History Ch-1 Reconstructing History

Reconstructing History

Extra Questions

1.     From which word does history originate?

The word ‘history’ originates from the Greek word ‘historia.

2.     What is history?

The word ‘history’ has now been used to refer to accounts of events that are narrated in a chronological order, and deal with the past of mankind.

3.     Why do we study history?

History helps develop analytical skills and the ability to express your own view points. It assists us in understanding change and societal development. It develops an understanding of both the past and the present. It provides context from which we understand ourselves and others.

4.     How does history help us?

It helps us to comprehend how the world works· and how human beings behave. It helps us understand the origins of modern political and social problems. Knowledge of the past is required for understanding present realities. The study of history helps us to decide what is right and wrong, true and false, and to distinguish opinions from facts.

5.     Differentiate between prehistory, protohistory and history.

Prehistory	Protohistory	history
Time during the development of human culture before the appearance of the written word.	Time just before the earliest recorded history.	a continuous, typically chronological, record of events.
Information - collected by archaeologists by excavating and studying the remains.	Few Written records, the script is yet to be decoded.	Collected through various sources- written as well as archeological.

6.     Name the three divisions in history.

Ancient, Medieval and Modern.

7.     Why has this division in history been done?

History has been divided into three historical eras for purposes of analysis and study.

8.     What does BC and AD stand for?

BC stands for Before Christ; whereas the years after the birth of Jesus Christ are articulated in AD or Anno Domini.

9.     Who invented the term ‘BC’ and ‘AD’?

Dionysius Exiguus, a canonist invented the AD/ BC concept.

 10. What is Circa?

Circa is a Latin word which means approximately.

 11. What is the importance of timeline?

Timelines helps us understand history. They also tell us what happened when, and how much time has gone by between the events.

12. Who gave India its name?

The name India was given by the Greeks who used the name of the Indus River to name the region.

13.  How did the river system play a major role in shaping the history of India? 

The systems gave rise to the fertile northern plains on which arose ancient civilisation. The navigability of the northern rivers helped internal trade and commerce, and ancient river ports such as Kanauj, Banaras (present day Varanasi), Pataliputra (present-day Patna) and Prayag (present day Allahabad) became centres of trade. This, along with the productivity of the fertile plains, helped the growth of large kingdoms.

14. Name some of the archaeological sources. 

Inscriptions, Artefacts, Monuments, fossils, coins.

15. What information do we get from these autobiographies? 

We get to know about the life of that person, the society of that time period etc.

16. How many types of literary sources are there? 

Literary sources can be in two forms: as manuscripts or as textual literature.

17. Name some of the ancient Indian texts. 

 The Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atharva Veda belong to the ancient religious texts.

18. Name the different types of secular literature?

biographies, autobiographies, memoirs etc

19. Why are the accounts of foreign travellers important?

They are an important source of history