Early Humans and the First Cities: Class 6 Study Guide
People first hunted and gathered food, then began to farm and live in villages and cities.
The earliest people were hunter-gatherers. They moved from place to place, hunted animals and collected fruit, roots and seeds. They made tools from stone, which is why this long period is called the Stone Age. They learned to use fire, and they left paintings on rock walls, such as those at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.
Over time, people learned to grow crops and tame animals. They stopped moving and built villages. This change is called the beginning of farming.
The Harappan cities
More than 4,500 years ago, cities grew along the Indus and nearby rivers. The best-known are Harappa and Mohenjo-daro (now in Pakistan), and Dholavira and Lothal in Gujarat and Rakhigarhi in Haryana (in India). The cities were carefully planned.
| Feature | What we find |
|---|---|
| Streets | Laid out in a grid |
| Houses | Made of baked bricks |
| Drains | Covered drains along the roads |
| Great Bath | A large pool at Mohenjo-daro |
| Trade | Seals and beads; traded with distant lands |
| Writing | A script that has not been read yet |
How do we know?
Archaeologists dig up old sites and study tools, pots, bones, seals and buildings. They date objects and compare them. Many questions, such as why the cities declined, are still discussed, and the Harappan script has not been deciphered, so we know less than we would like.
By survey and digging.
Carefully.
Tools, pots, seeds.
Tell the story.
Why does it matter?
The first cities show that people planned drains, trade and storage thousands of years ago. They remind us how much we depend on farming, water and trade, as people did then.
Worked examples and common mistakes
Example: What did Harappan houses use for building? Baked bricks. Example: Where are Dholavira and Lothal? In Gujarat. Common mistakes: saying that all Harappan sites are in Pakistan, and saying that we can read the Harappan script. We cannot yet.
Check your understanding: model answers
1. Madhya Pradesh. 2. For example Dholavira and Lothal. 3. Where an object lies helps explain how and when people used it.
✨ Key Takeaways
- Early people were hunter-gatherers.
- Farming led to villages.
- Harappan cities were well planned.
- The Harappan script is still undeciphered.
💬 Questions for Discussion & Reflection
- Where are the Bhimbetka paintings?
- Name two Harappan sites in India.
- Why do archaeologists record where each object is found?