PREHISTORY
Period for which there are no written records – archaeological findings revealed the past 2 million years ago man like being – 30,000 – 40,000 years ago Homo Sapiens (wise man) . Intelligence – tools – climatic changes, food gatherer – food producer – fire, shelter, clothes, speech, hunting, fishing, gathering food- palaeolithic age – old stone age, Mesolithic, Neolithic age, 8000 BC – fast pace – 30,0000 years – little change – evolution – groups – culture- civilizations.
Archaeology + Prehistory.
1856 – James + William Burton – Karachi – Lahore – briks – Sir John Marshall – N G Majumdar.
Crete, Egypt, Pompeii
Stratified, mummies, pickaxe + spade,
Carbon 14 dating
Anthropology
LIFE BEGINS ON EARTH
Age of the earth 4,500 million years – restless- tectonic plates, winds, water, rain, ice – farming mountains and oceans. Old sea beds- to form mountains – Himalaya – Mt.Everest – Sea life fossils – Climate – Life.
GEOLOGIAL AGES
Eozoic period – lower pre cambrain 3000 – 1200 m
Eozoic period – Upper – Pre Cambrain 1200 – 600 m
Palaeozonic – Cambrain + other periods 600 m – 210 m
Mesozoic Periods
210 – 70 Jurassic + others
Caenozooic Periods 70 m – present
Single celled or unicellular organism
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Lower level of multicellular organisms
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differenciation of gender
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first backboned creatures in water
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Life shiftee from the seas to the marshes then to the land
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Amphibians
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An Ice age that wipedout most of the amphibians
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The age of the reptiles e.g., dinosaurs
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The first birds
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The first mammals
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Another ice age which killed the dinosaurs and reptiles
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Development of the mammals
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Through the various species of man and homosapiens finally emerged to the earh 30,000 – 40,000 years ago
THE ICE AGE
Pleistocene – great changes – earth stable 6,00,000 – 10,000 – Very cold adaptability - north polar ice cap – foothills
MAN APPEARS
Primates monkeys apes, lumurs, shrews, man 1m or 2m years ago
MAN STANDING ERECT
Stands enemies, strong muscles, grasping hand thumb organs and brain
TOOLS + FELLOW MEN
Flint tools implements intelligence
MAN’S POWER OF SPEECH
Started talking
PRIMATES 1
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HOMONIDS 2
AUSTRALOPITHECUS 3 RAMAPITHCUS 4 PITHECANTHRO- 5
PUS ERECTU US
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HOMO SAPIENS 8
CRO- GRIMALDI MAN
MAGNAN
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ZINJANTHROPUS 9
PRIMATES
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HOMONIDS
SINANTHROPUS NEANDERTHAL MAN
1) PRIAMATES :- Man, monkeys, lemurs, shrews, apes
2) HOMONIDS :- Man like beings – appear in Africa – Pleistocene period – 1 to 2 million years ago.
3) AUSTRALOPITHECUS:- First ape ma who walked erect and was very close to a hominid central Africa.
4) ZINJANTHROPUS :- Sub- species of Australopithecus made tools lived five hundred thousand years ago. They were the leads of the lower Paleolithic culture, lived naked, ate berried and fruits.
5) RAMAPETHECUS :- 8 Million years ago.
6) PITHECANTHROPUS :- He is known and the rerect ape man first hominid of this special variety found in Asia . At Java the skull cap, teeth and thigh bone was discovered, he could walk erect other name Java man 5,00,000 to 2,00,000 yeqrs ago he lived. The only fossil of this variety in Europe was found in Heidelberg in Germany.
7) SINANTHROPUS :- is also known as pecking man. 40 similar beings were being found in Pecking. Advanced cousin of Java man. Much is known about him from the caves and skeletons found. He used fire. When Japan invaded China the remains of the Pecking man were lost but the photographs still remained.
8) NEANDERTHAL MAN :- found in the valley of Neander in Germany- represents the middle Paleolithic age. He was present in the fourth glaciation period, lived in ice caves. 1 lakh 60,000 years ago, he died 40,000 years ago suddenly. He lived in Europe, Asia and Africa. Made chipped tools buried the dead, practicedreligion believed in life after death.
9) GRIMALDI MAN :- Upper Paleolithic age.
10) CRO MAGNAN MAN :- upper Paleolithic age.
PALAELOTHIC AGE
1) CRUDE TOOLS - Chipped shaped under natural conditions.
2) FOOD :- gatherer.
3) HAND AXES :- hand cut, blows, moving flakes ; Choppers :- meat heavy stone ; flake implements :- smallest sharper edges
4) SLOWLY UPPER PALAELOTHIC AGE :- Bone + ivory.
5) BOW + SPEARTHROWER,:- hitting range, accuracy hit at a distance.
6) COMMUNITY LIFE:- hunting + food gathering.
7) CO OPERATION :-women / children / old
8) SEASONAL MIGRATION
9) NO sense of property, equality.
10) ART :- Cro magnan man – few thousand years- artist- painting, engraving – picture caves, sculpture – picture caves – bones ivory – fire – magical purposes – beautiful.
NEOLITHIC AGE
POLISHED STONE TOOLS :- Important tools- celt used for clearing forest – cut timber – did carpentry used sickle bow and arrow. A new toold made during this period was sling. Bone and antilers were used for making tools.
POTTERY :- Baskets were made up of straw and twigs. They were smeared with mud. Some were baked to make a pot in fire. They were made of coil clay rope mixed with sand, shells and chopped straw. They were baked at 600”c .
SPINNING AND WEAVING
Lenin, Cotton and wools replaced leaves and skin. Spinning of thread and weaving of cloth carried on.
IMPROVEMENT IN COMMUNITY LIFE
There was division in labour. Some cultivated land while as certain were free to develop science and arts.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.
Dead were buried alongwith their belongings. They believed in Totem that was an animal feature respected by all communities. It protected their grains and protected them from evils. Small clay figures of women were called mother goddesses have been found of Neolithic age.
BEGINNING OF FARMING.
Man was a good gatherer for thousands of years. Agriculture was started after close observation of the grains growing wild. He started eating these wild grains wherever he could find them. Somewhere down the line he observed that the seed grew into a plant and could be harvested everyear. He started growing crops and head to live in one area till the land lost its fertility.
Some settlements were fertilized by the alluvial soil and so man did not have to leave. In the Arabian and the Iranian deserts the fertile crescent in one such area and freicho in Palestine is another such area
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SETTLEMENTS
Man decided to live next to his crops and domesticate the animals that were easily available. Cattle could be domesticated for meat and milk. The fields had to be looked after so man stayed in one place for longer periods of time. To seek protection from wild animals and other communities the settlement developed into a small village or town that was fortified. An example of such a community is the lake dwellings of Switzerland.
MIXED FARMING.
Man realized he could tame the animals around and they would provide him with meat and milk. He domesticated cattle, sheep, goats, horses and asses.
THE MESOLITHIC AGE
Between the Paleolithic Age and Neolighic age lies the Mesolithic age in ;which glaciers were shrinking, thick forests were forming, agriculture has just started and small tools known as microliths were used.
OBJECTIVES.
The period in which there are no written records is Prehistory
Another name of Homo Sapiens is Wise man.
Old stone age is also known as PALEOLITHIC AGE
The phase of human development quickened only about 8000 BC
The middle stone age is also known as MESOLITHIC AGE
The new stone age is known as NEOLITHIC AGE
The homo sapiens appeared 30 TO 40,000 YEARS AGO
The cultures or groups of people that have become highly developed are often called as
CIVILIZATIONS
A person who digs old sites is known as ARCHEALOGIST
In 1856 the two brothers JAMES and WILLIAM BURTOL discovered the Indus Valley Civilization
The preserved bodies of dead kings in Egypt is known as MUMMIES
Anthropology is the study of MAN
Palaeozonic period comes between EOZOIC and MESOZOIC periods
There were 4 ice ages and 3 inter glacial periods
Man belongs to the group of mammals called PRIMATES
The earliest man like beings were known as HOMONIDS
Another name for the Java man is PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS
The NEANDERTHAL man gets its name from the Neander Valley in Germany
CROMAGNON Man belongs to the homo sapiens species
The three types of tools of Palaeolithic man were HAND AXES, CHOPPERS, AND FLAKE IMPLEMENTS
The small tools used in the Mesolothic period were known as MICROLITHS
Practicing agriculture with the rearing of animals is known as MIXED FARMING
The two tools of the Neolithic man were SICKLE and SLING
An image of an animal or a plant for a clan or a group is called as TOTEMS
The large stones that marked the burial places of the Neolithic ;man were known as
MEGALITHS
The STONE HENGE is place in England famous for its Megaliths.
The wheel was discovered in the Neolithic period
BRONZE AGE CIVILIZATIONS
4000BC – stage of civilizations – cities – urban revolution – river valleys – oil – water – transport – common needs – community work – dykes, canals drainage glood waters – settled life – improvement of other skills – trade – architecture , music, art and leisure
CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD
5000 BC – native copper
Sumer 4000BC – MINES 3000 BC Asia Africa Europe , copper + tin or zinc = bronze Plough head, hammer head, stoneless metallurgy – workers.
COMMON FEATURES.
1. River valleys.
2. Community life
3. Cities
4. Trade
5. Potential + social features
6. Trade + Commerce
7. Religious beliefs
8. Writing System
9. Science + Maths
AGRICULTURE
1. Enough food
2. Extra barter
3. Small fields in Neolithic
4. Plough- wooden – better – bronze
5. Irrigation – clear jungles
6. Channels, dykes, canals
7. Skills
CITIES
1. Food from villages
2. Trade
3. Barter-later money used
4. Occupations developed
5. Division of labour
6. Complex life – government
7. Writing
THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATIONS
First in the Indian Sub-Continent – Harqappa – Mohenjodaro – also known as Indus Valley Civilization – Many sights in India and Pakistan. 2500 BC – 1920’s Harappa (Punjab) – Mohenjodaro (Sind) – Rupra Punjab – Kalibangan (Rajasthan) – Lothal +Sarkotada – Gujarath – Baluchistan – Rajastan old communities – influence of Mesopotamia
CITIES
1. Well planned + populated
2. Straight wide road crossing into each other
3. 10 x 800 m main road
4. Houses along the road, one or more storeys – burnt bricks
5. well + bathroom
6. House drains == street drains
7. The great bath == steps – rooms
8. Citadel – granary official buildings
9. Lothal – structure – dockyard
LIFE OF THE PEOPLE
1. Farmers – wheat , barley, peas
2. cotton – fabric exported
3. fish – food
4. Domestication of animals
5. Horse not used much
6. Pottery – on wheel – jars – black or red
7. Complicated designs – Patterns
8. Carts with wheels – animals yoked – birds movable arms
9. Metals – implements – utensils earthern pots
10. Dancing girl , old man figurines
11. Seals – animals + tablets of clay – embossed cutting, glazed – inscription
12. Trade with Mesopotamia through sea
13. Government –no kings
14. Humped bull God like being
15. Dead bodies buried/cremated
END OF THIS CIVILIZATION
1. Flood – 1500 BC
2. Gradual – decay of culture
3. Arrival of the Aryans
4. Mass migration
HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
The history of India and its surrounding areas has been pushed back to 5000 years. This is due to the discovery of Harappan Civilization in this sub continent. This was a very advanced civilization which saw no parallel for many centuries to come. The following are its main characteristics.
CITIES OF HARAPPAN CULTURE.
Each city was well planned with road running parraled to each other. The main road in Mohenjodaro was 800x10m. The houses were situated next to the roads, had a well and a proper drainage system.
The Great Bath in Mohenjodaro was a huge tank which had flight of steps all round it and was surrounded with rooms. It must have been used for religious purposes.
The Citadel was a raised ground on which were situated the official buildings and the granaries. Lothal was a important port as well as a trading centre.
LIFE OF THE PEOPLE
The Harappan people were basically farmers who grew wheat, barley, peas and cotton. Animals were domesticated like goats and buffaloes but the horse was not widely used.
Pottery making had reached a very high level where it was made on the potter’s wheel. All shapes and sizes were made painted red and decorated with black designs.
Toys with movable areas have been found, countless carts with wheels and animals yoked to them have also been discovered.
Bronze was widely used. The dancing girls of Mohenjodaro is a famous example.
The seals were the most important feature of this civilization. They had an animal figure engraved on them and after cutting, they were glazed. Some seals have an inscription which hasn’t been deciphered so far.
Gods and goddesses were worshipped. The dead bodies were either buried or cremated. There were no kinds, but certain officials were there. Trace was carried on between Mesopotamian and Harappan because Mesopotanian objects have been found in Harappan and vice versa.
END OF HARAPPAN CULTURE.
Harappan culture came to an end all of a sudden. Around 1500BC it was completely wiped out. Three basic reasons have been given for this. It is believed that the Harappan Culture was destroyed by flood. The Aryans came and massacared them or the culture saw a gradual decay. Some historians believe that they migrated to Mesopotamia.
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Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, Sumer, Southernmost Babylon Akkad Assyria Mountains + plains perennial irrigation sustem floods controlled river bed high 25 m canals. Navigable transport and irrigation
HISTORY OF MESOPOTAMIA
3000 BC Sumerian Civilization – high level – irrigation – trade – industry+ commerce, Erech, Eridu, Lagash, Ur (each a capital) culture same but fighting – 2600 BC Ur most powerful – Akad- different stock adopted Sumerian ways – 2500BC Sumer + Akkad+Agade – survived for 100 years and then destroyed. – a new dynasty at Babylon- Hammurabi – Iraq ( one kingdom) – 1600 BC destroyed – Hettites – Asia minor Turkey famous for horses and iron.
MESOPOTAMIAN CITIES +SOCIAL CLASSES
Ur- completed picture 3 dimentions – sacred area, walled city on the mound + outer town patron God – Namar the Moon God – Ur – Temple of God – Ziggurat-hill of heaven-on an artificial hill more than 20 m + 3 storeys – seen for miles around – sacred area – offices+ storehouses – smaller temples – sacrifices 2,3 – residential area houses – sizes city not planned . Houses not planned uniform courtyard + romms one tenetments for artisans.
CLASSES
God – King – Priests – officers + scribes – merchants – landowners – slaves (Prisoners of war)
HAMMURABDS CODE OF LAW
1. complex life – complex rules needed
2. Hammurabi’s code of law (a system)
3. every aspect of life
4. crime one crime state
5. punishment more if upper class
6. RM , PM , SL, (Different punishments)
7. Hammurabi standing in reverence before his God laws under it.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
1. special god – each city
2. rent regulations in his name
3. temple – lavish – priests – powers
4. life after death – food – belongings
5. summer – buried – houses – protectors, worshipped
MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION
Mesopotamia or the land between the rivers is known for one of the oldest civilizations of the world. It lies between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. It’s main regions were Sumer, Babylon and Akkad. They are known for their irrigation system that was very advanced.
MESOPOTAMIAN HISTORY
Sumer became the most important centre of this civilization around 3000 BC. The control of irrigation made it economic centre as well . the most important cities were Erich, Erudu, Lagash and Ur. Their culture was similar but the infighting grew. Ur became powerful and spread its influence.
In 2500 BC Akkad and Sumer were combined into a single kingdom with its capital at Agade. This was destroyed by the invaders and the next important ruler was Hammurabi. His kingdom was destroyed by 1600 BC by the
MESOPOTAMIAN CITIES
Each city had sacred area, the walled city on the mound and the outer town. The sacred area contained the administrative offices and the storehouses. The walled city and the outer town were residential areas and had well planned houses. Each house had a courtyard with rooms around it.
