Maharashtra Board Class 11 History Chapter 1 First Farmers PDF Download

First Farmers

1.1 River Valley Civilisations

Homo habilis made the first stone tools. These tools were useful only for simple jobs like scraping meat from the hides of dead animals, splitting bones to extract marrow, breaking nuts, etc. To strike the stone with just enough impact and to remove flakes from a stone in order to shape a tool, was the mankind's first big step in the field of technology. The later species of mankind after Homo habilis were more advanced. They advanced human technology much further.

Through close observation of the seasonal cycles in the nature, the Mesolithic people could domesticate various plants and animals. It resulted into the rise of the 'Neolithic Age'. Cultivation and pastoralism (animal husbandry) became a way of life for neolithic people. It was the end of nomadic-semi nomadic life for them. Settled villages came into being. The archaeological evidence shows that systematic agriculture began some 12000-11000 years ago. Beginning of agriculture and rise of settled villages are the two phenomena that are inevitably associated with each other. The progress in the techniques of systematic cultivation resulted in the rise of the most ancient river valley civilisations of the neolithic age. The river valley civilisations grew in four regions of the world. Those regions were Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indian Subcontinent and China. How did this all happen? We shall briefly review it in this lesson.

Scientists in the Bar Elan University of Israel have found out that ancient people had attempted cultivation, some 23000 years ago. They have recovered its archaeological evidence from 'Ohalo', a palaeolithic camp site near the Sea of Galili. At Ohalo the evidence of Barley and some other cereals, seeds of fruits has been found along with traces of human occupation. There were also a few seeds of various weeds. These weeds are of evolved types and they are found only with cultivated crops. This fact confirms that the cereals found at Ohalo were the remains of cultivated crops and not of the wild variety. Additional evidence of grinding stones also came forth from this site. They were used to grind the cereals before cooking them.

Teacher's Note

Rivers are very important for farming. In India, farmers near the Ganga river grew lots of food just like ancient farmers near the Nile river in Egypt.

Exam Trick

Remember: River Valley = Good farming land + Settled villages. Always connect rivers with early civilisations in exam answers.

Points to Remember

First stone tools were made by Homo habilis for simple tasks.
Mesolithic people learned to grow plants and keep animals.
Neolithic Age started when people began farming and settled in villages.
Four river valleys had early civilisations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India.
River floods made the soil very fertile for farming.

(1) The Valley of Euphrates and Tigris - Mesopotamia

Ancient Mesopotamia included modern Iraq, Syria as well as the western regions of Iran and south-eastern regions of Turkey.

Mesopotamia is the Greek name of the region between the two rivers, Tigris and Euphrates. Mesos means the 'middle one'. Potamos means 'river'. The region between two rivers is 'Mesopotamia'. The Mesolithic people began to stay in this region for longer times because of the availability of ample water. Also both the rivers flooded annually, making the soil on their banks very fertile. The camps of Mesolithic people developed into the first settled neolithic villages. These first villages are dated to 10000 years B.C.E. The farmers in these villages grew wheat and barley.

Teacher's Note

The word Mesopotamia means land between two rivers. In India, our farmers also depend on rivers like the Ganga and Yamuna for water and fertile soil.

Exam Trick

Remember: Mesos = middle, Potamos = river. So Mesopotamia = middle of river. This word helps you remember the location between Tigris and Euphrates.

Points to Remember

Mesopotamia was the land between Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Annual floods made the soil very fertile.
People settled here because water was always available.
First neolithic villages started around 10000 B.C.E.
Farmers grew wheat and barley as main crops.

(2) The Valley of Nile - Egypt

The country in the northern parts of the African continent and in the valley of the Nile river is 'Egypt'.

Napoleon Bonaparte had taken along many scholars from various fields during his invasion of Egypt in 1798. They studied the ancient remains in Egypt and published it. These studies received a momentum because of the decipherment of the Rosetta inscriptions. It became possible to read the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Egypt was originally known as 'Kemet'. Egypt got this name because of the black soil that was deposited by the Nile floods. Later Egypt came to be known as 'Hwat-ka-Pta'. It means the temple of God. The Greeks changed it to 'Egyptus'. In the course of time it was changed to 'Egypt'. The Arabic name of Egypt is 'Misra'.

The first neolithic villages in Egypt came into being at about 6000 B.C.E. The beginning of agriculture in Egypt coincides with the same time. The first crops grown in these villages were wheat and barley.

Teacher's Note

The Nile river is very important to Egypt, just like how the Ganga is important to India. Every year the Nile floods and makes the land good for farming.

