Class-6

History -Lesson-3 In the earliest cities.

Q1. Make a GO to show the main cities of Indus valley Civilization .

Mohenjodaro, Harappa (Present Pakistan)

Kalibanga (Present Rajasthan)

Lothal ,Dholavira (Present Gujarat)

Ropar (Present Punjab)

Q. Visual based questions-

1.Identify the visual.

Ans)This visual is of the Great Bath.
2.Where was it located?
Ans) It was located in one of the cities of the Indus Valley Civilization in Mohenjodaro.
3.What was it used for?
Ans) It was used by important people on special occasions to .They used to take dip in it.
4. How was it made water tight?
Ans) The Great Bath was lined with bricks, coated with plaster and made water tight with
a layer of natural tar.
5. Where was water brought from?
Ans) Water was brought from wells and drained out after use.
Q2. Observe the visual given below and answer the questions that follow-

1.Identify the visual.

Ans) The visual is of a Harappan seal.
2.What was it made up of ?
Ans) It was made up of clay and stone.
3.What were seals used for?
Ans) Seals were used to stamp bags and packets containing goods.
4.What was carved on the seals?
Ans) Pictures of animals were usually carved on the seals.
5.What was written on the seals?
Ans) Harappan script was written on top of the sea. Till date no one has been able to read
it.
Q3. Answer the following in brief-

1. Name the cities which had fire altars?

Ans) Kalibangan and Lothal had fire altars where sacrifices may have been performed.
2.Who were scribes?
Ans) People who knew how to write and helped people in preparing seals were called
scribes.
3.Who is a specialist?
Ans) A specialist is a person who is trained to do only one kind of work.
4.What was the use of plough?
Ans) The plough was used to dig the earth for turning the soil and planting the seeds.
5.Name three categories of people in the Hrappan cities.
Ans) The three categories of people in Harappan cities were-
i) Rulers. ii) Scribes . iii) Crafts persons.
6. Name some countries from where raw material was imported during Harappan
time?
Ans) i) Copper was imported from Oman in west Asia.
ii) Tin was imported from Iran and Afghanistan.
iii) Precious stones were imported from Iran, Afghanistan and also from Gujarat.
7.How do archaeologists know that cloth was used in the Harappan civilization?
Ans) i) Actual pieces of cloth were found attached to the lid of a silver vase and some
copper objects of Mohenjodaro.
ii) Archaeologists have also found spindle whorls ,made of terracotta and faience ,which
were used to spin thread.

Q4. Answer the following in detail-

1.What is faience ? What is it used for?
Ans) i)Faience is a material which is produced artificially.
ii) A gum was used to shape sand or powdered quartz into an object.
iii)The objects were then glazed ,resulting in a shiny, glassy surface.
iv)The colours of the glaze were usually blue or sea green.
v)Faience was used to make beads, bangles, earrings and tiny vessels.

2.Describe the cities of Indus valley Civilization.

Ans) i) Many of the Harappan cities were divided into two or more parts. Usually the part to
the west was smaller but higher and archaeologists have described it as citadel.
ii) The part to the east was larger but lower .This was called lower town.
iv) Walls of baked bricks were built around each part.
v) The bricks were so well baked that they have lasted even thousands of years.
 vi) The bricks were laid in an interlocking pattern which made the walls strong.

2. What were the causes of downfall of Indus valley civilization?

Ans) No one is sure about the causes of downfall of Indus valley Civilization. But the
some scholars have suggested the following reasons-
i) The rivers would have dried up and due to shortage of water people moved to
other places.
ii) Deforestation took place as fuel was required for baking bricks and smelting of
iron.
iii) Due to overgrazing by large herds of cattle, people would have moved to greener
places.
iv) Probably here was a shift in the course of river Indus so people must have left the
cities.
v) There were floods in some parts which could have forced people to move to safer
places.
vi) The rulers could have lost control over their cities.

Q Map skills.
On an India river map mark the following –Refer to page 25 of book.
1.Mohenjodaro
2.Harappa
3.Dholavira
4.Lothal.
5.Kalibangan.
6.River Indus.
7.Arabian sea.
 Harappa

Mohenjodaro
Kalibangan

Dholavira

Lothal

Arabian
Sea.