Each city had a patron God. Nannar, the moon God was the God of Ur. The temple of God was called the Ziggurat meaning the hill of heaven, was buiklt of bricks on an artificial hill in the sacred area. The Ziggurat at Ur was more than 20 m high. It could be seen for miles together and reminded them of divine presence of God.
Pictograms – signs, symbols, pictures
Communication – easy
Ideas (problem)
Certain pictures – ideas,names,words
Phoenetic – syllables+sounds
Aunciform
Wedge shaped
Stylus of reed – clay tablets
Bakes – letters documents deeds of sale
Royal inscriptions + Religious texts
Henry Robinson
Branch office in Iran
Behistun Inscription
100 m rock
12 years
GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE
Sexagesimal system of counting (counting by 60s)
1-9 = one sign multiples of 10 = bigger sign
360 + min + sec
Pythagoras theorem (building +computing distances)
Length = day+night
Rising+setting=sum+moon
24 hours’day
12 parts-Zodiac
lunar calendar short by 11 days
750 BC – Babylon – fall – Assysrian
Nunuch – destroyed - Medes Chaldeans Iranians
7th – 6th Century BC
MESOPOTAMIAM RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
The Mesopotamians believed in a number of Gods but each city had its own patron God. All administration was carried in his name and a lavish temple was dedicated to him. People who died were buried along with certain belongings. In Sumer the people were buried in backyard of their homes and acted as the protectors.
OCCUPATIONS, ART AND CRAFTS OF MESOPOTAMIA
The basic occupation was agriculture. Baked sickles were used. Canals and reservoirs were used to supply water to the fields. Clothes were made of sheep skin and Lenin and there was a class of spinners and weavers and dyers. Metal crafts was an advanced industry, this we come to know from the jewellery that has beenfound at Ur. They form a guild where the secret of metal work was strictly guarded. The potters wheel was used to make pottery.
SOCIAL CLASSES IN MESOPOTAMIA
I t is the same in every civilization. God is the supreme being and the kind is regarded as the representative on the earth. Next came the priests who wee the rulers of the states before the kind came. The kings officers and courtiers came next. Followed by merchants and shop keepers. The last category was the slaves who were prisoners of war.
HAMMURABI’S CODE OF LAW
Hammurabi was the ruler of Babylon from a new dynasty. He gave a system of laws to his people. If a person commiteed a crime it was regarded as a crime against the state. Lower clases were punished more for the same crime. Class division was exceptable in the society. Hammurabi is shown on a edict in reverence before his god and the laws are written underneath it.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
The Mesopotamians imported stone, timber, gold, silver and other metals. And they exported their ;surplus good grians. The raw material that was imported was made into manufactured goods and sent to Harappa and other civilizations. The quality of these goods were checked by the kings and the governors of the city states. They had an efficient system of land, river and sea transportation. Keleks rafts were made of logs of wood and inflated with skills to carry goods on water.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Prehistory
PREHISTORY
Q1. Explain the meaning of the following terms :-
a) Prehistoric times :- That part of story of man’s progress for which we have written records is called history. But prehistoric times is when man had no written records and the facts of history of that part has been assembled when the scholars have dug up the possible places where prehistoric man, must have lived and gathered information studying his tools, pottery, habitat etc.
b) Carbon 14 dating :- All living things whether plants or animals contain radioactive carbon called carbon 14. When the plants and animals are alive, they absorb the same amount of carbon 14 from the atmosphere as they lost through radioactivity. So, when a living thing dies, it continues to lose carbon 14 but ceases to absorb it. Thus scholar of physics can pin point exactly the date because of this loss of carbon-14.
c) Paleolithic period: The story of man when he evolved from being a tree ape to learn to walk on the earth and the various transformations that underwent on him which helped him to face climatic changes, invent various inventions that made life easier for him but the time where he was still a food gatherer and not a food producer is commonly known as old stone age on Paleolithic period.
d) Mesolithic period : The period after old stone age had fast progress where the man started making finer tools using not only stones but also bones and ivory to help him to gather the food is called Mesolithic age or middle stone age.
e) Neolithic age : The period when man evolved from being a food gatherer to a food producer is called new stoneage. The cultivation of crops, the domestication of various animals paved way for settled life and man left off being a wanderer and became a social animal. The cultivation of crops and domestication of animals gave him enough time to invent many more new things which made life easier, that is the reason Neolithic period is also known as Neolithic revolution.
f) Geological eras : The vast span of earth’s history has been divided into five eras by the geologists and named after the most characteristic forms of life. The eras span millions of years each and the last of the eras namely Cenozoic the shortest and extends over 70 million years.
g) Glacial periods : The historical climate of the earth spans into different types of climate namely the cold and the warm. The cold periods or the glacial periods have each been separated from the next by warm inter glacial periods. The glacial periods contain huge glaciers like the north polar ice cap which spreads southward into the temperate zone but would not when the climate would grow warmer to give way to thick evergreen forests.
h) Hominids: are also called early humans and have been around for a very short span of time. The first human like creatures appeared around four million years ago, they were small and looked like the ape ancestors. Gradually human types became taller with much larger brains. Fully modern human like us or the homosapiens probably evolved less than 2 million years ago. The hominid first appeared in Africa lived like the other animals, ate berries, nuts, roots and insects.
i) Microliths : The Mesolithic age is marked by the improvement of the tools used by man during the Paleolithic age. These tools were smaller comparatively smoother and could be used as arrowheads or spearheads but they still did not have a wider range of use.
j) Totems : The Neolithic period saw the evolution of community living or large group of families living together. These communities used the image of a plant or an animal or a symbol of their clan. This is called a totem. The totems gradually made the man superstitious as he was still unable to understand the forms of nature or the natural process.
k) Megaliths : The burial places of some of the communities during the Neolithic age on later periods have been marked by huge boulders or large stones called megaliths. Some examples have been found at stone henge in England where large stones are fitted to form a semicircle part of which was capped to form a doorway. Megaliths in some places have been used as places of worship to the sun god during the summer solstice.
l) Homosapiens : It is a latin word for wise man who started to walk on his two feet, his brain became larger which led him to improve his life and brought his development which has not stopped till today.
m) Evolution of man : The journey of man’s life from being an uncivilized jungle ape to a more modern civilized man and his struggle for existence from various stages of natural processes including the survival during the difficult climate changes is called evolution of man.
n) Culture : The developmental change that has never stopped can be termed as culture. The term describes how a man earn’s his living the things he produces, the skills he uses to produce these things, the knowledge he has acquired and the society he lives in, the way he relates to his fellow people and the way he uses his leisure times.
o) Civilizations : Man has always struggled to make his life easier and found better ways of living, he has never done it alone but with the co-operation of his fellow beings.
The complex varied and well organized culture becomes civilization. A civilization shows progress in all spheres like founding of cities, development of art and architecture, better social and administrative systems and improved forms of literature.
p) Mixed farming : Man developed from being a food gatherer to a food producer, he understood the ways in which the crops could be grown and stored along the way he domesticated some animals and found that they had many uses e.g: use of milk, meat, skin for leather and shelter and also for manure. He now started growing crops and also rearing domesticated animals and this is called mixed farming.
2) What is the work of an archeologist, and anthropologist, a geologist and a zoologist? How does the work of each of these scientists help in collecting facts about the pace of man’s progress?
Ans : Archaeology is the science of digging up old sites, monuments, etc. In order to shed light on the everyday life of our ancestors and their society, the scholars who are involved in this kind of science are called archeologists. We owe our knowledge of various civilizations like mohenjodaro and harappa and ancient Egypt etc to these archeologists. The tools, the pottery, the burial sites etc have been dug up and studied by these archeologists and this helps the historians to piece together the various facts of archaeology and present before us the history of our ancestors.
Anthropologist : An anthropologist studies a man’s physical characters, his cultures, his customs, his modes of behaviour his relations with other men which help the historians to get a better picture of the life of the people. The anthropologist bases his studies on articrafts, monuments, pictures, dwellings etc, and this enables to trace the development of human societies from prehistoric to historic period.
Geologist: A geologist studies the layers of rocks that have been formed over the earth’s surface over millions of years ago and determines their age. The internal disturbances that took place on the earth and the oceans form the main base of study of a geologist. He synchronizes the age along with the archaelogist and the anthropologist and determines during which era the particular civilization or an even ti history or prehistory that may have taken place.
The natural sciences particularly geology, biology, palaeontology has formed the knowledge that life on earth keeps on changing and evolving or bettering itself through change. The organic or the biological evolution is studied by the scientist where the species of plants, animals living in a particular environment are studied, how they may have evolved into organisms of complex cells tried to adapt to the changing environment succeeded and survived and gradually modified in form. The historian studies the cultural evolution of man taking into consideration the thinking behaviour of man at different stages, the physical change in living organisms and the relation towards the environmental change and survival.
Thus, from the above study we conclude that an archaeologist, an anthropologist, a geologist and a zoologist provide authentic proof to the historian in relation to man’s progress and evolution and civilizations and thus making history real and scientific.
Q 3 . Describe the principal characteristics that distinguish man from other animals. Give the names of different species of prehistoric men.
Ans : The principle characteristics that distinguish man from other animals is his development of speech and written language which is found amongst no other species of animals on the earth. The development of speech and subsequently thewritten language has left a written proof of his various developments down the ages. The various inventions made by our ancestors have been read and developed by the subsequent generations.
His learning to stand erect and use of only his legs to walk left his hands free to develop and make his life more comfortable day by day. It is because that is hands were free, he not only developed tools for his protection but also had time for various kinds of activities like art, literature etc which again no other species shas been able to compete.
The tools that he made have helped him to evolve from being a food gatherer to a food producer and subsequently lead to a community life, build civilizations and ultimately great cities.
The various species of prehistoric men were Australopithecies, Zinjanthropus, Pithecanthropus Erectus, Simanthropus, Neanderthal man.
Q 4 . Summarize the inventions and discoveries of stone age man.
Ans . The stone age has been divided into palaeolithic and the Neolithic age. During the palaeolithic age, man learned to make crude stone tools like hand axes, choppers and flake implements, though he improved to making tools of bone and ivory he still remained a food gatherer. Understanding the security of community life, he started living in groups and the entire group gathered food for the community. He had started drawing on the walls though it was with the primitive sense to invoke a religious blessing before a hunt. He also learned the use of necklaces and sewen garments.
The Mesolithic age saw the shrinking of the glaciers and the rise of evergreen forest, he had domesticated the dog and had developed the art of making small, sharp tools of stone which helped him in hunting, through this we come to the conclusion that during the Mesolithic age, man had enough tools to make his hunting tools better.
The Neolithic age saw the beginning of farming where we can assume that the first scientist could be found who must have evolved the art of growing crops. Man now was a food producer than a food gatherer. He started living a disciplined community life and also domesticated other types of animals like sheep, goat, cattles etc and thus laid the foundation of mixed farming . This led to development of settlements into villages, fortified towns etc. Pottery was invented during this time and as he already knew the use of fire, he started cooking food rather than eating raw. The invention of spinning and weaving started with man wearing spun cloth instead of skins of animals.
Q 5. What are the differences between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods of the stone age as shown by tools and products ?
Ans: The Palaeolithic period and Neolithic period can be distinguished chiefly based on the types of tools, inventions and the products that he used.
Tools: The tools during the Palaeolithic age where rough and crude mainly stone implements, they were not properly finished as man had not invented the tools to make these instruments smoother. By the time man reached the Neolithic age he had invented tools to help him to make instruments. Though the use of bone and ivory had started during the Palaeolithic age, the instruments during the Neolithic age where smaller, more sharper and had a clean finish.
Inventions: During the Palaeolithic age, man did know the use of fire but other than roasting the meat and keeping himself warm he did not use it for any other purpose. It was during the Neolithic age, man started using fire for making pottery, extensive cooking and other purposes. The wheel had not been invented during the Palaeolithic age, so the main means of transportation was sledge also because the climate was still in the ice age. By the time the Neolithic period came around, the ice age had given way to warmer climate and thick forests. It was around this time that he invented the wheel, this invention is one of the most important inventions of mankind. Man’s life took a turn for better because the means of transportation too increased.
Products : During the Palaeolithic age, man was just a food gatherer. Though the idea of community life had started with the intention of providing security and keeping him safe from wild animals, man roamed around in groups collecting food or hunting for the whole community. He still did not know the use of cloth and used the animals skins to keep himself warm. By the time the Neolithic age set in he had gradually become a food producer, he had domesticated other animals other than the dog and was aware that animals could be used not only for meat and skin but also for milk and transportation. The community life had become more disciplined giving way to fortified villages and towns. He had come to know the wearing of cloth and was now using the cloth or sewen garments which though were crude to keep himself warm.
Q1. Explain the meaning of the following terms :-
a) Prehistoric times :- That part of story of man’s progress for which we have written records is called history. But prehistoric times is when man had no written records and the facts of history of that part has been assembled when the scholars have dug up the possible places where prehistoric man, must have lived and gathered information studying his tools, pottery, habitat etc.
b) Carbon 14 dating :- All living things whether plants or animals contain radioactive carbon called carbon 14. When the plants and animals are alive, they absorb the same amount of carbon 14 from the atmosphere as they lost through radioactivity. So, when a living thing dies, it continues to lose carbon 14 but ceases to absorb it. Thus scholar of physics can pin point exactly the date because of this loss of carbon-14.
c) Paleolithic period: The story of man when he evolved from being a tree ape to learn to walk on the earth and the various transformations that underwent on him which helped him to face climatic changes, invent various inventions that made life easier for him but the time where he was still a food gatherer and not a food producer is commonly known as old stone age on Paleolithic period.
d) Mesolithic period : The period after old stone age had fast progress where the man started making finer tools using not only stones but also bones and ivory to help him to gather the food is called Mesolithic age or middle stone age.
e) Neolithic age : The period when man evolved from being a food gatherer to a food producer is called new stoneage. The cultivation of crops, the domestication of various animals paved way for settled life and man left off being a wanderer and became a social animal. The cultivation of crops and domestication of animals gave him enough time to invent many more new things which made life easier, that is the reason Neolithic period is also known as Neolithic revolution.
f) Geological eras : The vast span of earth’s history has been divided into five eras by the geologists and named after the most characteristic forms of life. The eras span millions of years each and the last of the eras namely Cenozoic the shortest and extends over 70 million years.
g) Glacial periods : The historical climate of the earth spans into different types of climate namely the cold and the warm. The cold periods or the glacial periods have each been separated from the next by warm inter glacial periods. The glacial periods contain huge glaciers like the north polar ice cap which spreads southward into the temperate zone but would not when the climate would grow warmer to give way to thick evergreen forests.
h) Hominids: are also called early humans and have been around for a very short span of time. The first human like creatures appeared around four million years ago, they were small and looked like the ape ancestors. Gradually human types became taller with much larger brains. Fully modern human like us or the homosapiens probably evolved less than 2 million years ago. The hominid first appeared in Africa lived like the other animals, ate berries, nuts, roots and insects.
i) Microliths : The Mesolithic age is marked by the improvement of the tools used by man during the Paleolithic age. These tools were smaller comparatively smoother and could be used as arrowheads or spearheads but they still did not have a wider range of use.
j) Totems : The Neolithic period saw the evolution of community living or large group of families living together. These communities used the image of a plant or an animal or a symbol of their clan. This is called a totem. The totems gradually made the man superstitious as he was still unable to understand the forms of nature or the natural process.
k) Megaliths : The burial places of some of the communities during the Neolithic age on later periods have been marked by huge boulders or large stones called megaliths. Some examples have been found at stone henge in England where large stones are fitted to form a semicircle part of which was capped to form a doorway. Megaliths in some places have been used as places of worship to the sun god during the summer solstice.
l) Homosapiens : It is a latin word for wise man who started to walk on his two feet, his brain became larger which led him to improve his life and brought his development which has not stopped till today.
m) Evolution of man : The journey of man’s life from being an uncivilized jungle ape to a more modern civilized man and his struggle for existence from various stages of natural processes including the survival during the difficult climate changes is called evolution of man.
n) Culture : The developmental change that has never stopped can be termed as culture. The term describes how a man earn’s his living the things he produces, the skills he uses to produce these things, the knowledge he has acquired and the society he lives in, the way he relates to his fellow people and the way he uses his leisure times.
o) Civilizations : Man has always struggled to make his life easier and found better ways of living, he has never done it alone but with the co-operation of his fellow beings.
