Maharashtra Board Class 5 EVS Part II Chapter 7 From Shelters to Village settlements PDF Download

From Shelters To Village-Settlements

7.1 Shelter

In the fifth lesson, we saw that the Neanderthals lived mainly in caves. At that time, the climate in Europe was extremely cold. The Neanderthals could protect themselves from the freezing temperatures because they wore leather clothing and made use of fire. Perhaps, that was not enough. That is why they used animal hides to erect tents inside the caves for warmth. Wherever necessary, they also built huts in the open.

Teacher's Note

Long ago, people used caves and made tents from animal skin just like how our ancestors used natural shelters. Even today, some nomadic groups in India use temporary shelters.

Exam Trick

Remember: Neanderthals = Caves + Fire + Leather Clothes. They needed all three to stay warm in the very cold ice age.

Points to Remember

Neanderthals lived in caves because Europe was very cold.
They wore leather clothes and used fire to keep warm.
They made tents inside caves using animal hides for extra warmth.
They also built huts in open places when needed.

7.2 Seasonal Camps

In the Middle Stone Age, groups of Homo sapiens had established camps all over the world. At that time, the climate was getting warmer. Everywhere the environment was changing. And with it, the diet of Homo sapiens was also undergoing change.

By the time of the Middle Stone Age, big animals like mammoths were on the way to extinction due to the changing environment and also because they were hunted on a very large scale. That is why, Homo sapiens had largely turned to fishing. He also began to depend more on hunting smaller animals like the wild boar, deer, mountain goat and sheep.

The changed diet pattern enabled the groups of Homo sapiens to roam to faraway regions. They moved their camps to different places according to seasonal changes. There they harvested seasonal wild grains and gathered seasonal fruits and roots. They would find out the best seasons for fishing and use the knowledge to their advantage. By observation, they discovered the best hunting grounds. For these reasons, they stayed in one place for longer periods. They cleared jungles by felling trees and set up their seasonal camps in the clearings.

Teacher's Note

Early humans moved from place to place to find food, just like shepherds in Rajasthan move their animals to find grass and water in different seasons.

Exam Trick

Remember: Middle Stone Age = Smaller Animals + Fish + Moving Camps. When big animals died, people hunted smaller animals and moved their camps by season.

Points to Remember

The climate became warmer in the Middle Stone Age.
Big animals like mammoths went extinct due to hunting and climate change.
People started hunting smaller animals and fishing more.
They moved camps to different places for different seasons.
They cleared jungles and built camps in the cleared areas.

7.3 Village-Settlements

The way of life of humans in the New Stone Age was completely different from that of humans in the Old Stone Age and Middle Stone Age. During this period, humans became producers of foodgrains. The beginning of cultivation is a characteristic of the culture of the New Stone Age. In the hunting and gathering way of life, it is necessary to keep moving all the time. However, agriculture makes it possible to store food and use it over a longer period. Hence, there is no need to keep moving constantly. Moreover, the nature of agricultural work made it necessary to stay in one place. Therefore, people established permanent village-settlements and lived in them generation after generation. In the next lesson, we shall review the social organization and the culture of these village-settlements.

Teacher's Note

When people learned to farm, they stopped moving and built permanent villages. This is like how farmers in Punjab stay in one place to take care of their wheat and rice fields all year.

Exam Trick

Remember: New Stone Age = Farming = Permanent Villages. When people farm, they must stay in one place, so they built permanent homes and villages.

Points to Remember

Humans learned to grow food crops in the New Stone Age.
Farming meant they could store food for later use.
They no longer needed to move from place to place.
People built permanent villages and lived there for many generations.
Agriculture changed human life completely and created permanent settlements.

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