Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation — NCERT Solutions

The River Nile runs through Egypt from south to north. The northern part is called Lower Egypt because it lies downstream, near the river’s mouth and delta. The southern part is called Upper Egypt because it lies upstream, at a higher elevation along the river’s source direction.

The images suggest that Egyptian fashion included linen clothing, jewellery, wigs, sandals, makeup, and decorative accessories. Richer people likely wore more elaborate and finely made items, while ordinary people used simpler versions. The style seems neat, ornamental, and suited to Egypt’s climate, with emphasis on appearance and status.

The chapter explains that cuneiform was deciphered, but the Harappan script has not been. Cuneiform was easier to understand because many tablets survive and the script was eventually linked to known languages; the Harappan script remains undeciphered because we do not yet know its language and have limited long texts for comparison. Yes, our understanding of a civilisation changes a lot when its script is deciphered, because written records reveal names, events, trade, laws, beliefs, and everyday life. Without decipherment, we depend mostly on artefacts and can understand only part of the civilisation.

The images show that Egyptian fashion was often ornamented and status-based. People in higher social classes likely used items like fine linen garments, wigs, jewellery, cosmetics, and decorated accessories. The clues are the quality of materials, the designs, and the number of ornaments, which suggest wealth and rank. Simpler items would have been used by common people, while more elaborate ones were for nobles, officials, and the elite.

Life became both easier and more challenging, but overall farming created major changes. It became easier because people could produce food and live in permanent villages. However, it also became more challenging because farmers had to work regularly in fields, depend on weather and water, and protect crops and animals from damage. So farming gave stability but also brought new responsibilities and risks.

The environment gave early societies both opportunities and challenges. For early farming communities, fertile land, water, and suitable climate helped them grow crops and domesticate animals. At the same time, they had to deal with changing seasons, floods, droughts, and the need to manage water carefully. River-valley civilisations benefited from rivers for irrigation, transport, and fertile soil, but they also had to face floods, water management problems, and environmental pressure on land. So humans adapted to nature while also depending on it.

Historians divide early human history into ages like Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age because these periods show major changes in the tools, technology, and ways of life used by humans. The classification tells us that human progress was gradual: people moved from stone tools to copper and bronze tools, and later to iron tools, along with changes in settlement, farming, trade, and civilisation. It helps us understand how technology shaped human development over time.

A Neolithic farmer would wake up in a permanent village settlement, look after domesticated animals such as sheep, goats, and cattle, and go to the fields to cultivate crops like wheat, barley, millets, or pulses. The day would include ploughing, sowing, weeding, harvesting, storing grain, and making or using pottery and stone tools for food production and processing. In the evening, the farmer would help protect the village, feed animals, and store grain in houses or granaries.

The challenges would be different from those of a hunter-gatherer. A farmer had to depend on rain, seasons, soil, and crop growth, so droughts, floods, pests, or poor harvests could be serious problems. Farming also required more labour, regular care of fields, storage of food, and staying in one place. A hunter-gatherer did not face the same burden of crop failure or permanent land management.

If the Harappan script were deciphered, historians could learn many new things about the Harappans' political, social, economic, and religious life. They might find out:

• the names of rulers or important people
• details of laws, administration, and taxes
• what they wrote about trade, farming, crafts, and weights and measures
• their religious beliefs, rituals, and gods
• information about daily life, family life, and occupations
• the meaning of the symbols on seals, pottery, and objects

This would help historians understand Harappan society much more clearly than archaeological evidence alone.

This shows the gradual change from hunting and gathering to farming and village life.

The statement is correct because the Bronze Age civilisations of the Sindhu–Sarasvatī, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China developed on their own in different river valleys, but they also shared important features.

How they developed independently

• They arose in different regions and at different times.
• Each civilisation had its own local environment, crops, crafts, and political systems.
• Their writing systems, buildings, and social structures were not copied from one single source.

