Chapter 7 - From Shelters to Village-settlements
1. Answer each of the following questions in one sentence.
(a) Which animals did the Homo sapiens mainly hunt?
Ans: Homo sapiens mainly hunted small animals like the wild bear, deer, mountain goat, and sheep.
(b) What is the characteristic of the New Stone Age?
Ans: The beginning of cultivation is a characteristic of the culture of the New Stone Age.
2. Give reasons for the following.
(a) The diet of Homo sapiens underwent a change.
Ans: In the Middle Stone Age, the climate underwent a change and became warmer. Everywhere, the environment was changing. Mammals, for example, were on the verge of extinction. Therefore, the diet of Homo sapiens underwent a change.
(b) Homo sapiens needed to stay in one place over longer periods of time.
Ans: Homo sapiens discovered the best hunting grounds, and it was no longer necessary to wander from place to place in search of food. They moved their camps to different places according to seasonal changes in climate. This enabled them to stay in one place for a longer period of time.
3. Observe the reconstructed picture of a Middle Stone Age seasonal camp and answer the following.
(a) Describe the structure of the houses in the picture.
Ans: The roof slopes and is made of thatched grass.
(b) What materials are used to construct the houses?
Ans: Grass and wood have been used to construct the houses.
(c) What kind of jobs could the people in the seasonal camps have been doing?
Ans: The people at the seasonal camp were engaged in fishing, agriculture, hunting, and making small boats.
4. Write about the effects on your life, of the seasonal changes in weather.
Ans: The changes in weather cause me to change my clothing. I wear warm clothes during the winter and light cotton clothes in the summer. The seasonal changes in climate make me sick sometimes, and I am forced to take medicines. I cannot go out and play games with my friends in the rainy season.
5. Compare the New Stone Age village with a modern village.
Ans: The New Stone Age settlement was in remote areas and had zero contact with the outside world, whereas the modern village had strong transport and communication links and a proper connection with the outside world. In the new stone villages, people lived in huts, while in the modern ones, people lived in well-built houses. The main activities of the new stone were animal husbandry, fishing, and agriculture, while modern agriculture, along with fishing, etc., were other mechanised activities.