INDIAN HISTORY

• Palaeolithic age (1000000 BC – 10000 BC)

1. Lower palaeolithic (1000000 BC – 100000 BC)
2. Middle palaeolithic (100000 BC – 40000 BC)
3. Upper palaeolithic (40000 BC – 10000 BC)
• Mesolithic age (10000 BC – 7000 BC)
• Neolithic age (7000 BC – 1000 BC)
• Palaeolithic period coincides with the Pleistocene period ice sheets covered a great
portion of the earth’s surface, particularly on higher altitudes
LOWER PALAEOLITHIC / EARLY PALAEOLITHIC AGE

• Human was similar to APE

• APE stage Animals called as HUMANOIDS
• 1st Humanoid existed in AFRICA – ASTALOPITHICUS
• 2nd Humanoid existed in INDIA – RAMAPITHICUS
• 3rd Humanoid existed in CHINA – SYNANTHROPUS
• JAVA Island Humanoids called as PITHICANTHROPUS
• First time fire discovered by SYNANTHROPUS
• Early palaeolithic tools were fairly large core tools made up of quartzite or other
hard rocks (hand-axes, cleavers, pebble tool)
• Axes found in India are more or less similar to those of Western Asia, Europe and
Africa
• HAND AXES - Roughly triangular in shape, broad at one end and pointed at the other
• CLEAVERS - Cleaver is a flattish tool made of rectangular or triangular shape. One of
its ends is broad and having straight cutting edge
• Climate – ICE AGE
• In this period, the climate became less Humid (dry).
• Fire was not invented in this period
• He had no knowledge of house building.
• Soan River Valley (Punjab, Pakistan),
• Belan Valley (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh) - Caves & Rock shelters - These would have
been served as seasonal camps for human beings
• Thar Desert, Kashmir, Mewar Plains, Saurashtra, Gujarat, Central India, Deccan
Plateau, Chhota Nagpur Plateau, North of Cauvery River.
• Nagarjuna Konda in Andhra Pradesh is an important site
• THE BIMBETKA ROCK SHELTERS - This site remained very attractive for stone age
people from the point of view of shelter, food and raw material for tools. Bhimbetka
hillside is composed of Sandstone and Quartzite
• He had no knowledge of cultivation - In this phase man barely managed to gather
his food and lived on hunting.
• A stone tool made out of the largest piece (core) is called a core tool, while tools
made out of smaller pieces (flakes) are called flake tools.
MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC

• Here NIYANDRATHALS and HOMOERACTUS can be seen

• First time the BELIEVE SYSTEM started in NIYANDRATHALS
• Believe system later converted to RELIGION
• Middle palaeolithic site – SONVELLI
• FIRE invented
• CLIMATE – ICE AGE
• In this period, the climate became less Humid (dry).
• no knowledge of house building.
• SITES
1. Soan River Valley (Punjab, Pakistan),
2. Belan Valley (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh)
3. Didwana (Rajasthan), Ajmer, Maharashtra, Narmada
4. ChotaNagpur Plateau, South of Tungabhadra
5. Potwar plateau between Indus and Jhelum River,
6. Nevasa (Central India), Visakhapatnam Coast
• THE BIMBETKA ROCK SHELTERS - This site remained very attractive for stone age
people in Middle Palaeolithic period as well, from the point of view of shelter, food
and raw material for tools. Bhimbetka hillside is composed of SANDSTONE and
QUARTZITE.
• He had no knowledge of cultivation - In this phase also man lived on hunting and
food gathering
• Middle Palaeolithic industries were all based upon flakes.
• Hand-Axes, Cleavers and pebble tools did not altogether disappear. But the balance
shifted towards smaller, lighter flake tools, like SCRAPERS and BORERS
UPPER PALAEOLITHIC

• Here HOMOSEPIANS (Human stage) existed

• Many chopper and round stones excavated at ATTIRAPURAM (Madrasian stones)
• Human body bone tools excavated at MACHALA CHINTAMANI
• PAINTINGS seen at BIMBETKA CAVES (M.P) & BURRA CAVES (A.P)
• CLIMATE – Last phase of ICE AGE
• Climate became comparatively warm.
• Important SITE - Belan Valley (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh)
• The animal bones discovered in BELAN VALLEY included those of Wild CATTLE,
SHEEP, and GOATS. Since sheep and Goats do not seems to be indigenous to this
area, they may have been brought here from North-west, if this was indeed the case,
it could represent an early stage of domestication
• 566 sites in India-
1. Belan Valley (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh)
2. Andhra Pradesh
3. Soan River Valley (Punjab, Pakistan)
 4. Vindhya’s, Central India, Chotanagpur plateau
5. Sanghao Cave (Pakistan), Rohri Hills (Sindh)
6. Kashmir, Rajasthan, West Bengal
• THE BIMBETKA ROCK SHELTERS - This site remained attractive for stone age people
in whole Palaeolithic period including Upper Palaeolithic as well, from the point of
view of shelter, food and raw material for tools. Bhimbetka hillside is composed of
sandstone and quartzite
• In this phase also man lived on hunting and food gathering.
• The important technical advance of the upper palaeolithic was the making of
parallel-sided blades
• BURINS - A Burin is a small tool similar to modern screwdriver. Burins may be used
as engraving tools or for making grooves in wood or bones for hafting stone tools.
• FRAGMENTS of OSTRICH EGGSHEEL have been found in upper palaeolithic contexts
in India

