UPSC Ancient History Tips for Beginners

As far as interesting subjects go, history is one of the most interesting subjects UPSC has to offer. Of course ‘interesting’ can be a subjective term, but it doesn’t take away the essence of the topic at hand.

History, particularly ancient history, is a difficult subject for those new to it. But with a focused and dedicated approach, one can overcome it. Without further ado, this article will give tips for UPSC Ancient History Tips for Beginners. The tips at hand will be useful for the UPSC Exam

The candidates can read more related information from the links provided below:

How to Prepare for History for IAS?

15 Day Strategy for Ancient and Medieval History

Beginner tips for UPSC Ancient History

For starters studying ancient history requires a lot of patience as well as the skill to interlinks and remember important events. Keeping this in mind, the following tips can help candidates learn history without any unnecessary barriers

1. Give a cursory glance at the index of any history book. Therefore, instead of jumping headlong into any chapter, this would give an insight on the type of topics in store for you.
2. If a certain topic increases your stress levels, then avoid for the time being and mark them for later, when the easy topics have been done
3. As you go on reading, you will start to understand the subsequent chapters in terms of difficult and even overall interest. You will also know the challenging aspects of some of these topics. Be sure to keep a small notebook in handy in order to make notes.
4. Upon further reading, you will get a clarity on certain concepts, events, political structure etc. Once this stage is reached it is time for you to go start  solving previous years question papers and do a little bit of backtracking to revisit topics you have covered. Remember not to mug up or forcibly add things to the mix.
5. Even though there are multiple sources of ancient history, it is advisable to stick to a limited number of sources at a time. There are times when candidates waste time in shifting through multiple sources just to find the best one. 
6. Make notes of important historical events and keep them close. They will be helpful during revision time. 
7. Start interlinking all events of history. Nothing happens or happens without cause and effects. Each action had some impact on society in some way o r another. This will make learning history an important affair. 

Topics to focus in Ancient History UPSC

1. ‘Study’ a subject not just ‘Read’! The scope of the term study is very wide in terms of understanding the topics so the UPSC says General Studies not General Knowledge. Study ignites thought, thought propels action and action results in creation of history.
2. Focus on different periods like the Stone Age, Paleolithic age, Mesolithic age, Neolithic and chalcolithic age.
3. Socio-economic-cultural facets of the Indus valley civilization.
4. Artifacts excavated from these sites that denote their art, culture, and script used during this period.
5. Basic knowledge of Vedic society, family, marriage, norms, etc. – focus on the religious, social, and cultural aspects.
6. Read about the Dharmashastras, Puranas, six systems of philosophy, types of Vedas, Upanishads, etc.
7. Terms and their meaning- UPSC is frequently asking questions regarding the meaning of terms like Jana, Purohita, and Panchayattan, etc.
8. Guptas and the Mauryans emperors and their kingdoms.

Candidates can find UPSC Prelims Ancient Indian History Question papers in the given link

To know more about other Government Exams, visit the linked article. For more preparation materials they can refer to the links given in the table below:

Related Links