Introduction to the Topic

Welcome to NCERT Explained: Class VI History, Chapter 4 - What Books and Burials Tell Us! History is not just a collection of dates and names of kings; it is a fascinating detective story about how people lived thousands of years ago. When written records are scarce or silent, historians and archaeologists turn to other silent witnesses: ancient books and burials. This chapter takes us on a journey back in time to explore the oldest books in the world, the Vedas, and the mysterious stone structures known as megaliths that reveal secrets about ancient societies, social differences, and daily life.

Key Concepts Explained

To truly understand how people lived during ancient times, we must look at the two primary sources discussed in this chapter: written texts and archaeological findings from graves.

1. The Vedas: The Oldest Books in the World

One of the most remarkable sources of ancient history is Vedic literature. The word 'Veda' means knowledge. There are four major Vedas:

  • Rigveda: The oldest Veda, composed about 3,500 years ago. It includes more than a thousand hymns called suktas, which mean "well-said".
  • Samaveda: Contains chants and melodies used during rituals.
  • Yajurveda: Consists of rituals and mantras for sacrifices.
  • Atharvaveda: Contains charms and spells to ward off diseases and evil.

The Rigveda was originally composed in Vedic Sanskrit and was recited and heard rather than read. It was written down several centuries later. These hymns were composed by sages (rishis) and were dedicated to various gods, such as Agni (the god of fire), Indra (a warrior god), and Soma (a plant from which a special drink was prepared). People prayed for cattle, children, and horses.

2. Life in the Vedic Age: Society and Occupations

The Rigveda gives us a clear picture of how society was organized. People were described in terms of their work, language, and community. There were two main groups:

  • Priests (Brahmins): Performed rituals and sacrifices.
  • Rojas (Rulers): Defended the community, though they did not have capital cities, palaces, armies, or collect regular taxes as later kings did.

Words like jana or vis were used to describe people as a whole (for example, panchala jana). The people who composed the hymns called themselves Aryas and their opponents Dasas or Dasyus, who did not perform sacrifices and spoke different languages. Over time, Dasas came to mean slaves.

3. Megaliths: Silent Stones Telling Tales

While the Vedas tell us about religious and social life in north-west India, archaeology tells us about other parts of the subcontinent, particularly the Deccan, south India, north-east India, and Kashmir. Archaeologists discovered large stone boulders known as megaliths (meaning 'big stones') placed around burial sites.

The practice of erecting megaliths began about 3,000 years ago. These structures were carefully arranged by people to mark burial sites. Sometimes, the dead were buried beneath the earth in stone-lined graves called cists, or inside large urns.

4. What Do Burials Tell Us About Social Differences?

Archaeologists examine the objects found inside graves to understand the lives of the dead. In almost all burial sites, the dead were buried with distinctive pots called Black and Red Ware, along with tools and weapons of iron, and sometimes ornaments of gold and stone.

Interestingly, the number and quality of grave goods varied greatly, revealing social inequalities. For instance, in some burials like the site at Inamgaon, archaeologists found a skeleton buried in a four-legged clay jar across a courtyard, suggesting that some individuals were wealthier or more powerful than others within the same community.

5. Special Burials at Brahmagiri

At sites like Brahmagiri, one skeleton was buried with 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles, and one conch shell. Other skeletons had only a few earthen pots. This clear disparity in wealth proves that social differentiation had already emerged in ancient communities, where certain people were chiefs or rich landowners while others were ordinary folk.

6. Occupations at Inamgaon: A Special Archaeological Site

Inamgaon is a site on the river Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima. It was occupied between 3,600 and 2,700 years ago. Here, archaeologists found houses with multiple rooms, especially for the chief, and evidence of various occupations:

  • Growing wheat, barley, rice, pulses, millets, peas, and sesame.
  • Finding bones of animals bearing cut marks, indicating they were eaten (cattle, sheep, goat, dog, horse, pig, deer, tortoise, etc.).
  • Evidence of fruits like ber, amla, jamun, and dates.

Summary & Key Takeaways

Let us review the most important points from Class VI History Chapter 4:

  • The Vedas, especially the Rigveda, are our earliest literary sources, composed around 3,500 years ago in northwest India.
  • Rigvedic society was categorized based on work, with priests and leaders playing key roles, alongside terms like Aryas and Dasas.
  • Megaliths (big stones) are archaeological markers of burial sites dating back about 3,000 years across south India, the Deccan, and Kashmir.
  • Grave goods such as pots, iron tools, and ornaments highlight that social and economic inequalities existed even in ancient times.
  • Inamgaon provides a brilliant window into a settled farming community where people grew diverse crops and raised animals.