History of Bangladesh and World Civilization · Classes 9-10 · Chapter 1

Sources of history: unwritten elements.

A farmer's plough turns up an old coin. No book names the king, yet his name, a date and his image are cut into the metal. The past can speak without a single written page, and history calls such evidence unwritten sources.

1. What unwritten sources are

The objects or materials from which we get many kinds of historical information about a particular time, place or person are called archaeological artifacts. These artifacts are basically unwritten sources. Nobody wrote an account of the events; the object itself is the witness.

The book gives six groups of unwritten sources: inscriptions, coins, architecture-sculpture and monuments, archaeological relics, common beliefs or rituals, and puthi. Open one branch at a time in the tree below and see what each holds.

2. Inscriptions and coins

Inscriptions are of two kinds. Official inscriptions tell us about warfare, land allocation, the king's order and name, conquest, the length of a reign and religious beliefs.

Unofficial inscriptions were usually cut in stone on the walls of a temple.

On coins the king's name, the date and year, the king's image and the idols of various gods and goddesses were engraved. So coins give an idea of the king's tenure, the economic prosperity, the social system and religious ideas.

Hold a coin and read it. Pick each engraving and see what it tells.

3. Architecture and archaeological sites

Architecture, sculpture and monuments include old shrines and tombs, pillars, monuments, antique art, idols, pottery and utensils.

These show how far a civilization had advanced, and they show the aesthetic sense and cultural taste of its citizens.

Archaeological sites in Bangladesh include Mahasthangar in Bogura, Paharpur in Naogaon, Mainamati in Cumilla and Wari Bateshwar in Narsingdi. The 'Shat Gombuj' mosque in Bagerhat is also an archaeological relic. Match each place to its district in the grid.

4. Passed on by mouth: belief, Veda, puthi

Common beliefs or rituals include legends, fairy tales, songs, folktales and the Vedas.

At first the Vedas lived by mouth, learned by disciples from their teachers. That is why they were called ‘Sruti’.

Later many composers, such as the sages Vashishtha, Vishwamitra, Bharadwaj, Ramdev and Bhrigu, composed the Veda over a long time.

The puthi too was once passed on by word of mouth.

Now take four clues and see which source each one comes from.

5. What the relics reveal

Through scientific testing and analysis, artifacts give us an idea of the political, social and economic conditions of the time, its civilization, religion, livelihood, urbanization, everyday utensils, trade and agricultural tools.

Examples are the Indus civilization, and the archaeological finds of Mahasthangar, Paharpur and Mainamati in Bangladesh.

New archaeological discoveries can change even the history of a nation. The discovery at Wari Bateshwar in Narsingdi is an example. It is opening a new horizon on the ancient civilization of Bengal and changing many old ideas. In the near future the ancient history of Bengal may have to be written afresh.

Dig a trench at Wari Bateshwar. What happens to the page of history beside it when the finds come up?

The book's figures show a gold coin of the Gupta era, a gold coin of Sasanka, and a silver coin and a pot found at Wari Bateshwar.

6. Written and unwritten together

A fuller history needs both written and unwritten sources. Written sources describe events. Unwritten relics, analysed scientifically, show the conditions of the time. Each fills the gaps of the other. Drag the handle over the picture of an imaginary king and put both sides together.

7. Check yourself

Three questions in the exam's style. Start with the first.

In the second, match the source to the information.

The last one is about new discoveries.

The whole note on eight cards.

Source: History of Bangladesh and World Civilization, Classes 9-10 (NCTB), Chapter 1 “Introduction to History”, the “Sources of history: unwritten elements” part.