The Early Farmers
NCERT Exercise Solution
Question 1: State whether true or false:
- Millets have been found at Hallur.
- People in Burzahom lived in rectangular houses.
- Chirand is a site in Kashmir.
- Jadeite, found in Daojali Hading, may have been brought from China.
Answer: (a) True (b) False (c) False (d) True
Question 2: Why do people who grow crops have to stay in the same place for a long time?
Answer: We know that a plant takes several months to bear fruits and seeds. So, people had to stay at the same place for a long time to take care of the crop.
Question 3: If Neinuo wanted to eat rice, which are the places she should have visited?
Answer: Koldihwa and Mahagara in modern day Uttar Pradesh
Question 4: Why do archaeologists think that many people who lived in Mehrgarh were hunters to start with and that herding became more important later?
Answer: Archaeologists have found different types of remains from different levels of excavation at Mehrgarh. Remains from deeper levels show bones of wild animals. This shows that people were still hunters. Remains from upper levels show bones of domesticated animals. This shows that later on people became herders.
Question 5: List three ways in which the lives of farmers and herders would have been different from that of hunter-gatherers.
Answer:
| Hunter-gatherers | Farmers-herders |
|---|---|
| Lived nomadic life. | Lived settled life. |
| Depended on wild animals for meat. | Depended on domesticated animals for meat. |
| Food supply was not secure. | Food supply was more secure. |
Question 6: Make a list of all the animals mentioned in the table in NCERT Book. For each one, describe what they may have been used for.
Answer:
| Animal | Possible Use |
|---|---|
| Sheep | Milk, meat, wool |
| Goat | Milk, meat |
| Dog | Guarding the herd |
| Buffalo | Milk |
| Ox | Farm work |
| Pig | Meat |
Extra Questions
Question 1: What is the meaning of the Neolithic Age?
Answer: New Stone Age
Question 2: Name a Neolithic site which is in modern day Pakistan.
Answer: Mehrgarh
Question 3: Which animal is believed to be the first domesticated animal?
Answer: Sheep and goat
Question 4: Daojali Hading is in the valley of which river?
Answer: Brahmaputra
Question 5: What is Neolithic Age?
Answer: The last part of the Stone Age is called the Neolithic Age. The tools of this period are much smaller and more refined.
Question 6: When did the Neolithic Age begin?
Answer: The Neolithic Age began around 12,000 years ago.
Question 7: Which major discovery of the Neolithic Age helped human beings to change to a settled life?
Answer: Agriculture
Question 8: What is the significance of burial sites from Neolithic Age?
Answer: The burial sites from the Neolithic Age show two important facts. The presence of burial site means that people began performing the last rites of the dead. Finding of animal bones; along with human skeleton; shows that people believed in afterlife.