Class 6 Social Science

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Social Science Chapter 4 Maps

Types of Maps

Maps provide more information than a globe. They are of different types. Some of them are as follows

• Physical Maps Maps showing natural features of the Earth such as mountains, plateaus, plains, rivers, oceans etc are called physical or relief maps.
• Political Maps Maps showing cities, towns, villages and different countries and states of the world with their boundaries are called political maps.
• Thematic Maps Maps with specific information like road maps, rainfall maps, and maps showing the distribution of forests, industries, etc are known as thematic maps.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Chapter 4 Components of Maps

There are three components of maps: distance, direction, and symbol.

Distance:  Maps are drawn to reduced scales. This reduction is done very carefully so that the distance between the places is real.

• It can only be possible when a small distance on paper represents a large distance on the ground through a scale.
• Scale is the ratio between the actual distance on the ground and the distance shown on the map.

On the basis of scale, maps are of two types

• Small Scale Map It is used to show large areas like countries or continents on paper. For example, 5 cm on this map shows 500 km of the ground.
• Large Scale Map It is used to show a small area like a village or town on paper. For example, 5 cm on this map shows 500 metres on the ground.
• Large-scale maps give more information than small-scale maps.

Direction:  Most of the maps contain an arrow marked with the letter ‘N’ at the upper right-hand corner. This shows the North direction. It is called the North Line.

• There are four major directions that are North, South, East and West. They are called cardinal points.
• North-East (NE), South-East (SE), South-West (SW) and North-West (NW) are the other four directions which are called intermediate directions. These are used to locate any place accurately on the map.

Symbols:  It is impossible to draw the exact size of different ) features such as buildings, roads, bridges, trees, railway lines or a well on a map. So they are shown by using symbols like certain letters, shades, colours, pictures and lines.

• Maps can be drawn easily with the help of these symbols and they give a lot of information in a limited space.
• Maps have a universal language so that they can be understood by the people speaking any language.
• There is an international agreement regarding the use of these symbols and these are called conventional symbols.
• Various colours are used to show different features on a map. For example, generally, blue colour is used for showing water bodies, brown is for mountains, yellow is for plateaus and green is for plains.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Chapter 4 Sketch and Plan

• A sketch is a drawing mainly based on memory and spot observation and not on scale. Sometimes, a rough sketch is required to tell, where a particular area is located with respect to other places.
• Suppose one wants to go to his/her friend’s house and he/she doesn’t know the way, then his/her friend may make a rough sketch to show the way to his/her house. Such a rough drawing is called a sketch map.
• A plan is a drawing of a small area on a large scale. A plan of an area gives information about certain things which one wants to know, For Example. length and breadth of a particular location.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Social Science Chapter 3 Motions of the Earth

Types of Motion of the Earth

Earth has two types of motion i.e. Rotation and Revolution.

Rotation of the Earth:  Rotation is the movement of the Earth on its axis. The axis of the Earth (an imaginary line) makes an angle of 66 ½0 with its orbital plane. The plane formed by the orbit is known as the orbital plane.

• The Earth takes about 24 hours to complete one rotation around its axis. The period of rotation is known as the Earthday. This is the daily motion of the Earth.
• Only half of the sunlight is received by the Earth at a time due to its spherical shape. The part of the Earth facing the Sun experiences day while the other half away from the Sun experiences night.
• The circle that divides day from night on the Earth is called the circle of illumination.

Revolution of Earth: Revolution is the movement of the Earth around the Sun in a fixed path or orbit.

• The Earth takes 365 days (one year) and 6 hours to revolve around the Sun. The Earth revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit and during this movement, the Earth is inclined in the same direction.
• The time of 6 hours is ignored for the sake of convenience and only a year is considered. The time of 6 hours saved every year is added to make one day (24 hours) over the span of four years.
• This extra day is added to the month of February, thus in every fourth year, February is of 29 days instead of 28 days. The year with 366 days is called a leap year.
• If the Earth does not rotate, the part of the Earth facing the Sun would always experience day, thus bringing continuous warmth to the region. The other part of the Earth would remain in darkness and be freezing cold all the time. Life would not have been possible in such extreme conditions.
• Day and Night on the Earth due to Rotation

Knowledge Plus: The ancient Indian astronomer Aryabhatta had stated that ‘the Earth is round and rotates on its own axis.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Chapter 3  Seasons

• The change in season is caused due to the change in the position of the Earth around the Sun.
• On the basis of change in the position of Earth, a year is divided into summer, winter, spring, and autumn.

Summer Solstice: On 21st June, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun and the rays of the Sun fall directly on the Tropic of Cancer. This position of the Earth is called the summer solstice.

• During this position, the areas in the Northern Hemisphere receive more heat. On the other hand, areas near the poles receive less heat as the rays of the Sun are slanting.
• The places beyond the Arctic Circle experience continuous daylight for about six months. As the larger portion of the Northern Hemisphere gets light from the Sun, it is summer in the regions in the North of the equator.
• In these regions, The longest day and shortest night occur on the 21st of June. On the other hand, the Southern Hemisphere experiences winter, and the nights are longer than the days.

Knowledge Plus: In Australia, Christmas is celebrated in the summer season.

Winter Solstice: On 22nd December, the South Pole tilts towards the Sun, and the Tropic of Capricorn receives direct rays of the Sun. This position of the Earth is called winter solstice.

• At this position, a larger part of the Southern Hemisphere gets light and it is summer in this hemisphere with longer days and shorter nights.
• On the other hand, the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter with shorter days and longer nights.

Spring and Autumn: On 21st March, it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. On 23rd September, it is autumn season in the Northern Hemisphere and spring season in the Southern Hemisphere.