The complex varied and well organized culture becomes civilization. A civilization shows progress in all spheres like founding of cities, development of art and architecture, better social and administrative systems and improved forms of literature.
p) Mixed farming : Man developed from being a food gatherer to a food producer, he understood the ways in which the crops could be grown and stored along the way he domesticated some animals and found that they had many uses e.g: use of milk, meat, skin for leather and shelter and also for manure. He now started growing crops and also rearing domesticated animals and this is called mixed farming.
2) What is the work of an archeologist, and anthropologist, a geologist and a zoologist? How does the work of each of these scientists help in collecting facts about the pace of man’s progress?
Ans : Archaeology is the science of digging up old sites, monuments, etc. In order to shed light on the everyday life of our ancestors and their society, the scholars who are involved in this kind of science are called archeologists. We owe our knowledge of various civilizations like mohenjodaro and harappa and ancient Egypt etc to these archeologists. The tools, the pottery, the burial sites etc have been dug up and studied by these archeologists and this helps the historians to piece together the various facts of archaeology and present before us the history of our ancestors.
Anthropologist : An anthropologist studies a man’s physical characters, his cultures, his customs, his modes of behaviour his relations with other men which help the historians to get a better picture of the life of the people. The anthropologist bases his studies on articrafts, monuments, pictures, dwellings etc, and this enables to trace the development of human societies from prehistoric to historic period.
Geologist: A geologist studies the layers of rocks that have been formed over the earth’s surface over millions of years ago and determines their age. The internal disturbances that took place on the earth and the oceans form the main base of study of a geologist. He synchronizes the age along with the archaelogist and the anthropologist and determines during which era the particular civilization or an even ti history or prehistory that may have taken place.
The natural sciences particularly geology, biology, palaeontology has formed the knowledge that life on earth keeps on changing and evolving or bettering itself through change. The organic or the biological evolution is studied by the scientist where the species of plants, animals living in a particular environment are studied, how they may have evolved into organisms of complex cells tried to adapt to the changing environment succeeded and survived and gradually modified in form. The historian studies the cultural evolution of man taking into consideration the thinking behaviour of man at different stages, the physical change in living organisms and the relation towards the environmental change and survival.
Thus, from the above study we conclude that an archaeologist, an anthropologist, a geologist and a zoologist provide authentic proof to the historian in relation to man’s progress and evolution and civilizations and thus making history real and scientific.
Q 3 . Describe the principal characteristics that distinguish man from other animals. Give the names of different species of prehistoric men.
Ans : The principle characteristics that distinguish man from other animals is his development of speech and written language which is found amongst no other species of animals on the earth. The development of speech and subsequently thewritten language has left a written proof of his various developments down the ages. The various inventions made by our ancestors have been read and developed by the subsequent generations.
His learning to stand erect and use of only his legs to walk left his hands free to develop and make his life more comfortable day by day. It is because that is hands were free, he not only developed tools for his protection but also had time for various kinds of activities like art, literature etc which again no other species shas been able to compete.
The tools that he made have helped him to evolve from being a food gatherer to a food producer and subsequently lead to a community life, build civilizations and ultimately great cities.
The various species of prehistoric men were Australopithecies, Zinjanthropus, Pithecanthropus Erectus, Simanthropus, Neanderthal man.
Q 4 . Summarize the inventions and discoveries of stone age man.
Ans . The stone age has been divided into palaeolithic and the Neolithic age. During the palaeolithic age, man learned to make crude stone tools like hand axes, choppers and flake implements, though he improved to making tools of bone and ivory he still remained a food gatherer. Understanding the security of community life, he started living in groups and the entire group gathered food for the community. He had started drawing on the walls though it was with the primitive sense to invoke a religious blessing before a hunt. He also learned the use of necklaces and sewen garments.
The Mesolithic age saw the shrinking of the glaciers and the rise of evergreen forest, he had domesticated the dog and had developed the art of making small, sharp tools of stone which helped him in hunting, through this we come to the conclusion that during the Mesolithic age, man had enough tools to make his hunting tools better.
The Neolithic age saw the beginning of farming where we can assume that the first scientist could be found who must have evolved the art of growing crops. Man now was a food producer than a food gatherer. He started living a disciplined community life and also domesticated other types of animals like sheep, goat, cattles etc and thus laid the foundation of mixed farming . This led to development of settlements into villages, fortified towns etc. Pottery was invented during this time and as he already knew the use of fire, he started cooking food rather than eating raw. The invention of spinning and weaving started with man wearing spun cloth instead of skins of animals.
Q 5. What are the differences between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods of the stone age as shown by tools and products ?
Ans: The Palaeolithic period and Neolithic period can be distinguished chiefly based on the types of tools, inventions and the products that he used.
Tools: The tools during the Palaeolithic age where rough and crude mainly stone implements, they were not properly finished as man had not invented the tools to make these instruments smoother. By the time man reached the Neolithic age he had invented tools to help him to make instruments. Though the use of bone and ivory had started during the Palaeolithic age, the instruments during the Neolithic age where smaller, more sharper and had a clean finish.
Inventions: During the Palaeolithic age, man did know the use of fire but other than roasting the meat and keeping himself warm he did not use it for any other purpose. It was during the Neolithic age, man started using fire for making pottery, extensive cooking and other purposes. The wheel had not been invented during the Palaeolithic age, so the main means of transportation was sledge also because the climate was still in the ice age. By the time the Neolithic period came around, the ice age had given way to warmer climate and thick forests. It was around this time that he invented the wheel, this invention is one of the most important inventions of mankind. Man’s life took a turn for better because the means of transportation too increased.
Products : During the Palaeolithic age, man was just a food gatherer. Though the idea of community life had started with the intention of providing security and keeping him safe from wild animals, man roamed around in groups collecting food or hunting for the whole community. He still did not know the use of cloth and used the animals skins to keep himself warm. By the time the Neolithic age set in he had gradually become a food producer, he had domesticated other animals other than the dog and was aware that animals could be used not only for meat and skin but also for milk and transportation. The community life had become more disciplined giving way to fortified villages and towns. He had come to know the wearing of cloth and was now using the cloth or sewen garments which though were crude to keep himself warm.
Bronze Age Civilizations
BRONZE AGE CIVILIZATIONS
Q 1. The first civilizations which arose in the ancient world were all; in the river valleys. The Harappan civilizations flourished in the Indus Valley, the Mesopotamian flourished in the valley of Tigris and Euphrates, the Egyptian civilization arose in the valley of Nile and the Chinese civilization arose in the valley of Hwang Ho.
The river valleys were the primary choice for the flourishing of early civilizations because the conditions were most favorable, there was a continuous flow of water as these rivers were mainly snowed. The rich soil deposited by the rivers was favorable for cultivation. Man by now had learnt to produce more and more types of food grains and in abundant quantity so much so that the richness of the soil provided him the most favorable condition for settled life. He also used the know how of building canals, land dykes and used the flood water for his agricultural purposes. The rivers also provided an easier means of transportation from one place to another. The building of canals and providing relief from floods led man to live an organized life.
Q 2. In what ways were the Bronze Age civilizations similar?
Ans. The discovery and the use of metals proved to be an great leap in the history of mankind in the course of time man learnt to use and mix different kinds of metals and one of them was bronze. The invention of Bronze gave a new life to the civilizations and this metal started being used on a large scale. This is the reason the first age civilizations are called bronze age civilizations. The four civilizations were unique in their own way but they had many things in common. They developed an organized political and social system, trade, commerce, religious beliefs, writing art etc. The food production also increased because of the introduction of the plough and better irrigation systems. The building of canals and dykes needed large scale co-operative effort which could not be done by a small village; this gave rise to a different kind of social setup where many communities formed under a central authority. The large scale production of food and its storage gave rise to different forms of art, music and also many inventions in science and math. This also led to the cities while the responsibility of food production remained in the village. The cities became the centers of all modern activity like trade and commerce and other social aspects. In every civilization we find similarities though they are unique in their own way.
Q 3. Cite evidences to show that Bronze Age civilizations were well advanced over the Neolithic cultures.
Ans. During the Neolithic age, man had not made advances in the area of food production, he had barely enough food to life on. Though community life was developing, man was still a food gatherer. There was no class differentiation and everyone performed the same kind of work and lived an equal life. With the advent of advanced food production on large scale, civilizations arose giving rise to class differences and differences in the rights. The community which was a close knit one enlarged into a small state and later on the area expanded. There was more amount of professionalism in every field be it art, science, food production etc. The class differences created unholy differences amongst human beings, though Bronze Age civilizations had many disadvantages, the advantages were many when compared to the fast rate towards which man progressed towards modernity and it was on the base of these civilizations that today’s civilizations stand.
Q 4. With which of the four civilizations, and in what way do you associate each of the following terms?
Ans.
Oracle : Chinese civilization . The people of the chinese civilization wanted to frame future plans based on the priest’s saying about the future. This was mainly because of the natural calamity that could occur on and off. The priest would be approached and he would be asked a number of questions and the priest would give the answers with the help of tortoise shells or bones of cattle. The priest would make holes in the said bones and when fire would be applied, it would crack. The nature of the crack told the future.
Silk : associated with Chinese civilization. Silk was discovered in china and it became a prime industry responsible for foreign trade in china. This cloth was primarily used by the royals and strong evidences show that the Shang Dynasty used it on a large scale.
Behistun : Mesopotamian civilization. This is basically an inscription which was written on a high rock about 100 meters high. Henry Rawlinson discovered this script and worked for nearly twelve years to decipher it.
Great Bath : Indus valley civilization. It is one of the great landmarks of Harappan and Mohenjodaro civilizations. This must have been the place of religious bathing where people would take bath and then enter the temples. A great flight of steps lead to the bath with changing rooms surrounding it.
Mummies : Egyptian civilization. The mummies are the bodies of the dead which the Egyptians preserved in a particular way. The Egyptians believed that there was life after death and so took great care in preserving the bodies of the dead. The bodies would be embalmed and wrapped in special linen and then buried with articles of his daily use.
Ziggurat : associated with Mesopotamian civilization. It was basically the hill atop of which the temple of God was built. This would usually be found in the centre of the city or the town and could be seen from all sides and from any place in the city. The ziggurat provided a sense of protection among the people of the valley.
Babylon : Mesopotamian civilization. It was the region to the north east of Sumer. This was the place from where Hammurabi rules during this civilization.
Seals : Indus valley civilization. The excavation of the seals in Mesopotamian civilization confirms the fact that both the civilizations had direct trade links. The seals were unique with intricate designs and must have been used on government orders or trade receipts.
Sexagesimal : Mesopotamian civilization. The people of Mesopotamia developed a style of counting which is termed as sexagesimal. They wrote the numbers 1-9 by making a sign for 1 and repeating it as many times as necessary. Similarly they repeated the sign for 10 to represent the multiples of 10. They had the same symbol for 60 as for 1 though it was written much bigger.
Sphinx : Egyptian civilization. The Egyptians believed about the life after death and the great Pharoas build pyramids where they would be buried after their death. The sphinx is also one such example where the structure is like the body of a lion and the head of a man. The sphinx has been carved out of a single solid stone.
Hammurabi : Mesopotamian civilization. He was one of the greatest rulers to rule during the said civilization. He united the whole area of what is today’s Iraq into one single kingdom, he also gave a code of laws which covered every aspect of life and brought about a certain amount of discipline in the community. The laws were made acceptable to the people because his edict shows him standing before his God and he is getting direction about the laws.
Cheops : The best known remains in Egypt are the three pyramids of Giza built by Khufu (Cheops in Greek) Khafra and Menkawre beginning in about 2500 BC during the fifth dynasty. It is still not understood how the Egyptians were able to build such huge stone structures with simplest means of their times.
Q 5. Why was it natural for the people to concern themselves with calendars? In what respects did the calendars of the early civilizations differ?
Ans : The river valley people especially the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians were the first to evolve the idea of a calendar. They were inspired by the following factors while devising a calendar.
1. Agriculture was their main occupation which depended on the changes in the season. In order to understand these changes they felt the need of inventing a calender.
2. It also helped them to foresee the dry and rainy periods, which affected their farming operations.
3. They had to save their settlements from devastating floods which occurred every year.
4. They used the help of stars and planets to prepare a calendar of their own.
TYPES OF CALENDERS
Calenders were generally of 2 types: Solar calendar and lunar calendar. The calendar which was calculated on the movement of the sun is called the solar calendar. It is more accurate than the lunar calendar which is based on the movement of the moon. The lunar calendar is 11 days less than the solar calendar. The Mesopotamians adopted the lunar calendar while the Egyptians and the Chinese adopted the solar calendar.
The main features of these calendars were:
1. The Mesopotamians had a lunar year which was about 11 days short of the solar year. This deficiency was made up by adding a whole month after every few years. But in spite of these errors the calendar itself was a great achievement because they divided the day into 24 hours an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds.
2. The Egyptian calendar was based on the solar system with 12 months each comprising of 30 days. They based this arrangement in the period between the arrival of the floods which was exactly 365 days apart. Their year comprised of 360 days and 5 days were reserved for festivals. They also observed a bright star which they named Sirius. It was the last to appear on the horizon before the floods reached Cairo.
3. The Chinese calendar was a combination of solar and lunar calculations. The months were lunar comprising o 29 – 30 days while the year was based on solar and comprised of 365 days and ¼ days correctly.
Q 6 Describe the scripts used by the Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Chinese?
Ans The form of writing which was used by Mesopotamians was first developed in Sumer and they conveyed their ideas through signs, symbols and pictures. Over the period of time, it soon developed to a particular form of communication or a particular idea being denoted by a particular picture. This form involved a lot of difficulty as ideas could not be communicated fully and that is the reason symbols were invented. These symbols stood for ideas, names and words. The Sumerians further developed it by basing it on phonetic way or representing their ideas through language. This is called cuneiform. Many clay tablets have been found to confirm the Sumerian script.
The script used by the Egyptians is known as hieroglyphic meaning sacred writing. It consisted of 24 signs each of which stood for a single consonant. Vowels were not used. Thus, raising the number of symbols used to 500. The writing soon became an art and the writers formed an important section of the society. The Egyptians used reed pens on leaves of a plant called papyrus from which the word paper has come into being.
The Chinese script was first thought to have been evolved from the Sumerian script but in truth it is an ideographic script in which each sign represents an idea. The script has not changed much over the period of generations. The same technique of using silk or bamboo strips and writing with the help of a brush is still being used.
Q7. Why are we less sure about many details of the Harappan Culture than about the civilizations of the nile and tigris-euphrates?
Ans The archaeologists, historians have been successful in deciphering the script used by the Nile or Tigris-Euphrates civilizations though lots of hard work sometimes time amounting to nearly 12 years has been spent in trying to know more about these scripts.
