ANCIENT INDIA

The Early Man

 Early human fossils haven't been discovered in India, but evidence of their presence comes from
stone tools.
 Tools dating back about 250,000 years, found in places like Bori, Maharashtra, suggest early
human activity.
 These tools, such as hand axes and choppers, are from the Early Paleolithic Age, which began
around 1.4 million years ago.
 Throughout this time, from their earliest use until around 3000 BCE, humans only used stone
tools. This era is known as the Stone Age, divided into three periods: - Paleolithic (Old Stone)
Age, Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age, Neolithic (New Stone) Age:
 The climate during these ages was changing, becoming less humid over time.

I. Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age): 500,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE

 This period developed during the Pleistocene period, also known as the Ice Age.
 It was discovered by R.B Bruce, known as father of Pre-historic Archaeology.
 Paleolithic Indians, belonging to the 'Negrito' race, lived in open-air sites, river valleys, caves,
and rock shelters.
 They were food gatherers and hunters, with no knowledge of houses, pottery, or agriculture and
discovered fire later.
 In the Upper Paleolithic Age, they created paintings and used unpolished stone tools like hand
axes, cleavers, choppers and scrapers.
 They are also known as 'Quartzite' men. The palaeolithic age in India is divided into three
phases-Early or Lower Palaeolithic Age, Middle Palaeolithic Age and Upper Palaeolithic Age.

Early or Lower Palaeolithic  This age is known as ice Age.

Age  People from this era were hunters and food gatherers,
using rough, heavy tools like hand axes (called Madrasian
culture), choppers, and cleavers.
Lower Paleolithic sites:
 Bori in Maharashtra (earliest Lower Paleolithic sites),
limestone tools were found here.
 Soan Valley (present-day Pakistan)
 Thar Desert, Kashmir, Mewar Plains, Saurashtra in Gujarat,
Central India.
 Deccan Plateau, Chotanagpur Plateau, North of the
Cauvery River and Belan Valley in UP.
 These sites feature habitation areas, caves and rock
shelters, with Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.

Middle Palaeolithic age  This age is called Fake Culture.

 Tools used were flakes, blades, pointers, scrapers and
borers. The tools were smaller, lighter and thinner.
  Precious stone like Chert, Zasper, Flint were used. Good
quality of Quartzite was also used.
Important middle Palaeolithic age sites-
 Luni valley (Rajasthan), Son and Narmada rivers,
Bhimbetka, Tungabhadra River valleys.
 Potwar Plateau (between Indus & Jhelum).
 Sanghao cave (near Peshawar, Afghanistan).

Upper/ Later Palaeolithic age  This is the last phase of the ice age known as Flake-Blade
culture.
 Climate was warmer and less humid.
 During this time, Homo sapiens emerged, and there was
significant innovation in tools and technology.
 This period introduced many bone tools, such as needles,
harpoons, parallel-sided blades, fishing tools, and burins.
 Maximum number of Bone-Horn-Made implement were
found from cave shelter of Andhra Pradesh.
Major Upper Paleolithic sites include-
 Bhimbetka (South of Bhopal): Hand axes, cleavers, blades,
scrapers, and a few burins.
 Belan, Son, Chota Nagpur Plateau (Bihar), Maharashtra,
Odisha, Eastern Ghats (Andhra Pradesh).

II. Mesolithic Period (Middle / Late Stone Age) Period – 10,000 – 6000 BCE

 Mesolithic stage of prehistory is known as the ‘Middle Stone Age’.

 Both Mesolithic and Neolithic phases belong to the Holocene era. In this era, there was a rise in
temperature, the climate became warm and dry.
 In India, the credit of the discovery of Mesolithic archeological materials goes to John Eva. He
excavated Sakka and Rohri (Archeological site of Sindh) in 1866.
 Microliths—small, stone tools like pointed blades, crescent-shaped blades, and scrapers (1 to 5
cm in length)—characterize this period.
 People initially relied on hunting, fishing, and gathering, but later began domesticating animals
and cultivating plants, laying the groundwork for agriculture.
 From some archeological sites like Adamgarh, the skelton of dog are found with human skelton.
 The first domesticated animal was the wild ancestor of the dog, followed by sheep and goats.
 The Mesolithic era also marked the start of rock art. Discovered in 1867 at Sohagighat (Kaimur
Hills, UP)
 Over 150 Mesolithic rock art sites have been found across India such as Bhimbetka Caves,
Kharwar, Jaora, Kathotia in MP.
 Sundargarh, Sambalpur (Odisha), and Ezhuthu Guha (Kerala).
 The people of this era believed in life after death and hence they buried the dead with food
items and other goods, at sites like Bagor and Bhimbetka.
 The end of the Mesolithic Age saw the beginning of plant cultivation, with wheat and barley
being the first crops.
 Mesolithic sites-Chhotanagpur region in Central India, and south of the Krishna River.
  The Belan Valley and the middle Narmada Valley reveal a sequence from Paleolithic to
Mesolithic and then Neolithic periods.

III. Neolithic age (new stone age): Period – 6000 – 1000 BCE
 In India, Dr. Primrose is credited with discovering Neolithic artifacts, including polished stone
knives and arrowheads, in Lingasur, Karnataka, in 1842.
 Later, in 1860, H.P. Le Mesurier found Neolithic tools in the Tons River Valley in Allahabad
district, Uttar Pradesh.
 The renowned archaeologist V. Gordon Childe (1892-1957) referred to the profound changes
brought about by Neolithic tools as the 'Neolithic Revolution' in his book Man Makes Himself.
 Mehragarh- Located in the Bolan district of Baluchistan (Pakistan), is recognized as the earliest
known village site in the Indian subcontinent.
 Notably, evidence of the burial of a pet goat alongside its owner was discovered in Mehragarh.
 The people used microlithic blades in addition to tools made of polished stones.