Equinox:  On 21st March and 23rd September, the Sunray falls directly on the equator. At this position, neither of the poles is tilted toward the Sun. Thus, the whole Earth experiences equal days and equal nights. This is called an equinox.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Social Science Chapter 1 The Earth in the Solar System

Celestial Bodies

• The Sun, the Moon, and all those objects shining in the night sky are called celestial bodies. These are made up of gases. Some of these are very big and hot.
• The celestial bodies that have their own heat and light are called stars. They can emit their heat and light in large amounts. For example, the Sun is a star as it has its own light and heat.
• The twinkling stars in the night sky are similar to the Sun. However, their heat or light cannot be felt and they look so tiny because they are very far away from the Earth.

Knowledge Plus: The people who study the celestial bodies and their movements are called astronomers. Aryabhatta was a famous astronomer of ancient India. According to him, the Moon and the planets shine due to reflected sunlight.

Constellations: The various patterns formed by different groups of stars are called constellations. Ursa Major or Big Bear is an example of the constellation.

• The constellation that is very common and can be easily seen is Saptorishi (sapla means seven and rishi means sages). It is a group of seven stars, that forms a part of Ursa Major Constellation.
• The ancient people used to determine directions with the help of stars during the night. The Pole star or North star always remains in the same position in the sky and shows the North direction.
• One can locate the position of the Pole star with the help of the Saptarishi. If an imaginary line is drawn joining the pointer stars and extended further, it will point to the Pole star.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Chapter 1  The Solar System

• The Sun, eight planets, satellites, and other celestial bodies known as asteroids and meteoroids form the solar system. It is also called the solar family with the Sun as its head.
• In Roman mythology ‘Sol’ is the ‘Sungod’, thus ‘Solar means ‘related to the Sun’. The family of the Sun is, therefore, called the solar system.

The Sun: The Sun is in the center of the solar system. It is huge and made up of extremely hot gases. It provides the pulling force that binds the solar system.

The Sun is the ultimate source of heat and light for the solar system. However, its tremendous heat is not felt because despite being the nearest star, it is far away from the Earth. The Sun is about 150 million km away from the Earth.

Knowledge Plus: Light travels at the speed of about 300,000 km per second. Even with this speed, the light of the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach the Earth.

Planets: The word ‘Planet’ comes from the Greek word ‘Plantai’ which means ‘wanderers’.

• Planets are those celestial bodies that do not have their own light and receive light from the stars. All the planets in the solar system get heat and light from the Sun.
• There are eight planets in the solar system which move in fixed paths around the Sun. These elongated paths are called orbits.
• According to the distance from the Sun, the planets can be arranged as Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
• Mercury is the nearest planet to the Sun. It takes only 88 days to complete one round along its orbit. Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun.
• The shape and size of Venus are similar to the Earth, thus it is considered Earth’s-twin.
• Till August 2006, Pluto was also considered a planet. However, after the decision of the International Astronomical Union in a meeting, Pluto is considered a dwarf planet, like other celestial objects (Ceres, 2003 UB313).
• An easy way to memorize the name of the planets in order of their distance from the Sun is ‘My Very Efficient Mother Just Served Us Nuts

Knowledge Plus: Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus have rings around them. These are belts of small debris. These rings may be seen from the Earth with the help of powerful telescopes.

The Earth: The Earth is the fifth largest planet in size and the third nearest planet to the Sun. The shape of the Earth is called Geoid because of its slightly flattened shape at the poles.

• The Earth is a unique planet in the solar system because it is the only planet where life exists. The conditions that are favorable to support life on the Earth are * The Earth is neither too hot nor too cold.
• It has water and air, which are very essential for our survival.
• The air of the Earth has life-supporting gases like oxygen.
• The Earth is known as a blue planet because two-thirds part of its surface is covered with water and this makes it look blue from outer space.
• The Moon
• The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth. The Moon has no life due to the absence of life-supporting conditions.
• The surface of the Moon is covered with plains, mountains, and depressions which form shadows on the Moon’s surface. These shadows can be observed on full Moon day.
• The Moon is 3,84,400 ions away from the Earth. The diameter of the Moon is only a quarter of the Earth. It looks bigger due to its closeness to the Earth than other celestial bodies.
• The Moon moves around the Earth in about 27 days, ft takes exactly the same time to complete one spin. This makes only one side of the Moon visible from the Earth.
• The Moon is visible on most of the days. It may appear in different shapes, times, and positions. The full Moon appears only once in a month which is called full Moon night or Poornima.
• However, after a fortnight, the Moon can not be seen at all. This is the new moon night or Amavasya. On this night one can observe a clear view of the sky.

Knowledge Plus: Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the surface of the Moon on 20th July 1969.

Asteroids: A large number of small celestial bodies are found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter that move around the Sun. These bodies are called asteroids.

Scientists believe that asteroids are the parts of a planet, which are formed by the explosion of planets many years ago.

Meteoroids: The small pieces of rocks that move around the Sun are called meteoroids. Sometimes, they come close to the Earth and drop upon it.

• During this dropping, they get heated up and burn due to friction with the air.
• This causes a flash of light. Sometimes, meteors do not get burned completely and fall on the Earth’s surface creating a hollow.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Chapter 1  1-3 Galaxy

• A galaxy is a huge system that contains billions of stars, gases, and clouds of dust. The solar system is a part of the Milky Way Galaxy.
• This galaxy is a cluster of millions of stars that appear as a glowing path across the sky on a clear night.
• This Galaxy was named Akash Ganga as it was believed to be a river of light flowing in the sky. The universe comprises millions of galaxies.
• It is very difficult to find out the size of the universe because of its huge expansion.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 10 Buildings, Paintings and Books

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 10 Buildings in Brick and Stone

• The buildings that have survived from the cast depicted the skills of Indian craftspersons. For example, stupas.
• Artificial caves were another example of buildings that were created by cutting out hills. Some of these were decorated with sculptures and paintings.