Huge amounts of tablets or rock inscriptions also help the archaeologists in coming to know about the above civilizations. The language or script used by the Harappans was basically pictographic and that is the reason, the historians have found it difficult to decipher the script used by the Harappan valley civilization though efforts are in full swing to decipher the scripts and will not be long before we come to know more about the Harappan valley civilizations.
Q8. Why do we feel sure there was trade among the people of the early civilizations?
Ans : There is enough evidence to prove that trade existed between the people of early civilizations because the many excavations have proved the fact that there existed trade relations because many articles or use of a particular civilization have been found in another civilization e.g. the seals, jewellery, pottery used by the harappan culture have been found in the Mesopotamian excavations. During the period of these civilizations man had come to know the importance of foreign trade and that is the reason the heads of the states encouraged better products which were exported or imported by any particular civilizations thus confirming the fact that trade did exist during the early civilizations.
Q 1. The first civilizations which arose in the ancient world were all; in the river valleys. The Harappan civilizations flourished in the Indus Valley, the Mesopotamian flourished in the valley of Tigris and Euphrates, the Egyptian civilization arose in the valley of Nile and the Chinese civilization arose in the valley of Hwang Ho.
The river valleys were the primary choice for the flourishing of early civilizations because the conditions were most favorable, there was a continuous flow of water as these rivers were mainly snowed. The rich soil deposited by the rivers was favorable for cultivation. Man by now had learnt to produce more and more types of food grains and in abundant quantity so much so that the richness of the soil provided him the most favorable condition for settled life. He also used the know how of building canals, land dykes and used the flood water for his agricultural purposes. The rivers also provided an easier means of transportation from one place to another. The building of canals and providing relief from floods led man to live an organized life.
Q 2. In what ways were the Bronze Age civilizations similar?
Ans. The discovery and the use of metals proved to be an great leap in the history of mankind in the course of time man learnt to use and mix different kinds of metals and one of them was bronze. The invention of Bronze gave a new life to the civilizations and this metal started being used on a large scale. This is the reason the first age civilizations are called bronze age civilizations. The four civilizations were unique in their own way but they had many things in common. They developed an organized political and social system, trade, commerce, religious beliefs, writing art etc. The food production also increased because of the introduction of the plough and better irrigation systems. The building of canals and dykes needed large scale co-operative effort which could not be done by a small village; this gave rise to a different kind of social setup where many communities formed under a central authority. The large scale production of food and its storage gave rise to different forms of art, music and also many inventions in science and math. This also led to the cities while the responsibility of food production remained in the village. The cities became the centers of all modern activity like trade and commerce and other social aspects. In every civilization we find similarities though they are unique in their own way.
Q 3. Cite evidences to show that Bronze Age civilizations were well advanced over the Neolithic cultures.
Ans. During the Neolithic age, man had not made advances in the area of food production, he had barely enough food to life on. Though community life was developing, man was still a food gatherer. There was no class differentiation and everyone performed the same kind of work and lived an equal life. With the advent of advanced food production on large scale, civilizations arose giving rise to class differences and differences in the rights. The community which was a close knit one enlarged into a small state and later on the area expanded. There was more amount of professionalism in every field be it art, science, food production etc. The class differences created unholy differences amongst human beings, though Bronze Age civilizations had many disadvantages, the advantages were many when compared to the fast rate towards which man progressed towards modernity and it was on the base of these civilizations that today’s civilizations stand.
Q 4. With which of the four civilizations, and in what way do you associate each of the following terms?
Ans.
Oracle : Chinese civilization . The people of the chinese civilization wanted to frame future plans based on the priest’s saying about the future. This was mainly because of the natural calamity that could occur on and off. The priest would be approached and he would be asked a number of questions and the priest would give the answers with the help of tortoise shells or bones of cattle. The priest would make holes in the said bones and when fire would be applied, it would crack. The nature of the crack told the future.
Silk : associated with Chinese civilization. Silk was discovered in china and it became a prime industry responsible for foreign trade in china. This cloth was primarily used by the royals and strong evidences show that the Shang Dynasty used it on a large scale.
Behistun : Mesopotamian civilization. This is basically an inscription which was written on a high rock about 100 meters high. Henry Rawlinson discovered this script and worked for nearly twelve years to decipher it.
Great Bath : Indus valley civilization. It is one of the great landmarks of Harappan and Mohenjodaro civilizations. This must have been the place of religious bathing where people would take bath and then enter the temples. A great flight of steps lead to the bath with changing rooms surrounding it.
Mummies : Egyptian civilization. The mummies are the bodies of the dead which the Egyptians preserved in a particular way. The Egyptians believed that there was life after death and so took great care in preserving the bodies of the dead. The bodies would be embalmed and wrapped in special linen and then buried with articles of his daily use.
Ziggurat : associated with Mesopotamian civilization. It was basically the hill atop of which the temple of God was built. This would usually be found in the centre of the city or the town and could be seen from all sides and from any place in the city. The ziggurat provided a sense of protection among the people of the valley.
Babylon : Mesopotamian civilization. It was the region to the north east of Sumer. This was the place from where Hammurabi rules during this civilization.
Seals : Indus valley civilization. The excavation of the seals in Mesopotamian civilization confirms the fact that both the civilizations had direct trade links. The seals were unique with intricate designs and must have been used on government orders or trade receipts.
Sexagesimal : Mesopotamian civilization. The people of Mesopotamia developed a style of counting which is termed as sexagesimal. They wrote the numbers 1-9 by making a sign for 1 and repeating it as many times as necessary. Similarly they repeated the sign for 10 to represent the multiples of 10. They had the same symbol for 60 as for 1 though it was written much bigger.
Sphinx : Egyptian civilization. The Egyptians believed about the life after death and the great Pharoas build pyramids where they would be buried after their death. The sphinx is also one such example where the structure is like the body of a lion and the head of a man. The sphinx has been carved out of a single solid stone.
Hammurabi : Mesopotamian civilization. He was one of the greatest rulers to rule during the said civilization. He united the whole area of what is today’s Iraq into one single kingdom, he also gave a code of laws which covered every aspect of life and brought about a certain amount of discipline in the community. The laws were made acceptable to the people because his edict shows him standing before his God and he is getting direction about the laws.
Cheops : The best known remains in Egypt are the three pyramids of Giza built by Khufu (Cheops in Greek) Khafra and Menkawre beginning in about 2500 BC during the fifth dynasty. It is still not understood how the Egyptians were able to build such huge stone structures with simplest means of their times.
Q 5. Why was it natural for the people to concern themselves with calendars? In what respects did the calendars of the early civilizations differ?
Ans : The river valley people especially the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians were the first to evolve the idea of a calendar. They were inspired by the following factors while devising a calendar.
1. Agriculture was their main occupation which depended on the changes in the season. In order to understand these changes they felt the need of inventing a calender.
2. It also helped them to foresee the dry and rainy periods, which affected their farming operations.
3. They had to save their settlements from devastating floods which occurred every year.
4. They used the help of stars and planets to prepare a calendar of their own.
TYPES OF CALENDERS
Calenders were generally of 2 types: Solar calendar and lunar calendar. The calendar which was calculated on the movement of the sun is called the solar calendar. It is more accurate than the lunar calendar which is based on the movement of the moon. The lunar calendar is 11 days less than the solar calendar. The Mesopotamians adopted the lunar calendar while the Egyptians and the Chinese adopted the solar calendar.
The main features of these calendars were:
1. The Mesopotamians had a lunar year which was about 11 days short of the solar year. This deficiency was made up by adding a whole month after every few years. But in spite of these errors the calendar itself was a great achievement because they divided the day into 24 hours an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds.
2. The Egyptian calendar was based on the solar system with 12 months each comprising of 30 days. They based this arrangement in the period between the arrival of the floods which was exactly 365 days apart. Their year comprised of 360 days and 5 days were reserved for festivals. They also observed a bright star which they named Sirius. It was the last to appear on the horizon before the floods reached Cairo.
3. The Chinese calendar was a combination of solar and lunar calculations. The months were lunar comprising o 29 – 30 days while the year was based on solar and comprised of 365 days and ¼ days correctly.
Q 6 Describe the scripts used by the Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Chinese?
Ans The form of writing which was used by Mesopotamians was first developed in Sumer and they conveyed their ideas through signs, symbols and pictures. Over the period of time, it soon developed to a particular form of communication or a particular idea being denoted by a particular picture. This form involved a lot of difficulty as ideas could not be communicated fully and that is the reason symbols were invented. These symbols stood for ideas, names and words. The Sumerians further developed it by basing it on phonetic way or representing their ideas through language. This is called cuneiform. Many clay tablets have been found to confirm the Sumerian script.
The script used by the Egyptians is known as hieroglyphic meaning sacred writing. It consisted of 24 signs each of which stood for a single consonant. Vowels were not used. Thus, raising the number of symbols used to 500. The writing soon became an art and the writers formed an important section of the society. The Egyptians used reed pens on leaves of a plant called papyrus from which the word paper has come into being.
The Chinese script was first thought to have been evolved from the Sumerian script but in truth it is an ideographic script in which each sign represents an idea. The script has not changed much over the period of generations. The same technique of using silk or bamboo strips and writing with the help of a brush is still being used.
Q7. Why are we less sure about many details of the Harappan Culture than about the civilizations of the nile and tigris-euphrates?
Ans The archaeologists, historians have been successful in deciphering the script used by the Nile or Tigris-Euphrates civilizations though lots of hard work sometimes time amounting to nearly 12 years has been spent in trying to know more about these scripts.
Huge amounts of tablets or rock inscriptions also help the archaeologists in coming to know about the above civilizations. The language or script used by the Harappans was basically pictographic and that is the reason, the historians have found it difficult to decipher the script used by the Harappan valley civilization though efforts are in full swing to decipher the scripts and will not be long before we come to know more about the Harappan valley civilizations.
Q8. Why do we feel sure there was trade among the people of the early civilizations?
Ans : There is enough evidence to prove that trade existed between the people of early civilizations because the many excavations have proved the fact that there existed trade relations because many articles or use of a particular civilization have been found in another civilization e.g. the seals, jewellery, pottery used by the harappan culture have been found in the Mesopotamian excavations. During the period of these civilizations man had come to know the importance of foreign trade and that is the reason the heads of the states encouraged better products which were exported or imported by any particular civilizations thus confirming the fact that trade did exist during the early civilizations.
Early Iron Age Civilizations
EARLY IRON AGE CIVILIZATIONS
Q1. Describe the importance of iron in the growth of civilization?
Ans. Previous civilizations made use of copper and its alloy bronze for making tools and Implements. The clearing of jungles were not on a large scale and the growth of cities were not on a large scale. But when iron was discovered, large scale development took place because around that time, the states were expanding on a large scale and food production had to be done on a much larger scale and implements made of iron proved to be much more beneficial as they helped in clearing of jungles on a large scale. The discovery of iron at this point of time played an important role in the development of civilizations. Iron is harder than copper and bronze and was easily available. Iron could be used to make a variety of agricultural tools like ploughshares, sickles, shovels and spades on a large scale. The effect of the discovery of iron is found on others crafts as it helped in making of variety of tools which improved the quality of articrafts . Iron helped in the progress of all civilizations at a very fast rate and the development was such which was not thought of earlier. Though the tools had improved from stone age to copper and bronze but the quality of iron implements have been of great help to the development of the early civilizations.
Archeaologists have found a variety of iron objects such as hammers, tongs, nails, chisels, saws etc which indicate a wide variety of specialized jobs for which these tools could be used. By now the expansion of states were taking place and also the states were always involved in either expansion or warding off the invaders. The discovery of iron led to the development of better warfare equipments.
The discovery and use of iron facilitated the growth of civilization and its spread to many new areas of the world. The discovery and use of iron has played a very important role in the growth of many civilizations.
Q 2. Name the civilizations to which each of the following leaders are associated and mention one or more of his special achievements.
Ans.
1. Pericles : associated with Greek civilization and Athenian democracy reached its greatest heights under the leadership of Pericles.
2. Julius Caeser : associated with Roman Civilization. He was a great general and an emperor.
3. Emperor of Chin : associated with Chinese civilization. He started the building of the Great wall of China.
4. Cleisthens : associated with Greek Civilization. He is known to be a great law giver.
5. Confucius : associated with Chinese Civilization. He was a great philosopher and his Philosophy was used as late as the 20th century.
6. Chandragupta I : associate with ancient Indian civilization. He was a great ruler and he founded the Maurayan dynasty.
7. Augustus : associated with Roman Civilization . He was a Roman emperor who ruled for nearly 44years and his period led to lot of peace and development in the Roman empire. His rule is known as PAX ROMANA, which means Roman Peace.
8. Ashoka : associated with ancient Indian civilization. His empire was so vast that it united India in one single country and after the bloody war with Kalinga, he changed his religion to Buddhism and he is responsible for the spread of Buddhism not only in India but also in the eastern part of Asia.
9. Marcus Aurelius : associated with the Roman civilization. He is known as a great general and a great philosopher.
10. Harsha : ancient Indian civilization. He is one of the last great Hindu emperor of ancient India. After his death the empire divided into small stated and could no longer remain as one as it was during the time of Harsha.
11. Solon : associated with Greek Civilization. He is responsible for bringing about such laws which benefited both the poor and the middle classes. He abolished slavery among the Athenians but the prisoners of war did remain as slaves. He is also responsible for codifying the laws.
12. Darius I : associated with Iranian Civilization. He was a great emperor of Iran and his empire included entire Iran, Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor and North western India.
13. Adarshar : associated with Iranian Civilization. He is responsible for the growth and flourishing of the Sassanid empire.
14. Zarathustra : associated with Iranian Civilization. A great philosopher, he is the founder of Zorastarism.
Q 3. Give the names of the person and or civilization responsible for the cultural advances as reflected in the following works of literature and art and describe them briefly :
Ans.
Atharva Veda : It is one of the four Vedas of Hinduism and has an important place in the Hindu religion. The Vedas form the most important part of Hindu religious ceremonies and it is written in Sanskrit.
Iliad : It is one of the greatest epic poems of all times and has come from Greek civilization and is written by Homer.
Ajanta : These caves are full of Buddhist paintings where the caves would be formed by boring and caving into rocks and then painting on the walls of the caves. The Ajanta caves carry much information about the Buddhist literature like Buddha’s life and Jataka tales.
Acroplolis : Pericles appointed Phidias to supervise the construction of Acropolis in Athens.
Parthenon. : It is a temple built for Athena the Parthenon which is a fine example of Greek architecture.
Upanishads : Like the Vedas the Upanishads too form an important part of the Hindu religion. Written in Sanskrit they contain many important aspects of Hinduism.
Aeneid : It is a famous epic written by Virgil, a great poet of Roman civilization. It has been written in the style of the Greek epics Iliad and Adyssey. The Aeneid describes the wanderings and adventures of Aeneas, a legendary hero of Troy.
Oedipus Rex : A great Greek tragedy which was written by Sophocles who is considered one of the greatest Greek Tragedians. His other works include Antigone and Electra and all his plays are admired all over the world even today.
Panchatantra.: It is a collection of moral stories based on animals, birds and human beings which have been written by Vishnu Sharma who belonged to the Gupta period.
Dharma Sastra : The Dharma sastras are associated with ancient Hindu religious practices. It gives full spiritual sanctity to the caste system and provided very harsh treatment to the Sudras. However in few respects the system is still flexible.
The Republic ; It is an important book written by Plato who was associated with Greek civilization. In this book Plato proposed a society which would be divided into three classes – the lowest class consisting of farmers, artisans and merchants, the second class of soldiers and the highest class of intellectuals who would have all the political power.
