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(d) Tools and Implements : Tools were used by hunters and food
gatherers of the past. They give detail about the life and
occupation of people of the early age.
2. literAry SourceS Tools
All written records of the past are known as Literary sources or Manuscripts. In ancient
India, before paper came into use, manuscripts were written on materials such as bhojpatra
(birch bark), palm leaves, copper plates, etc.
Literary sources are of two kinds— religious and secular.
(a) Religious Literature : Writings on religious themes, are called religious literature.
The Vedas of the Hindus, the Pitakas of the Buddhists and the Angas of the Jains
are examples of Indian works of religious literature. They tell us about the religious
beliefs, society, customs and traditions of that time.
(b) Secular Literature : Literature which are not connected with religion is called secular
literature. These include stories, plays, poems, drama, accounts of foreign travellers,
biographies of kings and books on politics
and science. Some examples of secular • The Ramayana and the Mahabharata
literature are Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ on are the longest poems in the world.
the theory of administration, Kalidasa’s • Coins of Indian rulers have been found
famous play ‘Abhigyan Shakuntalam’ and in many countries. This indicated that
India had trade relations with foreign
the ‘Indika’ of Megasthenes. These are the countries.
rich sources of the history of that time.
Now I Know :
History is the study of past events.
The word ‘History’ comes from the ancient Greek word ‘Histo’ meaning ‘Know this’.
It is history only that provides us never-ending sources for the study of our past.
Historians have divided history into two parts— Prehistory and History.
There are two types of sources of history—Archaeological and Literary sources.
Coins, monuments, tools and inscriptions come under archaeological sources.
Poems, plays and manuscripts are the examples of literary sources.
(Assessment of Learning Outcome)
A. Tick () the correct option :
1. History is a systematic description of:
(a) present events (b) recent events (c) past events (d) none of these
2. Kautilya wrote:
(a) Arthashastra (b) Ramayan
(c) Abhigyan Shakuntalam (d) None of these
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