NCERT Solutions for Chapter 9 Vital Villages, Thriving Towns Class 6 History
In addition to the use of new tools and transplantation, irrigation was used to increase production in agriculture. During this time, canals, wells, tanks, and artificial lakes were constructed for irrigation. In the southern and northern parts of the subcontinent, there were three types of people living in villages. A large landowner was known as a vellalar, whereas an ordinary ploughman was known as an uzhavar. As well as kadaisiyar, adimai, and kadamisiyar were other names for landless labourers. A variety of sources are available for obtaining information about early cities, such as the Jatakas, sculptures, archaeology, and travellers. The Jatakas were stories written by ordinary people and preserved by Buddhist monks. Sculptures depict scenes from people's lives in towns and villages as well as in the forest. Archaeologists also have some crafts and potteries and they found some ancient coins.
Chapter Name | Vital Villages, Thriving Towns NCERT Solutions |
Class | CBSE Class 6 |
Textbook Name | History |
Related Readings |
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LET'S RECALL
Question 1 Fill in the blanks:
(a) ______ was a word used for large landowners in Tamil.
(b) The gramabhojaka often got his land cultivated by the_______.
(c) Ploughmen were known as______ in Tamil.
(d) Most grihapatis were______ landowners.
Answer
(a) Vellalar
Regional landowners were known as 'Vellalar' in Tamil Nadu.
(b) Slaves and workers.
The village headman known as 'grama bhojaka' were often the largest land owner and they had slaves or hired workers to cultivate their land.
(c) Uzhavar
The ordinary ploughman was known as 'uzhavar' and landless labourers, including slaves, were known as 'kadaisiyar' and 'adimai' in tamil.
(d) Smaller
The independent landowners with small land holdings were called grihapatis.
Question 2 Describe the functions of the gramabhojaka. Why do you think he was powerful?
Answer
Gramabhojaka was the village headman and often the largest landowner. He used the slaves and hired workers to cultivate his lands. He collected taxes from the villagers on behalf of the king. He was some powerful village personnel, sometimes he functioned as a judge and sometimes as a policeman.
Question 3 List the crafts persons who would have been present in both villages and cities.
Answer
Craftsmen like carpenters, weavers, potters, blacksmith etc. were presumably present in both villages and cities. These were important workers and provided good and services for day to day functioning of any settlement.
Question 4 A Choose the correct answer:
Ring wells were used for:
1. bathing2. washing clothes
3. irrigation
4. drainage
Answer
The archaeologists found rows of pots or ceramic rings arranged one on top of the other, known as ring wells. They were used as toilets in some cases, and as drains and garbage dumps, and were usually found in individual houses.
Question 4 B Choose the correct answer:
Punch marked coins were made of:
1. silver2. gold
3. tin
4. ivory
Answer
The punched marked were given this name because the designs were punched on metals like silver or copper.
Question 4 C Choose the correct answer:
Mathura was an important:
1. village2. port
3. religious centre
4. forested area
Answer
Mathura has been an important settlement for more than 2500 years with several shrines within the fortified city. There were Buddhist monasteries, Jain shrines and it was an important centre for the worship for Lord Krishna.
Question 4 D Choose the correct answer:
Shrenis were associations of:
1. rulers2. crafts persons
3. farmers
4. herders
Answer
Shrenis was an association of craftsmen and merchants. These shrenis of crafts persons provided training, procured raw material, and distributed the finished product. Then shrenis of merchants organized the trade.
LET'S DISCUSS
Question 5 Which of the iron tools shown on page 87 would have been important for agriculture? What would the other tools have been used for?
Answer
The iron tools on page 87 are tongs, axes, and sickle as shown in the picture below respectively. Of these, sickle would have been important for agriculture, axe would have been important for chopping trees and tongs would have been used by a blacksmith for making tools from hot iron.
Answer
The drainage system in our locality is the advanced version of the drainage system in the old cities that were read about. In the old times, mud bricks and thatch were used which could not be sustained for long, while in modern times more durable building material like concrete and metal pipes are used.
LET'S DO
Question 7 If you have seen craft persons at work, described in a short paragraph what they do. (Hint: how do these get the raw materials, what kind of equipment do they use, how do they work what happens to the finished product)
Answer
I have seen crafts person like cobblers, carpenter, and blacksmith in the city and villages. In cities, cobblers are a common sight and one could be found sitting at almost every corner. He mends shoes by stitching the torn leather or pasting the flapping sole. In villages, they produce handmade shoes and chappals from leather and sell them in urban markets for a good price.
Question 8 List the functions performed by men and women who live in your city or village. In what ways are those similar to those performed by people who lived in Mathura? In what ways are these different?
Answer
The men and women who live my city go to offices in big buildings. Most of them work with multinational companies which have their offices in many cities across the world. The work is done on the computers. In the old city of Mathura, the village people worked to provide food items to the city dwellers and travels since Mathura was an important urban center at the intersection of two major trade and travel route.
The only similarity between these two places is that both are busy cities. However, while people in Mathura were doing good in old days, people in my city in modern times are providing mostly services with the help of internet.
IMAGINE
Question 1 You live in Barygaza and are visiting the port. Describe what you would see there.
Answer
I would see large ships coming and going from the port. It would be a busy place with everybody hurrying around. People would be busy buying the imported items from the merchants. Slaves would be loading the ships with ivory, agate, carnelian, cotton, silk, perfumes other precious items native to Barygaza for trade oversees. There would also be fishermen going about their work with nets and hooks. The king with his royal procession may also be there to look around the activities of the port, receiving gifts from merchants and giving alms to the poor.