Chapter 1 – What, Where, How and When?

These NCERT Class 6 History Chapter 1 notes explain the basics of history in a simple and clear manner. This chapter helps students understand what history is, where people lived, how we know about the past, and how dates are counted. It is a foundation chapter for all future history topics and is very important for school exams and BPSC foundation preparation.

1. Why do we study History?

• History is the study of the past of human beings.
• It helps us understand how people lived in earlier times.
• It explains how present society developed over a long period.
• Studying history is like travelling into the past, similar to listening to grandparents’ stories.

2. What can we know about the past?

• History tells us about the food, clothes and houses of people in the past.
• It helps us understand the lives of hunters, gatherers, farmers, herders and rulers.
• We also learn about merchants, priests, craftspersons, artists and musicians.
• Historians know about the past through sources, just as we know people today through photos and videos.

3. Where did people live in the past?

• People usually lived near rivers and natural resources for survival.
• People lived along the River Narmada for hundreds of thousands of years.
• Early farming developed near the Sulaiman Hills, Kirthar Hills, Vindhya Range and Garo Hills.
• Settlements grew near the River Indus and its tributaries because rivers provided water, food and fertile soil.

4. How do we know about the past? (Sources of History)

• Historians and archaeologists use different sources to study history.
• Archaeological sources include tools, bones, pottery, coins, buildings and inscriptions.
• Literary sources include manuscripts and books written on palm leaves and birch bark (bhojpatra).
• Coins tell us about trade, while inscriptions give information about rulers and their orders.

5. Archaeologists and Historians

• Archaeologists study material remains such as tools, bones and buildings.
• Historians study written records, manuscripts and inscriptions.
• Archaeologists mainly focus on objects found during excavations.
• Both work together like detectives to reconstruct the past.

6. What do dates mean?

• Dates help historians arrange events in the correct time order.
• Earlier dates were written as BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini).
• Today historians also use BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era).
• The term “c.” (circa) means approximate, such as farming at Mehrgarh around c. 6000 BCE.

7. Important keywords (NCERT)

• Manuscript refers to handwritten records from the past.
• Inscription means writing engraved on stone or metal.
• Archaeology is the study of material remains of the past.
• BCE and CE are modern terms used for dating historical events.

8. Why this chapter is important (Exam point of view)

• This chapter builds the basic understanding of history.
• It introduces sources of history and the dating system.
• It explains the role of historians and archaeologists.
• It acts as a foundation chapter for all future history topics.

This chapter builds the base for understanding Indian history by introducing sources of history, archaeology, manuscripts, and the dating system (BCE/CE). Students are advised to revise important keywords and examples carefully.

Continue reading Class 6 History Chapter 2 – From Hunting–Gathering to Growing Food to understand early human life and the beginning of farming.

FAQs

Q1. Why is Chapter 1 of Class 6 History important?
It introduces the basic meaning of history, sources of history and the dating system.

Q2. Is Class 6 History useful for BPSC preparation?
Yes, NCERT Class 6 History builds conceptual clarity for BPSC and other state PSC exams.