CBSE Class 6 Social Science Timeline and Sources of History Worksheet Set 01

Fill in the Blanks

Question. In history, a span of 100 years is called a century.
Answer: century
Explanation: Just like a cricketer scores a century when they make 100 runs, a period of 100 years is called a century.

Question. Early humans domesticated animals such as cattle and __________.
Answer: goats
Explanation: Early humans began keeping gentle animals like goats and cows because they provided milk, meat, and wool.

Question. Abbreviation of Before Common Era is __________.
Answer: BCE
Explanation: BCE stands for "Before Common Era," which is used by historians to count years before year 1.

Question. Metals were used to make __________ tools and ornaments.
Answer: durable
Explanation: Durable means strong and long-lasting. Metal tools did not break as easily as tools made of wood or soft stone.

Question. The conventional year for Jesus Christ’s birth is taken as the starting point for the __________ calendar.
Answer: Gregorian
Explanation: The calendar we use every day on our walls and phones is called the Gregorian calendar, and it counts years starting around the birth of Jesus.

Question. __________ is a duration of 1,000 years.
Answer: Millennium
Explanation: A millennium is a very long block of time that lasts for one thousand whole years.

Question. Early humans often lived near _________ because the soil was rich.
Answer: rivers
Explanation: Rivers provided fresh water to drink, plenty of fish to eat, and fertile soil to grow plants.

True or False

Question. Anthropologists study the physical elements of the Earth.
Answer: False
Explanation: Anthropologists study people and their cultures; geologists are the ones who study rocks, mountains, and the Earth.

Question. Early humans are known as Homo sapiens.
Answer: True
Explanation: "Homo sapiens" is the scientific name for modern humans, meaning "wise human."

Question. The Common Era (CE) follows directly after 1 BCE in the Gregorian calendar.
Answer: True
Explanation: There is no year 0, so the calendar jumps straight from 1 BCE into 1 CE.

Question. The Gregorian calendar is commonly used globally.
Answer: True
Explanation: Most countries around the world use this calendar to know what month, day, and year it is.

Question. Geologists study human artifacts to understand past human behaviour.
Answer: False
Explanation: Archaeologists study human-made objects like pots and beads, whereas geologists study rocks and soil.

Question. Historians can use sources other than written records, such as oral traditions and artifacts, to study history.
Answer: True
Explanation: Historians learn about the past from old tools, buried buildings, songs, and spoken family stories.

Question. The last Ice Age continued from over 100,000 years ago to around 12,000 years ago.
Answer: True
Explanation: Earth was covered in thick ice sheets for thousands of years until the world started warming up about 12,000 years ago.

Question. Early humans lived in fixed stone houses.
Answer: False
Explanation: Hunter-gatherers moved frequently to find food, staying in caves or simple temporary shelters made of branches and animal skins.

Questions / Assertion / Reason

Question. Assertion (A): The Gregorian calendar does not have a year zero.
Reason (R): Years in the Gregorian calendar are counted from 1 BCE straight to 1 CE.
Codes:
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
(c) A is true, but R is false
(d) A is false, but R is true
Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
Explanation: Because calendar makers jumped straight from 1 BCE to 1 CE, year zero was never created.

Question. Assertion (A): Historians can be compared to investigators for several reasons including their Investigative Approach, their way of analysing evidence.
Reason (R): Historians examine primary and secondary sources, such as letters, diaries, official records, artifacts, and other documents, to piece together an accurate picture of past events.
Options:
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false but (R) is true.
Answer: (a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation: Just like police detectives solve mysteries by looking at clues, historians look at ancient letters and ruins.

Question. Assertion (A): Palaeontologists help us understand the development of life on Earth.
Reason (R): Palaeontologists excavate and study artifacts from ancient civilisations.
Codes:
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
(c) A is true, but R is false
(d) A is false, but R is true
Answer: (c) A is true, but R is false
Explanation: Paleontologists study animal and plant fossils, not man-made objects from cities; that is an archaeologist's job.

Question. Assertion (A): Geologists study the physical features of the Earth like the soil, stones, hills, etc.
Reason (R): Fossils provide proof of past life forms and environmental conditions.
Options:
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is correct but (R) is wrong.
(d) (A) is wrong but (R) is correct.
Answer: (b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation: Both statements are correct facts, but rocks and landforms are studied separately from ancient plant and animal fossils.

Questions / Short Question Answers

Question. What is the widely-used Gregorian calendar?
Answer: The most widely used calendar today, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. It counts years from the birth of Jesus Christ (Anno Domini, A.D. or Common Era, C.E.).
Explanation: This is the regular 12-month calendar hanging on your wall that marks January through December.

Question. What were ancient humans primarily engaged in?
Answer: The early humans were primarily hunters and gatherers.
Explanation: Before grocery stores existed, early people hunted wild animals and picked berries and roots to eat.

Question. What does CE represent in historical dating?
Answer: Common Era.
Explanation: CE is the modern label used to count years forward from year 1 to today.

Question. Which was the initial metal generally used by humans to make durable tools?
Answer: Copper.
Explanation: Copper was the very first shiny metal early humans learned to melt and shape into tools.

Question. Why did ancient communities often settle down near rivers?
Answer: Early communities settled near rivers for two main reasons:
• For the availability of fresh water for drinking, cooking, and daily needs.
• Because the fertile soil near rivers supported farming and agriculture.
Explanation: Plants and people both need lots of fresh water to live, and soil near rivers makes great farmland!

Question. How do researchers calculate years between BCE and CE dates?
Answer: Calculating the years between BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) dates is straightforward but requires careful attention because there is no year zero in the traditional Gregorian calendar. You add the two numbers together and subtract one year.
Explanation: Since there is no "zero" year in history between 1 BCE and 1 CE, we add the dates and take away 1.

Question. What are the traces of history?
Answer: Sources of history include artifacts, written records, oral traditions, and scientific studies.
Explanation: Sources are clues—like old letters, drawings, bones, and stories—that help us piece together what happened long ago.

Question. How long are modern humans estimated to have lived on Earth?
Answer: It is believed that modern humans have been on Earth for approximately 300,000 years.
Explanation: Humans like us have been walking on our planet for a very, very long time!

Question. How did the discovery of agriculture change early human societies?
Answer: Agriculture led to the growth of settled communities and social complexity, changing early human societies in a big way from wandering groups into permanent villages.
Explanation: Once people learned to grow crops, they didn't have to keep walking around searching for food, so they built homes together.

Question. What are the shortcomings of historical sources?
Answer: Historical sources may be incomplete, damaged, biased (one-sided), or unclear in their meaning.
Explanation: Sometimes old pages are torn, or people in the past wrote down only their side of the story.

Question. How is time tracked in history?
Answer: Currently, the Gregorian Calendar is used worldwide to measure current time and create historical timelines.
Explanation: We use dates and timelines to put historical events in order from oldest to newest.

Question. What is a century period?
Answer: A period of 100 years is known as a century.
Explanation: A century is 100 years—just like 100 runs in cricket is called a century!

Vocabulary Activity - "Guess the Word"

Question. Who examines fossils?
Answer: Paleontologists. They study fossils to learn about plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.
Explanation: Paleontologists are scientists who act like detectives, digging up dinosaur bones and ancient shells to learn about life long ago.

Question. What is the examination of the human past called?
Answer: History.
Explanation: History is the story of everything that people did, made, and discovered before today.