Timeline and Sources of History | CBSE Class 6 History Notes

This note covers history, the study of the human past; ways of measuring time; the order of events; evidence about the past; the work of historical specialists; early human life; the first crops; and the growth of villages and towns.

What is history, and how does it connect the past with the present?

History concerns human life in the past. It involves finding out about people, their activities and the changes in their societies. Understanding the past helps us understand the world around us in the present.

Personal memories offer a starting point. The earliest event a person remembers belongs to that person's past. A family also has a past, which can be explored through memories and things that have survived from earlier times.

How large is the human past?

The Earth has a very long history. Human beings occupy only a tiny, very recent part of it. Homo sapiens means modern humans in this discussion. Modern humans have lived on the planet for about 300,000 years, or three lakh years.

The word about matters here: this is an approximate duration. Although it seems enormous compared with a person's lifetime, it remains only a small fraction of the Earth's history. Human history and the entire history of the Earth therefore cover very different spans.

What can surviving objects tell us?

A museum preserves objects from the past. Statues, coins and ornaments, meaning objects worn for decoration, can help us understand history. The National Museum in New Delhi is an example of a place where such objects are preserved.

Historical enquiry begins with questions about these traces of earlier life. What information survives? What period does it concern? How does it help us understand people? The task involves connecting pieces of information, rather than simply collecting old objects or remembering dates.

Definition: A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past. Dates help place events in order, while surviving evidence helps historians investigate what happened.

How do different groups of specialists study the past?

Several groups of specialists contribute to knowledge of the Earth and the human past. Their work focuses on different kinds of evidence. Some investigate physical surroundings; others examine preserved remains, human societies or objects recovered from beneath the ground.

What do geologists study?

Geologists study the Earth's physical features. These include soil, stones, hills, mountains, rivers, seas and oceans. Their field concerns the physical Earth, which provides the setting in which human life developed.

What do palaeontologists study?

Palaeontologists study remains of plants, animals and humans from millions of years ago in the form of fossils. Fossils are preserved impressions of footprints or parts of plants or animals found within layers of soil or rock.

A fossil is therefore a particular kind of surviving trace. The term does not simply mean any old object. Tools and pots also tell us about the past, but the definition of a fossil concerns preserved impressions or parts of living things.

What do anthropologists study?

Anthropologists study human societies and cultures from the oldest times to the present. Here, culture refers to people's ways of life. Their work is relevant both to earlier communities and to the study of human communities more broadly.

What do archaeologists study?

Archaeologists investigate the past by digging up remains left by people, plants and animals. Such digging to uncover remains is called excavation. Finds include tools, pots, beads, small figures called figurines, toys, bones, teeth, burnt grains, house remains and bricks.

The range of finds is important. An investigation may involve objects made by people as well as plant and animal remains. This field, called archaeology, helps us examine material traces of earlier life, including traces that are not written records.

These fields contribute different kinds of knowledge. Studying a river as a physical feature, studying a fossil, examining a society and uncovering an old house are related to learning about the past, but they are not identical activities.

How do calendars and eras help us measure historical time?

An era is a distinct period of time. Societies and cultures have developed their own ways of measuring time. Major events, such as an important person's birth or the beginning of a ruler's rule, have often marked the beginning of a new era.

A calendar organises days, months and years. The Gregorian calendar is commonly used worldwide. Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Chinese and other calendars are also used alongside it, including for festivals and other auspicious events, meaning events considered favourable or lucky.

How does the Gregorian calendar work?

The Gregorian calendar has 12 months adding up to 365 days in an ordinary year. A leap year includes an extra day. Leap years occur every four years, with a special rule for century years, which end in two zeroes.

A century year is a leap year only if it is a multiple of 400, meaning it can be divided by 400 without a remainder. Of the years 1800, 1900 and 2000, only 2000 is a leap year.

What is a pañchānga?

Many Indian calendars use the positions of the sun and moon to define months. A pañchānga is a book of tables listing the days of each month together with astronomical data, meaning information concerning objects and events in the sky.

