Question

Do you think that the life of farmers and herders who supplied food to the Harappan cities was different from that of the farmers and herders you read about in Chapter 3? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer 1

In chapter 3; discussion is mainly on rural people. But in this chapter, the discussion is mainly on urban people. In both the cases; farmers and herders did the same type of work. But their group was much bigger in case of the Harappan cities. Their work could have been more organized; compared to what it was in earlier societies. Farmers and herders (in previous chapter) mainly produced for their own use. But in case of the Harappan cities; the farmers and herders sold their surplus production to craft persons,scribes,and rulers living in cities.