Timeline and Sources of History — Quiz

Q1. A scholar spends years living with a community to study how its people organise their families, beliefs and customs over time. This scholar is best described as a/an

• A. geologist
• B. palaeontologist
• C. anthropologist
• D. archaeologist

Q2. A team digs up tools, pots, beads, figurines, burnt grains and parts of houses left behind by people. Which specialists are at work?

• A. Archaeologists
• B. Geologists
• C. Anthropologists who only interview people
• D. Astronomers

Q3. Why does counting years across the BCE–CE boundary need special care?

• A. Because the Gregorian calendar skips every leap year
• B. Because there is no 'year zero'; 1 CE follows immediately after 1 BCE
• C. Because BCE years are counted forward
• D. Because CE years have only 360 days

Q4. Gautama Buddha was born around 560 BCE. Using the chapter's rule, how many years ago was that if we are now in 2024 CE?

• A. 560 + 2024 = 2584 years
• B. 560 + 2024 − 1 = 2583 years
• C. 2024 − 560 = 1464 years
• D. 560 + 2024 + 1 = 2585 years

Q5. According to the chapter, the 21st century CE runs from which years?

• A. 1900 to 1999
• B. 2000 to 2099
• C. 2001 to 2100
• D. 2001 to 3000

Q6. How does a timeline help even without reading exact dates?

• A. It tells us the cause of every war
• B. It shows the order of events — for example, that the Buddha's birth comes before that of Jesus
• C. It calculates the population of ancient cities
• D. It lists the names of all sources

Q7. In Fig. 4.3, why is a dotted portion shown on the timeline?

• A. To show events that never happened
• B. To mark a skipped period; otherwise the timeline would be almost 3 metres long
• C. To indicate the future
• D. To separate Indian and world events

Q8. In the sources web (Fig. 4.4), manuscripts, copper plates and coins are grouped under which heading?

• A. Oral Sources
• B. Inscriptions
• C. Artistic Sources
• D. Foreign Accounts

Q9. A traveller from another land writes a detailed travelogue describing the kingdoms he visits. In Fig. 4.4, this belongs to which category of sources?

• A. Archaeological Sources
• B. Foreign Accounts
• C. Indian Literature
• D. Oral Sources

Q10. Besides historians, who among the following are specifically described as people who study ancient inscriptions?

• A. Epigraphists
• B. Geologists
• C. Palaeontologists
• D. Astronomers

Q11. A historian studying events of the last two or three centuries would find which additional source especially useful?

• A. Fossils from millions of years ago
• B. Newspapers and, for recent decades, electronic media
• C. Stone tools of early humans
• D. Rock paintings in caves

Q12. According to the chapter, the last Ice Age lasted from about

• A. 1,00,000 years ago to around 12,000 years ago
• B. 12,000 years ago to the present
• C. 3,00,000 years ago to 1,00,000 years ago
• D. 2000 BCE to 2000 CE

Q13. After the last Ice Age, why did many human communities start settling down near rivers?

• A. Only because rivers were beautiful to look at
• B. Because of water availability and more fertile soil, which made growing crops easier
• C. Because rivers protected them from wild animals
• D. Because kings ordered them to live there

Q14. Along with cultivating cereals and grains, what else did early settled communities begin to do?

• A. Mint gold coins
• B. Domesticate animals such as cattle and goats
• C. Build large stone temples
• D. Write inscriptions on copper plates

Q15. In the early communities led by chieftains, how was land used, according to the chapter?

• A. Each family owned and fenced its own private plot
• B. There was no sense of individual ownership; lands were collectively sowed and harvested
• C. Land belonged only to the chieftain
• D. Land was sold to traders for goods