BALDWIN BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL BANGALORE-25

Subject- History and Civics.

Std – VI.
NOTES (Mesopotamian, Chinese Civilizations)
I Fill in the blank:
1)the land between river Tigris and Euphrates was called
Mesopotamia.
2)Mesopotamian were the first to develop Algebra and
Geometry.
3)The Egyptian counted years by observing the star Sirius
4)The Chinese Civilization were up in the valleys of three
rivers Hwang-ho, Yangtze and Si
II Read the clue and guess the answers:
1)Stepped pyramid on top of which the main temple was built.
- Ziggurat
2)Greatest achievement of the Egyptians in the field of
astronomy-Solar calendar
3)Rock-cut temple built by Rameses II-Abu -simbel
4)This queen became the Pharaoh in the New kingdom-
Hatshepsut
5)the Chinese invented this to record earthquakes-
Seismograph

III. Write short notes on the following

a. The Mesopotamian society.
 Ans. Members of the royal family were on the highest
position. Then came the priests and high officials. Farmers,
artisans, traders, landlords were the next in the ladder. And
the lowest class consisted of slaves. The father was head of
the family and enjoyed special privileges. Children were
brought up strictly and boys were sent to school and the
girls were trained in dance and music.
b. Hammurabi’s code of law
Ans. Hammurabi’s code of law-one of the greatest
achievements of Hammurabi (1792 BCE- 1750 BCE) a
Babylonian king, was his code of law. He carved them on a
column of hard stone, 8 feet in length. This code is based
on justice, old customs and traditions. There are about 282
articles of laws which dealt with all aspects of human life.
The code includes laws of property, wages, contracts, debts,
banking, theft, marriage etc.
c. Science and technology in the Chinese society.
Ans. Science and technology in the Chinese society: -
The Chinese calendar consisted of 365 days and had twelve
months. They could foretell eclipses of the sun and the
moon. They could use lunar and solar calendars. They
constructed a big astronomical clock in the eighth century.
They kept a record of weather, rainfall, droughts and
floods.
They invented the seismography to record earthquakes,
mariner’s compass, umbrella, gunpowder for fireworks and
made paper from bamboo pulp and rags.
They were the first to invent ink and printing and introduce
banking and paper currency.
IV. Long answer questions:
a)What does the word ‘Civilization’ mean? State its
features.
Ans.. The term civilization is derived from the Latin word
civitas meaning city.
The main features are:
* People live in town and cities
* There is a government to maintain law and order.
* Goods and services are exchanged between villages and
cities.
* Different religious beliefs and art forms exist.

b. Why did the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia,

Egypt, China and Harappa flourish along the river valleys?
Ans: The civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Harappa
and China are said to be the earliest civilizations of the
world. These civilizations flourished along the river
valleys.
The reasons for this are:
a. The abundant water provided by the rivers supported
the large settlements.
b. People were able to grow more crops because the
lands near the river were very fertile.
c. The surplus agricultural produce led them to engage in
other activities like pottery-making, temple-building,
trade and commerce.
d. Rivers acted as means of transport.
c. Describe the scripts of Mesopotamian and Chinese
civilizations.
Ans: Script Mesopotamians invented the cuneiform
system or writing, that is, wedge-shaped (cuneus in Latin
means wedge) they wrote from right to left with a stylus.

There are thousands of pictorial signs in the Chinese

script, each representing a word or an idea. Because of
the difficult script, education remained confined to some.
Today they use a simplified form of writing. Earlier, the
Chinese wrote on silk cloth with a brush of camel hair or
on bamboo slips or animal bones.

d. What were the different occupations of people in the

Chinese civilization? Elaborate.
Ans: Agriculture was the chief occupation of the
Chinese. they produced rice, wheat, millets, sorghum,
soya bean and other grains. They were the first people to
cultivate tea. Chinese were the first to make silk. they
also made exquisite porcelain wares. vases, jars, cups,
bowls also known as chinaware. Chinese led the world in
fine woodwork they crafted object of wood inlaid with
ivory, they made beautiful bronze vessels and statues
with figures of dragons and animals.

