From Hunting-Gathering to Growing Food

For more than two million years, people in the subcontinent lived as hunter-gatherers, hunting wild animals, catching fish and birds, and gathering fruits, roots, nuts, seeds and leaves. They moved from place to place in search of food and water, following the seasons and the movement of animals. In this chapter you will learn how historians know about them from stone tools, rock paintings and other remains found at sites such as Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh, Hunsgi in Karnataka and the Kurnool caves in Andhra Pradesh, where traces of ash show that people had learnt to use fire. The long period from about two million to 12,000 years ago is called the Palaeolithic, followed by the Mesolithic with its tiny microliths, and the Neolithic. Around 12,000 years ago the climate became warmer and grasslands spread. People began to domesticate animals such as sheep and goats and to grow crops like wheat, barley and rice. The chapter describes early farming settlements such as Mehrgarh, Burzahom with its pit-houses, and Daojali Hading.

Detailed Worksheet: From Hunting-Gathering to Growing Food Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. Who were hunter-gatherers? Give two reasons why they moved from place to place. (2 marks) 2. What is meant by the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods? (2 marks) 3. What are microliths? How were they used? (2 marks) 4. What is domestication? Name two animals and two plants that were domesticated early. (2 marks) 5. What is a factory site in the context of the Stone Age? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. The Palaeolithic period extends from about 2 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago. The Mesolithic period lasted from about 12,000 to 10,000 years ago. (i) For about how many years did the Mesolithic last? (ii) Which period was longer? (iii) Express 2 million in figures. (3 marks) 7. Arrange in chronological order (earliest first): beginning of farming at Mehrgarh, use of microliths, the earliest stone tools of the Palaeolithic, change in climate leading to grasslands. (3 marks) 8. Name the present-day state in which each site is located: (i) Bhimbetka (ii) Hunsgi (iii) Kurnool caves (iv) Burzahom (v) Daojali Hading (vi) Chirand. (3 marks) 9. If an object is dated to about 8000 BCE, how many years ago was that from the year 2000 CE? If an object is 9000 years old in 2000 CE, in which year BCE was it made? Explain the method briefly. (3 marks) 10. Read the list of finds at Mehrgarh: barley and wheat grains, bones of sheep and goat, square and rectangular houses, burials with goats. State three things these finds tell us about life there. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. On an outline map of the Indian subcontinent, mark and label Bhimbetka, Hunsgi, Kurnool, Burzahom, Mehrgarh and Daojali Hading. Use one symbol for hunter-gatherer sites and another for farming sites. (4 marks) 12. Draw a timeline showing the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods with approximate dates, and mark the beginning of farming. (3 marks) 13. Draw a labelled sketch of a pit-house like those found at Burzahom, showing the pit, steps and the hearth. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. Hunter-gatherers chose sites near sources of water and good-quality stone. (i) Why was water important? (ii) Why was good stone important? (iii) Why would they return to the same place in a particular season? (iv) How do archaeologists identify such sites today? (5 marks) 15. Farming changed the way people lived. (i) Why did farmers have to stay in one place for a long time? (ii) How did they store grain? (iii) Why did they begin to make pots? (iv) Give two ways in which animals became a "store" of food. (5 marks) 16. Compare the life of a hunter-gatherer with that of an early farmer under the headings food, shelter, tools and settlement. Which way of life do you think was more secure? Give reasons. (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Draw maps and timelines neatly in pencil and label every place and date.