NCERT ANSWERS
Q1. As a project, write the history of your family (or village if you live in one), using sources of history at your disposal. Ask your teacher to guide you.
Answer (model – students can adapt):
I wrote about my family using sources such as photographs, Aadhaar cards, and my grandparents’ memories. My father works in an office, and my mother is a teacher. My grandparents were farmers, and my great-grandparents also lived in the same village. Old land records and stories helped me know about our past. This shows how sources help us understand family or village history.
Q2. Can we compare historians to detectives? Give reasons for your answers.
Answer (80–100 words):
Yes, historians are like detectives. Detectives gather clues and evidence to solve crimes, while historians collect sources such as inscriptions, coins, pottery, monuments, and written texts to reconstruct the past. Both compare different pieces of evidence, cross-check facts, and then come to conclusions. Sometimes, evidence may be missing or contradictory, but through reasoning and analysis, historians, like detectives, solve the puzzle of history.
Q3. A few exercises with dates:
- Place these dates chronologically on the timeline:
- 1900 BCE → 323 BCE → 100 BCE → 100 CE → 323 CE → 1090 CE → 2024 CE
- If King Chandragupta was born in 320 CE, which century did he belong to? And how many years was that after the Buddha’s birth?
- 320 CE = 4th century CE
- Buddha’s birth = 560 BCE
- Years between = 560 + 320 – 1 = 879 years
- Rani of Jhansi was born in 1828. Which century did she belong to? How many years was that before India’s Independence?
- 1828 CE = 19th century CE
- Independence = 1947 CE
- Gap = 1947 – 1828 = 119 years
- Turn ‘12,000 years ago’ into a date.
- 2025 – 12,000 = 9975 BCE
Q4. Plan a visit to a nearby museum.
Answer (model report):
I visited the National Museum in New Delhi. It had ancient coins, pottery, inscriptions, sculptures, and manuscripts. I found the Harappan seals very interesting because they showed animals and symbols. I also saw old ornaments and tools. What was unexpected was how well-preserved these objects were. The visit helped me understand history better and made learning more exciting.
Q5. Invite to your school an archaeologist or a historian and ask them to speak on the history of your region and why it’s important to know it.
Answer (model speech points):
- Archaeologists explain the ancient monuments, inscriptions, and excavations of our region.
- Historians tell us about rulers, culture, and traditions of the past.
- Knowing local history connects us with our heritage.
- It helps us value our culture and learn lessons from the past for the present and future.
Extra Questions – Chapter 4: Timeline and Sources of History
Very Short Answer Questions
Q1. Who studies fossils?
Answer: Palaeontologists.
Q2. Which calendar is widely used today?
Answer: The Gregorian Calendar.
Q3. What does CE and BCE stand for?
Answer: Common Era and Before Common Era.
Q4. Who study ancient inscriptions?
Answer: Epigraphists.
Q5. Who were the earliest humans?
Answer: Homo sapiens, who appeared around 300,000 years ago.
Short Answer Questions
Q6. What is a timeline? Why is it useful in history?
Answer: A timeline is a line that shows events in chronological order. It helps us understand the sequence of events and compare different historical periods easily.
Q7. What were the main sources of food for early humans?
Answer: Early humans survived by hunting animals, gathering fruits, roots, and edible plants. Later, they learned farming and domestication of animals.
Q8. Mention two differences between BCE and CE dating systems.
Answer:
- BCE counts years backward (e.g., 500 BCE is earlier than 200 BCE), while CE counts years forward.
- BCE refers to “Before Common Era,” and CE refers to “Common Era.”
Long Answer Questions
Q9. Describe the different sources of history.
Answer (100–120 words):
Sources of history are divided into:
- Archaeological sources – remains of buildings, pottery, tools, coins, inscriptions, and excavations.
- Literary sources – manuscripts, Vedas, epics, poems, plays, travelogues, chronicles.
- Oral sources – folklore, stories, songs, and traditions.
- Artistic sources – paintings, sculptures, panels.
These sources help historians reconstruct the past. Each source provides a part of the “puzzle of history,” and by combining them, historians get a clearer picture of how people lived in different times.
Q10. How did early humans live?
Answer (100–120 words):
Early humans lived in caves, rock shelters, or temporary camps. They hunted animals and gathered fruits, nuts, and roots. They used stone tools, fire for cooking, and painted scenes of animals and daily life on cave walls. Later, they discovered farming, domesticated animals like cattle and goats, and settled near rivers. They also made pottery, metal tools, and ornaments. These developments slowly transformed small hamlets into villages and towns, laying the foundation for civilisations.