NCERT Solutions Class 6th Social Science History Chapter – 3 In the Earliest Cities
| Textbook | NCERT |
| Class | 6th |
| Subject | Social Science (History) |
| Chapter | 3rd |
| Chapter Name | In the Earliest Cities |
| Category | Class 6th History Notes |
| Medium | English |
| Source | Last Doubt |
| NCERT Solution Class 6th Social Science History Chapter – 3 In the Earliest Cities Notes Who discovered Harappa city?, Who destroyed Harappa?, What is the old name of Harappa?, What is called Harappa?, Who found Mohenjo-daro?, Who first visited Harappa?, Who is the father of Harappa?, Which is the main god of Harappa?, Why is Harappa famous for?, Which country is Mohenjo-daro? |
NCERT Solutions Class 6th Social Science History Chapter – 3 In the Earliest Cities
Chapter – 3
In the Earliest Cities
Notes
| Life in the City – Harappa was a busy place. Rulers planned buildings, traders travelled to distant places to procure raw materials and scribes prepared exotic seals. |
| The Story of Harappa – The cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation are known as the Harappan cities. Rediscovered in the 1920s after excavations in Sindh and Punjab in present-day Pakistan, these cities flourished since 3300 BC. |
| The layout of the Cities – The Harappan cities were divided into two parts: • the citadel and the lower town. Walls were fortified with bricks in interlocking patterns. • Streets were laid out straight and cut each other at right angles. • Drains ran parallel to each other and had covered. • The citadel was located at a higher level and had special buildings. • The Great Bath in Mohenjodaro was a tank used for bathing rituals. • Kalibangan and Lothal had fire altars where sacrifices may have been performed. • The lower town was the residential area where houses were one or two storeys high and built around a corridor. |
Typically, these cities exhibited a distinct architectural division. The western section was smaller in size but situated at a higher elevation, commonly referred to as the citadel, while the eastern section was more extensive but located at a lower elevation, known as the lower town. Remarkably, the quality of the bricks employed in construction was of such exceptional craftsmanship that they have endured for millennia. The strategic arrangement of these bricks contributed to the structural integrity of the city walls, demonstrating the advanced engineering skills of its inhabitants. A special tank, called the great bath, has been found in the city of Mohenjodaro. Some cities had fire altars and storehouses.  The Grate Bath |
| Houses, drains and streets houses were either one or two storeys high, with rooms built around a courtyard. Most houses had a separate bathing area, and some had wells to supply water. Many of these cities had covered drains. Notice how carefully these were laid out, in straight lines. Although you cannot see it, each drain had a gentle slope so that water could flow through it. Very often, drains in houses were connected to those on the streets and smaller drains led into bigger ones. the drains were covered, inspection holes were provided at intervals to clean them. All three – houses, drains and streets – were probably planned and built at the same time. |
| Life in the city • A Harappan city was a very busy place. There were people who planned the construction of special buildings in the city. • These were probably the rulers. • It is likely that the rulers sent people to distant lands to get metal, precious stones, and other things that they wanted. • They may have kept the most valuable objects, such as ornaments of gold and silver, or beautiful beads, for themselves. • And there were scribes, people who knew how to write, who helped prepare the seals, and perhaps wrote on other materials that have not survived. |
| New crafts in the city • Crafts of the Harappan cities • Most of the things found were made up of stone, shell and metal [copper, bronze, gold and silver]. • Used to make tools, weapons ornaments and vessels. • Perhaps the most striking finds are those of beads, weights, and blades.  Many of the things that were produced were probably the work of specialists. A specialist is a person who is trained to do only one kind of work, for example, cutting stone, or polishing beads, or carving seals. We do not know whether only men were specialists or only women were specialists. Perhaps some women and men may have been specialists. Approximately eight decades ago, archaeologists unearthed the remnants of an ancient city known as Harappa, situated in what is now modern-day Pakistan. This city’s origins date back approximately 7000 years. Subsequently, additional cities of similar antiquity were also unearthed in the vicinity. |
| Houses were 1- or 2-stories high. Wells supplied water. Cities had covered drains. Houses, drains and streets were planned and built at the same time. |
| In search of raw materials – Got copper from present-day Rajasthan and even from Oman in West Asia. Bronze = Copper + Tin > Brought from present day Afghanistan and Iran. Gold = Present day Karnataka Precious Stones = Present day Gujarat, Iran and Afghanistan.  |
