Ancient India

AncientIndia

ThePrehistoric Period

Pre-historic

The prehistoric period in the history of mankind can roughly dated from 2000000 BC to about 3500-2500 BC, when the forst civilizations began to take shape.

          The history of India is no exception . The First modern human beings or the Homo sapiens set foot on the Indian subcontinent anywhere between 200000 BC and 40000 BC and they soon spread throughout a peninsular India. They continuously flooded the Indiansubcontinent in waves after waves of migration from what is present day Iran. These primitive people moved in groups of few ‘families’ and lived mainly on hunting and gathering.

StoneAge

stone-age

The age when the prehistoric man began to use stones for utilitarian purpose is termed as the stone age. The stone age is divided into three broad divisions-  Paleolithic Age or the Old Stone Age (500,000-8000 BC), Mesolithic Age or the Middle Stone Age (8000 BC-6000 BC), and the Neolithic Age or the New Stone Age (6000BC-1000BC) on the basis of the specialization of the stone tools, which were made during that time.

ThePaleolithic Age in India ( 500,000BC- 8000 BC)

Paleolithic Age

The human beings  living in the Paleolithic Age were essentially food gathers and depended on nature for food. The art of hunting and stalking wild animals individually and later in groups led to these people making stone weapons and tools. First crudely carved out stones were used in hunting, but as the size of the group began to increase and there was need for more food, these people began to make “specialized tools” by flaking stones, which were pointed on one end. These kind of tools were generally used to kill small animals and for tearing flesh from the carcass of the hunted animals. The basic technique of making these crude tools was by taking a stone and flaking its sides with a heavier stone. These tools were characteristic of the Paleolithic Age and were very rough. By this time, human beings had come to make and use fire. They mainly used hand axes, cleavers, chopper, blades, scrapers and burin. Their tools were made of hard rock called ‘quartzite’. Hence Paleolithic men are also called ‘Quartzite Men’.

MesolithicAge (8,000-6,000 BC)

mesolithic-age

In the Mesolithic Age, the stone tools began to be made more pointed and sharp. To ensure a life that had abundance of food and clothing, the stone tools began to appear in increasingly specialized way. The simple handheld stone tools were now attached to thick branches from trees with rope made from animal skin and sinew. These tools are known as hand axes, which could be flung at fast-moving animals from a distance. Apart from hand axes, they also produced crude stone-tipped wooden spears, borers, and burins. This period also saw the domestication of animals and graving of wild varieties of crops. Because of farming, small settlements began to take shape. Archaeological excavations have unearthed Mesolithic sites in the ChottaNagpur area of central India and the areas south of the Krishna River. The famous Bhimbetka caves near Bhopal belong to the Mesolithic Age and are famous for their cave paintings. The prehistoric artist used natural white and red pigments in depicting the various items, which were close to his heart and sustenance. The characteristic tools of the Mesolithic Age are known as Microlith.

NeolithicAge (6,000-1,000BC)

neolithic age

The Neolithic Age (6,000 – 1,000 BC) or the New Stone Age was the last phase of the Stone Age and is characterized by very finely flaked, small stone tools, also known as blades and burins. The Neolithic Age also saw the domestication of Cattle, Horses, and other animals. Which were used for dairy and meat products. An important invention of this time was the making of the wheel. The Neolithic Age quickly gave way to a number of small “cultures” that were highly technical. These people used copper and bronze to make a range of utilitarian tools. Neolithic men cultivated land and grew fruits and corn like ragi and horse gram. They lived in cave and decorated their walls with hunting and dancing scenes. They also knew the art of making boats. They could also weave cotton and wool to make cloth. In the later phase of Neolithic Phase people led a more settled life and lived in circular and rectangular houses made of mud and reed. Important sites of this age are Burzahom and Gufkral in J&K.

ChalcolithicPhase

chalcolithic-period

Towards the end of the Neolithic period, metals like bronze and copper began to be used. This was the Chalcolithic phase (18, 00-1,000 BC). Chalcolithic cultures extended from the Chotanagpur plateau to the upper Gangetic basin. Some of the sites of this era are Brahmgiri (near Mysore) and Navada Toli on the Narmada.