Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years Class 7 Revision Notes CBSE History Chapter 1

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Last Updated on March 22, 2024 by XAM CONTENT

Here you will find revision notes for CBSE Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 1 Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years. It is a part of Revision Notes for CBSE Class 7 Social Science Series.

CBSE	Class 7 History
Useful for	Class 7 Students
Subject	Social Science – History
Chapter	Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years
Type	Revision Notes
Covers	Notes Important Keywords Important Dates

Table of Contents

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Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years Class 7 Revision Notes CBSE History Chapter 1 (PDF Download)

Notes

Historians and Their Sources

Historians study coins, inscriptions, architecture and textual records for information.
From the year 750 onwards paper became more easily available and religious texts, laws and taxation accounts, holy texts and ruler chronicles of wars and other treatise on grammar, logic and astronomy and mathematics were written and preserved in temples, libraries, archives and in the personal collections of wealthy citizens.
Manuscripts were mainly copied by hand. A Persian scholar Ziyauddin Barani revised his own writings every two years.

New Political and Social Groups

The period from 750 A.D. onwards witnessed great socio-politico-cultural changes with the introduction of new languages, technology and food habits of the society.
There was great mobility and emergence of new social hierarchy.
Rajputs gained prominence as a newly emerging warrior class, Kshatriya by caste. Marathas, Jats, Sikhs and Ahoms emerged. A new caste of Kayasthas, mainly scribes and secretaries, also emerged.
This period witnessed expansion of agriculture and introduction of new types of crops and methods of cultivation.
More forests were cleared and communities migrated and relocated.
Complex social structure developed with emergence of new social groups like peasants, priests and merchants and new areas of trade and commerce like regional markets. This necessitated the payment of taxes and the exchange of goods and services.
Growth of new social groups led to division of castes or ‘jats’ into sub-castes called ‘jatis’ depending on the power and influence of the groups.
Jatis had to abide by the village rules strictly and the village emerged as a semi-autonomous self-sufficient unit within the larger social structure.

Region and Empire

Large states or empires began to emerge like that of the Cholas, the Tughluqs or the Mughals.
These dynasties were formed on a pan-regional basis with clearly delineated boundaries often including the diverse social groups and cultures.
Over the years, regions retained both their distinctive culture as well as the elements of a composite pan-regional character.

Old and New Religions

The importance of Brahmins increased. Knowledge of Sanskrit brought the great respect in society.
Temple construction came to be commissioned by royal dynasties.
The older collective approach to religion lost importance, and personalized religious beliefs emerged.
The idea of bhakti as a method of complete personal devotion to a particular deity, emerged.
With the advent of Islamic rule, Islam became a prominent religion with the Muslim rulers patronizing it.
Like Hinduism various interpretations and sects like Shias and Sunnis emerged in Islam as well.

Time and Historical Periods

Historians study time as divided into successive segments or periods.
British historians divided Indian history into ‘Hindu’, ‘Muslim’, and ‘British’ periods.
Many historians describe the period from 700 to 1750 CE as the medieval period.
Historians now mainly categorize Indian history on the basis of society, economy and culture as a way to show continuity.

Important Keywords

Cartographer: A person who draws and produces maps.
Archive: A collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institute or group of people. Also, a place where official and historical documents are kept. All national and state governments keep all official records and transactions stored in archives.
Habitat: The natural home and environment of a plant or an animal. Also, social and economic environment and lifestyle of people residing in a region.
Patron: A person who gives monetary and other support to another person (artist, craftsman, learned man or a noble), organization, or a cause.
Medieval Period: In India, the medieval period refers to the time from 6th to 16th century.
Manuscript: Originally, a book, document, or a piece of music written by hand other than typed or printed. Generally, an author’s handwritten or typed text that has not been published as yet is called a manuscript.
Jati: A caste or sub-caste which was identified on the basis of the backgrounds or occupations are called Jati.
Region: An area, or a part of country having defined characteristics, but not fixed boundaries.
Periodization: The process of classifying the past into distinct blocks of time to simplify the study and research of history.

Important Dates

7th century CE: The teaching of the holy Quran was brought to India.
1154 AD : Al-Idrisi made a map of Indian subcontinent.
1266 – 1287 : Reign of Ghiyasuddin Balban.
1356 : Ziyauddin Barani wrote the first chronicle, another version two years later.

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