Exam Trick

Remember: Kemet = black soil. The black soil came from Nile river floods. That's why ancient Egypt was called Kemet (the black land).

Points to Remember

Egypt's original name was Kemet which means the black land.
Black soil came from annual Nile river floods.
First villages in Egypt started around 6000 B.C.E.
Main crops were wheat and barley.
Scholars could read Egyptian writing after finding the Rosetta stone.

(3) The Valley of the Huang He - China

The valley of Huang He river is considered to be the region of origin of the Chinese culture. The Chinese culture evolved here.

Agriculture in the neolithic villages of China began at about 7000 B.C.E. Wheat, foxtail millet and rice were grown by the farmers in these villages.

'Yellow River' is the English translation of the Chinese name 'Huang He'. The yellow silt brought by her has earned her this name. 'River' and 'Mother' are her other names. These names indicate her extraordinary place in the Chinese culture. The name 'River' indicates that she is considered to be the only river of importance. The fact that she is considered to be the mother of the Chinese culture, is obvious in the name, 'Mother'.

Huang He and Yangtse in China are the rivers, which receive waters from the Himalayan glaciers as do the rivers Ganga, Sindhu and Brahmaputra. Huang He flows so rapidly that it continuously keeps changing its course. The torrential floods caused because of it used to be very disastrous causing great loss of life and assets. Hence, she had earned one more name, 'Sorrow' or the 'River of Tears'. Now the terrible river has been brought under control by creating a number of dams and bunds on her.

Teacher's Note

The Huang He river is called the Yellow River because of the yellow soil it carries. The Chinese people call it the Mother River because it gave birth to their civilisation.

Exam Trick

Remember: Huang He = Yellow River. It's yellow because of the silt it carries. Just remember the color yellow to recall this river's name and meaning.

Points to Remember

Huang He means Yellow River in English.
It is called the Mother River of Chinese culture.
Agriculture started around 7000 B.C.E. in this valley.
Main crops were wheat, millet, and rice.
The river changes its course and causes big floods, so it is also called the River of Tears.

(4) The Valleys of Sindhu (Indus) and Saraswati - Indian Subcontinent

The region of the valleys of Sindhu and Saraswati is now divided between India and Pakistan.

The archaeological excavations at Harappa on the banks of Ravi in Punjab and Mohenjo Daro on the banks of Sindhu in Sindh, indicate the existance of a fully developed civilisation in the Indian subcontinent which was dated to circa 3000 B.C.E.

A number of archaeological sites of neolithic villages have been now discovered. It proves that there were well settled villages in the Indian subcontinent as early as 8000 B.C.E. There is a general consensus among the scholars that the Harappan cities evolved from these early villages.

Barley was the main crop grown by the farmers in these villages. However, wheat was also grown on a smaller scale. The farmers in these villages were the first farmers of the Indian subcontinent. They kept cattle and goat-sheep. They lived in mud houses.

The archaeological site at Mehrgarh in Baluchistan has yielded evidence of the continuous human occupation from the neolithic times to the rise of Harappan civilisation and the material culture of the respective periods.

Teacher's Note

The Indus Valley was the home of India's first big civilisation. Cities like Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were very advanced and well planned, like modern Indian cities today.

Exam Trick

Remember: Harappa and Mohenjo Daro = Indus Valley Civilisation. These two city names always go together in exams. Don't forget them!

Points to Remember

Indus Valley region is now divided between India and Pakistan.
Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were major ancient cities from 3000 B.C.E.
First farmers lived there around 8000 B.C.E.
Main crop was barley, with some wheat also grown.
Early people lived in mud houses and kept cattle and goats.

1.2 Beginning of Cultivation: Agricultural Production

The transition from hunter-gatherer's life to the beginning of cultivation was a very slow process drawn over thousands of years. Beginning of cultivation is also the beginning of the neolithic age. It spans through 10000 – 8700 B.C.E. It may vary to some extent from place to place. This period marked the beginning of domestication of animals along with the beginning of cultivation. Barley was the main crop in this period. Other crops were wheat and flaxseed.

Teacher's Note

Long ago, people stopped moving from place to place hunting animals. Instead they stayed in one place and grew food themselves. This was a big change in human life, like when your grandfather's family stopped moving and settled in one city.

Exam Trick

Remember: Neolithic Age = Agriculture + Settled Villages. These two things always happen together. If there is farming, there must be villages nearby.

Points to Remember

Transition to farming took thousands of years, not just a few years.
Neolithic Age lasted from 10000 to 8700 B.C.E.
People started to keep animals and grow crops at the same time.
Barley was the first main crop grown by people.
Wheat and flaxseed were also important crops.

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