Shelters of the Neanderthals
On a freezing winter night you pull a blanket over yourself and sit near a fire. Early humans in cold Europe did the same, but with animal skins and a cave.
The Neanderthals (निअँडरथल) lived mainly in caves (गुहा) and protected themselves with leather clothing, fire and tents.
Rule 1: How they kept warm — The climate in Europe was extremely cold. They wore leather clothing and used fire. Since this was perhaps not enough, they put up tents of animal hides inside the caves. Where needed, they also built huts in the open.
In the figure : In the figure Neanderthals lived in caves and kept themselves warm with clothes, fire and tents.
- Easy : Easy: They wore leather.
- Medium : Medium: A tent inside a cave gave double protection.
- Exam-type : Exam: Name three ways to fight cold.
Neanderthals: caves + leather + fire + hide tents.
Thinking they lived in houses. They lived in caves, tents and huts.
Memory clue: "गुहा, चामडे, आग, तंबू".
Spot the difference
| Protection | Against |
|---|---|
| Cave | Wind, rain, animals |
| Leather clothing | Cold |
| Fire | Cold and animals |
Practice questions
- 1Where did Neanderthals mainly live?
- 2Why did they wear leather?
- 3What else did they use for warmth?
- 4What were tents made of?
- 5How cold was Europe then?
- 6Where did they build huts?
- 7A tent needs 6 hides. How many hides for 4 tents?
- 8Why is fire safer inside a cave than a hut?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1In caves.
- 2To fight the cold.
- 3Fire.
- 4Animal hides.
- 5Extremely cold.
- 6In the open.
- 76 × 4 = 24.
- 8Walls protect it from wind and keep heat in.
Changing climate and diet in the Middle Stone Age
When the weather warms up, summer fruits appear, and winter vegetables vanish. In the same way, as the earth warmed, the animals and food of early people changed.
In the Middle Stone Age the climate grew warmer, the environment changed, and people's diet (आहार) changed with it.
Rule 1: Mammoths vanish — Groups of Homo sapiens made camps all over the world. Big animals like the mammoth (मॅमथ, a much bigger ancestor of the elephant) were heading to extinction because the environment changed and they were hunted on a very large scale.
In the figure : In the figure when big animals died out, people turned to fish and smaller animals.
- Easy : Easy: Mammoths died out.
- Medium : Medium: People hunted wild boar and deer instead.
- Exam-type : Exam: Two causes: climate change and too much hunting.
Rule 2: New diet, new regions — People turned largely to fishing (मासेमारी) and depended more on smaller animals like wild boar, deer, mountain goat and sheep. This changed diet let groups roam to faraway regions.
- Easy : Easy: Fish became a main food.
- Medium : Medium: Small animals are easier to catch than a mammoth.
- Exam-type : Exam: A new diet let groups travel far.
Warmer climate → mammoths vanish → fish and small animals → people spread.
Thinking mammoths were small elephants. They were bigger.
Memory clue: "मॅमथ गेले, मासे आले".
Spot the difference
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Mammoth | Fish |
| Big game | Boar, deer, goat |
| Staying near | Roaming far |
Practice questions
- 1What was the climate like in the Middle Stone Age?
- 2Which big animal was dying out?
- 3Give two reasons.
- 4What did people turn to?
- 5Name two small animals they hunted.
- 6What did the new diet allow?
- 7A group of 12 people catches 5 fish each. How many fish?
- 8Why does heavy hunting harm a species?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Getting warmer.
- 2Mammoth.
- 3Changing environment and heavy hunting.
- 4Fishing and small animals.
- 5Wild boar and deer.
- 6Roaming to faraway regions.
- 712 × 5 = 60.
- 8Few are left to breed.
Seasonal camps
Villagers go to the river bank in summer for melons and to the hills in the rainy season for mushrooms. Early groups likewise moved with the seasons.
Seasonal camps (हंगामी तळ) were camps that groups moved from place to place according to the season's food.
Rule 1: Moving with the seasons — Groups moved camps according to seasonal changes. They harvested wild grains, and collected fruits and roots, in season. By observation they found the best seasons for fishing and the best hunting grounds, so they could stay longer in one place.
In the figure : In the figure groups moved their camps with the seasons to where food was available.
- Easy : Easy: Camps moved with seasons.
- Medium : Medium: Observation told them the best fishing season.
- Exam-type : Exam: Why did groups stay longer in one place?
Rule 2: Clearing jungles — They cleared jungles by felling trees and set up their seasonal camps in the clearings.
- Easy : Easy: Trees were felled for space.
- Medium : Medium: A clearing gave room for huts.
- Exam-type : Exam: Camps were built in clearings.
Seasonal camps: move for food, observe seasons, clear jungle.
Thinking they had permanent houses. Camps were seasonal.
Memory clue: "ऋतू बदलला, तळ हलला".
Spot the difference
| Season | Food |
|---|---|
| Fruit season | Fruits and roots |
| Grain season | Wild grains |
| Fishing season | Fish |
Practice questions
- 1What are seasonal camps?