Such tables precisely predict eclipses and times of sunrise and sunset. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks our view of the sun; a lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow. Pañchāngas remain widely used in India. They often also provide weather predictions and the dates and timings of festivals.

Notice the difference between the claims: many Indian calendars use the sun and moon, and pañchāngas often provide weather predictions. Neither statement means that every calendar has the same contents or that weather predictions have the same status as astronomical timings.

How do BCE and CE differ, and how are years between them calculated?

CE stands for Common Era. Years in this era are counted forwards from the conventional year of Jesus Christ's birth. A conventional date is a date accepted as a reference point for counting time.

BCE stands for Before Common Era. Years before that reference point are counted backwards. When arranging BCE dates from earlier to later, the larger numbered year comes first. CE dates proceed forwards with increasing year numbers.

AD is the older abbreviation for a Latin phrase referring to years after Jesus' birth. BC means Before Christ and is the older label for years before the conventional birth date. CE and BCE are now used for these periods.

Why must one year be subtracted?

Note: There is no year zero in this calendar. The year 1 BCE is immediately followed by 1 CE. To calculate the interval from a BCE year to a CE year, add their numbers and subtract one.

In the calculations below, + means addition, − means subtraction, and = means that the two sides have the same value. These signs let us express the steps in a short form.

Read this sequence: 2 BCE, 1 BCE, 1 CE, 2 CE. There are three year-to-year intervals between its first and last dates. The calculation is 2 + 2 − 1 = 3 years.

The subtraction accounts for the absence of a year zero; it does not remove an actual year from the sequence. Counting the intervals and using the calculation give the same result.

How does the Buddha example work?

Use the approximate birth year 560 BCE and assume the reference year is 2024 CE. The calculation is 560 + 2024 − 1 = 2,583 years. The result retains the uncertainty of the approximate birth year.

The reference year must be supplied when a question asks how many years ago something happened. In this example, 2024 CE is the stated reference year. It should not silently be replaced by a different year while retaining the same answer.

How does a timeline put dates and events in order?

A timeline displays a sequence of dates and events across a chosen period. Chronological order means order from earlier to later. A timeline makes this sequence visible and helps us compare when events happened.

For example, Gautama Buddha's birth comes before the conventional date of Jesus' birth. Once events have been placed correctly, their positions make that order clear. A timeline may cover a short period or stretch across a very long span.

How should these dates be arranged?

The table combines practice dates with dated examples. Rows labelled as practice dates are positions to arrange, not claims that a particular historical event occurred in those years. Read downwards from the earliest date to the latest.

How can a long timeline fit on a page?

A timeline can show a break where a long period is skipped. The break must be noticed when reading the scale. Otherwise, the space between marks might give a misleading impression of the time between them.

The orange timeline continues across two pages. Broken segments separate the 300,000 BCE end from later dates. Labels include rock art, meaning art on rock surfaces, early farming and later developments.

See Fig. 4.3 in your NCERT textbook

Such a break compresses the drawing; it does not mean that no time passed. The same care applies when reading labels. A marked position gives a place in a sequence, while an exact historical date needs its own supporting information.

How do decades, centuries and millenniums describe longer periods?

A decade is a period of ten years. A century is a period of 100 years. A millennium is a period of 1,000 years. Both millenniums and millennia are correct plural forms of millennium.

These terms help us discuss longer periods without describing every year separately. There is a difference between a duration, such as any period of 100 years, and a numbered century, whose beginning and end follow the historical counting system.

Where do numbered periods begin and end?

Specific centuries in the Common Era are counted in groups of 100 years starting from 1 CE. The 21st century CE runs from 2001 to 2100. Specific millenniums are counted in groups of 1,000 years starting from 1 CE.

The 3rd millennium CE begins in 2001 CE and continues to 3000 CE. Thus, a century and a millennium may begin in the same year while ending in different years: they represent different lengths of time.

How are BCE periods counted?

BCE centuries and millenniums are counted backwards from 1 BCE. The 3rd century BCE includes 300 BCE to 201 BCE. The 1st millennium BCE includes the years from 1 BCE back to 1000 BCE.

