Class 6

Chapter-9
Vital Villages, Thriving Towns

1. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1ANS- THE KING ASSIGNED GRAMA BHOJAKA THE DUTY OF

COLLECTING TAXES FROM THE VILLAGERS.SOMETIMES, HE PERFORMED
THE FUNCTIONS OF A JUDGE ANSD A POLICEMAN AS WELL.HIS
POSITION WAS HEREDITARY.

2 ANS- SANGAM LITERATURE WHICH IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST WRITTEN

RECORDS IN TAMIL, IS A COMPILATION OF POEMS THAT WERE
COMPOSED AROUND 2300 YEARS AGO.IT GIVES DETAILS ABOUT LIFE,
CULTURE, GOVERNANCE, TRADE AND BATTLES OF THAT PERIOD.

3ANS-RING WELLS WERE FOUND IN THE HOUSES OF PEOPLE.THAY WAS

CONSTRUCTED WITH ROWS OF POTS OR CERAMIC RINGS THAT WERE
ARRANGED ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER.THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN USED
AAS TOILETS, DRAINS, OR AS GARBAGE CANS.

4ans- ARIKAMEDU IS LOCATED 4 KILOMETRES SOUTH OF PUDUCHERRY

ON THE BANKS OF RIVER ARIYANKUPPAM.IT IS A COASTAL AREA
WHERE, IN ANCIENT TIMES, SHIPS COMING FROM DISTANT LANDS
WERE UNLOADED.
2. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1ANS -ARCHAEOLOGISTS USE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY

EVIDENCES TO STUDY AND UNDERESTAND HISTORY. SOME OF THE
IMPORTANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES ARE-

INSCRIPTIONS:-INSCRIPTIONS ARE THE CARVINGS ON WALLS, PILLARS,

AND CLAY TABLETS ETC.THEY HELP US TO RECONSTRUCT OU PAST FOR
EXAMPLE, A SANSKRIT INSCRIPTION ON YHE IRON PILLAR OF DELHI IN
QUTUB COMPLEX. THE INSCRIPTIONS HELPS US TO UNDERSTAND THE
LANGUAGE, BELIEFS, INTERESTS AND WISDOM OF THE PEOPLE OF
THAT ERA.

COINS:- COINS GIVES US INFORMATION ABOUT OUR GLOURIOUS

PAST.THESE PARTICULAR SILVER AND COPPER COINS FROM THE
ANCIENT ERA,WHICH WERE IN USE FOR ABOUT 500 YEARS,WERE
PUNCH-MARKED WITH VARIOUS DESIGNS,SUCH AS THE SYMBOL OF
THE SUN,GEOMATRICAL PATTERS,ANIMAL FIGURES, AND BOWS AND
ARROWS.HENCE,THEY CAME TO BE KNOWN AS PUNCH-MARKED
COINS.

SCULPTURES: - SCULPTURE WAS THE FAVOURED MEDIUM OF ARTISTIC

EXPRESSION IN INDIAN SUBCONTINENT SCULPTURES IN ANCIENT INDIA
CARVED SCULPTURES DEPICTING SCENES OF THE SOCIAL LIFE OF
ATOWN A VILLAGE OR A CITY.

2ANS:-MATHURA IS LOCATED ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER YAMUNA,

THE CITY OF MATHURA IS WELL KNOWN FOR BEING THE BIRTHPLACE
OF LORD KRISHNA. IT IS A SETTLEMENT THAT IS MORE THAN 2500
YEARS OLD. IN THE ANCIENT PERIOD, MATHURA GAINED PROMINENCE
DUE TO ITS STRATEGIC LOCATION. IT WAS LOCATED AT THE
CROSSROADS OF TWO MAJOR TRADE ROUTES ONE STRETCHED FROM
THE NORTHWEST TO THE EAST AND THE OTHER FROM THE NORTH TO
THE SOUTH.

3ANS: CRAFTPERSONS AND MERCHANTS FORMED ASSOCIATIONS

KNOWN AS SHRENIS OR GUILDS.CERTAIN SHRENIS OF CRAFTPERSONS
WERE INVOLVED IN THE PROCUREMENT OF A RAW MATERIALS AND
DISTRIBUTION OF FINISHED GOODS.SHRENIS ALSO SERVED AS BANKS.
RICH PEOPLE DEPOSITED THEIR MONEY THERE. MONEY WAS INVESTED
IN SHRENIS AND PART OF THE INTEREST WAS RETURNED TO THEM OR
USED TO SUPPORT RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS TEMPLES AND
MONASTERIES.

4ANS:- THE DISCOVERY OF ROMAN LAMPS, GLASSWARE AND GEMS AT

THE ARIKAMEDU SITE FURTHER INDICATES THE CLOSE RELATIONS WITH
THE ROMANS.ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE ALSO DISCOVERED SMALL
TANKS WHICH WERE PROBABLY DYEING VATS. THIS INDICATES THAT
DYEING WAS ALSO AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY IN THE REGION. BEADS
MADE OF GLASS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES HAVE BEEN FOUND
HERE AS WELL. HENCE, IT IS BELIEVED THAT ARIKAMEDU WAS A BEAD
MANUFACTURING CITY THAT TRADED BEADS WITH THE ROMANS.