DU BA History 1st Semester Notes PDF Download (BA Hons & BA Programme)
Welcome to the (Delhi University) DU BA History 1st Semester Notes PDF section.
This page provides complete unit-wise notes and syllabus details for both BA (Hons) History and BA Programme History.
All notes are structured as per the latest DU CBCS/NEP syllabus and available for free PDF download to help you prepare efficiently for exams and assignments.
DU BA History 1st Semester Notes PDF
Below are all papers offered in the BA (Hons) History 1st Semester, along with their detailed units.
Each paper link will help you access DU BA (Hons) History Notes PDFs for in-depth study and revision.
History of India – I
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, DELHI UNIVERSITY
Unit I: Reconstructing ancient Indian history
[a] The Indian subcontinent: landscapes and environments
[b] Sources of historical reconstruction (up to 600 BCE)
[c] Changing historiography
[d] Early Indian notions of history
Unit II: Prehistoric hunter-gatherers
[a] Palaeolithic cultures: sequence and distribution; Tool typology and technology and subsistence pattern
[b] Mesolithic cultures: regional and chronological distribution; new developments in technology and economy
[c] The prehistoric mind: funerary practices and art
Unit III: The advent of food production
The regional and chronological distribution of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures; subsistence; patterns of interaction and exchange
Unit IV: The Harappan civilization
Origins; settlement patterns and town planning; agrarian base; craft production and trade; social and political organization; religious beliefs and practices; art; the problem of urban decline and the late/post-Harappan traditions
Unit V: Cultures in transition up to c. 600 BCE
Settlement patterns; technological and economic developments; social stratification; political relations; religion and philosophy; the Aryan question; megaliths
a) North India
b) Central India, the Deccan and South India
📥 [Download History of India – I Notes (PDF)]
Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Ancient World – I
Unit-I: Evolution of humankind and Palaeolithic cultures
a. Comprehending prehistory and history: issues and interpretative frameworks
b. Environmental context of human evolution
c. Biological evolution of hominins
d. Social and cultural adaptations: mobility and migration; development of lithic and other technologies; changes in the hunting gathering economy; social organization; art and graves.
Unit-II: Understanding the Mesolithic
a. Mesolithic as a transitional stage in prehistory
b. Ecological change and changes in subsistence strategies based on case studies from West Asia, Europe and Meso-America: seasonal and broad-spectrum exploitation of resources, food storage, tools, semi-sedentism and features of social complexity
Unit-III: The Neolithic
a. Debating the origins of food production – climate change; population pressure; ecological choices; cognitive reorientations
b. Features of the Neolithic based on sites from West Asia, Europe and China: nature and size of settlements; tool-kits, artefacts and pottery; family and household
c. Features of social complexity in late Neolithic communities; ceremonial sites and structures
Unit-IV: The Bronze Age
Note: Rubrics b, c and d are to be based on any one case study:
Ancient Mesopotamia (Sumerian and Akkadian period)/Egypt (Old Kingdom)/China (Shang dynasty).
a. Concepts: ‘Bronze Age’, ‘Civilization’ ‘Urban Revolution’ and ‘State’
b. Ecological context of early civilizations
c. Aspects of social complexity: class, gender and economic specialization
d. Forms of kingship, religion and state
Unit V: Nomadic Pastoralism
Concept of Pastoralism; Emergence in West Asia and interaction with urban-state societies between the third and second millennium
Unit-VI: The Advent of Iron
Spread of iron technology and complex technological and economic changes
📥 [Download Social Formations Notes (PDF)]
Delhi Through the Ages: The Making of its Early Modern History
Unit I: Between Myth and History – Delhi’s Early Pasts: Indraprastha, Lalkot
Unit II: From settlements to cityscape – Understanding the Many cities of Delhi
Unit III: Delhi’s 13th and 14th Century settlements
Case study of any two:
- Dehli-ikuhna’s masjid-ijami ‘(old Delhi/Mehrauli)
- Siri
- Ghiyaspur-Kilukhri
- Tughluqabad
- Jahanpanah
- Firuzabad
Unit IV: Shajahanabad: Qila Mubarak (Red Fort) as a site of power and the morphology of the city.
Unit V: 18th century Delhi: political upheaval and social empowerment – complicated understandings of ‘decline’.
📥 [Download Delhi Through the Ages Notes (PDF)]
Science, Technologies and Humans: Contested Histories
Unit 1: Science, technology and Society
a. Revisiting ‘Scientific Revolution’
b. Colonialism and Science
Unit 2: Contested ‘Scientific’ heritage
a. Decimal and Zero
b. Arch and Dome
Unit 3: Knowing unknown: Cross-cultural Exchanges
a. Mitigating uncertainties: Popular saying and predictions
b. Hegemony of documentation
Unit 4: Economics of Technologies: Questions of Ethics
a. Generic Medicines
b. Industrial Disasters
Unit 5: Science and the nation making
a. Atomic Power
b. Policies and Institutions
c. Homi Jehangir Bhaba, MeghnadShaha
📥 [Download Science, Technologies & Humans Notes (PDF)]
B.A. Programme in History – 1st Semester Notes
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, DELHI UNIVERSITY
Core Course I: History of India from the Earliest Times up to c. 300 CE
I. Interpreting Ancient India; survey of sources
II. Prehistoric Cultures: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic; rock art
III. Harappan Civilization: Origin and extent, town planning, economy, society and religion, decline and continuity. Chalcolithic cultures
IV. Vedic Culture: polity, economy, society and religion. Beginnings of the iron age; Megalithic cultures
V. Post-Vedic Period: material and social changes, Mahajanapadas and the rise of Magadha, Buddhism and Jainism: doctrines; spread
VI. The Mauryan Empire: state and administration, society, economy, Ashoka’s Dhamma, decline, art and architecture
VII. The Far South: Tamilakam; polity, economy and society
VIII. Post-Mauryan age with special reference to Satavahanas and Kushanas: polity, economy, society, culture
📥 [Download History of India (up to 300 CE) Notes (PDF)]
Core Course II: Communicating Culture – Tellings, Representations and Leisure
Unit I: Tellings: Myths, tales and folklore
Unit II: Performance as communication: Theatre, puppetry and music
Unit III: Processions as display: Yatra, barat & julus
Unit IV: Sporting: Mind, body & nation
📥 [Download Communicating Culture Notes (PDF)]
Quick Download Table – DU BA History 1st Semester Notes PDF
| Course Type | Paper Title | Download Link |
| BA (Hons) History | History of India – I | [Download PDF] |
| BA (Hons) History | Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Ancient World – I | [Download PDF] |
| BA (Hons) History | Delhi Through the Ages: The Making of its Early Modern History | [Download PDF] |
| BA (Hons) History | Science, Technologies and Humans: Contested Histories | [Download PDF] |
| BA Programme History | History of India (up to 300 CE) | [Download PDF] |
| BA Programme History | Communicating Culture: Tellings, Representations and Leisure | [Download PDF] |
Additional Info for Students
- Notes are structured per Delhi University’s official syllabus.
- Ideal for exam preparation, assignments, and concept clarity.
- Covers both theoretical and analytical aspects of each unit.
- Available for free PDF download for easy offline study.