Stupas

• The word stupa means a mound. There are various kinds of stupas, round and tall, big and small, however, they have certain common features which are discussed below
• Relic Casket It is a small box generally placed at the center of the stupa. This may contain bodily remains (such as teeth, bone, or ashes) of the Buddha or his followers, or things they used, as well as precious stones and coins.
• This box was covered with soil. Later, a layer of mud brick or baked brick was added to the top. The dome-like structure was then covered sometimes with carved stone slabs.
• Pradakshina Patha It is a path that was laid around the stupa. It was surrounded by railings and there was entrance to the path through gateways. The devotees walked around the stupa in a clockwise direction, as a mark of devotion. The stupa’s railings and gateways were decorated mostly with sculpture.

Amaravati was a place where a magnificent (extremely impressive/attractive) stupa once existed. Many of the stone carvings for decorating this stupa were built around 2000 years ago.

Temples

The earliest temples of Hindus also depicted the skill of Indian craftsmen. Delkes such as Vishnu. Shiva and Purga were wors binned in these temples. Some of die finest stone temples were built in Mahabalipuram and Aihole. The temples have the following features

• Garbhagriha It was the room where the image of the main deity was placed. The priests performed the religious rituals at the garbhapihu. and devotees offered worship to the del tv.
• Shikhara It was a tower, mostly built on top of the garbhagrtha to mark it as a sacred place. Building shikhara required careful planning. For example, shikhara on the temples at Bhitargaon.
• Mandapa It was a hail where people could assemble.

Building the Stupas and Temples

Mostly the kings or queens built stupas and temples, as building them was expensive. There were various stages in building a stupa or a temple. The stages were as follows

• Firstly, good quality stone had to be found, quarried, and transported to the place that was chosen for the new building.
• ” Secondly, these rough blocks of stone had to be shaped and sculpted into pillars and panels for walls, floors, and ceilings.
• Thirdly, all these had to be placed exactly in the right position.

Kings and queens probably spent money from their wealth to pay the craftspeople who worked to build these structures.

When devotees came to visit the temple or the stupa, they mostly brought gifts, which were used to decorate these buildings. For example, an association of ivory workers paid for one of the beautiful gateways at Sanchi Stupa.

Other people who paid for decorations were merchants, farmers, garland makers, perfumers, smiths, and many men and women who were recognized only by their names which were inscribed on pillars, railings, and walls.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 10 Painting

In Ajanta, there are many caves that were hollowed out of the hills over centuries. Many of these were monasteries for Buddhist monks and some of them were decorated with paintings.

Most of these paintings were done in the light of torches. The colors were made of plants and minerals, which are bright even after 1500 years. The artists who created these works of art remain unknown.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 10 The World of Books

• During this period, some of the best-known epics were written. Epics are grand, long compositions about heroic men and women, and also include stories about Gods.
• Ilango was a famous poet who composed the Tamil epic, the Silappadikaram, around 1800 years ago. It is the story of a merchant named Kovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love with a courtesan named Madhavi, neglecting his wife Kannagi.
• Later, Kovalan and Kannagi left Puhar and went to Madurai, where he was wrongly accused of theft by the court jeweler of the Pandya king. The king sentenced Kovalan to death.
• Kannagi was full of grief and anger at this injustice and destroyed the entire city of Madurai.
• Another Tamil epic, the Manimekalai was composed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago. This describes the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.
• These epics were lost for many centuries, and their manuscripts were discovered about 100 years ago. Other writers of epics include Kalidasa who wrote in Sanskrit

Recording and Preserving Old Stories: Many Hindu religious stories were also written around the same period. These include the Puranas, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata.

Puranas: Puranas literally means old. The Puranas contain stories about Gods and Goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, or Parvati. They also contain details on how they were to be worshipped. Besides, there are details about the creation of the world, and about kings.

The Puranas were written in simple Sanskrit verse and were meant to be heard by everybody. They were probably recited in temples by priests, and people came to listen to them.

The Mahabharata: The Mahabharata is about the war fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins.

• This war was all about gaining control of the throne of the Kuru kingdom and its capital, Hastinapur. The story of the Mahabharata was written 1500 years ago.
• Both the Puranas and the Mahabharata are believed to have been compiled by Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita is also a part of the Mahabharata.
• During this period, some of the best-known epics were written. Epics are grand, long compositions about heroic men and women, and also include stories about Gods.
• Ilango was famous poet who composed the Tamil epic, the Silappadikaram, around 1800 years ago. It is the story of a merchant named Kovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love with a courtesan named Madhavi, neglecting his wife Kannagi.
• Later, Kovalan and Kannagi left Puhar and went to Madurai, where he was wrongly accused of theft by the court jeweler of the Pandya king. The king sentenced Kovalan to death. Kannagi was full of grief and anger at this injustice and destroyed the entire city of Madurai.
• Another Tamil epic, the Manimekalai was composed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago. This describes the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.
• These epics were lost for many centuries, and their manuscripts were discovered about 100 years ago.
• Other writers of epics include Kalidasa who wrote in Sanskrit

The Ramayana: The Ramayana is about Rama, a prince of Kosala, who was sent into exile. His wife Sita was abducted by the king of Lanka, Ravana.

Rama had to fight a battle to get her back. He won and returned to Ayodhya, the capital! of Kosala, after his victory. Valmiki is known as the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana.

Stories Told by Ordinary People

• The ordinary people also told stories, composed songs and poems, sang and danced, and performed plays. Some of these are preserved in collections of stories such as the Jatakas4 and the Panchatantra5.
• The stories from the Jatakas were mostly shown on the railings of stupas and in paintings in places such as Ajanta.

Writing Books on Science

• Aryabhata, a mathematician and an astronomer, wrote a book in Sanskrit known as the Aryabhatiyam. He claimed that day and night were caused by the rotation of the Earth on its axis.
• He developed a scientific explanation for eclipses. He also found a way of calculating the circumference of a circle, which is nearly as accurate as the formula used today. Varahamihira, Brahmagupta, and Bhaskaracharya were some other mathematicians and astronomers.