Common features they shared

• All developed in fertile river plains.
• Agriculture supported population growth and surplus production.
• They had towns and cities with organised administration.
• They developed writing systems for records and communication.
• They had specialised crafts, trade, and use of metals like copper and bronze.
• Social life became more stratified, with rulers, priests, artisans, traders, farmers, and labourers.

Thus, these civilisations were independent in origin but similar in broad features because they all grew out of productive river-valley economies and increasing social organisation.

Rivers were very important for early societies, but they also created difficulties.

Advantages of settling near rivers

• Rivers supplied water for drinking and farming.
• Floods deposited fertile alluvial soil, which helped crops grow well.
• Rivers made transport and trade easier.
• Fish and other water resources supported food supply.
• River valleys encouraged the growth of villages, towns, and civilisations.

Disadvantages of settling near rivers

• Rivers could flood and destroy crops, houses, and settlements.
• People had to build ditches, dams, canals, and reservoirs, which needed collective labour.
• Unpredictable flooding could cause damage and insecurity.
• Settling near rivers also meant dealing with swamps, waterlogging, and changing river courses.

So, rivers gave life and prosperity, but they also demanded planning and cooperation to manage their risks.

The Code of Hammurabi was important because it was one of the earliest known collections of laws and regulations for civil and social conduct. It helped govern the Babylonian empire and became a model for later legal systems. It shows that Babylon had a developed system of administration and law.

It was probably not fair to all sections of society. In early civilisations, social life was highly hierarchical, and laws often treated different classes differently. The powerful, such as rulers, priests, and elites, usually had more privilege than farmers, labourers, and slaves. So, even though the code brought order, it may not have been equal for everyone.

Thus, the code was important for law and administration, but fairness likely depended on a person's social status.

One major innovation that changed the world permanently was writing.

Writing was important because it allowed people to record information, such as trade, laws, religious ideas, stories, and historical events. It made administration easier, helped preserve knowledge, and allowed civilisations to communicate across time. Before writing, much of early human history can only be understood through archaeology, but after writing, people could leave detailed records. That is why writing changed human life permanently.

Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China all developed social hierarchies and organised daily life around agriculture, craft production, religion, and government.

Similarities

• All had rulers and elites at the top.
• Priests or religious officials played an important role.
• Farmers and labourers formed the larger lower sections of society.
• Daily life included farming, craft work, trade, festivals, and rituals.
• Each civilisation had specialised occupations.

Differences

• In Egypt, the ruler was the Pharaoh, and people believed in ka and practiced mummification; pyramids were important burial structures.
• In Mesopotamia, cities were centered around ziggurats and temple authority; scribes had high status, and laws like the Code of Hammurabi were important.
• In China, society was ruled by dynasties; rulers could also be priests, and public officials were selected through examinations in later periods. Chinese civilisation also had strong traditions of jade, bronze objects, oracle bones, and silk.

So, the civilisations shared hierarchy and specialised life, but their rulers, beliefs, and cultural practices were different.

Yes, our understanding of a civilisation changes greatly when its script is deciphered. Archaeology can tell us about tools, buildings, pottery, and burials, but a script can reveal the thoughts, names, beliefs, laws, trade, administration, and daily activities of people.

For example, cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs were deciphered, so historians could read records, stories, laws, and economic details. In contrast, the Harappan script has not been deciphered, so we still do not fully understand Harappan political life, religion, or language.

Therefore, deciphering a script turns a civilisation from a mostly material picture into a much fuller historical record.

India was connected to the Silk Route through trade. The Silk Route was a network of routes along which silk and other goods were exchanged between China and regions to the west, including India. India was part of this wider trade network and received goods, ideas, and cultural influences through it.

India's contact with China also happened through Buddhism. Buddhist monks, texts, and ideas travelled between India and China along land and sea routes. Chinese travellers came to India to study Buddhism, and Buddhist teachings spread from India to China.

So, India's link with China was both commercial, through the Silk Route, and cultural-religious, through Buddhism.