How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?
Ordinary people could not leave behind any historical evidence about their life. Hence, the historians use a variety of sources to reconstruct the lives of the common people during the ancient times. The important sources are:
- Remains of houses and pottery give an idea of the life of common men.
- Some inscriptions and scriptures talk about the relation between monarchs and the subject. It talks about taxes and happiness and unhappiness of the common men.
- Changing tools of craftsmen and farmers talk about the lifestyle of the people.
- Historians also depend upon folklore to reconstruct the lives of the people during the ancient times.
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Look at Fig. 1.30 and describe what you see. How is the body placed? What are the objects placed near it? Are there any artefacts on the body? Do these indicate the sex of the skeleton?
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