- 2Why did groups move?
- 3What did they gather?
- 4How did they know good fishing seasons?
- 5How did they make space?
- 6Where were camps set up?
- 7A group stays 3 months at each of 4 camps in a year. How many months in all?
- 8Why is observing nature an early form of science?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Camps moved with the seasons.
- 2To find seasonal food.
- 3Fruits, roots and wild grains.
- 4By observation.
- 5By felling trees.
- 6In clearings.
- 73 × 4 = 12 months.
- 8They noticed patterns and used them.
Village-settlements of the New Stone Age
A farmer who has sown a field cannot go on a long trip for months; he must water and guard it. That is why farming ties people to a place.
In the New Stone Age humans became producers of foodgrains (अन्नधान्याचे उत्पादक); cultivation marks this culture.
Rule 1: From wandering to settling — In hunting and gathering one must keep moving all the time. Agriculture makes it possible to store food and use it for longer, and farming needs people to stay in one place. So people made permanent village-settlements (कायमची वसाहत) and lived in them generation after generation.
In the figure : In the figure farming made people settle in permanent villages.
- Easy : Easy: Farming needs staying in one place.
- Medium : Medium: Stored grain feeds a family for months.
- Exam-type : Exam: Permanent villages came from farming.
New Stone Age: farming → store food → stay put → villages.
Thinking settled life began with hunting. It began with farming.
Memory clue: "शेती → साठा → गाव".
Spot the difference
| Way of life | Place |
|---|---|
| Hunting-gathering | Always moving |
| Seasonal camps | Move with seasons |
| Farming | Permanent village |
Practice questions
- 1What did humans produce in the New Stone Age?
- 2What marks this culture?
- 3Why must hunters keep moving?
- 4What does farming make possible?
- 5What did people set up?
- 6How long did they live there?
- 7A family harvests 90 kg grain and eats 10 kg a month. For how many months does it last?
- 8Why did the next lesson study village culture?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Foodgrains.
- 2The beginning of cultivation.
- 3To find animals and food.
- 4Storing food.
- 5Permanent village-settlements.
- 6Generation after generation.
- 790 ÷ 10 = 9 months.
- 8Settled villages had social organization and culture.
Glacial and interglacial periods
In a very cold winter, a pond freezes and nothing moves. Imagine the whole earth like that for thousands of years. That is a glacial period.
A glacial period (हिमयुग) is a time when ice sheets cover most of the earth. An interglacial period (आंतरहिमयुग) is the warmer time between two glacial periods.
Rule 1: Two kinds of periods — In a glacial period ice sheets cover most of the earth's surface, the climate is extremely cold and dry, and the sea level falls. In an interglacial period the ice melts, the sea level rises and the climate becomes warmer and more humid.
In the figure : In the figure glacial and interglacial periods come one after the other.
- Easy : Easy: Glacial = ice.
- Medium : Medium: Sea level falls in a glacial period.
- Exam-type : Exam: Interglacial = warm and humid.
Rule 2: Dates and agriculture — About 25 lakh years ago (Homo habilis) the climate began to turn extremely cold and dry. From 18 lakh years to 11 thousand years ago there were four major cycles of glacial and interglacial periods. About 11,000 years ago the last glacial period ended and the present interglacial began; agriculture and the New Stone Age began at about that time.
In the figure : In the figure the last glacial period ended about 11,000 years ago, and agriculture began at about that time.
- Easy : Easy: The last ice age ended 11,000 years ago.
- Medium : Medium: Four cycles took from 18 lakh to 11 thousand years ago.
- Exam-type : Exam: Warm weather helped farming begin.
Glacial = ice, cold, dry. Interglacial = warm, wet. Last ice age ended 11,000 years ago.
Thinking we live in a glacial period. We live in an interglacial one.
Memory clue: "हिम = बर्फ, आंतर = उबदार".
Spot the difference
| Period | Features |
|---|---|
| Glacial | Ice, cold, dry, low sea |
| Interglacial | Melting, warm, humid, high sea |
Practice questions
- 1What is a glacial period?
- 2What happens to sea level in a glacial period?
- 3What is an interglacial period?
- 4When did the last glacial period end?
- 5What began at about that time?
- 6How many major cycles occurred between 18 lakh and 11 thousand years ago?
- 718 lakh years minus 25 lakh years: which came earlier?
- 8Why did ice melting make the sea rise?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1A period with ice sheets over most of the earth.
- 2It falls.
- 3The warmer time between two glacial periods.
- 4About 11,000 years ago.
- 5Agriculture and the New Stone Age.
- 6Four.
- 725 lakh years ago is earlier.
- 8Ice on land turned to water and flowed to the sea.
Quick revision
- Neanderthals: caves, tents of hides, leather clothes and fire.
- Middle Stone Age: seasonal camps, fishing and smaller animals.
- New Stone Age: farming and permanent villages.