Introduction
->Evidence of Homo Erectus in the Indian subcontinent about 2 million years
ago.
->Evidence of Homo Sapiens from 70,000 years ago as hunter-gatherers.
Ancient history can be divided into di
Ancient history can be divided into different periods according to the tools used by people
then.
1. Palaeolithic Period: 2 million BC – 10,000 BC
2. Mesolithic Period: 10,000 BC – 8000 BC
3. Neolithic Period: 8000 BC – 4000 BC
4. Chalcolithic Period: 4000 BC – 1500 BC
5. Iron Age: 1500 BC – 200 BC
Palaeolithic Peri
Palaeolithic Period (Old Stone Age)od (Old Stone Age)
This is further divided into three:
1. Lower Palaeolithic Age: up to 100,000 BC
2. Middle Palaeolithic Age: 100,000 BC – 40,000 BC
3. Upper Palaeolithic Age: 40,000 BC – 10,000 BC
Lower Palaeolithic age
● Hunters and food gatherers; tools used were axes, choppers and cleavers.
● Earliest lower Palaeolithic site is Bori in Maharashtra.
● Limestone was also used to make tools
● Major sites of lower Palaeolithic age
● Soan valley (in present Pakistan)
● sites in the Thar Desert
● Kashmir
● Mewar plains
● Saurashtra
● Gujarat
● Central India
● Deccan Plateau
● Chotanagpur plateau
● North of the Cauvery River
● Belan valley in UP
● There are habitation sites including caves and rock shelters
● It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2003
● An important place is Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh
Middle Palaeolithic age
● Tools used were blades, pointers, scrapers and borers.
● The tools were smaller, lighter and thinner
● Important middle Palaeolithic age sites
● Belan valley in UP
● Luni valley (Rajasthan)
● Son and Narmada rivers
● Bhimbetka
Upper Palaeolithic age
● Emergence of Homo sapiens
● Lot of bone tools, including needles, harpoons, blades, fishing tools and burin tools.
● Major sites of Upper Palaeolithic age
● Belan
● Son
● Chota Nagpur plateau (Bihar)
● Maharashtra
● Orissa and
● Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh
● Paintings at Bhimbetka site belong to this age.
Mesolithic Period (Midd
Mesolithic Period (Middle Stone Age)le Stone Age)
● Major climate change happened.
● Climate became warmer and more humid.
● Rainfall increased and so more availability of flora and fauna.
● Domestication of animals and plants were seen for the first time.
● Started 12000 years ago.
● First animal to be domesticated was the wild ancestor of the dog.
● Sheep and goats were the most common domesticated animals.
● Hunting and food gathering continued.
● First human colonization of the Ganga plains.
● Microliths have been excavated.
● They are small stone tools that were probably stuck to stones to be used as saws and
sickles.
● Major sites:
● Brahmagiri (Mysore)
● Narmada
● Vindhya
● Gujarat
● UP
● Sojat (Rajasthan)
● Bhimbetka
● Godavari Basin
● Sarai Nahar Rai
● Tools used were blades, crescents, triangles, trapezes, spearheads, knives, arrowheads,
sickles, harpoons and daggers.
NNeolithic Period (New Stone Age)eriod (New Stone Age)
● Starting of agriculture
● Moving from nomadic to settled life
● Wheel discovered. Ragi, wheat and horse gram were cultivated
● They knew to make fire
● Knew pottery
● Art was seen in cave paintings of dance
● Also show first intentional disposal of the dead
● Important sites:
● Inamgaon
● Burzahom (Kashmir)
● Mehrgarh (Pakistan)
● Daojali Hading (Tripura/Assam)
● Hallur (AP)
● Paiyampalli (AP)
● Chirand (Bihar)
● Evidence of houses
Chalcolithic Period (Copper Age/Bronze Age)iod (Copper Age/Bronze Age)
Indus Valley Civilization (2700 BC – 1900 BC)
● Other settlements at
● Brahmagiri Navada Toli (Narmada region)
● Chirand (Ganga region) and
● Mahishadal (West Bengal)
IIron Age
● Arrival of the Aryans: Vedic Period
● Jainism, Buddhism
● Mahajanapadas: the first major civilisation on the banks of the river Ganga after the Indus
Valley.
