Class 7 Towns, Trade and Craftspeople

Exercise III
Ans1. During the Sultanate period, many of the larger villages slowly grew into towns called qasbas, which became centres of various crafts and trading activities.

Ans2. Delhi was both an administrative and a trade centre during the Mughal Period.

Ans3. In the South, Madurai, in the Deccan, Hampi, in the east Konark and in the west, Somnath were main temple towns.

Ans4. Spinning, weaving and printing of fine textiles, gem- cutting, metallurgy and high quality pottery were some of the crafts people of Medieval India were engaged in.

Ans5. Palampore was a variety of printed fabric, popular in the Mughal and Deccan courts. The borders of these pieces were block printed while the centre depicted the 'tree of life' motif made by hand.

Ans6. Masulipatnam was famous for 'Kalamkari' cloth which got its name from the 'kalam', the pen like tool used to draw designs on the cloth. Vegetable or mineral dyes were used to colour the cloth.