Maharashtra Board Class 5 EVS Part II Chapter 10 Historic Period PDF Download

10. Historic Period

10.1 What is 'culture'?

10.2 Ancient civilizations in river valleys

10.3 Ancient riverine civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Harappa

10.4 Sports and entertainment

We have seen in lesson two that written records are available in the form of inscriptions, manuscripts, books, etc for the historic period. In all ancient civilizations, the art of writing was developed. They used fully developed scripts. In other words, with the rise of ancient civilizations, the New Stone Age came to an end and the Historic Period began.

10.1 What is 'culture'?

Humans and all other animals are dependent on their environment and nature for satisfying their needs. However, other animals do not cause any significant change in their surroundings. For example, bears live in caves and monkeys live on trees, but humans build houses. It means that we humans change the natural character of our surroundings to some extent. Humans do not eat their food in its natural form as other animals do. They roast or cook the food. Or, in other words, they process foodstuffs before eating them. They process many substances in a similar manner. They work on stone, metal, etc. to make tools and various objects. They make pots, bricks and many other things from clay. They obtain yarn from cotton and weave cloth from the yarn. In short, according to their needs, they change the form of materials available in nature. They need skills to do this. They need to think and plan before they shape an object. Then they have to put in efforts to actually shape it. The tradition of thought, skills and efforts gave rise to various arts. Every generation handed over the knowledge of the artistic skills and traditions to the next generation. With this exchange of thoughts and ideas, language was enriched. The knowledge of various arts, skills and traditions inherited from generation to generation and the way of life founded on that knowledge is what we call 'culture'.

Teacher's Note

Culture means the way people live. For example, in India, we celebrate Diwali, eat dal-rice, and wear traditional clothes. These are parts of our Indian culture.

Exam Trick

Remember: Culture = how a group of people live and what they do. It includes food, clothes, festivals, art, and skills that parents teach their children.

Points to Remember

Culture is everything people make and do.
Humans change nature and materials to meet their needs.
Skills and knowledge pass from parents to children.
Language grows when people share ideas and thoughts.
Culture includes art, food, clothes, and traditions.

10.2 Ancient civilizations in river valleys

Cultures which flourished in the New Stone Age were based on an agricultural way of life. Fertile soil and constant water supply are essential for growing good crops. Naturally, people in the New Stone Age established their village-settlements on the banks of various rivers. The New Stone Age cultures flourished along the river banks.

Teacher's Note

Ancient people lived near rivers because they needed water for farming. Like in India today, farmers still live near the Ganges River because it gives them water for crops.

Exam Trick

Remember: Rivers = water and fertile soil. Early people lived near rivers to farm and get water. This is why civilizations started near rivers.

Points to Remember

New Stone Age people were farmers.
Rivers give water for crops and fertile soil.
All ancient villages were built near rivers.
Good soil helps crops grow better.
People chose river banks to settle.

In the course of time, New Stone Age cultures gave rise to early civilizations. Increase in production due to various skills, the use of the wheel, flourishing trade, use of well-developed scripts, etc. were the major factors responsible for the rise of the early civilizations. These civilizations came into existence in roughly the same period, that is, around 3000 BC in four regions of the world. They are : Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indian subcontinent and China. The civilizations in these four regions developed in river valleys, hence they are known as 'Riverine Civilizations'.

10.3 Ancient riverine civilizations : Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Harappa

Mesopotamia

'Mesopotamia' is the name of a region and not of any particular country. It means 'the land between two rivers'. Ancient Mesopotamia was the land between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates. These two rivers mainly flow through Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Ancient Mesopotamia had great cities like Ur, Uruk, Nippur, etc. These cities were home to very prosperous cultures.

Teacher's Note

Mesopotamia means land between two rivers. Like in Punjab, India, which has five rivers and is very fertile. 'Punjab' means 'five waters'.

Exam Trick

Remember: Mesopotamia = between Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The word 'Meso' means middle and 'potamia' means rivers. So it is the middle land between rivers.

Points to Remember

Mesopotamia was between Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
It is not a country but a region.
Cities like Ur and Uruk were very important.
It was very rich and successful.
Today this area is in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

Egypt

The river Nile flows through the eastern part of the Sahara desert, in the north of Africa. One of the ancient civilizations flourished along its banks. It is known as the 'Egyptian Civilization'. The Nile gets flooded every year. The land along her banks has become very fertile because of the flood deposits. Also, Ancient Egyptians used to build small embankments on the river to store the flood water. After the soil in the flood water settled to the bottom, the water was used for irrigation.

China

The ancient civilization of China developed and flourished in the valley of the Huang He River. According to the Chinese tradition, a king named Huangdi introduced agriculture, animal husbandry, wheeled carts and chariots, boats, and clothing in China. Chinese people believe that his queen invented the technique of silk production and silk dyeing. Luoyang, Beijing and Chang'an were among the important cities of ancient China.

Harappa

The earliest civilization on the Indian subcontinent is known as the 'Harappan Civilization'. It flourished in the Indus valley. Indus is the English word for the name 'Sindhu'. Harappa in Punjab and Mohen-jo-daro in Sind are the two sites of Harappan Civilization to be discovered first. Now they are in Pakistan. Lothal and Dhola Vira in Gujarat and Kalibangan in Rajasthan are among the famous sites of Harappan Civilization in India.

Cities of this civilization are well-known for their systematic town planning. The houses were built in blocks created by parallel roads that crossed each other at right angles. Huge granaries and spacious houses were the special features of these cities. There were bathrooms and latrines in every house and a covered drainage system which indicates a concern for public hygiene. There were carefully constructed private and public wells. The cities were divided into two to four parts, each with a separate fortification.

Teacher's Note

Harappa was an ancient Indian city. Like today's cities in India, Harappan cities had planned roads, drainage, and wells. People there were clean and organized.

Exam Trick

Remember: Harappa = first city in India with planning. Think of modern city planning - they had streets, drains, and wells like we have today, but 4,500 years ago!

Points to Remember

Harappa is in Indus valley in Punjab and Pakistan.
Cities had straight roads and right angles.
Every house had bathrooms and drains.
Large grain stores show farming was important.
Cities were very clean and well-planned.

This is a preview of the first 3 pages. To get the complete book, click below.