Hermes and Dionysus : They were the Gods of Greek civilization. The Greeks had many Gods whom they imagined to be like human beings but with more strength and immortal. Dionysus was the god of wine.
Medidations : This is a book written by Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor who was a Stoic philosopher. In this books he explains his thoughts on how life should be lived. He believed that the purpose of life was not pleasure but equanimity which means the ability to live with reason and self control in any situation.
The Pantheon : It is a temple in Rome which was built in 2nd century A.D. It was dedicated to the Roman Gods.
Avesta – e – Zend : It is the holy book of the Parsees and it is written by Zarathustra in the Iranian Civilization. It explains the there are two forces good and evil and both are at war with each other and the human being has always to cultivate a number of positive virtues by which the good will triumph over the evil.
Q 4. Cite evidences or examples of the Romans’ contributions to law and government. What special achievement in government should be credited to the Greeks ? What achievement to the Han Emperor?
Ans. : The Roman empire included Egypt, Babylon and Greece as well as western Erupor and North Africa. The vast empire of the Romans needed to be controlled with a lot of discipline and thus the Roman Empire has made certain important contributions of their own while making use of the ideas they inherited from the Greeks.
The Roman law and principles of governance are Rome’s greatest contribution to the world. This achievement began with the Law of the Twelve Tables. In course of time it was developed into three main branches – Civil law, Peoples law and Natural law. The idea of republicanism was developed by the Romans. The idea was so strong that for a long time the Roman rulers did not dare to assume royal titles, but called themselves the Servants of the State. It was because of this system of law and administration that the Romans were able to manage such a large empire. For eg. Laws encouraged the development of trade and travel. The roads built primarily for the movement of armies now were being used for the transportation of goods from one place to another. So complete was the system of road link of Rome that people would say “All roads lead to Rome” . This system of disciplined and controlled law and order helped the Romans to control this vast empire which the Greeks could not. But the real foundation of the Roman civilization is based on the Greeks. The early settlers were Greeks. The early Romans or the Italians learned much from the Greeks – their alphabet, their religious belief and art. The name Italia itself is Greek and this civilization started developing when the Greek civilization declined.
The Han emperors too have contributed to the Roman law and order or in other words the Roman civilization has taken certain points from the Han emperors for the development of their law and order.
1) A council was set up to help the King. In the Roman civilization, the Senate was the strongest which helped the King to maintain such a large empire.
2) Thought of welfare of the People. The welfare of the people was the first act of the King.
3) The Philosophy of Confucius which was based on high moral principles that would promote peace and welfare in the State.
4) The idea of selecting talented and educated persons not based on Caste and who were trained to be the beauracrats in the administrative set up of the kingdom.
Q 5. Describe the contribution of the Iranian civilization in the field of Art and Architecture.
Ans. The Iranians were basically followers of the religion of Zoroastrianism which was simple and did not need elaborate temples . The temples are simple and do not contain much of the art and architecture of the Iranian civilization. But the people of Iran during that time have built elaborate palaces which were basically intended to dazzle the visitors and they went out of the way to spend when building their palaces.
The buildings built during the Achaemenid period are notable for their architectural splendor. The empire being vast and powerful, the kings called themselves the kings of kings and so spent heavily when building their buildings and palaces. The artists and the materials to build the buildings were drawn from every part of this vast empire and there is no parallel in the architecture of any other culture of that time.
But after the invasion of Alexander, most of the buildings were destroyed and the period of Sassanid rule saw the revival of Iranian art and architecture to its former glory. During this time the Iranians excelled in the art of gem cutting, metal carving, glass moulding and weaving of valuable cloth. The art and architecture of medival Europe is particularly influenced by the ancient Iranian art and architecture.
Q 6. What are the evidences - specific objects, places and /or individuals that people in the ancient civilizations were beginning more and more to replace superstitions about nature, health and disease with more knowledge of science?
Ans. As the civilizations developed, the idea that all the forces of nature were god sent were fast loosing prominence. The superstitions were being replaced by knowledge of science in all spheres of life. In Chinese civilization, the invention of the Seismograph, helped the people to know the exact time when the earth quakes occurred and in the course of time this led to more study about the earth. So also in the field of medicines the Chinese never believed in the priestly incantations but they had a fair knowledge of human anatomy and they could distinguish diseases and know the symptoms of each and the relationship of health and diet was also known to them.
So also in the Early Indian civilizations many sastras were written on various branches of knowledge such as medicine, astronomy, maths, grammar. The real reason for writing and knowing these sastras was performing the religious functions well. For eg. The need to calculate auspicious days led to the study of astronomy in detail. The need to construct Vedic altars led to the knowledge of geometry , the decimal system and the knowledge of zero. The sacrifices led to the knowledge of anatomy and the early Indian civilizations had a very good knowledge of medicine, the Ayurvedic medicine is still being used today and they knew more about health and hygiene.
The Greek civilizations also had a very good knowledge about medicine, biology and astronomy. Hippocrates is known as the father of medicine and laid the foundation of modern medicine. Study in Maths and geography reached great heights after Alexander’s conquests. The Greek contribution to modern medicine is vast.
Thus as the civilizations progressed much advancement was made in the area of Science giving way to giving up of superstitions and ultimately the advancement of human civilizations.
Q 7. Explain the following terms :
Ans.
Hellenes : The Greeks came from the north probably from the Danube river valley and each group that came had its own name like Achaeans, Ionians and Dorians. Soon they began to call themselves Hellenes which means Greek.
Demos : The city of Athens primarily consisted of nobles and the slaves. But besides these there were few people who were not slaves and were free and these people are known as Greek Demos.
Tyrant : The city states in Greece were ruled by monarchs but then the wealthy land owners took over the power from the monarchs and vested the political power in their own hands. The rise of commerce and industry gave rise of rich middle class who along with the poor farmers tried the lessen the power of the rich landowners. This conflict gave rise to dictators or tyrants as the Greeks call them.
Oligarchy : In the Greek civilizations in the course of time the rule of the dictators or the tyrants gave rise of states which had a kind of democracy or oligarchy means a rule by a few rich men.
Democracy : The term democracy means the rule by the people. The term is derived from the Greek word Democratia, which was coined from demos means people and kartos meaning rule, in the middle of the 5th century BC to denote the political systems that were existing in some Greek city states, notably Athens.
Republic : It is the book written by Plato which proposed a society were the main political power vested with the the intellectuals.
Republic also means a political system or form of government in which people elect representatives to exercise power for them. It was during the time of Pericles that Athenian democracy reached its pinnacle where the citizens constituted the minority and they enjoyed limited rights in politics and it was similar to todays republican form of government.
Lyric : These are the short poems written in Greek literature and usually they were sung with the Lyre as an accompaniment and so are called lyrics.
Patrician : A member of an aristrocratic family of ancient Rome whose privileges included the exclusive right to hold certain offices.
Plebeian : One of ordinary citizens of ancient Rome as distinct from the patricians.
Monarchy : A political system where the state is ruled by a monarch.
Matriarchy : A form of social order where women are in charge and are recognized as heads of families with power, lineage and inheritance passing where possible from mothers to daughters.
Patriarchy :A form of social order where men are considered as those in authority within the family and society and in which power and possessions are passed on from father to son.
Stoic: A member of an ancient Greek school of philosophy that asserted that happiness can only be achieved by accepting life’s ups and downs as products of unalterable destiny. It was founded around 308 BC by Zeno.
Pax Romana : The long period of peace and stability that existed under the Roman Empire especially in 2nd century AD.
Shrenis : Artisans producing specialized goods were organized into guilds called Shrenis.
Sudras : The lowest runk in the society ladder of Indian civilizations. They were mainly untouchables who were to live outside the cities and villages and did menial tasks.
Seismology : A scientific study of earthquakes first studied by the Chinese civilization.
Mandarin : The official language of People’s Republic of China . It belongs to the Chinese branch of sino-tibetian languages and is spoken by most of the Chinese in the world.
Q1. Describe the importance of iron in the growth of civilization?
Ans. Previous civilizations made use of copper and its alloy bronze for making tools and Implements. The clearing of jungles were not on a large scale and the growth of cities were not on a large scale. But when iron was discovered, large scale development took place because around that time, the states were expanding on a large scale and food production had to be done on a much larger scale and implements made of iron proved to be much more beneficial as they helped in clearing of jungles on a large scale. The discovery of iron at this point of time played an important role in the development of civilizations. Iron is harder than copper and bronze and was easily available. Iron could be used to make a variety of agricultural tools like ploughshares, sickles, shovels and spades on a large scale. The effect of the discovery of iron is found on others crafts as it helped in making of variety of tools which improved the quality of articrafts . Iron helped in the progress of all civilizations at a very fast rate and the development was such which was not thought of earlier. Though the tools had improved from stone age to copper and bronze but the quality of iron implements have been of great help to the development of the early civilizations.
Archeaologists have found a variety of iron objects such as hammers, tongs, nails, chisels, saws etc which indicate a wide variety of specialized jobs for which these tools could be used. By now the expansion of states were taking place and also the states were always involved in either expansion or warding off the invaders. The discovery of iron led to the development of better warfare equipments.
The discovery and use of iron facilitated the growth of civilization and its spread to many new areas of the world. The discovery and use of iron has played a very important role in the growth of many civilizations.
Q 2. Name the civilizations to which each of the following leaders are associated and mention one or more of his special achievements.
Ans.
1. Pericles : associated with Greek civilization and Athenian democracy reached its greatest heights under the leadership of Pericles.
2. Julius Caeser : associated with Roman Civilization. He was a great general and an emperor.
3. Emperor of Chin : associated with Chinese civilization. He started the building of the Great wall of China.
4. Cleisthens : associated with Greek Civilization. He is known to be a great law giver.
5. Confucius : associated with Chinese Civilization. He was a great philosopher and his Philosophy was used as late as the 20th century.
6. Chandragupta I : associate with ancient Indian civilization. He was a great ruler and he founded the Maurayan dynasty.
7. Augustus : associated with Roman Civilization . He was a Roman emperor who ruled for nearly 44years and his period led to lot of peace and development in the Roman empire. His rule is known as PAX ROMANA, which means Roman Peace.
8. Ashoka : associated with ancient Indian civilization. His empire was so vast that it united India in one single country and after the bloody war with Kalinga, he changed his religion to Buddhism and he is responsible for the spread of Buddhism not only in India but also in the eastern part of Asia.
9. Marcus Aurelius : associated with the Roman civilization. He is known as a great general and a great philosopher.
10. Harsha : ancient Indian civilization. He is one of the last great Hindu emperor of ancient India. After his death the empire divided into small stated and could no longer remain as one as it was during the time of Harsha.
11. Solon : associated with Greek Civilization. He is responsible for bringing about such laws which benefited both the poor and the middle classes. He abolished slavery among the Athenians but the prisoners of war did remain as slaves. He is also responsible for codifying the laws.
12. Darius I : associated with Iranian Civilization. He was a great emperor of Iran and his empire included entire Iran, Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor and North western India.
13. Adarshar : associated with Iranian Civilization. He is responsible for the growth and flourishing of the Sassanid empire.
14. Zarathustra : associated with Iranian Civilization. A great philosopher, he is the founder of Zorastarism.
Q 3. Give the names of the person and or civilization responsible for the cultural advances as reflected in the following works of literature and art and describe them briefly :
Ans.
Atharva Veda : It is one of the four Vedas of Hinduism and has an important place in the Hindu religion. The Vedas form the most important part of Hindu religious ceremonies and it is written in Sanskrit.
Iliad : It is one of the greatest epic poems of all times and has come from Greek civilization and is written by Homer.
Ajanta : These caves are full of Buddhist paintings where the caves would be formed by boring and caving into rocks and then painting on the walls of the caves. The Ajanta caves carry much information about the Buddhist literature like Buddha’s life and Jataka tales.
Acroplolis : Pericles appointed Phidias to supervise the construction of Acropolis in Athens.
Parthenon. : It is a temple built for Athena the Parthenon which is a fine example of Greek architecture.
Upanishads : Like the Vedas the Upanishads too form an important part of the Hindu religion. Written in Sanskrit they contain many important aspects of Hinduism.
Aeneid : It is a famous epic written by Virgil, a great poet of Roman civilization. It has been written in the style of the Greek epics Iliad and Adyssey. The Aeneid describes the wanderings and adventures of Aeneas, a legendary hero of Troy.
Oedipus Rex : A great Greek tragedy which was written by Sophocles who is considered one of the greatest Greek Tragedians. His other works include Antigone and Electra and all his plays are admired all over the world even today.
Panchatantra.: It is a collection of moral stories based on animals, birds and human beings which have been written by Vishnu Sharma who belonged to the Gupta period.
Dharma Sastra : The Dharma sastras are associated with ancient Hindu religious practices. It gives full spiritual sanctity to the caste system and provided very harsh treatment to the Sudras. However in few respects the system is still flexible.
The Republic ; It is an important book written by Plato who was associated with Greek civilization. In this book Plato proposed a society which would be divided into three classes – the lowest class consisting of farmers, artisans and merchants, the second class of soldiers and the highest class of intellectuals who would have all the political power.
Hermes and Dionysus : They were the Gods of Greek civilization. The Greeks had many Gods whom they imagined to be like human beings but with more strength and immortal. Dionysus was the god of wine.
Medidations : This is a book written by Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor who was a Stoic philosopher. In this books he explains his thoughts on how life should be lived. He believed that the purpose of life was not pleasure but equanimity which means the ability to live with reason and self control in any situation.
The Pantheon : It is a temple in Rome which was built in 2nd century A.D. It was dedicated to the Roman Gods.
Avesta – e – Zend : It is the holy book of the Parsees and it is written by Zarathustra in the Iranian Civilization. It explains the there are two forces good and evil and both are at war with each other and the human being has always to cultivate a number of positive virtues by which the good will triumph over the evil.
Q 4. Cite evidences or examples of the Romans’ contributions to law and government. What special achievement in government should be credited to the Greeks ? What achievement to the Han Emperor?
Ans. : The Roman empire included Egypt, Babylon and Greece as well as western Erupor and North Africa. The vast empire of the Romans needed to be controlled with a lot of discipline and thus the Roman Empire has made certain important contributions of their own while making use of the ideas they inherited from the Greeks.
The Roman law and principles of governance are Rome’s greatest contribution to the world. This achievement began with the Law of the Twelve Tables. In course of time it was developed into three main branches – Civil law, Peoples law and Natural law. The idea of republicanism was developed by the Romans. The idea was so strong that for a long time the Roman rulers did not dare to assume royal titles, but called themselves the Servants of the State. It was because of this system of law and administration that the Romans were able to manage such a large empire. For eg. Laws encouraged the development of trade and travel. The roads built primarily for the movement of armies now were being used for the transportation of goods from one place to another. So complete was the system of road link of Rome that people would say “All roads lead to Rome” . This system of disciplined and controlled law and order helped the Romans to control this vast empire which the Greeks could not. But the real foundation of the Roman civilization is based on the Greeks. The early settlers were Greeks. The early Romans or the Italians learned much from the Greeks – their alphabet, their religious belief and art. The name Italia itself is Greek and this civilization started developing when the Greek civilization declined.
The Han emperors too have contributed to the Roman law and order or in other words the Roman civilization has taken certain points from the Han emperors for the development of their law and order.
1) A council was set up to help the King. In the Roman civilization, the Senate was the strongest which helped the King to maintain such a large empire.
2) Thought of welfare of the People. The welfare of the people was the first act of the King.
3) The Philosophy of Confucius which was based on high moral principles that would promote peace and welfare in the State.
