LESSON 9: Vital Villages, Thriving Towns(Key)

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1 LESSON 9: Vital Villages, Thriving Towns(Key) W.B (pp-94) 1. When did the use of iron begin in the Indian subcontinent? Ans: Around 3000 years ago. 2. Ploughshare was useful for increasing agricultural production. 3. Define irrigation. Ans: The supply of water to land or crops to help growth, typically by means of channels. 4. List the irrigation works that were built around 2500 years ago. Ans: Canals, wells, tanks and artificial lakes. WB (pp-95,96) 1. List the 3 kinds of people living in villages in the southern and northern parts of the Indian sub continent. Ans: a) In the Tamil region, large landowners were known as vellalar, ordinary ploughmen were known as uzhavar and landless labourers, including slaves, were known as kadaisiyar and adimai. b) In the northern part of the country, the village headman was known as the grama bhojaka. Apart from grambhojakas, there were other independent farmers known as grihapatis. Then there were men and women such as the dasa karmakara, who did not own land and had to earn a living working on the fields owned by others. 2. The village headman in the northern part of the country was called gram bhojaka.. 3. Independent farmers were called grihapatis. 4. Men and women did not own land. 5. The earliest works in Tamil are known as Sangam literature. 6. Why were Tamil texts called Sangam literature? Because they were supposed to have been composed and compiled in assemblies (known as sangams) of poets that were held in the city of Madurai. 7. What are Jatakas? Jatakas were stories that were probably composed by ordinary people and then written down and preserved by Buddhist monks. 8. Highlight the evidences which tell us about the life in early cities. Sculptors carved scenes depicting peoples lives in towns and villages as well as in the forests. Many of these sculptures were used to decorate railings, pillars and gateways of buildings that were visited by people. 9. How were the sculptures used? Sculptures were used to decorate railings, pillars and gateways of buildings that were visited by people. 10. What does the pots or ceramic rings found in many cities suggest about early cities? These seem to have been used as toilets in some cases and as drains and garbage dumps. 11. We have hardly any remains of palaces, markets or homes of ordinary people because by archaeologists. Others made of wood, mud brick and thatch may not have survived some are yet to be discovered. 12. How was the wealth measured around this period? In terms of coins. 13. Define punch marked coins. The coins have been given the name of punch marked because the designs were punched on to the metal- silver or copper.

2 14. Silver and copper were used to make coins. 15. What other system of exchange was used during this period? Salt was the other system of exchange during this period. Writing Task: W.B (pp- 96) 1. Mathura was an important settlement for more than 2500 years. 2. Mathura was a religious centre because it was located at the cross roads of two major routes of travel and trade --- from the northwest to the east and from north to south. 3. What did the stone inscriptions record? The stone inscriptions recorded gifts made by men (and sometimes women) to monasteries and shrines. 4. The inscriptions of Mathura mention some occupations. What were they? Goldsmiths, blacksmiths, weavers, basket makers, garland makers, perfumers. 5. The extremely fine pottery in the northern part of the sub continent is known as Northern Black Polished Ware. 6. Varanasi and Madurai were famous cloth manufacturing centres. W.B (pp-97) 1. Define shrenis. The shrenis of crafts persons provided training, procured raw material and distributed the finished poduct. Then shrenis of merchants organized the trade. Shrenis also served as banks where rich men and women deposited money. 2. List the functions performed by the shrenis. The shrenis of crafts persons provided training, procured raw material and distributed the finished poduct. Then shrenis of merchants organized the trade. Shrenis also served as banks where rich men and women deposited money. 3. According to Arthashastra, who could be employed by the superintendent? Women 4. Highlight the rules for spinning and weaving mentioned in the Arthashastra. Widows, young women who are differently abled, nuns, mothers of courtesans, retired women servants of the king, women who have retired from the service of the temples may be used for processing wool, bark, cotton, hemp and flax. Writing Task: W.B (pp 97) 1. Arikamedu was a coastal settlement which had a brick structure. 2. List the crafts that were found in Arikamedu. a )Pottery from the Mediterranean region, such as amphorae(tall double handed jars that contained liquids such as wine or oil) b) Stamped red glazed pottery, known as Arretine ware. c) Roman lamps, glassware and gems have also been found at the site. 3. What was Arretine Ware? Stamped red glazed pottery was known as Arretine ware. 4. Arretine Ware was marked by pressing wet clay into a stamped mould.. 5. Roman lamps, glassware and gems have been found from Arikamedu. 6. Rome was one of the oldest cities in Europe.

