NCERT Solutions for Class-6 History Chapter-9 Vital Villages, Thriving Towns

NCERT TEXTBOOK EXERCISES

Question 1. Fill in the blanks:
1. ……….. was a word used for large landowners in Tamil.
2. The gramabhojaka often got his land cultivated by the …………..
3. Ploughmen were known as ………… in Tamil.
4. Most grihapatis were ……….. landowners
Answer:
1. Vellalar
2. slaves and hired workers
3. Uzhavar
4. smaller

Question 2. Describe the functions of the gramabhojaka. Why do you think he was powerful?
Answer: In the northern parts of the country, the village headman was known 3s the Gramabhojaka. The post was hereditary. He was the largest landowner Besides, as he was powerful, the king often used him to collect taxes in front of the village. He also functioned as a judge and sometimes as a policeman. He was powerful because he was a hereditary village headman. He was the largest landowner.

Question 3. List the crafts persons who would have been present in both villages and cities.
Answer: Craftsmen like the carpenters, weavers, potters, etc. were presumably present in both villages and cities.

Question 4. Choose the correct answer.
(a) Ring wells were used for
1. bathing
2. washing clothes
3. irrigation
4. drainage

(b) Punch marked coins were made of
1. silver
2. gold
3. tin
4. ivory

(c) Mathura was an important
1. village
2. port
3. religious centre
4. forested area

(d) Shrines were associations of
1. rulers
2. craftspersons
3. farmers
4. herders
Answer:
(a) → 4. Drainage
(b) → 1. silver
(c) → 3. religious centre
(d) → 2. craftspersons.

Question 5. Which of the iron tools shown on NCERT page 87 would have been important for agriculture? What would the other tools have been used for?
Answer:
1. Ploughshare
2. digging stick
3. sickle
4. axe
5. spade
6. hammers
7. celt.
Other tools,
1. A quern and mortar, used for grinding grain
2. various types of pottery
3. borer
4. arrow-head
5. scraper.

Question 6. Compare the drainage system in your locality with that of the cities mentioned in the lesson. What similarities and differences do you notice?
Answer: The drainage system in our localities is well-planned. The same system was adopted in the times mentioned in the lesson. Both systems are found to be similar in many ways. The only difference that we find in the modem and the past systems is that the past system was made of mud, bricks, and thatch. They could not survive for long. They were not well-maintained, but today we have a well-maintained and developed drainage system. It is made of solid materials. It tests long.

Question 7. If you have seen craftspersons at work, describe in a short paragraph what they do.
[Hint: how do they get the raw materials, what kind of equipment do they use, how do they work, what happens to the finished product.
Answer:
1. The craftsperson buys raw material from different parts of the city or the village.
2. He works in a part of the house, with the help of the family members.
3. He works with simple tools like looms, spindles, and needles
4. The finished product is sent either to the cities for selling or the merchants come to the houses of the craftsperson to buy goods.

Question 8. List the functions performed by men and women who live in your city or village. In what ways are these similar to those performed by the people who lived in Mathura? In what ways are they different?
Answer:
Similarities: The people in Mathura worked as goldsmiths, blacksmiths, weavers, basket makers, garland makers, perfumers. In present times, people in cities are goldsmiths and others are present in the villages.
Differences: In present times, we can find people who work in offices, banks, schools, colleges, etc., but they were not present in those days.