Ancient History 01

Ancient History
Early Man
Pre Historic Period
Arihant GK 2024
THE EARLY MAN
• Fossils : Africa about 2.6 million years back (no such evidence in India)
• Artefacts discovered : 1.4 million years ago from Bori in Maharashtra.
• The modern humans (Homo sapiens) first appeared in Africa around 2 lakh years ago and in
India around 70,000 years ago.
• Tools used by early man : Crude clipping.
• This period is therefore known as the Stone Age.

Homo
Australopithecus Homo Homo
Homo habilis neanderthal
afarensis erectus sapiens
ensis
• Stone age has been divided into three ages:
1) The Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age
2) The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age
3) The Neolithic or New Stone Age
The Palaeolithic Age (500000 BC-9000 BC)
• Developed in the pleistocene period or the ice age.
• Palaeolithic tools first discovered in India : Robert Bruce Foote (Pallavaram, Chennai in
1863).
• Homo Sapiens first appeared towards the end of this phase.
• Occupation : hunters and food gatherers, no knowledge of agriculture or pottery, used tools
of unpolished, rough stones and lived in cave and rock shelters.
• They are also called Quartzite men because their tools were mostly made of quartzite.
• This age is divided into three phases according to the nature of the stone tools used by the
people and change in the climate.
• Phases of the Palaeolithic Age:
1. Early or Lower Palaeolithic
2. Middle Palaeolithic
3. Upper Palaeolithic
Age Tools Climate Sites
Early or Lower Hand axes, cleavers Humidity Decreased Soan valley (Punjab),
Palaeolithic and choppers Belan valley (Uttar
Pradesh)
Middle Palaeolithic Flakes-blades, pointers, Further decrease in Valleys of Soan,

borers and scrapers humidity Narmada and
Tungabhadra rivers.
Upper Palaeolithic Scrapers, burins and Warm climate Caves and rockshelters
bone tools of this age have been
discovered at
Bhimbetka near Bhopal.
The Mesolithic Age (9000 BC- 6000 BC)
• Transitional phase
• Climate : warm and dry (changes in fauna and flora and made it possible for human
beings to move to new areas)
• Occupation : hunting, fishing and food- gathering ( Domesticating animal at later stages)
• Tools used : Microliths
• Earliest evidence for the domestication of animals : Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and
Bagor in Rajasthan.
• Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh is a striking site of Pre-historic painting of Mesolithic age

(The people of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ages practiced painting)
The Neolithic Age (6000 BC-1800 BC)
• Tools : Polished stone tools (stone axes)
• Important Neolithic sites : Burzahom, Mehrgarh, Daojali Hading, Chirand, Maski,
Brahmagiri, Hallur, Piklihal, Utnoor, Nagarjunakonda and Paiyampalli (India).
• It is interesting that in Burzahom dogs were buried with their masters in their graves.
• They were the earliest farming communities.
• Crops : Ragi and horse-gram (kulathi).
• Allahabad district are noted for the cultivation of rice in the sixth millenium BC. They
domesticated cattle, sheeps and goats. They wove cotton and wool to make clothes.
• Hand made pottery and use of potter wheel first appeared.
• They lived in caves and decorated their walls with hunting and dancing scenes. They knew
the art of making boats.
• In the later phase, people lived a more settled life and lived in circular and rectangular
houses made of mud and reed. Pit houses have been found in Burzahom.
• Koldihwa in UP revealed a three fold cultural sequence : Neolithic, Chalcolithic and iron
age.
• Oldest Neolithic site in India : Mehargarh in Baluchistan (7000 BC).

Chalcolithic Culture (1800 BC-1000 BC)
• First metal to be used : Copper
• Chalcolithic culture refers to the stone-copper phase (hand-axes and other objects made
up of copper ware were used)
• Chalcolithic people were primarily rural communities.
• They domesticated animals and practised agriculture.
• They were not acquainted with burnt bricks and lived in thatched houses.
• They venerated the mother Goddess and worshipped the bull.

• They were the first to use painted pottery, Black and red pottery painted with white line
design was most popular.
• The Malwa ware is considered the richest among the Chalcolithic ceramics.
• Important chalcolithic sites : Ahar, Jorwe, Kayatha, Malwa, Eran, Rangpur, Navdatoli,
Nevasa, Daimabad and Inamgaon.

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Ancient History

• Artefacts discovered : 1.4 million years ago from Bori in Maharashtra.

India around 70,000 years ago.

• Tools used by early man : Crude clipping.

• This period is therefore known as the Stone Age.

people and change in the climate.

• Phases of the Palaeolithic Age:

1. Early or Lower Palaeolithic

Middle Palaeolithic Flakes-blades, pointers, Further decrease in Valleys of Soan,

• Tools used : Microliths

• Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh is a striking site of Pre-historic painting of Mesolithic age

• Tools : Polished stone tools (stone axes)

• Important Neolithic sites : Burzahom, Mehrgarh, Daojali Hading, Chirand, Maski,

Brahmagiri, Hallur, Piklihal, Utnoor, Nagarjunakonda and Paiyampalli (India).

• They were the earliest farming communities.

• Crops : Ragi and horse-gram (kulathi).

the art of making boats.

• Oldest Neolithic site in India : Mehargarh in Baluchistan (7000 BC).

• First metal to be used : Copper

up of copper ware were used)

• Chalcolithic people were primarily rural communities.

• They domesticated animals and practised agriculture.

• They venerated the mother Goddess and worshipped the bull.

design was most popular.

Nevasa, Daimabad and Inamgaon.

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