The First Farmers and Herders Chapter Notes | History Class 6 ICSE PDF Download

Introduction

Stonehenge

• A prehistoric megalithic monument in Britain.
• Represents both Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.
• Built in phases from 3100 to 1100 BCE.
• Noted for its large size, sophisticated planning, and stone shaping.
• Provides insights into prehistoric technology, architecture, and astronomy.
• Reflects mortuary and ceremonial practices of the time.

Beginning of Farming and Herding

• People shifted from food-gathering to food production.
• Cultivated crops like wheat, barley, millet, and rice in different regions at different times.
• Settled near river valleys for a steady food supply.
• Formed the first permanent settlements.
• Gradually improved farming and cultivation skills.
• Continued gathering plants and hunting alongside farming.
• Farming and herding developed over thousands of years.

Neolithic Tools

• Made from harder stones, polished for sharper edges.
• Designed for farming needs, including hoes for loosening soil, ploughs for planting, axes for clearing forests, and sickles for harvesting.
• Mortars and pestles used for grinding grains and plant produce.
• Some Palaeolithic tools continued to be used.
• Many Neolithic tools, slightly modified, are still in use today.

Pottery

• Developed to store surplus grains as food production increased.
• Initially used baskets woven from wild grass, lined with clay and dried in the sun.
• Later, clay vessels were baked using fire for storage and cooking.
• Hand-turned pottery evolved into wheel-turned pottery.

Invention of Wheel

• A significant invention that transformed life in the Neolithic Age.
• Origin unclear, possibly inspired by rolling logs or stones.
• Improved transportation of heavy objects.
• Potter’s wheel enhanced pottery-making efficiency.
• Used for spinning and weaving cotton and wool yarns.
• Reduced reliance on animal skin and leaf-based clothing.
• Modern potter’s wheel remains similar to Neolithic designs.

Towards a Settled Life

• Agriculture led to permanent settlements and village formation.
• First houses were mud huts with thatched roofs.
• Houses built close together, often surrounded by mud walls or thorny bushes as fences.

Family and Tribe Culture

• Settled life led to the emergence of family and tribal concepts.
• Tribes shared common customs, rules, and beliefs.
• Modern tribes living close to nature provide insights into Neolithic life.

Occupations

• Included hunting, gathering, fishing, herding, and farming.
• Natural resources like land, forests, and water were communally owned.
• No private property, leading to minimal wealth inequality.
• Leaders were either experienced elders or strong warriors, setting tribal rules.
• Men focused on hunting, farming, and herding large animals.
• Women handled sowing, harvesting, household tasks, and managing small animal flocks.
• Both men and women made pots, baskets, tools, clothes, and huts.

Neolithic Sites in the Indian Subcontinent

• Settlements found in Kashmir and other parts of India.
• Key sites include Mehrgarh (near Bolan Pass, Pakistan), Burzahom (Jammu and Kashmir), and Daojali Hading (Assam).

Case Study: Mehrgarh

• One of the earliest Neolithic villages, located in Baluchistan, Pakistan, near the Bolan Pass.
• Dated from 7,000 BCE to 2,500 BCE, excavated between 1974 and 1986.
• Evidence of wheat, barley, and domestication of cattle, sheep, and goats.
• Items found include polished stone tools, microliths, bone tools, sea-shell ornaments, lapis lazuli, beads, and turquoise.
• Baskets made of wild grass lined with clay; pots made using potter’s wheel with decorative motifs.
• Simple terracotta figurines and glazed earthenware discovered.
• Houses made of mud or mud bricks, square or rectangular, with four or more rooms, some used for storage.
• Burial sites included domestic animals, likely as food for the deceased.

Case Study: Burzahom

• Located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Featured pit houses dug into the ground with steps and thatched roofs supported by posts.
• Evidence of indoor and outdoor cooking (ash and charcoal remains).
• Pottery made using the potter’s wheel.
• Domesticated sheep, goats, and cattle.
• Stone tools, microliths, and bone tools found.
• Dead buried in pits with domestic animals.

Case Study: Daojali Hading

• Located in Assam’s Brahmaputra Valley, near routes to China and Myanmar.
• Stone tools, fossil wood tools, mortars, and pestles discovered.
• Grey or brownish pottery with cord marks.
• Jadeite (green precious stone) possibly sourced from China.

Chalcolithic Age

• Period when both copper and stone tools were used, known as the Copper-Stone Age.
• Copper, the first metal used, was stronger than stone, boosting tool production.
• New occupations like mining and smelting emerged.
• Copper mixed with tin to create bronze, a stronger metal.
• Spanned roughly from 4,000 to 2,000 BCE.
• Marked the transition from stone to metal tools.
• Chalcolithic societies emerged in the subcontinent, sometimes incorporating Neolithic sites like Burzahom and Gufkral (Kashmir).

Catal Huyuk

• Located southeast of Konya, central Turkey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Existed between 7,500–5,700 BCE, one of the largest and best-preserved Neolithic sites.
• People lived in mud brick houses built close together.
• Dead buried under house floors.
• Featured mural paintings of animals and humans, among the oldest known.
• Pottery was fired, unpainted, unglazed, and bag-like in form.
• Animal and human figurines made of clay and stone.