4) The idea of selecting talented and educated persons not based on Caste and who were trained to be the beauracrats in the administrative set up of the kingdom.
Q 5. Describe the contribution of the Iranian civilization in the field of Art and Architecture.
Ans. The Iranians were basically followers of the religion of Zoroastrianism which was simple and did not need elaborate temples . The temples are simple and do not contain much of the art and architecture of the Iranian civilization. But the people of Iran during that time have built elaborate palaces which were basically intended to dazzle the visitors and they went out of the way to spend when building their palaces.
The buildings built during the Achaemenid period are notable for their architectural splendor. The empire being vast and powerful, the kings called themselves the kings of kings and so spent heavily when building their buildings and palaces. The artists and the materials to build the buildings were drawn from every part of this vast empire and there is no parallel in the architecture of any other culture of that time.
But after the invasion of Alexander, most of the buildings were destroyed and the period of Sassanid rule saw the revival of Iranian art and architecture to its former glory. During this time the Iranians excelled in the art of gem cutting, metal carving, glass moulding and weaving of valuable cloth. The art and architecture of medival Europe is particularly influenced by the ancient Iranian art and architecture.
Q 6. What are the evidences - specific objects, places and /or individuals that people in the ancient civilizations were beginning more and more to replace superstitions about nature, health and disease with more knowledge of science?
Ans. As the civilizations developed, the idea that all the forces of nature were god sent were fast loosing prominence. The superstitions were being replaced by knowledge of science in all spheres of life. In Chinese civilization, the invention of the Seismograph, helped the people to know the exact time when the earth quakes occurred and in the course of time this led to more study about the earth. So also in the field of medicines the Chinese never believed in the priestly incantations but they had a fair knowledge of human anatomy and they could distinguish diseases and know the symptoms of each and the relationship of health and diet was also known to them.
So also in the Early Indian civilizations many sastras were written on various branches of knowledge such as medicine, astronomy, maths, grammar. The real reason for writing and knowing these sastras was performing the religious functions well. For eg. The need to calculate auspicious days led to the study of astronomy in detail. The need to construct Vedic altars led to the knowledge of geometry , the decimal system and the knowledge of zero. The sacrifices led to the knowledge of anatomy and the early Indian civilizations had a very good knowledge of medicine, the Ayurvedic medicine is still being used today and they knew more about health and hygiene.
The Greek civilizations also had a very good knowledge about medicine, biology and astronomy. Hippocrates is known as the father of medicine and laid the foundation of modern medicine. Study in Maths and geography reached great heights after Alexander’s conquests. The Greek contribution to modern medicine is vast.
Thus as the civilizations progressed much advancement was made in the area of Science giving way to giving up of superstitions and ultimately the advancement of human civilizations.
Q 7. Explain the following terms :
Ans.
Hellenes : The Greeks came from the north probably from the Danube river valley and each group that came had its own name like Achaeans, Ionians and Dorians. Soon they began to call themselves Hellenes which means Greek.
Demos : The city of Athens primarily consisted of nobles and the slaves. But besides these there were few people who were not slaves and were free and these people are known as Greek Demos.
Tyrant : The city states in Greece were ruled by monarchs but then the wealthy land owners took over the power from the monarchs and vested the political power in their own hands. The rise of commerce and industry gave rise of rich middle class who along with the poor farmers tried the lessen the power of the rich landowners. This conflict gave rise to dictators or tyrants as the Greeks call them.
Oligarchy : In the Greek civilizations in the course of time the rule of the dictators or the tyrants gave rise of states which had a kind of democracy or oligarchy means a rule by a few rich men.
Democracy : The term democracy means the rule by the people. The term is derived from the Greek word Democratia, which was coined from demos means people and kartos meaning rule, in the middle of the 5th century BC to denote the political systems that were existing in some Greek city states, notably Athens.
Republic : It is the book written by Plato which proposed a society were the main political power vested with the the intellectuals.
Republic also means a political system or form of government in which people elect representatives to exercise power for them. It was during the time of Pericles that Athenian democracy reached its pinnacle where the citizens constituted the minority and they enjoyed limited rights in politics and it was similar to todays republican form of government.
Lyric : These are the short poems written in Greek literature and usually they were sung with the Lyre as an accompaniment and so are called lyrics.
Patrician : A member of an aristrocratic family of ancient Rome whose privileges included the exclusive right to hold certain offices.
Plebeian : One of ordinary citizens of ancient Rome as distinct from the patricians.
Monarchy : A political system where the state is ruled by a monarch.
Matriarchy : A form of social order where women are in charge and are recognized as heads of families with power, lineage and inheritance passing where possible from mothers to daughters.
Patriarchy :A form of social order where men are considered as those in authority within the family and society and in which power and possessions are passed on from father to son.
Stoic: A member of an ancient Greek school of philosophy that asserted that happiness can only be achieved by accepting life’s ups and downs as products of unalterable destiny. It was founded around 308 BC by Zeno.
Pax Romana : The long period of peace and stability that existed under the Roman Empire especially in 2nd century AD.
Shrenis : Artisans producing specialized goods were organized into guilds called Shrenis.
Sudras : The lowest runk in the society ladder of Indian civilizations. They were mainly untouchables who were to live outside the cities and villages and did menial tasks.
Seismology : A scientific study of earthquakes first studied by the Chinese civilization.
Mandarin : The official language of People’s Republic of China . It belongs to the Chinese branch of sino-tibetian languages and is spoken by most of the Chinese in the world.
The Medieval World
THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
1. Explain the meaning of the terms ‘ancient’ ‘medieval’ and ‘modern’ as used in describing periods of time in the chapter.
Ans.: While the story of the growth of civilization in parts of Asia and Europe has been brought up to the early centuries of the Christian era, to the end of the ancient period, the civilizations of the Americas and Africa have been descrived up to a much later period, roughly up to the time of the coming of the Europeans to these continents. The development of civilization mainly in Asia and Europe after the ancient times from about AD 600 to about AD 1500. This peiod between ancient and modern times, usually called the medieval peiod, or the middle ages. However, the term does not include exactly the same years in the history of all those parts of the world .
The Arab civilization became the most advanced in the medieval world. During this period many changes took place all over the world. The political map was altered with the decline of old kingdoms and empires and the rise of new ones. However, more important than the political changes were the changes in social and economic life. These changes were very marked in western Europe.
2. Which of the ancient civilization ruled over most of the territory that became the Byzantine empire in the medival period?
Ans.: The Roman emperor Constantine had established a new capital of the eastern territories of the Roman empire in the ancient Greek city of Byzantine. This city became famous as Constantinople. It was a vast empire and Constatinople was the largest city in Europe while London and Paris were villages. The Byzantine empire had close trade relations with countries farther east. The kind of Christianity the Byzantine emperors followed came to be known as the Eastern or Greek Orthodox. Many Christians in eastern countries are followers of this church. The Byzantines built beautiful churches with lavish decorations. The down fall of the Roman empire resulted in great confusion in western Europe giving rise to a large number of small states. Gradually other kingdoms big and small grew up in other parts of western Europe.
3. Describe the classes in European society under the feudal system. What new class began to develop in the later years of the middle ages ? why ?
Ans.: The new social and economic system that arose in Europe in the medieval times is known as the feudal system. It was essentially a rural system , in which the peasants had to give a part of their produce to the lords in the form of rent or taxes or had to labour for the lords without any payment. As it was based on the exploitation of the peasants, it was spread over many more regions of the world. In western Europe, the absence of central authority led to the emergence of political institution which are considered a major feature of European feudalism.
The feudal society in western Europe soon developed a hierarchy, or graded organization in which every person was allotted a position. At the top stood the king. He bestowed fiefs or estates on a number of lords who were known as dukes and earls. These lords in their turn, distributed a part of their fiefs among a number of lesser lords who were called barons and in return secured their military support. The knights formed the lowest category of feudal lords.
During the early middle ages in Europe, confusion reigned supreme as a result of Arbarian invasions. The later Middle ages however were a period in which Europe created a rich civilization on the foundations of the old Greek and Roman cultures and contacts with the East. Great advances were made in Christian teachings that, in many ways, cleared the way for religious reforms that were soon to come. As a result of the contacts with the East, the study of philosophy, mathematics and the sciences began anew. Europe’s middle ages came to an end when enlightenment won over the old medieval spirit of ignorance and superstition and conservatism.
4. Why did the first centuries of medieval times in western Europe come to be known as the Dark Ages?
Ans.: The early middle ages have often been called the Dark ages, and to some extent they were truly dark. The people led a miserable life. Education was very uncommon. The helplessness of the common man, the arbitrary rule of the kind and the barons and the absence of national unity all these conditions were common in Europe for over a thousand years. The influence of the feudal system was so strong that many countries have not been able to shake off feudal ills even today.
5. Man’s interest in trade and religion have often gone hand in hand throughout history. What examples of this do you find in medival times?
Ans.: During the medival times, great advances were made in Christian teachings, that in many cleared the way for religious reforms that were soon to come. There were great economic changes and trade and commerce began to flourish. Towns grew in size and number; the freedom in these towns allowed a middle class to develop, As a result of trade, study of philosophy, maths and science grew. Religion also played an active role in enhancing trade and thinking in man and bringing about a change in the economic life and creating a new class of people. Trade also encouraged freedom of thought in the area of religion and that led to many changes in the society which started in the medival era and continued in the modern age. Man has always been interested in trading with different countries and this brought about an exchange of ideas and ultimately changes in the very religious thinking of any particular religion.
6. When approximately did the medieval period end the west and in the east? According to what you know about change in man’s progress why is it difficult to say exactly when one period of history ends and another begins?
Ans : The middle ages does not cover a uniform period for all the countries of the world. For Europe and the western world the middle ages are generally considered to be the period between A..D. 500 and A.D. 1500. By about A.D.1500 vast changes had taken place in Europe’s social , economic and political life, and modern times are said to have begun.
In the east, the middle ages may besaid to have continued long after they had ended in the west. Throughout these years great advances were made in the arts. There was much intermingling of peoples and all ;cultures were enriched by this process. The forces of modernization however were to develop later in the east than in many parts of the west. Long after the period had ended in the west, the east was still in its middle ages.
It is highly impossible to pinpoint when one period of history ended to give way to another. Change has always been smooth and man has always been unaware and to exactly on which date the change took place. Various factors have been responsible and have contributed to this change and history is witness to the fact that changes have occurred and it has been difficult to pinpoint exactly on which date one era ended to give way to another.
7. Compare the social and economic system of western Europe with the systems that prevailed in India in the medieval times. What were the similarities and dissimilarities between them?
Ans: The system that developed first in western Europe in this period and later in other parts of Europe is called feudalism. The economic life under this system was predominantly rural and the main division in society was between peasants who worked on the land and the feudal lords who either got a share of the peasants produce or had peasants to work on their lands without any payment. In other parts of the world the changes that took place in the social and economic life of the people were not so marked. For example in some parts of the world, the trade and towns did not decline as they did in Europe. Similarly, the institutions that developed in Europe under feudalism did not generally exist elsewhere. However in spite of differences in specific institutions there were many similarities. The exploitation of the peasantry was the main feature of the social and economic system everywhere. In some societies such as in western Europe it took the form of serfdom. In others, such as in India, Zamindars and the nobility took a large portion of the peasant’s produce though the status of the Indian peasant was not that of a serf. Some scholars consider the social and economic system in asian countries including India, also to be a kind of feudalism though in many respects it was different in the European feudalism. The characteristic feature of the medieval social systems, according to them, was feudalism.
1. Explain the meaning of the terms ‘ancient’ ‘medieval’ and ‘modern’ as used in describing periods of time in the chapter.
Ans.: While the story of the growth of civilization in parts of Asia and Europe has been brought up to the early centuries of the Christian era, to the end of the ancient period, the civilizations of the Americas and Africa have been descrived up to a much later period, roughly up to the time of the coming of the Europeans to these continents. The development of civilization mainly in Asia and Europe after the ancient times from about AD 600 to about AD 1500. This peiod between ancient and modern times, usually called the medieval peiod, or the middle ages. However, the term does not include exactly the same years in the history of all those parts of the world .
The Arab civilization became the most advanced in the medieval world. During this period many changes took place all over the world. The political map was altered with the decline of old kingdoms and empires and the rise of new ones. However, more important than the political changes were the changes in social and economic life. These changes were very marked in western Europe.
2. Which of the ancient civilization ruled over most of the territory that became the Byzantine empire in the medival period?
Ans.: The Roman emperor Constantine had established a new capital of the eastern territories of the Roman empire in the ancient Greek city of Byzantine. This city became famous as Constantinople. It was a vast empire and Constatinople was the largest city in Europe while London and Paris were villages. The Byzantine empire had close trade relations with countries farther east. The kind of Christianity the Byzantine emperors followed came to be known as the Eastern or Greek Orthodox. Many Christians in eastern countries are followers of this church. The Byzantines built beautiful churches with lavish decorations. The down fall of the Roman empire resulted in great confusion in western Europe giving rise to a large number of small states. Gradually other kingdoms big and small grew up in other parts of western Europe.
3. Describe the classes in European society under the feudal system. What new class began to develop in the later years of the middle ages ? why ?
Ans.: The new social and economic system that arose in Europe in the medieval times is known as the feudal system. It was essentially a rural system , in which the peasants had to give a part of their produce to the lords in the form of rent or taxes or had to labour for the lords without any payment. As it was based on the exploitation of the peasants, it was spread over many more regions of the world. In western Europe, the absence of central authority led to the emergence of political institution which are considered a major feature of European feudalism.
The feudal society in western Europe soon developed a hierarchy, or graded organization in which every person was allotted a position. At the top stood the king. He bestowed fiefs or estates on a number of lords who were known as dukes and earls. These lords in their turn, distributed a part of their fiefs among a number of lesser lords who were called barons and in return secured their military support. The knights formed the lowest category of feudal lords.
During the early middle ages in Europe, confusion reigned supreme as a result of Arbarian invasions. The later Middle ages however were a period in which Europe created a rich civilization on the foundations of the old Greek and Roman cultures and contacts with the East. Great advances were made in Christian teachings that, in many ways, cleared the way for religious reforms that were soon to come. As a result of the contacts with the East, the study of philosophy, mathematics and the sciences began anew. Europe’s middle ages came to an end when enlightenment won over the old medieval spirit of ignorance and superstition and conservatism.
4. Why did the first centuries of medieval times in western Europe come to be known as the Dark Ages?
Ans.: The early middle ages have often been called the Dark ages, and to some extent they were truly dark. The people led a miserable life. Education was very uncommon. The helplessness of the common man, the arbitrary rule of the kind and the barons and the absence of national unity all these conditions were common in Europe for over a thousand years. The influence of the feudal system was so strong that many countries have not been able to shake off feudal ills even today.
5. Man’s interest in trade and religion have often gone hand in hand throughout history. What examples of this do you find in medival times?
Ans.: During the medival times, great advances were made in Christian teachings, that in many cleared the way for religious reforms that were soon to come. There were great economic changes and trade and commerce began to flourish. Towns grew in size and number; the freedom in these towns allowed a middle class to develop, As a result of trade, study of philosophy, maths and science grew. Religion also played an active role in enhancing trade and thinking in man and bringing about a change in the economic life and creating a new class of people. Trade also encouraged freedom of thought in the area of religion and that led to many changes in the society which started in the medival era and continued in the modern age. Man has always been interested in trading with different countries and this brought about an exchange of ideas and ultimately changes in the very religious thinking of any particular religion.
6. When approximately did the medieval period end the west and in the east? According to what you know about change in man’s progress why is it difficult to say exactly when one period of history ends and another begins?
