8th Standard Social CHAPTER-2
BHARATHAVARSHA : GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES AND PREHISTORIC PERIOD
EXERCISES
I. Fill in the blanks with suitable words :
1. Geographically, India is a peninsula.
2. Signs of ashes have been found in caves of Kurnool.
3. The implements of the Middle Stone Age are called delicate stone implements.
II Answer to the following questions in brief:
4. Describe briefly the physical features of India.
Answer: The physical features of India are,
- India’s geographical features comprise the Himalayan Range of Mountains in the North, the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
- The Deccan Plateau in the South and the Coastal Region.
- The north- western side through the valleys of Bolan and Khyber passes.
- The eastern coastline is called the Coromandel Coast and Utkal Coast, whereas the western coastline is referred to as Konkan and Malabar Coast.
5. Which are the two valleys intrusions attacked India?
Answer: The attacks have been mainly from the north- western side through the valleys of Bolan and Khyber passes.
6. What is meant by ‘Prehistoric Age’?
Answer: The period before the discovery of the art of writing is called the Prehistoric Age. This is so because we do not find evidences to the linguistic development or to the use of script. Archaeologists have discovered some implements created and used by these people. Probably they used weapons made of stone, wood and bones.
7. How did animal husbandry and dairy farming evolve?
Answer: Man who had been hunting animals, began to observe their nature, food habits and the way these animals breed. Over a period of time, he captured these animals and domesticated them. This was the way the practices of animal husbandry and dairy farming began.
8. The different periods of prehistory have been given various names by the archaeologists. What are they?
Answer: Archaeologists refer to the age we discussed now, by different names.
Old Stone Age: The age which prevailed 2 million years ago is the oldest period and is called the Old Stone Age, and it stretched over a period of 12,000 years. This long duration has been classified into three stages is – the Early, Middle and Late Old Stone Ages.
Middle Stone Age: The period from 12,000 years to around 10,000 years is called the Middle Stone Age. The weapons of this period are generally very small and hence they are called delicate stone implements.
New Stone Age: The New Stone Age began after 10,000 years. These weapons were bright and had sharp blades. People of this age used grinding stones for grinding leaves and herbs and for powdering grains and cereals.
III Activity :
- Visit an ancient site or museum along with your parents and learn more about it from your teacher.
