NCERT Solutions for Class 7 History Chapter 1 Tracing Changes Through A Thousand Years contains answers to the exercise questions given in the “Our Pasts-II”. All the answers provided here are accurate and simple that will help you understand the concepts easily and continue your studies without a doubt. These solutions will also help you to score higher marks with the help of well-illustrated answers.
Class 7 History Tracing Changes Through A Thousand Years Questions and Answers
Let’s Recall
Question 1: Who was considered a “foreigner” in the past?
Answer: In the medieval period, a foreigner was someone who was not part of a certain society or culture. A city dweller might have regarded a forest dweller as a foreigner, but two peasants living in the same village were not foreigners to each other, even if they had different religious or caste backgrounds.
Question 2: State whether true or false:
(a) We do not find inscriptions for the period after 700.
(b) The Marathas asserted their political importance during this period.
(c) Forest-dwellers were sometimes pushed out of their lands with the spread of agricultural settlements.
(d) Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban controlled Assam, Manipur and Kashmir.
Answer:
(a) False
(b) True
(c) True
(d) False
Question 3: Fill in the blanks:
(a) Archives are places where _____________ are kept.
(b) ______________ was a fourteenth-century chronicler.
(c) ___________, __________, ______________, ___________, and _________ were some of the new crops introduced into the subcontinent during this period.
Answer:
(a) Archives are places where manuscripts are kept.
(b) Ziyauddin Barani was a fourteenth-century chronicler.
(c) Potatoes, corn, chilies, tea and coffee were some of the new crops introduced into the subcontinent during this period.
Question 4: List some of the technological changes associated with this period.
Answer: Some of the technological changes associated with this period were – the Persian wheel for irrigation, the spinning wheel in weaving and firearms in combat.
Question 5: What were some of the major religious developments during this period?
Answer: Some of the major religious developments during this period were:
(i) Worship of new deities
(ii) Building of new temples by the royalty
(iii) Increasing importance of Brahmanas; the priests, as dominant groups in society.
(iv) The emergence of the idea of bhakti among people.
(v) Appearance of many new religions like Islam.
(vi) Teachings of the holy Quran were brought by the merchants and the migrants in India.
Question 6: In what ways has the meaning of the term “Hindustan” changed over the centuries?
Answer: Over the centuries there has been a vast change in the meaning of the term “Hindustan”. Today it is understood as India, the modern nation state. In the thirteenth century the term stood for the lands under the Delhi Sultanate. Babur used the term to describe the geography, culture and fauna of the subcontinent.
Question 7: How were the affairs of jatis regulated?
Answer: The affairs of the jatis were regulated by an assembly of elders, known in some areas as the jati panchayat. But, jatis were also required to follow the rules of their village. Several villages were governed by a chieftain.
Question 8: What does the term pan-regional empire mean?
Answer: A pan-regional empire is referred to an empire which is expanded over several regions of diverse cultures, geography and religion. For example, the dynasties of the Mughals, Cholas, Khaljis and the Tughluqs.
Question 9: What are the difficulties historians face in using manuscripts?
Answer: While using manuscripts, historians face a number of difficulties. Manuscripts were written with hand and as a result, there were small but significant differences between any two copies. Also, it was difficult to read handwritten manuscripts. The scribes who copied them introduced changes. As a result, historians have to read different versions of the same text to guess what the authors had originally written. This discrepancy in different versions of manuscripts may lead to inaccurate historical information.
Question 10: How do historians divide the past into periods? Do they face any problems in doing so?
Answer: Historians divide the past into periods based on the economic and social factors which characterize them. In doing so, they are faced with two problems. First, economic and social changes keep taking place hence, definite boundaries cannot be drawn. Second, these periods are compared with modernity. Modernity gives a sense of progress. This implies that there was no progress before, which is not true.