NEW TEXT BOOK; Enhanced EXCURSIONS

History
CHAPTER; 1
The Mesopotamian Civilization: ( Notes)
D. Write short notes on the following:
 1) City- states:
Ans: There existed a number of city-states in sumer, some
of which included erech, eridu, lagash and ur. City-states
functioned much like independent countries of today.
4)Mesopotamian architecture:
Ans: Architecture and technology- the uses of arches,
columns and domes in the buildings were introduced by
the Mesopotamians in their constructions
5) Cuneiform Script:
Ans: Cuneiform: the people of Mesopotamia developed
one of the earliest systems of writing in a script called
the cuneiform script. It includes more than 350 signs
that were wedge-shaped.
E. Answer these questions briefly:
1) What is a Ziggurat?
Ans: Religion- they built temples for the gods. Such
temples were called ziggurats.
2)Name the three zone of the city-state.
Ans: Mesopotamian city- states were divided into three
zones:
The walled city, where the bulk of the common people
lived.
The sacred zone, where the king, his officers and the
priests lived.
The outer town, where the farmers and artisans lived.
3)Name a few city -states of sumer.
Ans: There existed a number of city-states in sumer,
some of which included erech, eridu, lagash and ur. City-
states functioned much like independent countries of
today.
4) What was the main occupation of the Mesopotamians?
Ans: The people of Mesopotamia were primarily
engaged in agriculture.
5) What were the reason for the decline of the
Mesopotamian Civilization?
Ans: Decline of the Mesopotamian civilization- the
Mesopotamian civilization came to an end. A major factor
was the change in course of the Euphrates river which
forced the inhabitants to move to other places
F. Answer these questions in detail:
4) Write a note on Mesopotamian trade and commerce.
Ans: Trade and commerce- trade and commerce
flourished in Mesopotamia, making it a prosperous
civilization. The chief exports were food grains and
finished products. The chief imports were stone, timber
and metal ores. They traded with the Mediterranean
countries and Egypt. It is believed that they had trade
relations with the Indus valley civilization.

NEW TEXT BOOK; Enhanced EXCURSIONS -History

Chapter: 4
The Chinese Civilization
D. Answer these questions in brief:
1) Why is the river Hwang-Ho know as the sorrow of
China?
Ans River Hwang ho soon became recognized as a boon
as well as a curse to the inhabitants of the nearby
regions. Very often, it would change its course, leading
to much loss and crop destruction, earning for itself the
name, ’the sorrow of China’.
2)What were the main items exported by China during
the Chinese Civilization?
Ans: Trade and commerce- silk was traded with many
countries like Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran, India and
Arabia. Other luxury goods like porcelain, spices, fabrics,
animals.
3)Name the three religions followed by the Chinese.
Ans: Religion- the Chinese had great respect for
astrologers, and oracles were considered to be close to
god. Later on, the Chinese adopted Confucianism,
Taoism and Buddhism.
E. Answer these questions in detail:
1)What are the characteristic features of the Chinese
society?
Ans: The Chinese society was divided into several
classes. The ruler or emperor stood at the top of the
social structure. Below him were the nobles, merchants,
artisans and farmers. The slaves were at the bottom of
the society. The soldiers were respected and enjoyed a
 special position in the Chinese society. Family was
considered a sacred unit and a large family was a
blessing. These families lived in groups. The Chinese had
high regard for their ancestors and the elders in the
society.
2)List the contributions of the Chinese Civilization.
Ans: Contributions of the Chinese civilization- one of the
most important Chinese inventions was paper. Initially,
people wrote on bamboo plates and silk cloth. Later,
paper was made from the bark of trees.
The Chinese used both lunar and solar calendars. The
difference between the solar and lunar calculations
continues to be corrected after every 19 years. A year
had 365 and ¼ days. They developed a calendar
consisting of 12 months with altogether 365 days. They
counted the months of a year by the movement of the
moon and could predict eclipses. Each month had either
29 or 30 days.
4) What did the Chinese do to prevent floods in the river
Hwang Ho?
1. Ans: The conditions were ideal for the establishment of
settlements along its banks, the people learnt to build
dykes and embankments to reduce the damage caused
by such floods. This led to the beginning of the Chinese
civilization as early as 1750 BCE.