3.    Archaeologists are studying these tools very carefully to understand the life of early man.

4.    Horns, Bones and tusks of animals like wild ox and elephant have been found.

5.    The sites of Hunsgi were habitation-cum-factory sites because at some sites, the evidences of manufacturing tools also have been found.

6.    This suggests that most of the tools found there were made from limestone, which was locally available.

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