| Food Habit of the People • In Harappa, people raised animals and farmed crops. They raised crops such wheat, barley, peas, pulses, rice, peas, mustard, linseed, and sesame. • The earth was dug up and seeds were planted with the plough. • Fields received water supply after it was stored. • Sheep, cattle, buffalo, and goats were raised by the Harappans. Animals traveled great distances to get water and food during the dry season. • The people of Harappa also fished, farmed a variety of foods like berries, and hunted antelope and other wild animals. |
| A Closer Look – Harappan Town in Gujarat: Two Main Urban were settlements in Harappa – Dholavira, and Lothal. Dholavira • In 1990, RS Bisht and his crew from Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch excavated the city of Dholavira. • It was one of the biggest cities both of the Indus Valley Civilization and the Harappan Civilization. • There were three sections of the city, and two of them were fortified in a rectangle pattern. The city’s structures were built using a variety of unusual stones. • The archaeologists discovered various pieces of evidence that mentioned ten alphabets. It was found that numerous agricultural practices, including irrigation, embankments, and dams, had left behind evidence. Dholavira also has colonies for warehouses. Lothal • S.R. Rao made the discovery of Lothal in 1957. The Indus Valley is located along the Bhagava River. • The ancient mound that bears the town of Lothal’s name served as its inspiration. • The only location with a brick dockyard is Lothal. Brick walls enclose the dockyard to shield it from powerful floods. • The first tidal port was discovered in Lothal. |
| The Mystery Of the end • The start of a significant alteration can be seen beginning about 3900 years ago. Several of the cities saw a decline in population. • Writing, seals, and weights had all been abandoned. Long-distance transported raw commodities became scarce. • In Mohenjodaro, we discover that the drainage system malfunctioned, trash accumulated on the streets, and new, less beautiful homes were constructed even over the streets. • It seems that the authorities have lost control. The effects of the alteration are, in any event, fairly evident. • While many people relocated to newer, smaller villages to the east and south, sites in Sind and west Punjab (modern-day Pakistan) were abandoned. |
| Bronze – The alloy of tin and copper is called bronze. |
| Citadel – The part to the west of most cities was small but high in comparison to the eastern part. This part is called the citadel. |
| Crafts-Persons – Men and women who made all kinds of things-either in their own homes or in special workshops were the crafts-persons. |
| Lower Town – The eastern part of the cities is referred to as the lower town. |
| Plough – A new tool in the Harappan cities which was used to dig the earth for turning soil and planting seeds was the plough. |
| Raw materials – Substances that are either found naturally or produced by farmers/ herders are called raw materials: Raw materials are used to manufacture other materials. |
| Rulers – People who planned the construction of special buildings in the city were the rulers. |
| Scribes – People who knew how to write were the scribes. |
| Around 2700 BC, i.e. 4700 years ago – Beginning of cities. |
| Around 1900 BC, i.e. 3900 years ago – Beginning of the end of these cities. |
| Around 500 BC, i.e. around 2500 years ago – Beginning of newer cities. |
Question. 1. When and how was the site of Harappa first encountered?
Around a hundred and fifty years ago, when railway lines were being laid in Punjab, engineers stumbled upon the site of Harappa.
Question. 2. How old are Harappa cities believed to be?
Harappa and other such cities are believed to have developed 4700 years ago.
Question. 3. What was the citadel?
The western part of most cities was smaller but higher, described as a ‘citadel’ by archaeologists.
Question. 4. Give some important features of the Great Bath.
The Great Bath was lined with bricks, Coated with plaster, and made watertight with natural tar.
Question. 5. Name two cities which had fire altars.
Lothal and Kalibangan were cities with fire altars.
Question. 6. What were the three major categories of people in a Harappan city?
In Harappan cities, rulers, Crafts-persons and scribes were the three categories of people.
Question. 7. What were objects in Harappan cities made of?
Most Harappan objects were made of stone, shell and metal.
Question. 8. How do we know that cotton was grown in Mohenjodaro?
Archaeologists have found pieces of cloth with vases and other objects in Mohenjodaro. So cotton must have been grown.
Question. 9. Who was a ‘specialist’ in the Harappan context?
A specialist was one who was trained to do one kind of work, e.g. cutting stone, polishing beads, or carving seals.
Question. 10. Define ‘raw material.
Raw materials are substances that are either found naturally or produced by farmers or herders.
Question. 11. Name some foreign countries from where raw materials were imported.
Raw materials were imported from Oman, Afghanistan, Iran, etc.
Question. 12. What was the use of the plough?
A plough was used to dig the earth for turning the soil and planting seeds.
Question. 13. Give one point of difference between Dholavira and other Harappan cities.
Unlike other Harappan cities which were divided into two parts, Dholavira was divided into three.
Question. 14. Where did people move from Sind?
People moved into newer and smaller settlements to the east and the south.
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