Ans : The middle ages does not cover a uniform period for all the countries of the world. For Europe and the western world the middle ages are generally considered to be the period between A..D. 500 and A.D. 1500. By about A.D.1500 vast changes had taken place in Europe’s social , economic and political life, and modern times are said to have begun.
In the east, the middle ages may besaid to have continued long after they had ended in the west. Throughout these years great advances were made in the arts. There was much intermingling of peoples and all ;cultures were enriched by this process. The forces of modernization however were to develop later in the east than in many parts of the west. Long after the period had ended in the west, the east was still in its middle ages.
It is highly impossible to pinpoint when one period of history ended to give way to another. Change has always been smooth and man has always been unaware and to exactly on which date the change took place. Various factors have been responsible and have contributed to this change and history is witness to the fact that changes have occurred and it has been difficult to pinpoint exactly on which date one era ended to give way to another.
7. Compare the social and economic system of western Europe with the systems that prevailed in India in the medieval times. What were the similarities and dissimilarities between them?
Ans: The system that developed first in western Europe in this period and later in other parts of Europe is called feudalism. The economic life under this system was predominantly rural and the main division in society was between peasants who worked on the land and the feudal lords who either got a share of the peasants produce or had peasants to work on their lands without any payment. In other parts of the world the changes that took place in the social and economic life of the people were not so marked. For example in some parts of the world, the trade and towns did not decline as they did in Europe. Similarly, the institutions that developed in Europe under feudalism did not generally exist elsewhere. However in spite of differences in specific institutions there were many similarities. The exploitation of the peasantry was the main feature of the social and economic system everywhere. In some societies such as in western Europe it took the form of serfdom. In others, such as in India, Zamindars and the nobility took a large portion of the peasant’s produce though the status of the Indian peasant was not that of a serf. Some scholars consider the social and economic system in asian countries including India, also to be a kind of feudalism though in many respects it was different in the European feudalism. The characteristic feature of the medieval social systems, according to them, was feudalism.
Industrial Revolution
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
1.What conditions are most favourable or essential for industrialization?
Ans : History is witness to the fact that the rise of towns and cities and the growth in trade stimulated the production of manufactured goods. There was an increase in the demand of goods which previously had been considered luxury goods. Life in the new towns and cities had created a desire for many new goods also. All these factors provided a great stimulus to the production of manufactured goods. Industrialization is mostly dependant on the demand and supply of goods, the supply of raw materials, transport and communication come later. The conditions should be favourable enough to meet the growing demand for any finished product, the continuous supply of raw material without any break and proper transportation facilities to the industry and from the industry act as favourable conditions for industrialization.
2.Give examples to show that the Industrial Revolution with its demand for raw materials and markets made nations more dependent on one another.
Ans: Previous to industralisation the finished goods were at small scale, the craftsman would finish the product at his own time and was not under pressure to work fast. But with improvement of trade, the demand for finished goods also increased which the local craftsman could not meet. This ultimately led to factory type of manufacture of goods where the machines did the work of men but had to be fed regularly with raw materials. Not every country was as advantageous as England in the area of having huge deposits of raw material with in the country. Some countries like Italy and Germany suffered from not being united and had many economic restrictions.
Increased industrialization led to heavy imports for example in 1760 England imported about two million kilograms of cotton, in 1815 about 50 million kilograms and in 1840 nearly about 250 million kilograms. These are examples enough to show that the growing industrialization led to heavy imports even in those areas of raw materials where the country had been previously self-sufficient. The ever increasing need to feed the machines led the countries also to hold colonies in the east and in the far east countries where industrialization had not even touched.
3.Describe the conditions which prevailed in industrial cities and factories as the industrial revolution spread. How were these conditions slowly improved?
Ans : Industrialization led to the crowding of cities and the rural population which now lost its traditional means of livelihood shifted to cities and it resulted in over crowding of cities. It created problems of housing sanitation etc which the factory owner was not responsible to. His only responsibility was to make more profits and provide minimum wages to the workers. The whole areas of industrial cities where workers lived were crowded slums. Accidents, disease and epidemics were common. There was no job security and any worker could be thrown out of a job if the factory owner was not satisfied with his work. If at all the business was slack, the factory owner could dismiss as many employees he may deem possible to make up the losses. But slowly and steadily laws were formed to protect the factory workers like Factory act of 1802 limited the working hours of the children to twelve where the children were made to work for 17 hours per day and they were much preferred as they could be paid low wages when compared to the males and females. The “Chartist Movement” was launched to get the voting rights for the workers though the movement declined, it had its effect and all the adult workers were enfranchised. The right to form unions was also encouraged against all opposition from the factory owners.
The many benefits that workers and all salaried people enjoy in most industrialized countries today are due directly or indirectly to the efforts to correct the terrible conditions that the industrial revolution brought about.
4.How did the growth of trade unions help to put an end to the idea of laissez faire?
Ans : “Laissez Faire” or ‘ let us alone’ was a kind of religion of the capitalists . According to this the business man should be free to look after his own interests. Only the unwritten law of supply and demand should determine the size of his profits. The same unwritten law would determine the fate of the worker whether he had a job, what his working conditions and salary could be.
The greatest challenge to laissez faire and to caplitalism itself has come from the idea of socialism, which grew in the beginning as a reaction against the evils of capitalism. The idea appealed particularly the workers. Through their struggle they were able to achieve much improvement in their living conditions. Many of the believers in socialism said that the state or all the people of a nation not just a few should own and run the factories. Then only and then they explained would the people of society as a whole be able to share the fruits of production. Thus the trade unions and their growth and the growth of socialism played havoc with the policy of laissez faire.
5.Why does industrialization affect farming, transportation, communication, trade and how does it result in the need for more education?
Ans: Industrialization affects all areas like farming, transportation, communication, trade etc because in order to meet the growing demand for finished goods, the farmer has to produce the raw material of the best quality and in huge quantity and some times he has to give up growing food items in order to grow cash crops. Transportation of raw material to the factories and the finished products to the markets have to be done at a fast rate so as to meet the demand if the transportation is not fast then the customer looses interest in the finished product and tries to find a substitute for it and thus the market for the finished product is lost. Communication too plays an important part because some times the raw material is grown in one part of the country or the world and the factory is in another part and the market is in another part. Communication plays an important part in linking all these together to make a success of trade and trade has enhanced to such an extent that today trading with the remotest part of the world is easy as compared to the older times. Industrialization has brought about a change in all these areas only because of the machine age which has entered the trade and commerce. Education plays an important role here because to get the best possible result in every sphere in every trade activity and in the areas of demand and supply, education enhances the quality of the services that are rendered because allied services too play an important part in industrialization. For eg., education educates the farmer about the best quality seeds and the transporter about the most effective means of transportation etc.
6.How does industrialization help in raising the level or standard of living ?
Ans : The standard of living of any country is determined by the way the people of the country live. Whether they are able to get two nutritious meals per day and also as per today’s standards whether are able to secure proper education. Industrialization has helped to raise the standard of living of people as the people are able to get better jobs and there is job security and also the trade unions see to it that the capitalists do not misuse the workers. Industrialization has also helped to improve all the facilities like education, better standard of jobs etc. Today the younger generation is better placed when compared to their counterparts a decade ago when the education was not so advanced nor were the jobs so better nor was the earning capacity of the younger generation so much better.
Thus industrialization does have an impact on raising the standard of living of the people in today’s world.
7.Study the weaknesses and disadvantages of producing goods and services under the capitalist system of production. What are the advantages that a socialist system can have over a society based on capitalism?
Ans: In a capitalist society, the factory owner is the king, he is least concerned about the welfare of the workers who are the main work force and the reason for his profits. His main intention is to gain more and more profits for his pockets and not for everyone and tries to find ways and means sometimes unscrupulous to meet his greedy ends. Sometimes even in todays world the work force live in slums with almost no sanitation and no proper medical facilities and if by chance there is a lock out i.e. strike they can be thrown out of jobs too. Though the world has come a long way from 1750 and many laws have been passed to make the work force lead a better life, still much needs to be done and this cannot be done in a socialist form of society.
In a socialist form of society, the workforce has a complete share in the industry in its profits or losses the factory is owned by the government and not by private parties. Every one from the CEO to the most menial worker gets wages for working in the factory or industry. This ensures the fact that the power is not vested with a few but with every one . In a capitalist form of society the capitalist sometimes rules over the government and sometimes gets the laws passed in his favour so as to suit his needs. But in a socialist form of society this cannot be done so as the government decides what is best and the workforce also has a say in the working of the government and also forming policies and passing laws.
8. What conditions are favourable for the continuing growth of industries in India?
Ans : India has rich deposits of minerals and is also an agricultural based country. In the area of human resources, it is the second largest populated country in the world. The quality of the work force too is improving day by day. The changing means of transportation too has made the conditions favourable for the growth of industries in India. The factory owner knows the value of changing scenario and is also working to provide better standard of living for the workers and there by attracting the skilled workers. Many institutes train the people to become skilled workers in any area either at the machine or in the area of services or in the area of growing better raw material or in the area of selling finished products.
The younger generation too is aware of the favourable conditions for the growth of the industries and is also striving hard for gaining better education and today the quality of education too has reached new heights with even foreign universities vying with one another to find a place to provide education facilities in our country.
The government too is working hard to implement laws which help in making the conditions favourable for the growth of industries in India.
9. Would you say that industrialization was a ‘natural step’ in man’s progress? Why or why not?
Ans: Industrialization was sure a natural step in man’s progress because with man’s changing attitude towards life, and his curiosity to know things which he had never known before and his curiosity to discover new lands ultimately led to increased trade activity and thus we can say that this increased trade activity led to industrialization. It was but natural that man had to make this progress sooner or later because basically he is a restless animal and easily gets bored with the new inventions and wants to keep inventing new things and this is not today but right from prehistoric times and that is the reason that he has made such tremendous progress when compared to the other animals of this universe. His curiosity has also led him to explore space and other planets as well. So we can say that industrialization was a natural step in man’s progress.
1.What conditions are most favourable or essential for industrialization?
Ans : History is witness to the fact that the rise of towns and cities and the growth in trade stimulated the production of manufactured goods. There was an increase in the demand of goods which previously had been considered luxury goods. Life in the new towns and cities had created a desire for many new goods also. All these factors provided a great stimulus to the production of manufactured goods. Industrialization is mostly dependant on the demand and supply of goods, the supply of raw materials, transport and communication come later. The conditions should be favourable enough to meet the growing demand for any finished product, the continuous supply of raw material without any break and proper transportation facilities to the industry and from the industry act as favourable conditions for industrialization.
2.Give examples to show that the Industrial Revolution with its demand for raw materials and markets made nations more dependent on one another.
Ans: Previous to industralisation the finished goods were at small scale, the craftsman would finish the product at his own time and was not under pressure to work fast. But with improvement of trade, the demand for finished goods also increased which the local craftsman could not meet. This ultimately led to factory type of manufacture of goods where the machines did the work of men but had to be fed regularly with raw materials. Not every country was as advantageous as England in the area of having huge deposits of raw material with in the country. Some countries like Italy and Germany suffered from not being united and had many economic restrictions.
Increased industrialization led to heavy imports for example in 1760 England imported about two million kilograms of cotton, in 1815 about 50 million kilograms and in 1840 nearly about 250 million kilograms. These are examples enough to show that the growing industrialization led to heavy imports even in those areas of raw materials where the country had been previously self-sufficient. The ever increasing need to feed the machines led the countries also to hold colonies in the east and in the far east countries where industrialization had not even touched.
3.Describe the conditions which prevailed in industrial cities and factories as the industrial revolution spread. How were these conditions slowly improved?
Ans : Industrialization led to the crowding of cities and the rural population which now lost its traditional means of livelihood shifted to cities and it resulted in over crowding of cities. It created problems of housing sanitation etc which the factory owner was not responsible to. His only responsibility was to make more profits and provide minimum wages to the workers. The whole areas of industrial cities where workers lived were crowded slums. Accidents, disease and epidemics were common. There was no job security and any worker could be thrown out of a job if the factory owner was not satisfied with his work. If at all the business was slack, the factory owner could dismiss as many employees he may deem possible to make up the losses. But slowly and steadily laws were formed to protect the factory workers like Factory act of 1802 limited the working hours of the children to twelve where the children were made to work for 17 hours per day and they were much preferred as they could be paid low wages when compared to the males and females. The “Chartist Movement” was launched to get the voting rights for the workers though the movement declined, it had its effect and all the adult workers were enfranchised. The right to form unions was also encouraged against all opposition from the factory owners.
The many benefits that workers and all salaried people enjoy in most industrialized countries today are due directly or indirectly to the efforts to correct the terrible conditions that the industrial revolution brought about.
4.How did the growth of trade unions help to put an end to the idea of laissez faire?
Ans : “Laissez Faire” or ‘ let us alone’ was a kind of religion of the capitalists . According to this the business man should be free to look after his own interests. Only the unwritten law of supply and demand should determine the size of his profits. The same unwritten law would determine the fate of the worker whether he had a job, what his working conditions and salary could be.
The greatest challenge to laissez faire and to caplitalism itself has come from the idea of socialism, which grew in the beginning as a reaction against the evils of capitalism. The idea appealed particularly the workers. Through their struggle they were able to achieve much improvement in their living conditions. Many of the believers in socialism said that the state or all the people of a nation not just a few should own and run the factories. Then only and then they explained would the people of society as a whole be able to share the fruits of production. Thus the trade unions and their growth and the growth of socialism played havoc with the policy of laissez faire.
5.Why does industrialization affect farming, transportation, communication, trade and how does it result in the need for more education?
Ans: Industrialization affects all areas like farming, transportation, communication, trade etc because in order to meet the growing demand for finished goods, the farmer has to produce the raw material of the best quality and in huge quantity and some times he has to give up growing food items in order to grow cash crops. Transportation of raw material to the factories and the finished products to the markets have to be done at a fast rate so as to meet the demand if the transportation is not fast then the customer looses interest in the finished product and tries to find a substitute for it and thus the market for the finished product is lost. Communication too plays an important part because some times the raw material is grown in one part of the country or the world and the factory is in another part and the market is in another part. Communication plays an important part in linking all these together to make a success of trade and trade has enhanced to such an extent that today trading with the remotest part of the world is easy as compared to the older times. Industrialization has brought about a change in all these areas only because of the machine age which has entered the trade and commerce. Education plays an important role here because to get the best possible result in every sphere in every trade activity and in the areas of demand and supply, education enhances the quality of the services that are rendered because allied services too play an important part in industrialization. For eg., education educates the farmer about the best quality seeds and the transporter about the most effective means of transportation etc.
6.How does industrialization help in raising the level or standard of living ?
Ans : The standard of living of any country is determined by the way the people of the country live. Whether they are able to get two nutritious meals per day and also as per today’s standards whether are able to secure proper education. Industrialization has helped to raise the standard of living of people as the people are able to get better jobs and there is job security and also the trade unions see to it that the capitalists do not misuse the workers. Industrialization has also helped to improve all the facilities like education, better standard of jobs etc. Today the younger generation is better placed when compared to their counterparts a decade ago when the education was not so advanced nor were the jobs so better nor was the earning capacity of the younger generation so much better.
Thus industrialization does have an impact on raising the standard of living of the people in today’s world.
7.Study the weaknesses and disadvantages of producing goods and services under the capitalist system of production. What are the advantages that a socialist system can have over a society based on capitalism?