MESOLITHIC AGE

• Very small stones were used called as MICROLITHICS (1cm to 5cm)

• GEOMETRIC - There were Microlith tools in regular geometric shapes such as
triangles, rhomboids, trapezes and trapezoids.
• NON-GEOMETRIC - Microliths include miniature versions of some of the upper
palaeolithic tool types such as burins, points and scrapers.
• CHERNES and JASPER stones excavated at SONVELLI
• AGRICULTURE started in WORLD at SYRIA and NILE RIVER banks
• In the SIBERIAN REGION Mesolithic time period SARAVADI (vehicle in snowfall area)
excavated
• In INDIA, domestication of animals seen at ADNAM (M.P) and BAGOR (Rajasthan)
• From this age onwards QUARTZITE was used
 • WHEEL usage started in world
• CLIMATE - Ice Age Ended Many Environmental changes took place during this
transition. WARM, RAINY, FAUNA and FLORA
• Humans took advantage of adequate rainfall, dense vegetation and forests
• Environmental changes were not same everywhere
1. Birbhanpur, West Bengal showed Increased Aridity.
2. Didwana, Rajasthan had higher rainfall.
3. Eastern Madhya Pradesh, climate became wet and warm.
• Cultivation of plants – BAGOR (Rajasthan), Loteshwar and Ratanpur (Gujarat),
Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, Belan Valley (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh), south of
KRISHNA river
• MESOLITHIC AGE Marked as Transitional phase in the mode of subsistence leading
to ANIMAL HUSBANDARY
• The transition from a hunting-gathering stage to the beginnings of settled agriculture
can be traced at CHOPANI MANDO in the BELAN VALEY
• Some MICROLITHS – Quartzite, Chert, Jasper, Agate
NEOLITHIC AGE

• 1st time AGRICULTURE started in INDIA at MEHRGARH REGION (Pakistan)

• Indians introduced PADDY to world – excavated at KALDIA (U.P)
• WHEEL used in INDIA excavated at MEHRGARH
• POT making centres seen at CHOPANIMANDO (U.P)
• SETTLED HOUSES excavated at SARAI NAHARROY
• UNDERGROUND HOUSES excavated at BURJOHOME (Kashmir)
• First human used metal COPPER excavated in the region of KHETRI (Rajasthan)
• PLANT DOMESTICATION - If after harvesting, some grain is consumed for food and
the rest is put aside and later intentionally planted, this is called stage of Plant
Domestication
• FOOD COLLECTION - When grain is harvested and all of it is consumed
• ANIMAL DOMESTICATION - When wild animals are removed from their natural
habitat and maintained and bred under artificial conditions by people for their profit
• ANIMAL KEEPING - When certain species of animals are captured and kept
• Human settlements – made up of mud, Circular or Rectangular
• Innovation in Stone Tool Technology, Invention of Pottery, Greater degree of
sedentary living, Emergence of small and self-sufficient villages, Animal
Domestication
• GORDON CHILDE coined the phrase NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION to highlight the
enormous significance of these changes
• MEHERGARH (PAKISTAN) – on the banks of BOLAN River in the Kochi plain
1. Bread basket of Baluchistan
2. Oldest Neolithic Settlement in the Indian Sub-continent
3. Largest Neolithic Settlement between the Indus and Mediterranean
• People used to live there on a lake-side in pits called Dwelling Pits
• Complete absence of microlith tools. Polished stone tools and Bone Tools
• At BURZOHOME – Domestic DOGS were buried with their masters in their graves
• Settlements have been found either on the top of granite hills or on the plateaus
near the river banks.
• Most sites in SOUTH INDIA, over 850 sites in A.P, KARNATAKA, TAMIL NADU
• COPPER usage culture known as CHALCOLITHIC AGE or JORWAY CULTURE – majorly
spreaded in Maharashtra DAIMABAD Region
• Copper + Zink = BRONZE
• Bronze existence known as ADVANCED CULTURE