When listing that millennium from earlier to later, write 1000 BCE first and 1 BCE last. The direction in which a period is counted backwards and the direction used to narrate events chronologically should not be confused.

Keep the era label attached to the period. Saying a year belongs to the 3rd century BCE gives different information from saying the 3rd century CE. The numbered century alone does not tell us on which side of the calendar's reference point it lies.

What are sources of history, and how can family history introduce them?

A source of history is a place, person, text or object from which information about a past event or period can be gathered. Sources provide the evidence historians use to investigate earlier lives and events.

How can a family past be investigated?

Photographs, diaries, identity cards and memories shared by parents or relatives can provide information about a family's past. A family tree shows relationships between family members across generations, such as parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

Paternal refers to the father's side of the family, while maternal refers to the mother's side. Information can be collected about both sides, including names, occupations, meaning the work people did for a living, and places of birth.

Alongside each detail, record the source of the information. This connects a statement about the past to the person, document or object that supplied it. A completed family record should show where its details came from.

To connect family evidence with chronology, draw a family timeline from 1900 CE to the present. Mark the birth years of your grandparents, parents, siblings and yourself. The 20th century CE begins in 1901 CE and ends in 2000 CE.

What kinds of evidence can survive?

Old coins, clothes, jewellery, utensils and buildings can also prompt questions about earlier life. An object or structure may contribute one part of a much larger account. Different kinds of sources help supply different pieces of information.

History can be compared with a jigsaw puzzle, but quite a few pieces may remain missing. Having some evidence is not the same as possessing a complete record. This is why a historical account may explain some aspects of the past more fully than others.

Evidence rule: Gather information from as many sources as possible and compare their accounts. When sources disagree, assess which can be trusted more. Recognise gaps in the evidence rather than treating the reconstruction as complete.

Why do historians compare sources and use help from other fields?

Historians gather information from as many sources as they can find and consult. They may investigate a ruler, an old building, a war or goods that people exchanged. The aim is to put together an account supported by the available evidence.

What happens when evidence agrees or disagrees?

Sometimes sources confirm one another. At other times they provide contradictory information, meaning accounts that disagree. Historians then need to decide which source they can trust more. Gathering sources is therefore followed by careful comparison and judgement.

Reconstruction here means putting together an account of the past from surviving evidence. It does not mean that every missing detail becomes known. The jigsaw comparison remains useful because some pieces may still be absent.

1. Identify the person, event, object or period being investigated.
2. Gather information from as many available sources as can be consulted.
3. Compare the information and notice agreements or contradictions.
4. Assess conflicting sources and use the evidence to reconstruct the past.

Who contributes additional knowledge?

Epigraphists study ancient inscriptions, meaning written records on surfaces or objects. Archaeologists, anthropologists, experts in literature and languages, and historians themselves also contribute. Their different fields help make different kinds of historical evidence understandable.

In the last 50 years or so, scientific studies have contributed more and more to reconstructing the past. Studies of ancient climates and chemical studies of excavated materials have supplied fresh insights alongside more usual sources.

Genetics is the branch of biology that studies how features pass from one generation to the next in plants, animals and humans. Studies of the genetics of ancient people also help expand knowledge of the past.

For recent history, which usually means the last two or three centuries, newspapers provide another source. For the last few decades, historians can also consult electronic media, including television and the internet. These sources supplement the evidence available for the period being studied.

How did early humans live before farming communities developed?

Early humans faced many challenges from nature. They lived in bands or groups to help one another and were constantly seeking food and shelter. They were mainly hunters and gatherers, relying on hunting animals and collecting edible plants and fruits.

What did shelter, tools and communication involve?

Groups stayed in temporary camps, rock shelters or caves. They communicated using languages that are now lost. They used fire and made objects that helped them in daily life, including improved stone axes, blades, arrowheads and other tools.

Rock paintings survive in hundreds of caves around the world. Some show simple figures or symbols; others give more detailed scenes involving animals or humans. These paintings make some aspects of earlier life visible to us.

