Theme | From hunting-gathering to growing food |
Relevant Grades | Class 6, 7, 8 & 9 |
Key Learning Objectives |
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Session Duration | 1 Hour (Approximately) |
- THE MISSION
There is an archaeological site where a huge excavation process is going on to understand the earliest people. When they are excavating human skeletons, the gamer who was a hunter-gatherer comes back to life and everyone is absolutely surprised and so do some of the hunter-gatherers who are in the similar site. The hunter gatherers together carry on the mission which they had left behind of rewriting history in each of the stages that they lived through to bring about a better and brighter future for the people around them as well as for themselves individually. They have to go through various processes to emerge victorious and right the wrongs at each stage of their life. The chief hunter gatherer and two of his friends are on this important mission and it should be completed within 40 minutes or else they will come back to the excavation site and cannot fulfill anything that they had planned.
- CONCEPTS
- The earliest people: why were they on the move?
We describe people who lived in the subcontinent 2 million years ago as hunter-gatherers. This name has been provided because they hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks and eggs for their food.
Hunter-gatherers moved from place to place because of the following reasons:
- If they had stayed at one place for a long time, they would have eaten up all the available plant and animal resources.
- Animals move from place to place so these people had to follow their movements for hunting purposes.
- People may have moved from season to season in search of different kinds of plants.
- People living on their banks would have had to go in search of water during the dry seasons from their places.
- How do we know about these people?
Archaeologists have found some of the things hunter-gatherers made and used. They made and used tools of stone, wood and bone, of which stone tools have survived best.
Stone tools were used to cut meat and bone, scrape bark (from trees) and hides (animal skins), chop fruit and roots. Other tools were used to chop wood.
- Choosing a place to live in: People preferred to live in places having the following availability. They lived near to the sources of water, such as rivers and lakes. People tried to find places where good quality stone was easily available as it was important for hunting.
- Finding out about the fire
Traces of ash show that the people at that time have invented the fire. It could have been used for many things:
- as a source of light
- to roast meat
- to scare away animals
- A changing environment
Around 12,000 years ago, there were major changes in the climate of the world, which led to the development of grasslands in many areas. This also led to an increase in the number of animals that survived on the grass. So, people start thinking about herding and rearing these animals. Fishing also became important for people.
- The beginning of farming and herding
With the development of grassland, people came to know about growing wheat, barley, rice in different parts of the subcontinent. This is how they started practicing farming.
People also attract and then tame animals by leaving food for them near their shelters. The first animal to be tamed was the wild ancestor of the dog. Animals such as sheep, goat, cattle and also the pig lived in herds, and most of them ate grass. Often, people protected these animals from attacks by other wild animals. This is how they became herders.
- A new way of life
People had to stay in the same place for a long time looking after the plants, watering, weeding, driving away animals and birds – till the grain ripened. Then they start thinking of storing the grain for food and seeds. They began making large clay pots, or wove baskets, or dug pits into the ground.
- Storing animals: Animals that are reared can be used as a ‘store’ of food.
- Towards a settled life: Archaeologists have found traces of huts or houses at some sites which shows that people have a stable life.
They have also found cooking hearths both inside and outside the huts, which suggests that, depending on the weather, people used to cook food either indoors or outdoors.
Stone tools have been found from many sites. Many of these are different from the earlier Palaeolithic tools and that is why they are called Neolithic. These include tools that were polished to give a fine cutting edge, and mortars and pestles. Mortars and pestles are used for grinding grain even today. Apart from these tools, some of the tools were also made of bone. Many kinds of earthen pots have also been found. These were used for decoration and for storing things. People also began weaving cloth, using different kinds of materials. For example: cotton.
A closer look – Living and dying in Mehrgarh
Mehrgarh was one of the places where people learnt to grow barley and wheat, and rear sheep and goats for the first time in this area. At this village, many animal bones were found. Other finds at Mehrgarh include remains of square or rectangular houses. When people die, their relatives and friends pay respect to them. The dead person was buried with goats, which were probably meant to serve as food in the next world. Several burial sites have been found at Mehrgarh.
