Ancient India

The Prehistoric Period

The prehistoric period in the history of mankind can roughly be dated from 200000 BC to

about 3500-2500 BC, when the first civilisations 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 large part of the subcontinent, including peninsular India. They

continuously flooded the Indian subcontinent 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.

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 (from

unknown till 8000 BC), Mesolithic Age or the Middle Stone Age (8000 BC-4000 BC) and the Neolithic

Age or the New Stone Age (4000 BC-2500 BC) on the basis of the specialization of the stone tools, which

were made during that time.

Paleolithic Age

The human beings living in the Paleolithic Age were essentially food  gatherers 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 groups 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.

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 Chotta  Nagpur 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 exact dale of these paintings is not  certain, but some of the

paintings are as old as 12,000 years. The prehistoric  artist used natural white and red pigments in depicting the various

themes,  which were close to his heart and sustenance.

Neolithic Age

The Neolithic Age (4000 BC-2500 BC) or the New Stone Age was the last phase of the Stone Age and

ischaracterized by very finely flaked, small stone tools, also known as blades and burins. The Ne olithic

Age also saw the domestication of cattle, horses, and other farm 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. This phase or period is termed as the Chalcolithic Age’(1800

BC-I000BC).

chalcolithic Phase

Towards the end of the Neolithic period, metals like bronze and copper began to be used. This was the

Chalcolithic phase (1800 BC to 1000 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

N armada.