Detailed, Step-by-Step NCERT Solutions for 11 History Chapter 2 Writing and City Life Questions and Answers were solved by Expert Teachers as per NCERT (CBSE) Book guidelines covering each topic in chapter to ensure complete preparation.
Writing and City Life NCERT Solutions for Class 11 History Chapter 2
Writing and City Life Questions and Answers Class 11 History Chapter 2
Question 1.
Why do we say that it was not natural fertility and high levels of food production that were the causes of early urbanisation?
Answer:
It is because urbanization activity has nothing to do with natural fertility and high levels of food productions. These characteristics have nexus with the villages and their extension not of cities. Actually, division of labour is a mark of urban life. Urban economics comprise trade, manufactures and services.
People expert in particular art or skill have to depend on others for the raw material e.g. carver of stone seal requires bronze tools and coloured stones. Similarly, bronze tool maker requires copper and tin to smelter into bronze and make tools. Besides this organized trade and storage is also required.
Thus, a number of activities are performed by different hands viz. a number of transactions would take place and this require the keeping of written records. Those all conditions were ready to use in Mesopotamian civilization which resulted in early urbanization there.
Question 2.
Which of the following were necessary conditions and which the causes, of early urbanisation, and which would you say were the outcome of the growth of cities :
(a) highly productive agriculture
(b) water transport
(c) the lack of metal and stone
(d) the division of labour
(e) the use of goals
(f) the military power of kings that made labour compulsory?
Answer:
Necessary conditions for early urbanization — These are the division of labour, highly productive agriculture, water transport and the else of seals.
Outcome of the growth of cities — water transport started by virtue of growth of cities in order to import metals, stones and other required items for artisans and artists in the city. The military power of kings increased and there made labour compulsory.
Question 3.
Why were mobile animal herders not necessarily a threat to town life?
Answer:
The mobile or nomadic animal herders were not doing any harm to the towns because of lying there no standing crops to which the animal destroy. Instead, they facilitated buying of animal flesh at a cheaper rate in towns.
Question 4.
Why would the early temple have been much like a house?
Answer:
The early temples were much like a house because —
- Those were residences of various gods at the same place like family members in a house.
- There were several rooms around open courtyards like a house.
- A number of processing activities for oil, grain-grinding, spinning and weaving of woolen cloth were done in the temple as a house is used for various works by members of the family living in the house.
Question 5.
Of the new institutions that came into being once city life had begun, which would have depended on the initiative of the king?
Answer:
New Institutions emerged under initiative of the king :
(i) Settlement of villagers near capital town—The chiefs or kings encouraged the settlement of villagers close to capital town so that an army could be formed whenever so required. E.g. Uruk city extended in 250 hectares of land. It was subsequently, occupied 400 hectares about 2800 B.E.
(ii) Public distribution system — Public distribution system came into being for the labourers in construction of temples and for the war captives. The ration-cards issued contained name and address of the holder, quantities of grain, cloth or oil allotted to them. Apart from above, technology developed at Uruk city around 3000 BC when the kings took interest in temple construction. In the process, metals and stones were fetched from distant countries.
This movement of people brought the arts viz. sculpture, painting, architecture, they said and introduced with them in distant cc entries. Thus, various crafts came into being. Hundreds of people were part of work at making and baking clay cones that could be pushed into temple walls, painted in different colours, creating a colourful mosaic. In sculpture, there were superb achievements, not in early available’ clay but in imported stones.
Question 6.
What do ancient stories tell us about the civilisation of Mesopotamia?
Answer:
The stories about floods are ways of preserving and expressing memories about important changes in history. Floods were described as deluge in which the entire earth is immersed deep into water body so formed and clogged. Sumerian epic poem bears a story about Enmerkar.
He sent a messenger to get Lapis Lazuli or silver from the chief of Aracta but in spite of several back and forth movements, the messenger could not get the chief of Aratta to part with silver until the king wrote a ‘letter in cuneiform on a clay tablet. It reflects the earlier stage of commerce and trade and importance of writing for Mesopotamia civilization. The kings thus, organized trade and writing story in Gilamesh epic refers to people of Mesopotamia, the most attachment they had for the city life.
These stories tell people’s faith in rebirth, dreams and their allegiance for temples and towns. It was Nabonidus’s respect for kingship that he got the state of Sargon, the king of Akkad referred by craftsmen.