3 7. Name the most powerful ruler of Rome. Augustus 8. Who said, I found Rome, a city of brick and made it into a city of marble? Emperor Augustus. 9. Define amphitheatre. Open arenas surrounded by tiers of seats where citizens could watch all kinds of shows and public baths (with separate timings for men and women) where people met and relaxed. 10. What was the use of amphitheatres? Open arenas surrounded by tiers of seats where citizens could watch all kinds of shows and public baths (with separate timings for men and women) where people met and relaxed. Writing Task ( W.B pp-98,99) Multiple Choice: a) Which of the following increased production? All of these b) Grambhojak was the largest landowner. c) Arikamedu is situated in Puducherry. d) Arikamedu and Bharuch were the Trading towns. Choose the Correct answer: a) Ring wells were used for drainage. b) Punch marked coins were made of Silver. c) Mathura was an important religious centre. d) Shrenis were associations of crafts persons. Fill in the blanks: a) Ploughmen were known as uzhavar in Tamil. b) Vellalar was a word used for large landowners in Tamil. c) The grambhojaka often got his land cultivated by the slaves and hired workers. d) Most grihapatis were smaller landowners. e) Grambhojaka acted as judge and had the power to punish the offenders. f) The helped the craftsmen by providing them raw material and training. g) Shrenis also served as banks. h) Huge aqueducts were built to bring water to the city. True/False: a) Ring wells were used to store grains. F b) Farmers together built the canals and tanks for irrigation. F c) Village headmen had large number of functions to perform. T [Time: 40 minutes MI: Self analysis RBT: Application] Writing Task: (W.B pp- 99) Very short answer type : a) When did the use of iron begin? Around 2500 years ago. b) Name any 5 objects made of iron and steel that you use almost everyday. c) What is amphorae? Tall double handled jars that contained liquids such as wine or oil. d) Name the second capital of the Kushanas. Mathura. e) List some tools that have been used for agriculture. Plough share, axe, spade etc. Short Answer:

4 a) What steps were taken to increase the production? Why did the king encourage building of irrigation works? a) Along with new tools and the system of transplantation, irrigation was also used to increase production. b) Irrigation works that were built during this time included canals, wells, tanks and artificial lakes. The kings encouraged building of irrigation works as it yielded in more production of crops. b) List the craftsperson who would have been present in both villages and cities. Craftsman like the carpenters, weavers, potters, etc. were presumably present in both villages and cities. Writing Task: W.B (pp 100) Long Answers: (N.B) a) Describe the functions of the grambhojaka. Why do you think he was powerful? The gramabhojaka was the largest landowner. He had slaves and he hired workers to cultivate the land. He was powerful since the king entrusted him with the important job of collecting taxes from the villagers. His other functions were those of a policeman and judge.what were the functions of the towns? b) Why was Mathura so important city? Mathura has been an important city for more than 2500 years. It was important for various reasons. It was located at the cross roads of two major routes of travel and trade - from the northwest to the east and from north to south. There were fortifications around the city, and several shrines. Farmers and herders from adjoining areas provided food for city people. Mathura was also a centre where some extremely find sculpture was produced. Around 2000 years ago, Mathura became the second capital of the Kushanas. Mathura was a religious centre also. There were Buddhist monasteries and Jaina shrines. It was also an important centre for the worship of Lord Krishna. c) What do you know about Northern Black Polished Ware? i) Between the 6th and 3rd centuries Indian society was undergoing dramatic and fundamental changes. The most significant of these, all of them connected, were the easy availability of iron, a rise in agricultural production, the growth of large towns and cities, and the beginning of a market economy and trade, and of centralized government. Iron made it possible to open up much more land for agriculture meaning that more food was available. The discovery of the technique of transplantation at around the same time also contributed to a food surplus. This caused an explosion in the population which in turn led to the development of the first large towns and cities in northern India.

5 ii) In the political domain these changes caused the decline of the so-called tribal republics such as the Sakyans and the Vajjians, which had been governed by elected councils, and the growth of kingdoms such as Kosala and Magadha, with the latter eventually absorbing the former as well as the Vajjian and Licchivi republics and within 100 years of the Buddha's parinirbahāna becoming the vast Mauryan Empire. iii) Evidence of the growing wealth and technological sophistication of the time was the development of a very distinct type of pottery archaeologists call Northern Black Polished Ware. This pottery is somewhat misnamed, as it is found in the south of India, as well as in the north, and is sometimes brown in colour. But typically it has a black, shiny, almost metallic sheen and exactly how it was made remains unexplained. It was first produced in Magadha and reached its most developed form between 500 and 300 BCE, corresponding with the beginning of Buddhism. iv)this is important as it helps in dating archaeological sites associated with the Buddha and with the first Buddhists.

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