Ans: In a capitalist society, the factory owner is the king, he is least concerned about the welfare of the workers who are the main work force and the reason for his profits. His main intention is to gain more and more profits for his pockets and not for everyone and tries to find ways and means sometimes unscrupulous to meet his greedy ends. Sometimes even in todays world the work force live in slums with almost no sanitation and no proper medical facilities and if by chance there is a lock out i.e. strike they can be thrown out of jobs too. Though the world has come a long way from 1750 and many laws have been passed to make the work force lead a better life, still much needs to be done and this cannot be done in a socialist form of society.
In a socialist form of society, the workforce has a complete share in the industry in its profits or losses the factory is owned by the government and not by private parties. Every one from the CEO to the most menial worker gets wages for working in the factory or industry. This ensures the fact that the power is not vested with a few but with every one . In a capitalist form of society the capitalist sometimes rules over the government and sometimes gets the laws passed in his favour so as to suit his needs. But in a socialist form of society this cannot be done so as the government decides what is best and the workforce also has a say in the working of the government and also forming policies and passing laws.
8. What conditions are favourable for the continuing growth of industries in India?
Ans : India has rich deposits of minerals and is also an agricultural based country. In the area of human resources, it is the second largest populated country in the world. The quality of the work force too is improving day by day. The changing means of transportation too has made the conditions favourable for the growth of industries in India. The factory owner knows the value of changing scenario and is also working to provide better standard of living for the workers and there by attracting the skilled workers. Many institutes train the people to become skilled workers in any area either at the machine or in the area of services or in the area of growing better raw material or in the area of selling finished products.
The younger generation too is aware of the favourable conditions for the growth of the industries and is also striving hard for gaining better education and today the quality of education too has reached new heights with even foreign universities vying with one another to find a place to provide education facilities in our country.
The government too is working hard to implement laws which help in making the conditions favourable for the growth of industries in India.
9. Would you say that industrialization was a ‘natural step’ in man’s progress? Why or why not?
Ans: Industrialization was sure a natural step in man’s progress because with man’s changing attitude towards life, and his curiosity to know things which he had never known before and his curiosity to discover new lands ultimately led to increased trade activity and thus we can say that this increased trade activity led to industrialization. It was but natural that man had to make this progress sooner or later because basically he is a restless animal and easily gets bored with the new inventions and wants to keep inventing new things and this is not today but right from prehistoric times and that is the reason that he has made such tremendous progress when compared to the other animals of this universe. His curiosity has also led him to explore space and other planets as well. So we can say that industrialization was a natural step in man’s progress.
Beginning of The Modern Age
BEGINNING OF THE MODERN AGE
1 .What is the significance of the growth in trade and rise of towns in the period of renaissance?
Ans. The increase in trade and commerce that followed the explorations brought prosperity to Europe. It was estimated that by 1600 the amount of gold in Europe had doubled and that of silver had increased by 10 times. Now every country in Europe tries to increase its gold and it came about that any country's prosperity depended on the amount of the gold that country held. Previously, the traders brought goods from Asia and sold them in all European markets and gold to the mother country but slowly and steadily when they startedmeddling in the political affairs of the Asian and African countries and set up colonies, the laws were passed to ensure that the inflow of gold to the mother country would not diminish. The colonies were prohibited from trading with other countries and also prohibited manufacture of finished goods so as to avoid competition to the mother country.
The explorations and discoveries and the growth of trade and commerce brought many far reaching changes. The Italian cities had long been the centres of international trade. With the increase in commercial activities and the discovery of the new world, the position shifted to the countries facing Atlantic Ocean and this had far reaching changes on the socio-economic life of the people and gave ruse to a class of people with whom more and more amount of wealth was concentrated and which encouraged growth of trade, commerce and manufacture of goods.
This socio-economic change also gave rise to a new class, i.e, the middle class and the society changed from the feudal to that of a capitalist and the middle class started having a more say in the changing economy of the country and the power of the church diminshed. The rising middle class class later became responsible for the political developments and getting rid of what remained of feudalism.
2. What practices of the Roman Catholic Church and churchmen of the 15th and 16th centuries did the reformers object to ?
Ans. The church had accumulated favorous wealth and the popes and the higher clergy led lives of luxury. The conduct of the clergy was not in keeping with the principles of the church. The clergy often bought offices and accepted and gave bribes to free themselves from certain rules of the church like marriage and fasting. Naturally this caused a huge amount of resentment among the people.
3. Explain why the capture of Constantinople by the Turks led scholars and leave for Italy and explorers to look for new trade routes.
Ans : The cities of Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice had grown into prosperous centres of trade and commerce. They had grown in an atmosphere of freedom from feudal control. This freedom encouraged thinking and a spirit of adventure and the kings also encouraged art and literature and they also encouraged Greek scholars. When Constantinople was conquered by the Turks, many scholars came to Italy via Greece and the learning of ancient Greece spread throughout Italy and many other countries and this helped in developing a new style of art and architecture which was associated with the first steps towards Renaissance.
When the Turks captured Constantinople, the land route towards Asia was cut off . The traders and the merchants now started thinking of discovering new routes to Asia especially India. This was encouraged by the Kings and Emperors as the amount of revenue that trade brought to the mother country. Explorations were financed and encouraged by the rulers and the merchants and traders started exploring new routes through land and sea and thus in the process discovered new lands and this was possible because of the spirit of renaissance had started in the countries of Europe.
4.Do you consider the development of nation states a step forward in man’s progress? Why or why not?
Ans : The rise of nation states began in the 14th century. The rulers or governments of these states have regarded no interest second to that of their own and respected no other authority. Machiavelli, in his writings had told them how to govern. A strong feeling of nationalism grew in each state. This nationalism was often directed against other nations. It led to national jealousies and rivalies and conglicts. These rivalries were usually over trade and later in getting possession or control of territory in Asia or the Americas. The nations greed for colonies, maximum profits, and national glory led to many wars between the countries of Europe. Such conflicts and wars have continued till today and now efforts are being made to end such rivalries and encourage trade and friendship among nations.
5.What is your understanding of the term “humanism”? Give examples of the influence of humanism in the Renaissance art and literature.
Ans : Scholars though changed their way of thinking i.e. preparation of life after death, they studied the lives of ancient Greeks and Romans and slowly their thinking filtered down to present or the life they were living now. Human affairs were now of interest to them. They also hungered after more knowledge. They came to feel that human life is important, that man is worthy of study and respect, that there should be efforts to improve life in this earth. Now the study of history and literature was no longer confined to religion but now to humanities which was primalrily concerned with understanding the affairs of man in his earthly life not with life after death.
This new spirit found expression in the new art and literature. The Renaissance artists took their subjects from the Bible but portrayed the human form in all its earthly beauty and vigour. The Renaissance writers were also chiefly concerned with man and not with God or life after death. The writers now started describing human and human emotions in their plays and the artists started depicting man in his every day life did not have any thing to do with religion.
6. Discuss the connection between the voyages of discovery and trade. What were the immediate consequences of the work of explorers on the people of Americas and Africa?
Ans : After the crusades, the Europeans became increasingly interested in the East, largely through the stories brought back by travelers and traders by way of Constantinople. The prosperity of the Italian cities that had grown rich from their trade with eastern countries aroused the envy of the other European nations; they longed to have a share in ;the ;trade. The trade, expecially in spices, was very profitable. But after 1453, the Turks cut off this trade through Asia Minor and if the Europeans were to continue to have spices, these products had to be brought by a different route. Finding new routes was a challenge to the adventurous sailors of Renaissance. The mariners compass had been developed. The belief that the earth is round and that one can arrive in the East by sailing west further stimulated explorations. The unknown Atlantic beckoned the great voyages began.
Wherever the explorers went, the flag of their nation and its missionaries soon followed. The first explorers were followed by the conquerors. The conquered people were forced to perform the hard labour and if they resisted, they were massacred. Many died of disease and of the horrible exploitation they were subjected to. One historian has described the activities of these explorers as marked by envy, malice treachery cruelty, lechery and plain greed.
One tragic consequence of the ;explorations l;and of the colonization that followed was the trade in human beings. The people of the newly discovered areas in Africa were enslaved and transported to the newly discovered areas in the Americas. The slave trade brought immense profits to the slave traders. The continents of Africa and Americas were thus combined together under a new system of exploitation.
7. In what way do the developments described in this chapter mark the beginning of the modern age? Discuss.
Ans.: The period from about 1500 to about 1700 was one of tremendous changes in the history of Europe. The feudal system in many countries of Europe either disintegrated or was in a state of decay. In its place, a new social system began to take shape. In this the merchants and traders played an important role. The attitude of mind which was born with Renaissance enabled the people to think for themselves and to speak and act in ways they had never done before. They expressed the new attitude through art, literature, revolt against the church and adventurous sea voyages. Ath the same time, foundations of modern science were laid. The discovery of new lands led to colonization and increased trade which led to accumulation by merchants of fabulous amounts of gold and silver. Business methods and procedures began to change so as to promote money-making interests. The nation-states with despotic rulers helped this process for a time. In the 17th century , the new groups or classes which had arisen began to struggle against autocratic rulers and they succeeded in destroying the autocratic rule in England. All these developments may be said to constitute the beginning of the modern age in European history.
1 .What is the significance of the growth in trade and rise of towns in the period of renaissance?
Ans. The increase in trade and commerce that followed the explorations brought prosperity to Europe. It was estimated that by 1600 the amount of gold in Europe had doubled and that of silver had increased by 10 times. Now every country in Europe tries to increase its gold and it came about that any country's prosperity depended on the amount of the gold that country held. Previously, the traders brought goods from Asia and sold them in all European markets and gold to the mother country but slowly and steadily when they startedmeddling in the political affairs of the Asian and African countries and set up colonies, the laws were passed to ensure that the inflow of gold to the mother country would not diminish. The colonies were prohibited from trading with other countries and also prohibited manufacture of finished goods so as to avoid competition to the mother country.
The explorations and discoveries and the growth of trade and commerce brought many far reaching changes. The Italian cities had long been the centres of international trade. With the increase in commercial activities and the discovery of the new world, the position shifted to the countries facing Atlantic Ocean and this had far reaching changes on the socio-economic life of the people and gave ruse to a class of people with whom more and more amount of wealth was concentrated and which encouraged growth of trade, commerce and manufacture of goods.
This socio-economic change also gave rise to a new class, i.e, the middle class and the society changed from the feudal to that of a capitalist and the middle class started having a more say in the changing economy of the country and the power of the church diminshed. The rising middle class class later became responsible for the political developments and getting rid of what remained of feudalism.
2. What practices of the Roman Catholic Church and churchmen of the 15th and 16th centuries did the reformers object to ?
Ans. The church had accumulated favorous wealth and the popes and the higher clergy led lives of luxury. The conduct of the clergy was not in keeping with the principles of the church. The clergy often bought offices and accepted and gave bribes to free themselves from certain rules of the church like marriage and fasting. Naturally this caused a huge amount of resentment among the people.
3. Explain why the capture of Constantinople by the Turks led scholars and leave for Italy and explorers to look for new trade routes.
Ans : The cities of Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice had grown into prosperous centres of trade and commerce. They had grown in an atmosphere of freedom from feudal control. This freedom encouraged thinking and a spirit of adventure and the kings also encouraged art and literature and they also encouraged Greek scholars. When Constantinople was conquered by the Turks, many scholars came to Italy via Greece and the learning of ancient Greece spread throughout Italy and many other countries and this helped in developing a new style of art and architecture which was associated with the first steps towards Renaissance.
When the Turks captured Constantinople, the land route towards Asia was cut off . The traders and the merchants now started thinking of discovering new routes to Asia especially India. This was encouraged by the Kings and Emperors as the amount of revenue that trade brought to the mother country. Explorations were financed and encouraged by the rulers and the merchants and traders started exploring new routes through land and sea and thus in the process discovered new lands and this was possible because of the spirit of renaissance had started in the countries of Europe.
4.Do you consider the development of nation states a step forward in man’s progress? Why or why not?
Ans : The rise of nation states began in the 14th century. The rulers or governments of these states have regarded no interest second to that of their own and respected no other authority. Machiavelli, in his writings had told them how to govern. A strong feeling of nationalism grew in each state. This nationalism was often directed against other nations. It led to national jealousies and rivalies and conglicts. These rivalries were usually over trade and later in getting possession or control of territory in Asia or the Americas. The nations greed for colonies, maximum profits, and national glory led to many wars between the countries of Europe. Such conflicts and wars have continued till today and now efforts are being made to end such rivalries and encourage trade and friendship among nations.
5.What is your understanding of the term “humanism”? Give examples of the influence of humanism in the Renaissance art and literature.
Ans : Scholars though changed their way of thinking i.e. preparation of life after death, they studied the lives of ancient Greeks and Romans and slowly their thinking filtered down to present or the life they were living now. Human affairs were now of interest to them. They also hungered after more knowledge. They came to feel that human life is important, that man is worthy of study and respect, that there should be efforts to improve life in this earth. Now the study of history and literature was no longer confined to religion but now to humanities which was primalrily concerned with understanding the affairs of man in his earthly life not with life after death.
This new spirit found expression in the new art and literature. The Renaissance artists took their subjects from the Bible but portrayed the human form in all its earthly beauty and vigour. The Renaissance writers were also chiefly concerned with man and not with God or life after death. The writers now started describing human and human emotions in their plays and the artists started depicting man in his every day life did not have any thing to do with religion.
6. Discuss the connection between the voyages of discovery and trade. What were the immediate consequences of the work of explorers on the people of Americas and Africa?
Ans : After the crusades, the Europeans became increasingly interested in the East, largely through the stories brought back by travelers and traders by way of Constantinople. The prosperity of the Italian cities that had grown rich from their trade with eastern countries aroused the envy of the other European nations; they longed to have a share in ;the ;trade. The trade, expecially in spices, was very profitable. But after 1453, the Turks cut off this trade through Asia Minor and if the Europeans were to continue to have spices, these products had to be brought by a different route. Finding new routes was a challenge to the adventurous sailors of Renaissance. The mariners compass had been developed. The belief that the earth is round and that one can arrive in the East by sailing west further stimulated explorations. The unknown Atlantic beckoned the great voyages began.
Wherever the explorers went, the flag of their nation and its missionaries soon followed. The first explorers were followed by the conquerors. The conquered people were forced to perform the hard labour and if they resisted, they were massacred. Many died of disease and of the horrible exploitation they were subjected to. One historian has described the activities of these explorers as marked by envy, malice treachery cruelty, lechery and plain greed.
One tragic consequence of the ;explorations l;and of the colonization that followed was the trade in human beings. The people of the newly discovered areas in Africa were enslaved and transported to the newly discovered areas in the Americas. The slave trade brought immense profits to the slave traders. The continents of Africa and Americas were thus combined together under a new system of exploitation.
7. In what way do the developments described in this chapter mark the beginning of the modern age? Discuss.
Ans.: The period from about 1500 to about 1700 was one of tremendous changes in the history of Europe. The feudal system in many countries of Europe either disintegrated or was in a state of decay. In its place, a new social system began to take shape. In this the merchants and traders played an important role. The attitude of mind which was born with Renaissance enabled the people to think for themselves and to speak and act in ways they had never done before. They expressed the new attitude through art, literature, revolt against the church and adventurous sea voyages. Ath the same time, foundations of modern science were laid. The discovery of new lands led to colonization and increased trade which led to accumulation by merchants of fabulous amounts of gold and silver. Business methods and procedures began to change so as to promote money-making interests. The nation-states with despotic rulers helped this process for a time. In the 17th century , the new groups or classes which had arisen began to struggle against autocratic rulers and they succeeded in destroying the autocratic rule in England. All these developments may be said to constitute the beginning of the modern age in European history.
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