Ayurveda:  Ayurveda is a well-known system of health science that was developed in ancient India.

The two famous practitioners of Ayurveda in ancient India were Charaka (1st-2nd centuries CE) and Sushruta (4th century CE). Charak Samhita, written by Charak is a remarkable book on medicine. Susruta Samhita, written by Sushruta, is a book on detailed surgical procedures.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 10 Metallurgy

• Metallurgy means the scientific study of metals and their uses. Ancient Indian metallurgists made major contributions to the metallurgical history of the world.
• According to archaeological excavations, the Harappans were great craftsmen and had knowledge of copper metallurgy. They also manufactured bronze by mixing copper and tin. The Harappans belonged to the Bronze Age, while their successors belonged to the Iron Age.
• India produced highly advanced types of iron like forged iron, wrought iron, and cast iron. The iron pillar at Mehrauli, Delhi is a remarkable example of the skill of Indian crafts persons. The iron pillar is 7.2 m high and weighs over 3 tonnes.
• It was made about 1500 years ago. There is an inscription on the pillar mentioning about its date and a ruler named Chandra, who probably belonged to the Gupta dynasty. The amazing fact about the pillar is that it has not rusted through the centuries.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 9 New Empires And Kingdoms

Prashastis

1. Prashasti is a Sanskrit word which means in praise of. It is an inscription composed by the poets in praise of their rulers.
2. Prashastis were composed for rulers such as Samudragupta Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni. Prashastis became far more important from the time of the Guptas.

Samudragupta’s Prashasti

• Samudragupta was a famous ruler of the Gupta dynasty.
• The prashasti of Samudragupta was composed as a Kavya by Harishena, the poet and a minister at the court of Samudragupta. It is a long inscription having very long sentences. It is inscribed on the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad,
• In this prashasti, the poet praised the king by mentioning him as a warrior, as a king who won victories in battle, as a learned man, and as a great poet. He is also described as equal to the Gods.
• In the prashasti, Harishena describes four different kinds of rulers, and mentions Samudragupta’s policies toward them, as follows
• The Rulers of Aryavarta These included nine rulers of the Northern part of India who were removed and their kingdoms were made a part of Samudragupta’s empire.
• The Rulers of Dakshinapatha These included twelve rulers of the Southern part of India. They surrendered to Samudragupta after being defeated and then allowed to rule again by Samudragupta.
• The Rulers of Neighbouring States These included rulers of Assam, coastal Bengal, Nepal, and a number of gana sanghas in the North-West. They brought tribute, followed the orders of Samudragupta, and attended his court.
• The Rulers of the Outlying Areas of India These included the ancestors of the Kushanas and Shakas, and the ruler of Sri Lanka, who surrendered to Samudragupta and offered daughters in marriage.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 9 Genealogies

• Most prashastis also provide genealogies i.e. information about the ancestors of the ruler. For example, Samudragupta’s prashasti provides information about his great-grandfather, father, and mother.
• Samudragupta’s mother, Kumara Devi, belonged to the Lichchhavi gana, and his father Chandragupta, adopted the grand title of Maharaj-adhiraja. This title was also used by Samudragupta.
• The great-grandfather and grandfather of Samudragupta are mentioned simply as maha rajas. This signifies that his family gained importance gradually.
• The genealogies of loci rulers like his son Chandragupta II provide information about Samudragupta.
• Information about Chandragupta 2 is known from the inscriptions and coins. He led an expedition to Western India, where he defeated the last Shaka ruler.
• His court was full of learned people, including Kalidasa, the poet, and Aryabhata, the astronomer.
• It refers to the era beginning in 58 BCE which is traditionally associated with the Gupta king.
• Chandragupta II founded it as a mark of victory over the Shakas and assumed the title of Vikramaditya.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 9 Harshavardhana and the Harshacharita

• Apart from inscriptions and coins, information about some rulers can be acquired from biographies, For Example. biography of Harshavardhana, who ruled nearly 1400 years ago. His court poet, Banabhatta wrote his biography, the Harshacharita, in Sanskrit.
• This biography of Harsha provides his genealogy. The account of Xuan Zang, who spent a lot of time in Harsha’s court, also provides information about Harsha.
• Harshavardhana became king of Thanesar after his father and his elder brother died. His brother-in-law was the ruler of Kanauj but he was killed by the ruler of Bengal. So, Harsha took over the kingdom of Kanauj and led an army against the ruler of Bengal.
• He was successful in the East and conquered Magadha and Bengal. He tried to cross the Narmada to march into the Deccan but was stopped by Pulakeshin II of the Chalukya dynasty.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 9 The Pallavas, Chalukyas and Pulakeshin’s Prashasti

• The Pallavas and Chalukyas were the most powerful and important ruling dynasties in South India during the Gupta period.
• The kingdom of Pallavas spread from the region around their capital Kanchipuram to the Kaveri delta. The kingdom of the Chalukyas was located around the Raichur Doab, between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra.
• The capital city of Chalukyas, Aihole, was an important trading center. It gradually developed as a religious center with a number of temples.
• The Pallavas and Chalukyas frequently attacked each other’s lands, especially the capital cities, which were prosperous (wealthy) towns.
• Pulakeshin II was the famous Chalukyan ruler. His prashasti was composed by his court poet Ravikirti, which gives information about his ancestors, especially the last four generations.
• Pulakeshin II took over the kingdom from his uncle. According to Ravikirti, he led expeditions along the West and East coasts and stopped Harshavardhana from expanding his kingdom. Pulakeshin II also attacked the Pallava king, who took shelter behind the walls of Kanchipuram.
• The kingdoms of Chalukyas and Pallavas were overthrown by the Rashtrakuta and Chola dynasties.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Chapter 9 Administration of Kingdoms