Over time, early humans learned to make simple ornaments. Examples include stone or shell beads and pendants made from animal teeth. A pendant is a hanging ornament. Sometimes groups exchanged such objects with other groups.

Early ancestors had certain beliefs about natural elements and possibly also some notion of an afterlife, a life beginning after death.

How should pictures of early life be read?

This illustration shows people gathered around a fire, working with objects near the ground and painting animal figures on a rock surface. It is a drawn scene of early life.

Reference: NCERT Class 6, page 70

Pictures can help us imagine activities, but the roles assigned to men and women are not necessarily accurate and do not cover all situations. Women may have prepared painting colours or painted; men may have cooked or helped care for children.

Our information is limited. A scene that assigns a particular task to one person does not prove that every early community divided work in that way. Distinguish what an illustration depicts from what can confidently be concluded about all early humans.

What were the effects of the last Ice Age ending and people growing crops?

An Ice Age is a time when conditions were very cold and much of the Earth was covered with ice. The Earth's climate changed over long periods. The last Ice Age lasted from over 100,000 years ago to around 12,000 years ago.

When the climate warmed, the ice partly melted. The resulting water swelled existing rivers and eventually drained into oceans.

Why did communities often settle near rivers?

Afterwards, living conditions improved. In many parts of the world, humans began settling down and cultivating, meaning growing crops, including cereals, or grain crops. They also domesticated animals, meaning brought them under human care, including cattle and goats.

With more food available, communities increased in size and number. They often settled near rivers because water was available and the soil would be more fertile, meaning better able to support crop growth. These conditions made cultivation easier.

The connection involves both water and soil. An explanation that mentions just one leaves out part of the reason. Also, often does not mean that every community settled beside a river or followed an identical pattern.

How did settlements and work change?

As communities grew, their social organisation became more complex. Leaders, or chieftains, were responsible for people's well-being. People worked together for community welfare, meaning health, prosperity and well-being. There was no sense of individual ownership, and land was sown and harvested collectively.

A hamlet is a small settlement or village. Hamlets grew into larger villages, which exchanged mostly food, clothing and tools. Networks of communication and exchange developed slowly, and some villages became small towns.

New technologies included pottery, the making of pots and other clay objects, and the use of metals. Copper was used first and iron later. These developments helped people produce durable tools, everyday objects and ornaments.

This progress faced many challenges. At some critical times, humanity could have almost disappeared, as some earlier species did. The development of more complex communities was a long process that depended on the persistence of earlier humans.

Glossary

• History — The study of the human past, including earlier lives, activities and changes in societies.
• Historian — A person who studies and writes about the past using the evidence available.
• Source of history — A place, person, text or object providing information about a past event or period.
• Fossil — A preserved footprint impression or part of a plant or animal found in soil or rock layers.
• Archaeologist — A specialist who studies the past by digging up remains left by people, plants and animals.
• Anthropologist — A specialist who studies human societies and cultures from the oldest times to the present.
• Era — A distinct period of time, whose beginning may be associated with a major event.
• Timeline — A display showing dates and events in sequence across a particular period of time.
• Century — A period of 100 years; numbered historical centuries follow the counting system of their era.
• Millennium — A period of 1,000 years; its plural can be either millenniums or millennia.
• Pañchānga — A book of tables listing days of each month together with related astronomical information.
• Epigraphist — A specialist who studies ancient inscriptions and contributes to knowledge of the past.
• Genetics — The branch of biology studying how features pass between generations of plants, animals and humans.
• Afterlife — A life beginning after death, possibly imagined in the beliefs of early humans.
• Hamlet — A small settlement or village where a community of people lives.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: The year zero comes between 1 BCE and 1 CE. Correct: There is no year zero; 1 CE follows 1 BCE immediately.
• Misconception: A larger BCE number means a later year. Correct: BCE years count backwards from the reference point, so 323 BCE is earlier than 100 BCE.
• Misconception: Every century year is a leap year. Correct: A century year must be a multiple of 400; among 1800, 1900 and 2000, only 2000 qualifies.
• Misconception: A century and a millennium mean the same duration. Correct: A century contains 100 years; a millennium contains 1,000 years.
• Misconception: Historical evidence consists just of written texts. Correct: Objects, structures, oral accounts and works of art also supply information about the past.
• Misconception: Different historical sources necessarily agree. Correct: Sources sometimes contradict one another, requiring historians to decide which can be trusted more.
• Misconception: Early humans certainly believed in an afterlife. Correct: They possibly had some notion of an afterlife.
• Misconception: Drawn scenes establish fixed roles for all early men and women. Correct: These roles are not necessarily accurate and do not cover all situations.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. The sequence is 2 BCE, 1 BCE, 1 CE, 2 CE, with no year zero. BCE means Before Common Era and CE means Common Era. How many years separate the first and last dates? Explain using the sequence. [2 marks]

