Concepts

Introduction

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What will we study in this chapter?

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Who are early humans?

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What is civilisation?

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When did civilisation begin?

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Example of a civilisation found in India

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Did early humans know how to write? When did writing start?

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Then how did people communicate before writing?

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If they did not write, how do we know anything about them?

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What is a script? Is a script the same as a language?

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Why does the invention of writing divide history into two parts?

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Why is the period before writing so much longer?

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Why is dating of the pre-writing period only approximate?

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What do we know about the Harappan script?

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Why has the Harappan script not been deciphered?

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Which other early scripts existed at the same time?

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What would change if the Harappan script were deciphered tomorrow?

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What is the Brahmi script?

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How do BCE dates work?

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Why Should We Study Early Human History?

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What is biological evolution? left arrow to signify that you are on this page You are here

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What is cultural evolution?

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What is the difference between biological and cultural evolution?

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When did this cultural evolution take place?

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How did the human way of life change during this period?

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Where did our earliest ancestors evolve?

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What are hominins?

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Who was the first to move out of Africa?

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When did they move out of Africa?

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How do we know that Homo erectus spread out of Africa?

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Who moved out in the second wave?

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Why did early humans leave Africa to migrate to other regions?

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How do we know about our ancestors?

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Who Were Our Human Ancestors?

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Who were our early ancestors?

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When and where did they live?

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What changes do we see in the skulls of these ancestors?

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What kind of tools did they make?

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If all of them made tools, what was special about Homo sapiens?

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Why were these early ancestors called hominins?

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Why are these tools called extra-corporal limbs?

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Summary table of early ancestors

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What is this period when early ancestors lived called?

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Which areas are called the Old World, and why?

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How do we come to know about these early ancestors?

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Periods in Early Human History

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What were the different periods in human history?

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What was the Palaeolithic period?

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What was the Mesolithic period?

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What was the Neolithic period?

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What was the Chalcolithic period?

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What was the Bronze Age?

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What was the Iron Age?

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Which of these are Stone Ages, and which are Metal Ages?

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On what basis is human history divided into these periods?

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What does this classification tell us about human progress?

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Why is the shift to farming called a revolution and not a simple change?

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Summary table of the different periods

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Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherers

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What is the Stone Age? Why is it called so?

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What are the three stages of the Stone Age?

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Who were the Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers?

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Where have human settlements of the Palaeolithic Age been found? How old are they?

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What has been found at these sites?

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What were these tools used for?

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What progress was made during the Palaeolithic Age in tool preparation?

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Did Palaeolithic people make art?

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Who were these later developments associated with?

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How did people live in the Palaeolithic period?

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Comparison Table

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Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers

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What is the Mesolithic Age?

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What was the period of the Mesolithic Age?

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What change happened during this period?

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How did this affect the people?

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What was the mainstay of the subsistence economy during the Mesolithic period?

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Who were the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers?

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What tools did they use?

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Where did they live?

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Did art continue in this period?

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Comparison Table

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The Neolithic Revolution

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What is the Neolithic Age?

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What is the Neolithic Revolution?

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What was the hallmark of this revolution?

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How were Neolithic tools different from hunter-gatherer tools?

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What else did Neolithic people make?

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What was the biggest result of the Neolithic Revolution?

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What are the signs that a group of people had become farmers?

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How did a crop slowly come under human control?

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Did farming begin everywhere at the same time?

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In which order did different regions of the world start farming?

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Which animals were domesticated?

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What kind of houses and objects did these early farmers use?

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Are any of these still used in present times?

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Summary - how farming spread across the world

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Did life become easier or more challenging after humans started farming?

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One day in the life of a Neolithic farmer

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Comparison Table

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Neolithic Period in Indian Subcontinent

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Did farming begin at the same time everywhere in India?

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Which is the oldest Neolithic site in the Indian subcontinent?

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Important points about the life of Mehrgarh people

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How did Mehrgarh move into the metal age?

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Which other Neolithic site should we know?

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How far had the Neolithic way of life spread by 2500 BCE?

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Summary of Neolithic sites in India

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Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation

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What is the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation? Why is it called so?

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What are the other names of this civilisation?

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How did the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation begin?

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What are the three stages of the Harappan civilisation?