• The land revenue was important for the earlier kings, and the village remained the basic unit of administration. Some new developments were also made in the administration such as The kings started to adopt some new methods to win the support of men who were economically, or socially powerful, or because of their political and military strength.
• Some important administrative posts were now hereditary. This means that sons succeeded their fathers in these posts. For example, the poet Harishena was a maha-danda-nayaka, or chief judicial officer, like his father.
• Sometimes, one person maintained many offices. For example, besides being a maha-danda-nayaka,
• Harishena was a kumar-amatya, meaning an important minister, and a sandhi-vigrahika, meaning a minister of war and peace.
• H Important men probably had a role in local administration. These included
• the nagara-shreshthi or chief banker or merchant of the city
• the sarthavaha or leader of the merchant caravans
• the Prathama-Kulik or the chief craftsman
• and the head of the kayasthas or scribes
• These policies or new developments were reasonably effective, but some powerful men became strong enough to set up independent kingdoms

A New Kind of Army

• Some of the kings of the Gupta period maintained a well-organized army, with elephants, chariots, cavalry, and foot soldiers.
• There were military leaders who provided troops to the king whenever he needed them. These military leaders were known as samantas. They were not paid regular salaries instead, some of them received grants of land.
• They collected revenue from the land and used this to maintain soldiers and horses, and also provide equipment for warfare.
• Whenever the ruler was weak, samantas tried to become independent.

Assemblies in the Southern Kingdoms

The inscriptions of the Pallavas mention a number of local assemblies. These were

• Sabha It was an assembly of Brahmin landowners. This assembly functioned through sub-committees, which looked after irrigation, agricultural operations, making roads, local temples, etc.
• It was a village assembly found in areas where the landowners were not Brahmins.
• Nagaram was an organization of merchants. It was controlled by rich and powerful landowners and merchants.
• Many of these local assemblies continued to function for centuries.

Ordinary People in the Kingdoms

• The plays and the other accounts of the poets give information about the lives of ordinary people.
• The plays of Kalidasa depict life in the king’s court. In these plays, the king and most brahmins are shown as speaking Sanskrit, while women and men other than the king and brahmins use Prakrit.
• Abhijnana Shakuntalam is the most famous play of Kalidasa. It is the story of the love between a king named Dushyanta and a young woman named Shakuntala.
• The Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian had mentioned in his account about the condition of the people treated as untouchables. They were expected to live outside the city.
• If they wanted to enter a town or marketplace, they had to strike a piece of wood, so that the other people get aware of them.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 8 Villages, Towns And Trade

Iron Tools and Agriculture

• The use of iron started in India around 3000 years ago. A number of iron tools and weapons were found in the megalithic burials.
• There is evidence for the increasing use of iron tools around 2500 years ago. These included axes for clearing forests and the iron ploughshare.
• Irrigation as a Step to Increase Production
• Apart from the new tools like iron ploughshare and the system of transplantation2, irrigation was also used for increasing agricultural production. Irrigation works that were built during this time included canals, wells, tanks and artificial lakes.

People in the Villages

There were three different kinds of people living in most of the villages in the Southern and Northern parts of the sub-continent. They were

• In the Tamil region, large landowners were known as Vellalar and ordinary ploughmen were known as uzhavar. Landless labourers, including slaves, were known as kadaisiyar and adimai.
• In the Northern part of the country, the village headman was known as the grama bhojaka. Generally, men from the same family acquired the position of grama bhojaka for generations, which means the post was hereditary. He was the largest landowner.
• He had slaves and also hired workers to cultivate the land. The king often used him to collect taxes from the village. He functioned as a judge and sometimes as a policeman.
• There were independent farmers in the Northern part, known as chapatis, who were small landowners. There were other men and women, such as the dasa karmakara, who had no land. They had to work in the fields of others for their livelihoods.

Apart from these, there were also some craftsmen like blacksmiths, potters, carpenters and weavers in most of the villages.

Coins

• Archaeologists have found many coins belonging to the period around 3000 years ago. The earliest coins that were in use about 500 years ago were punch-marked coins.
• These coins were generally rectangular or sometimes square or round in shape. They were made of metal. They were stamped with symbols using dies or punches. Hence, they are called punch-marked coins.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 8 Cities with Many Functions

During the period of around 3000 years ago, mostly a single town was important for a variety of reasons.

• Mathura has been an important town for settlement, for more than 2500 years because it was situated at the crossroads of two major routes of trade and travel. These routes are from the North-West to the East and from North to South.
• In Mathura, there were several shrines and fortifications around the city. Farmers and herders from nearby areas provided food for the people in the city. Mathura was also famous as a centre that produced extremely fine sculptures.
• Mathura became the second capital city of the Kushanas around 2000 years ago. There were Buddhist monasteries and, Jaina shrines, and it was also an important centre for the worship of Krishna.
• In Mathura, many inscriptions on surfaces such as stone slabs and statues have been found. These are short inscriptions, that mention gifts given by men and sometimes by women, to monasteries and shrines.
• These inscriptions were made by kings and queens, officers, merchants and craftspersons. Inscriptions of Mathura give information about different professionals of this city such as goldsmiths, blacksmiths, weavers, basket makers, garland makers, perfumers, etc.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 8 Crafts and Craftspersons

• Archaeological evidence of crafts has also been found. These include extremely fine pottery, known as the Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). It was named as this because it is generally found in the Northern part of the sub-continent.
• The manufacturing of cloth was also important. There were famous centres for manufacturing cloth, such as Varanasi in the North, and Madurai in the South. Both men and women worked in these centres.