1. The sequence contains three year-to-year intervals: from 2 BCE to 1 BCE, from 1 BCE to 1 CE, and from 1 CE to 2 CE.
2. Therefore, three years separate the first and last dates. No additional interval for a year zero should be inserted.

Q2. Gautama Buddha's approximate birth year is 560 BCE. Assume the reference year is 2024 CE. There is no year zero, so the interval across the eras is found by adding the year numbers and subtracting one. Calculate the interval in three steps and retain the qualification attached to the birth year. [3 marks]

1. Add the numbers of the stated BCE and CE years: 560 + 2024 = 2,584. The calculation uses 2024 CE as its reference year.
2. Subtract one because the calendar has no year zero: 2,584 − 1 = 2,583 years. The year 1 CE directly follows 1 BCE.
3. Thus, the Buddha was born approximately 2,583 years before the stated reference year. The answer remains approximate because the supplied birth year is approximate.

Q3. Match these specialists to their work: geologists study the Earth's physical features; palaeontologists study fossils, or preserved remains and impressions; anthropologists study human societies and cultures; archaeologists uncover remains by digging. Explain which specialist studies each of these: rivers and mountains, fossils, human cultures, and excavated pots and tools. [4 marks]

1. Geologists study rivers and mountains because these are physical features of the Earth. This matches the field described for geologists.
2. Palaeontologists study fossils because their work concerns preserved remains and impressions. Fossils are the evidence specified for this specialist group.
3. Anthropologists study human cultures because their field covers human societies and cultures. Their focus therefore matches the third item.
4. Archaeologists study the excavated pots and tools because they uncover remains by digging. These objects belong to the material evidence described in the question.

Q4. Historians consult as many sources as they can find. Sources sometimes agree and sometimes contradict one another. Historians decide which conflicting source they can trust more, while some evidence may remain missing. Using these facts, explain in five points how historians resemble detectives investigating the past. [5 marks]

1. Historians begin with evidence about the past. Like an investigation, their work requires information to support an account, rather than an unsupported statement about what happened.
2. They search for as many sources as they can consult. Gathering more available evidence gives them material to compare during the investigation.
3. They look for agreement between sources. When accounts confirm one another, the pieces of information fit together more readily in reconstructing the past.
4. They also examine contradictions. When sources disagree, historians must decide which source they can trust more, instead of treating both accounts as equally dependable.
5. They recognise that evidence may remain missing. Their reconstruction therefore has limits, just as an investigation may still have unanswered questions despite careful work.

Q5. Early humans lived in groups, mainly hunted and gathered edible plants and fruits, stayed in temporary camps or rock shelters or caves, used fire and stone tools, made rock paintings, and possibly had some notion of an afterlife, meaning life after death. Describe their lives in six separate points using this information. [6 marks]

1. Early humans lived in groups. Group life was part of the way they lived, rather than an account of each person existing separately.
2. They were mainly hunters and gatherers. Their food came from hunting and from collecting edible plants and fruits, as described in the question.
3. Their places of shelter included temporary camps, rock shelters and caves. These are the three kinds of shelter supplied in the information.
4. They used fire and stone tools. These formed part of their activities and equipment, alongside the search for food and shelter.
5. They made rock paintings. Such paintings belong among the activities described for early humans and provide a further aspect of their lives.
6. They possibly had some notion of an afterlife. This means life after death, but the evidence supplied does not present the belief as certain.