GAME DESIGN
- Problem statement
There is an archaeological site where a huge excavation process is going on to understand the earliest people. When they are excavating human skeletons, the gamer who was a hunter-gatherer comes back to life and everyone is absolutely surprised and so do some of the hunter-gatherers who are in the similar site. The hunter gatherers together carry on the mission which they had left behind of rewriting history in each of the stages that they lived through to bring about a better and brighter future for the people around them as well as for themselves individually. They have to go through various processes to emerge victorious and right the wrongs at each stage of their life. The chief hunter gatherer and two of his friends are on this important mission and it should be completed within 40 minutes or else they will come back to the excavation site and cannot fulfil anything that they had planned.
- Game design overview
There is an archaeological site where a huge excavation process is going on to understand the earliest people. When they are excavating human skeletons, the gamer who was a hunter-gatherer comes back to life and everyone is absolutely surprised and so do some of the hunter-gatherers who are in the similar site. The hunter gatherers together carry on the mission which they had left behind of rewriting history in each of the stages that they lived through to bring about a better and brighter future for the people around them as well as for themselves individually. They have to go through various processes to emerge victorious and right the wrongs at each stage of their life. The chief hunter gatherer and two of his friends are on this important mission and it should be completed within 40 minutes or else they will come back to the excavation site and cannot fulfill anything that they had planned. The hunter gatherer and his friends first travel to Mehrgarh to unravel all the mysteries and complete the game strategically and gain points along the way as well as win the game.
- How to design the game?
- Step I
The hunter- gatherers were hunting the animals and storing nuts and fruits in one part of the forest and were planning on moving to the next area with the food. But the particular set of hunter gatherers were brutally killed by an unsuspected animal attack and also a pack of wolves took away the stored food leading to the death of the rest of the hunter gatherers due to starvation.
Hint: The hunter-gatherers go to Mehragarh, the place where it happened and prepare themselves earlier for strike this time, attack close to 3 wild animals and also preserve the food needed for the survival of themselves and the other hunter gatherers. On completion of the round, the hunter gatherers earn 100 points and also enough food and water needed to go to the next round. If the first round is not completed within 10 minutes, the animals will gain the strength by 80% every 5 minutes of all the hunter-gatherers and kill them as well as take all the food and the other hunter-gatherers will starve.
- Step II
The next step of the game involves farming a land and also taming animals for the purpose and growing grains and various types of vegetables.
Hint: The farming has to be done at the specified interval of 20 minutes or else all the crops will be destroyed by the flood and also the cultivators will die due to famine and lose the 100 pointers earlier gained during the game.
- Step III
The hunter gatherers have to complete the two steps and also protect the domesticated animals from the wild animals.
Hint: If the third step cannot be completed within 10 minutes, the hunter-gatherers will be forced by the time bearers to return back to the excavation site and will lose all the points earned during the game.
- ASSESSMENT
Learning Objective Based Evaluation (0-1) | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
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Higher Order Thinking Skills | Problem Solving | Critical Thinking | Innovation | Creativity | ||
Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | Q9 | Q10 | |
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Learning Objective Based Evaluation Total Score | /4 |
Higher Order Thinking Skills Total Score | /8 |
Total Score | /12 |
Learning Objective Based Evaluation
1 point Questions:
Q1. When did the hunter-gatherers live on planet earth?
- 12 million years ago
- 2 million years ago
- 7 million years ago
- None of the above
Q2. When was there a major change in the environment of Planet Earth?
- 12,000 years ago
- 20,00 years ago
- None of the above
Q3. Which accurately describes rearing?
- Taking care of animals and using them for the needs of humans
- Hunting animals present in forests
- None of the above
Q4. What is the town of Mehgarh known for?
- People learnt to grow barley and wheat, rear sheep and goats for the first time.
- People started to use advanced technological equipment.
- None of the above
Evaluation of HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills)
Identification of the Problem Statement:
Q5. What is the goal of the game that you have designed? (1 point)
______________________________________________________________
Q6. Does the game designed solve the problem? Justify your answer. (1 point)
______________________________________________________________
Solution of the Problem Statement:
Q7. What are the ways in which learning about the earliest people is useful for the current generation? (1 point)
______________________________________________________________
Q8. When given an opportunity to become an archaeologist, what are the sites you would visit and what would you like to learn? (1 point)
______________________________________________________________
Innovation in the Problem Statement:
Q9. What are the innovative aspects of the solution for which the game is designed? (2 points)
______________________________________________________________
Creativity in the Game Design:
Q10. Describe and explain the unique design elements used in the game. (2 points)
______________________________________________________________
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