Shrenis

• Many craftspersons and merchants formed associations known as shrines. These shrines provided training, procured raw materials and distributed the finished product.
• The shrines of merchants organised the trade. These also served as banks, where rich men and women deposited money. This money was invested for interest.
• Some part of this interest was either returned to the depositor or given to religious institutions like monasteries.

Arikamedu

• Between 2200 and 1900 years ago, Arikamedu was a coastal settlement where ships unloaded goods from distant lands.
• A huge brick structure, which may have been a warehouse, was found at this site. Pottery from the Mediterranean region, like amphorae5 and stamped red-glazed pottery, called Arretine Ware were found.
• The Arretine Ware was named after a city in Italy. It was made by pressing wet clay into a stamped mould.
• There was also another kind of pottery, which was made locally but used Roman designs. Roman lamps, glassware and gems have also been found at Arikamedu.
• Small tanks were also found at this site which were probably used to dye cloth. Apart from these, evidence for making beads from semi-precious stones and glass was also found.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 8 Trade and Traders

• Traders are the persons who used to carry things from the places where they are made, to the places where they are sold.
• South India was famous for gold, spices and mainly for pepper and precious stones. Pepper was known as Black Gold because it was valued so much in the Roman Empire.
• Traders used to carry many of these goods to Rome through ships and caravans. Roman gold coins have been found in South India, which provides a clear proof that a lot of trade was carried out in the past
• Traders explored various sea routes some of which followed the coasts. Some of them were across the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, where monsoon winds helped in crossing the seas more quickly.
• If traders want to reach Western coast of the sub-continent from East Africa or Arabia, they chose to sail with the South-West monsoon. Strong ships had to be built for these long journeys.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 8 New Kingdoms along the Coasts

• There is a long coastline, hills, plateaus and river valleys in the Southern half of the sub-continent. The Kaveri River valley is the most fertile among the other river valleys. Chiefs and kings who controlled river valleys and coasts became rich and powerful.
• The Tamil word muvendar is mentioned in Sangam poems meaning three chiefs. This word was used for the heads of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas who became powerful in South India around 2300 years ago.
• Each chief had two centres of power i.e. one over inland and one on the coast. Puhar or Kaveripattinam (the port6 of the Cholas) and Madurai (the capital of the Pandyas) were important cities under Cholas and Pandyas.
• The chiefs didn’t collect regular taxes, instead, they demanded and received gifts from people. They went on military expeditions and collected tributes from neighbouring areas.
• They kept some wealth and distributed the rest amongst their supporters, including family members, soldiers and poets.
• There are poems in the Sangam collection praising the chiefs who rewarded the poets with gold, precious stones, horses, elephants, chariots and fine cloth.

Satavahanas

• Around 200 years later, the Satavahanas dynasty became powerful in Western India. Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni was the most important ruler of this dynasty. An inscription composed by his mother, Gautami Balashri gives information about him.
• Gautamiputra and other Satavahana rulers came to be known as lords of the dakshinapatha which literally means the route leading to the South and used as a name for the entire Southern region. Gautamiputra sent his army to the Eastern, Western and Southern coasts.

Silk Route and the Kushanas

• Some kings tried to control large parts of the Silk Route because they could benefit from taxes, tributes and gifts that were brought by traders travelling along the route.
• In return, the kings provided protection to the traders, who passed from their kingdoms, by the attacks of robbers.
• The Kushanas ruled over Central Asia and North-West around 2000 years ago. They were among the famous rulers who controlled the Silk Route.
• The two major centres of power of Kushanas were Peshawar and Mathura. Taxila was also included in their kingdom.
• During their rule, a branch of the Silk Route extended from Central Asia down to the seaports at the mouth of the Indus River. Silk was shipped Westwards to the Roman Empir

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 7 From A Kingdom To An Empire

The Mauryan Empire

• The Mauryan Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya more than 2300 years ago.
• Chandragupta Maurya was supported by a wise man named Chanakya or Kautilya. Many of Chanakya’s ideas were written down in a book called the Arthashastra.
• There were several cities in the Mauryan empire including the capital Pataliputra, Taxila and Ujjain. Taxila was a gateway to the North-West, including Central Asia, while Ujjain lay on the route from North to South India. Merchants, officials and craftspersons probably lived in these cities.
• In other areas, there were villages of farmers and herders. In some areas such as Central India, there were forests where people gathered forest produce and hunted animals for food.
• People in different parts of the empire spoke different languages, ate different kinds of food and wore different kinds of clothes.

Ruling the Mauryan Empire

• In the Mauryan Empire, the area around Pataliputra was under the direct control of the emperor. Officials were appointed to collect taxes from farmers, herders, craftspersons and traders, who lived in villages and towns in the area.
• Officials also punished those who disobeyed the ruler’s orders, and many of these officials were given salaries.
• Taxes were collected on a regular basis, whereas tribute was collected as and when it was possible. Tribute was collected in the form of a variety of things from the people who gave them more or less willingly.
• Messengers went from place to place, and spies kept a watch on the officials. The emperor supervised them all, with the help of members of the royal family and senior ministers.
• The other areas or provinces were ruled by a provincial capital such as Taxila or Ujjain. These provinces were controlled by Pataliputra to some extent, and mostly the royal princes were sent to these provinces as Governors. However, local customs and rules were probably followed in these provinces.
• Apart from these provinces, there were vast areas between the provincial centres. The Mauryas tried to control roads and rivers in these centres which were important for transport, and to collect resources as tax and tribute.
• According to Arthashastra, the North-West was important for blankets and South India for its gold and precious stones. It is possible that these resources were collected as tribute.
• There were also regions with forests where the people were more or less independent, However, they may have been accepted to provide elephants, timber, honey and wax to Maruyan Officials

