Here is the notes for NCERT Class 6 History Chapter 5: “What Books and Burials Tell Us”.
The Vedas
The Rigveda:
- Oldest Veda, composed about 3500 years ago.
- Collection of hymns (suktas) praising gods like Agni (fire), Indra (war), and Soma (plant).
- These hymns were composed by sages (rishis).
- Most of the hymns were composed by women, a few were composed by women.
- The Rigveda is in old or Vedic Sanskrit, which is different from the Sanskrit which we learn today.
- Passed orally from generation to generation before being written down.
- It was written down several centuries after it was first composed, and printed less than 200 years ago.
Languages
- Sanskrit is part of a family of languages known as Indo-European.
- Other Languages included Assamese, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, and Spanish
- North-east belong to the Tibeto-Burman family.
- Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam belong to the Dravidian family.
- Jharkhand and parts of central India belong to the Austro-Asiatic family
Cattle, Horses, and Chariots
- There are many prayers in the Rigveda for cattle, children (especially sons), and horses.
- Horses were yoked to chariots that were used in battle.
- Battle were fought to capture cattle, land which was important for pasture, and for growing hardy crops that ripened quickly, such as barley.
- Some of the wealth that was obtained was kept by the leaders, some was given to the priests and the rest was distributed amongst the people.
- Some wealth was used for the performance of yajnas or sacrifices in which offerings were made into the fire.
Society in the Rigveda:
- Divided into groups:
- Rajas (chieftains) led tribes. Do not have capital cities, palaces or armies, nor did they collect taxes.
- Priests performed rituals.
- Common people included farmers, herders, and craftspersons.
- Dasas or Dasyus: People who were often captured during battles and treated as slaves (they had no rights).
Words to Know
- Jan: A tribe or group of people.
- Vish: A larger group including many families.
Megaliths: Huge Stones for Burial
What Are Megaliths?
- Big stones used to mark burial sites.
- Common between 3000 years ago and later.
- Found across Deccan, south India, northeast, and Kashmir.
Burial Customs:
- Bodies buried with pots (black and red ware), animals, tools, weapons, and ornaments.
- Grave goods showed status and wealth.
- Some burial sites have multiple burials.
- Examples: Brahmagiri (Karnataka) – famous megalithic site.
Special Burial at Inamgaon
Inamgaon (Maharashtra)
- It is a site on the river Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima.
- A village site occupied between 3600–2700 years ago.
- adults were generally buried in the ground, laid out straight, with the head towards the north.
- Special burials found where bodies were buried inside their houses.
- Vessels that probably contained food and water were placed with dead.
- One man was found buried in a large, four legged clay jar in the courtyard of a five-roomed house (one of the largest houses at the site), in the centre of the settlement.
- This house also had a granary.
- The body was placed in a cross-legged position.
Archaeologist have found
Seeds: wheat, barley, rice, pulses, millets, peas and sesame.
Animals: buffalo, goat, sheep, deer, horse, ass, pig, sambhar, spotted deer, blackbuck, antelope, hare, mongoose, crocodile, turtle, crab and fish.
Fruits: ber, amla, jamun, dates, and variety of berries.
China
- Around 3500 years ago, we find some of the first evidence of writing in China.
- These writings were on animal bones.
- These are called oracle bones, because they were used to predict the future.
- The bones were then put into the fire, and they cracked because of the heat. Then fortunetellers studied these cracks, and tried to predict the future.
- These kings lived in palaces in cities.
- They amassed vast quantities of wealth, including large, elaborately decorated bronze vessels.
- They did not know the use of iron.