Q6. After the last Ice Age, living conditions improved. In many parts of the world, people settled and grew cereals and grains. They domesticated cattle and goats, meaning brought them under human care. More food supported larger and more numerous communities. Communities often settled near rivers for water and more fertile soil. Explain these five linked developments. [5 marks]

1. Living conditions improved after the last Ice Age. This improvement forms the background to the changes in food production and settlement described in the question.
2. People began settling and growing cereals and grains in many parts of the world.
3. People domesticated animals, including cattle and goats. Bringing animals under human care was another development alongside the cultivation of cereals and grains.
4. More food was available, supporting growth in communities. They increased both in size and in number, rather than merely changing their location.
5. Communities often settled near rivers because of water and more fertile soil. Both reasons helped cultivation; often does not mean that every settlement followed this pattern.

Q7. Arrange 323 CE, 323 BCE, 100 CE, 100 BCE, 1900 BCE, 1090 CE and 2024 CE from earliest to latest. For BCE years, larger numbers come earlier; CE years increase forwards, and BCE dates precede CE dates. Give the BCE order, the CE order and then the complete sequence. [3 marks]

1. First arrange the BCE dates with the largest year number first: 1900 BCE, 323 BCE, 100 BCE. This follows the supplied rule for earlier BCE years.
2. Next arrange the CE dates in increasing order: 100 CE, 323 CE, 1090 CE, 2024 CE. These dates count forwards within the Common Era.
3. Combine the groups with BCE dates first: 1900 BCE, 323 BCE, 100 BCE, 100 CE, 323 CE, 1090 CE, 2024 CE.

Q8. The 21st century CE runs from 2001 to 2100. The 3rd millennium CE runs from 2001 to 3000. Compare their beginning and ending years in two points. [2 marks]

1. Both periods begin in the same year, 2001 CE, even though they represent different lengths of time.
2. Their ending years differ: the 21st century ends in 2100 CE, while the 3rd millennium ends in 3000 CE.

Key takeaways

• History studies the human past, while human beings occupy only a tiny, recent part of the Earth's much longer history.
• BCE and CE distinguish dates around a shared reference point; there is no year zero between 1 BCE and 1 CE.
• A timeline organises dates and events in sequence, helping us see which events came earlier and which came later.
• Decades contain ten years, centuries contain 100 years, and millenniums contain 1,000 years; numbered periods have defined boundaries.
• Sources include places, people, texts and objects; historians compare them because surviving evidence can agree, contradict or remain incomplete.
• Different specialists contribute different knowledge, including archaeology, the study of human cultures, ancient inscriptions and scientific investigations.
• Early humans mainly hunted and gathered, lived in groups, used tools and fire, and possibly imagined an afterlife.
• Improved conditions, cultivation and domesticated animals supported growing communities, which often settled near rivers and gradually developed more complex forms of life.

Test yourself

What is the difference between a historian and a source of history?

A historian studies and writes about the past. A source is a place, person, text or object supplying information about it.

Why does 1 CE follow 1 BCE immediately?

The calendar contains no year zero, so there is no intervening numbered year between them.

Which is earlier, 323 BCE or 100 BCE?

323 BCE is earlier because larger BCE year numbers lie further back before the Common Era.

What distinguishes a century from a millennium?

A century is a period of 100 years; a millennium is a period of 1,000 years.

What should historians do when sources contradict each other?

They compare the conflicting information and decide which source they can trust more when reconstructing the past.

What is an epigraphist's field of study?

An epigraphist studies ancient inscriptions and contributes to the evidence used in understanding the past.

Why did growing communities often settle near rivers?

Rivers supplied water, and nearby soil would be more fertile, making the cultivation of crops easier.

Why should illustrated roles of early men and women be treated carefully?

Our information is limited. The depicted roles are not necessarily accurate and do not cover all situations; women may have painted, and men may have cooked or cared for children.