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 7 Ashoka, A Unique Ruler

• He was the most famous Mauryan ruler and was the first ruler who tried to spread his message to the people through inscriptions.
• Most of Ashoka’s inscriptions were in Prakrit and were written in the Brahmi script. His inscriptions were inscribed on pillars, as well as on rock surfaces.
• Ashoka fought a war to conquer Kalinga, the ancient name of coastal Orissa. However, he was horrified to see the violence and decided not to fight any more wars.
• He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning a war.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 7 Ashoka’s Dhamma

• Dhamma is the Prakrit word for the Sanskrit term ‘Dharma’ or ‘Duty’.
• Ashoka’s dhamma did not involve worship of a God, or performance of a sacrifice. He felt that he had a duty to instruct his subjects like a father tries to teach his children.
• He was also inspired by the teachings of the Buddha. There were a number of problems that worried Ashoka such as
• The people in the empire followed different religions and this sometimes led to conflict.
• H Slaves and servants were ill-treated, and there were fights in families and amongst neighbours.
• Ashoka felt that it was his duty to solve these problems. So, he appointed officials, known as the dhamma mahamatta who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma.
• He also sent messengers to spread ideas about dhamma to other lands, such as Syria, Egypt, Greece and Sri Lanka. Ashoka sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghmitra to Sri Lanka to spread the ideas of Dhamma.
• Ashoka got his messages inscribed on rocks and pillars and instructed his officials to read his message to those who could not read it themselves.
• He built roads, dug wells, rest houses, and made arrangements for medical treatment for both human beings and animals.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Social Science Chapter 2 Globe Latitudes And Longitudes

Globe

• The globe is a true model of the Earth (in small form). The size of the globe varies from small to big. The countries, continents, and oceans are shown in their correct sizes on the globe.
• The needle fixed through the globe in a tilted manner is called its axis. However, the real Earth does not have such a needle. The Earth moves around its axis, which is an imaginary line.
• The two points on the globe where the needle passes are the North Pole and the South Pole. The globe can be moved around this needle from West to East just like the Earth.

Equator: It is another imaginary circular line that runs through the globe and divides the Earth into two equal parts.

These are

• Northern Hemisphere The Northern half of the Earth is known as Northern Hemisphere.
• Southern Hemisphere The Southern half of the Earth is known as Southern Hemisphere.

Therefore, the equator is an important reference point for locating places on the Earth.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Chapter 2 Latitudes

• An imaginary circle parallel to the equator is called latitude. All parallel circles from the equator up to the poles are called parallels of latitudes. These are measured in degrees.
• All parallel circles North of the equator are called North latitudes while all parallels South of the equator are called
• South latitudes. The North and South latitudes are indicated by the letters ‘N’ and ‘S’ respectively.
• The equator represents the zero-degree latitude. The distance from the equator to either of the poles is one-fourth of a circle around the Earth (1 /4th of 360 degrees, i.e. 90°).
• Hence, 90 degrees North latitude marks the North Pole and 90 degrees South latitude marks the South Pole.

Difference between North and South Latitude

• The difference between North and South Latitude can be understood through the example of Chandrapur in Maharashtra (India) and Belo Horizonte in Brazil (South America).
• Both of these places are located on parallels of about 20° latitude. However, the difference between both locations is their position in North and South latitudes respectively.
• Chandrapur in Maharashtra (India) is situated at 20° North of the equator while Belo in Brazil is situated at 20° South of the equator. Thus, Chandrapur is at 20° N latitude and Belo Horizonte at 20° S latitude.
• As one moves away from the equator, the size of the parallels of latitude decreases.

Important Parallels of Latitudes: Besides the equator (0°), the North Pole (90°N), and the South Pole (90° S), there are four important parallels of latitudes. These are

• Tropic of Cancer  (231/2° N) in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Tropic of Capricorn  (23fc° S) in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Arctic Circle at 66V2° North of the equator.
•  Antarctic Circle at 66V20 South of the equator.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Chapter 2 Heat Zones of the Earth

• Torrid Zone:  For at least once a year, the mid-day Sun is exactly overhead on all latitudes between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
• As a result of this, the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn receives the maximum heat, and this area is called the Torrid zone.
• The mid-day Sun never shines overhead on any latitude beyond the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

Temperate Zones

The angle of the ray of the Sun goes on decreasing towards the poles. Thus, the areas between the Arctic Circle and Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere and the Antarctic Circle and Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere have moderate temperatures. These areas are called temperate zones.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 Geography Chapter 2 Longitudes

• An imaginary circle parallel to the Prime Meridian i. called longitude.
• It is difficult to locate a place exactly if two or more places are situated on the same latitude.
• For example, the Tonga Islands in the Pacific and the Mauritius Islands in the Indian Ocean are situated at the same latitude (20° S).
• Thus, in order to locate these places exactly, it is necessary to know how far East or West are these places from the line of reference running from the North Pole to the South Pole. These lines of reference are called meridians of longitude.
• The distance between the meridians is measured in degrees. Each degree is divided into minutes and minutes are further divided into seconds.
• The distances between meridians decrease polewards and become zero at the poles. All the meridians meet at zero degrees. All meridians are of equal length, unlike parallels of latitude.
• The counting of longitude starts from the meridian which passes through Greenwich where the British Royal Observatory is located. This meridian is called the Prime Meridian.
• It has a value of 0° longitude, with counting extending 180° Eastward and 180° Westward.
• The Prime Meridian and 180° meridian divides the Earth into two equal halves, the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, denoted by letters ‘E’ and ‘W’ respectively. The 180° East and 180° West meridians are on the same line.

Longitude and Time:  The best method of measuring time is by the movement of the Earth, the Moon, and the planets.