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The whole Harappan story on one timeline

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Why does the Chalcolithic period come before the Bronze Age in the sequence shown here?

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How did copper change life in these villages?

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What is the Early Harappan stage?

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Important points about the Early Harappan period

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How old are the earliest of these sites?

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What does the ploughed field at Kalibangan tell us?

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Did the Harappans have a system of weights and measures?

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What if the Harappans had not followed a standard system of weights?

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What finally led to the rise of Harappan cities?

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Bronze Age Civilisations Outside India

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What did we already study about the Harappan civilisation?

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Which were the four early world civilisations?

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Why were rivers important in the growth of early civilisations?

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Which civilisations were in close contact with each other?

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Which civilisations had little contact with the Harappans?

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Important points - the four river-plain civilisations

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Mesopotamian Civilisation

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What is Mesopotamia? What does the name mean?

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Which four city-based civilisations flourished in Mesopotamia?

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What is the Fertile Crescent?

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When did farming and metal come to Mesopotamia?

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How did cities become city-states?

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Which countries constitute West Asia today?

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Who were the Sumerians, and what were they the first to do?

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What is a ziggurat, and why was it the centre of the city?

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How did ordinary people live in Sumerian cities?

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What did the Sumerians invent?

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Are Indian temples similar to Sumerian temples?

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What were the Early Harappans doing at the same time?

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What is cuneiform?

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When did writing begin in Mesopotamia?

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How was cuneiform written, and by whom?

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What do the cuneiform tablets tell us?

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Which is one of the earliest stories ever written?

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Why do we know more about Mesopotamia than about the Harappans?

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Who were the Akkadians?

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Who did the Akkadians trade with, and what did they trade?

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Who were the Assyrians?

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Who were the Babylonians?

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What was the Code of Hammurabi, and why was it important?

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Important points about the four Mesopotamian city-states

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How did the Babylonians decline?

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Egyptian Civilisation

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What is the Egyptian civilisation?

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Which were the three kingdoms of Egypt?

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How do we know so much about ancient Egypt?

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What is papyrus?

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What did the Egyptian libraries hold?

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How was the Egyptian script deciphered?

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What was the Egyptian calendar like?

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Why is there a scale with a heart on one side and a feather on the other?

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How did the Egyptian civilisation grow?

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Why did the Egyptians call their land Kemet?

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Which were the important places in Egypt?

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How did irrigation lead to government in Egypt?

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Why is the northern part called Lower Egypt and the southern part Upper Egypt?

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Who were the Pharaohs?

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How did the pyramids come about?

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Why were the pyramids built?

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What is mummification?

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What was the social hierarchy of Egypt?

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How did Egyptian society compare with Mesopotamia?

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What do the daily objects tell us about Egyptian fashion?

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How did the Egyptians spend their leisure time?

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What role did festivals play in Egyptian life?

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Important points about the Egyptian civilisation

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What rights did Egyptian women have?

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The Chinese Civilisation

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What is the Chinese civilisation?

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How did China move from villages to cities?

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How is Chinese history organised?

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When did the Iron Age begin in China?

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Where does the name 'China' come from?

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How do we know what we know about China?

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What are oracles?

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What kind of script did the Chinese use?

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Do Chinese characters look like what they mean?

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What crafts were unique to the Chinese civilisation?

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Why was jade so important to the Chinese?

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What was the Great Wall of China?

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What could have been the other reasons for building the Great Wall?

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What was the Silk Route?

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How was India connected with the Silk Route?

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What was Chinese society like?

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How were rulers and officials chosen in China?

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What kind of money did China have?

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Important points about the Chinese civilisation

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What did all four Bronze Age civilisations have in common?

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Questions at the end of the chapter →
Understanding Society India and Beyond Class 9
Chapter 4 - Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation

What is biological evolution?

Last updated at August 31, 2026 by

Biological
of the body
Evolution
slow change over time
↓
Biological evolution = Slow change in the body and genes
AUSTRALOPITHECINES
our early ancestors
↓
gradual physical and
genetic changes
↓
HOMO SAPIENS
modern human beings

Example

Australopithecines
Homo sapiens
Our earliest ancestors
Modern human beings - us
australis means southern
homo means man
pithecus means primates
sapiens means wise

A separate piece of evidence - the skulls

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