• Local time is determined by the shadow formed by the Sun which is shortest at noon and longest at sunrise and sunset.
• When the Sun is at its highest point along the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, all places on this meridian experience mid-day or noon.
• As the Earth rotates from West to East, the places located to the East of Greenwich are ahead of Greenwich time, while places located to the West are behind the Greenwich time.
• Earth completes a 360° rotation in 24 hours, which means 15° per hour or 1° in four minutes.
• When it is 12 noon at Greenwich, the time at 15° east of Greenwich will be 15 x 4 = 60 minutes, i.e. 1 hour ahead of Greenwich time, which means 1 p.m.
• However, at 15° West of Greenwich, the time will be behind Greenwich time by one hour, i.e. it will be 11.00 a.m.

Knowledge Plus: The Earth has been divided into twenty-four time zones of one hour each. Each zone thus covers 15° of longitude.

Standard Time:  It is necessary to adopt the local time of some central meridian of a country as the standard time for the country. It is because there is a difference in the local times on different meridians.

• In India, the longitude of 821/2° E (82° 30’E) is considered as the standard meridian, and the local time at this meridian is taken as the standard time for the whole country. It is known as the Indian Standard Time (1ST).
• India is located East of Greenwich at 82°30’E, thus it is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT.
• Some countries have adopted more than one standard time as they have a great longitudinal extent. For example, in Russia, there are eleven standard times.

CBSE Notes For Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 5 Kingdoms, Kings And An Early Republic Kingdoms, Kings And An Early Republic

Some Men Became Rulers

• Around 3000 years ago, some men became recognised as rajas by performing big sacrifices. An example of such a ritual was the Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice.
• In this ritual, a horse was let free to roam and it was guarded by the raja’s men. If the horse roamed into the kingdoms of other rajas and they stopped it, they had to fight.
• If they allowed the horse to pass, it meant that they accepted that the raja who wanted to perform the sacrifice, was stronger than them. Then these other rajas were invited to the sacrifice.
• The sacrifice was performed by specially trained priests, who were rewarded with gifts. The raja who organised the sacrifice was recognised as being very powerful, and all those who came in the sacrifice brought gifts for him.
• The raja was a central figure in these rituals, and he often had a special seat, a throne or a tiger skin.
• His charioteer chanted tales of his glory. His relatives, especially his wives and sons, had to perform a variety of minor rituals.
• The other rajas simply had to sit and watch the performance of the sacrifice. The priests performed the rituals including the sprinkling of sacred water on the king.
• The ordinary people, the vish or vaishya, also brought gifts. Some people such as those who were regarded as shudras by the priests, were excluded from many rituals.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 5 Janapadas

• The word janapada literally means the land where the jana reached and settled down. The rajas who performed big sacrifices were recognised as rajas of Janapadas rather than janas.
• Archaeologists have excavated a number of settlements in these Janapadas, such as Purana Qila in Delhi, Hastinapur near Meerut and Atranjikhera near Etah.
• Archaeologists found that people lived in huts and kept cattle as well as other animals. They also grew a variety of crops such as rice, wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, sesame and mustard.
• The people made earthen pots, some of which were grey in colour and others were red. A special type of pottery found at these sites is known as Painted grey ware. Such pots had painted designs, usually simple lines and geometric patterns.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 5 Mahajanapadas

• About 2500 years ago, some janapadas became more important than others and were known as mahajanapadas.
• Most of the mahajanapadas had a capital city. Many of these were tortified, which means that huge walls of wood, brick or stone were built around them.
• Forts were built because people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection. Some rulers probably built lots with large, tall and impressive walls around their cities to show their wealth and strength.
• Fortification is also the way by which the land and the people living inside the fortified area could be controlled more easily by the king. Building such huge walls required a great deal of planning and resources. Many bricks or stones and labour including men, women and children, were required.
• Rajas began to maintain armies, by paying regular salaries throughout the year. Some payments were probably made by using punch-marked coins.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 5 Taxes

The rulers of the mahajanapadas required more resources to maintain big armies and build huge forts. So, they started collecting regular taxes instead of depending upon occasional gifts brought by people.

These taxes include the following

• Taxes on crops
• Taxes on craftspersons
• Herders paid taxes as animals and animal produce.
• Taxes on goods through trade.
• Hunters and gatherers had to provide forest produce to the raja as taxes.
• Changes in Agriculture

During the Mahajanapada period, there were two major changes in agriculture as follows

1. There was an increase in use of iron ploughshares3 instead of wooden ploughshares. This meant that Heavy and clayey soil could now be turned over better and more grain could be produced.
2. People began transplanting paddy. Instead of scattering seeds on the ground, from which plants would sprout, saplings were grown and then planted in the fields. This led to an increase in production, as many more plants survived.

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 5 Magadha Mahajanapada

1. Magadha became the most important mahajanapada in about 200 years. Many rivers such as the Ganga and Son flowed through Magadha, which was important for transport, water supplies and making the land fertile.
2. In Magadha, many areas were covered with forests. The elephants which lived in these forests could be captured and trained for the army. Forests also provided wood for building houses, carts and chariots.
3. There were iron ore mines in the region that could be used to make strong tools and weapons.
4. Bimbisara and Ajntasattu were the two most powerful rulers of Magadha, who used all possible means to conquer other janapadas.
5. Mahapadma Nanda was another important ruler. He extended his control up to the North-West part of the sub-continent.
6. Rajagriha (present-day Rajgir) in Bihar was the capital of Magadha for several years. Later, the capital was shifted to Pataliputra (present-day Patna).

Class 6 History Social Science Chapter 5 Vajji Mahajanapada

• There was a different form of government in Vajji known as gana or sangha. The capital of Vajji was Vaishali (Bihar). In a gana or sangha, there were many rulers and each of them was known as a raja. These rajas performed rituals together.
• They met in assemblies, where they made decisions through discussion and debate. For example, discussing about protecting their kingdom from the attack of an enemy.
• The women, dasas and kammakaras could not participate in any of the rituals and assemblies.
• Rajas of powerful kingdoms tried to conquer the sanghas, However, they lasted for a very long time, till about 1500 years, when the last ganas or sanghas were conquered by the Gupta rulers.