 Agriculture – The people of the Neolithic age cultivated land and grew fruits and corn like ragi
and horse gram (kulati). They also domesticated cattle, sheep and goats.

 Pottery –People were required to store their food grains as well as to cook, eat the product, etc.
The pottery of this period was classified under greyware, black-burnished ware, and mat
impressed ware.

 Houses- The people lived in rectangular or circular houses which were made of mud and reeds.

 Neolithic men also knew how to make boats and could spin cotton, wool and weave cloth.

 Important sites of this age-

o Burzahom-Evidence of cremating pet dog with man.

o Gufkral in J&K -Famous for pit dwelling, stone tools and graveyard in house)
o Piklihal, Brahmagiri, Maski, Takkalakota, Hallur in Karnataka -The people were cattle
herders and domesticated sheep and goats. Ash mounds have been found here.
o Chirand and Senuwar in Bihar and Garo hills in Meghalaya-Known for remarkable bone
tools.
o Belan Valley- located on the Vindhyas and middle part of Narmada valley – All the three
phases i.e., palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic ages are found in sequence.
o Koldihawa in UP revealed a threefold cultural sequence: Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Iron age.
This site also famous for paddy cultivation.

Chalcolithic Age (Stone Copper Age)-Period: (3000-500 BCE)

 It was marked the emergence of the use of metal along with stone tools.
 The first metal to be used was copper. It is believed that first of all copper was used in 5,000 B.C.
 Apart from stone tools, hand axes and other objects made of copperware also used.
 In this age people used various types of pottery, with black and red wheel-made pottery being
the most popular, often painted with white
NOTES-
line designs.
 The people of the Chalcolithic age did not use Amalananda Ghosh (1965) was the first
burnt bricks. archaeologist to identify connections
 They lived in thatched houses, following a between the Pre-Harappan (Early Harappan)
village-based economy. and Mature Harappan cultures.
 They worshipped a mother goddess and the
Other Chalcolithic cultures, such as the
bull. Malwa (1700-1200 BCE) and Jorwe (1400-
 Major Chalcolithic sites- 700 BCE) cultures, were distinct and not
o Found across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, linked to the Indus Civilization.
West Bengal, Bihar, MP, and other
In southern and eastern India, Chalcolithic
regions.
settlements developed independently of the
o Chronologically, Chalcolithic Harappan culture and often evolved directly
settlements in India include pre- from Neolithic communities.
Harappan, contemporaneous with
Harappan, and post-Harappan phases. Chalcolithic cultures in central and western
India largely disappeared by 1200 BCE, with
o Pre-Harappan strata, such as those at
the Jorwe culture extending until the 2nd
Kalibangan in Rajasthan and Banwali century BCE. This decline is attributed to in
Haryana, are distinct from the mature reduced rainfall from around 1200 BCE,
Indus Civilization. which made agriculture challenging,
o Kot Diji in Sind also falls into this particularly in black soil areas.
category.
In red soil regions of Eastern India, this
 The Kayatha Culture in Madhya Pradesh period seamlessly transitioned into the Iron
(2000-1800 BCE) is a junior contemporary of Age, leading to advanced agriculture.
the Harappan culture, showing both pre-
Harappan pottery elements and Harappan Similarly, in southern India, the Chalcolithic
influence. culture evolved into the megalithic culture
with the introduction of iron.

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

 The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) is one of the world's four

major ancient civilizations. It flourished along the
IMPORTANT FACTS
floodplains of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers.
IVC coined by John
 Others name of this civilization is Harappan civilization and
Marshall.
Indus-Saraswati civilization. R.B. Dayaram Sahni- first
 Harappan Civilization forms part of the proto history of discovered Harappa (on India
and belongs to the bronze age. Ravi River) in 1921.
 It existed alongside Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, but R.D. Banerjee-He was
significantly larger—20 times bigger than Egypt and 12 discovered Mohenjo-
times larger than both Egypt and Mesopotamia combined. Daro or 'Mound of the
Dead' in 1922.
Charles Masson- First
European to uncover and
document the ruins of
Harappa in 1842 CE.
  Mediterranean, Proto-Australoid, Mongoloids and Alpines formed the bulk of the population,
though the first two were more numerous.
 More than 100 sites belonging to this civilization have been excavated.
 The Harappan Civilization is most notably characterized by its urbanization.
 According to radio-carbon dating, it spread from the year 2600 - 1900 BCE.
 Overall, its spread can be divided into 3 Phases-Early (3300 BCE to 2600 BCE), Mature (2600 BCE
to 1900 BCE) and Late (1900 BCE to 1300 BCE).
Imports From
 Copper, bronze, silver and gold were known but not iron.
 The people of the Indus Valley were skilled in using Gold Kolar (Karnataka), both
Afghanistan, Persia
cotton and wool. (Iran)
 The Northern most site of IVC-Ropar in Punjab and Silver Afghanistan, Persia
Manda in Jammu. (Iran), South India
Copper Khetri (Rajasthan),
 The Southern most site of IVC-Bhagatrav in Gujarat Baluchistan. and
Daimabad in Maharashtra. Tin Afghanistan,
Central Asia.
 The Eastern most site of IVC-Alamgirpur in UP.
Lapis Lazuli and Badak Shan
 The Western most site of IVC- Sutkagendor in Sapphire (Afghanistan)
Pakistan Jade Central Asia
Steatite Shaher-i-Sokhta,
 Capital cities of IVC-Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Kirthar hills
 The major port cities were Sutkagendor, Balakot,
Amethyst and Maharashtra and
Lothal, Allahdino, and Kuntasi. Turquoise Iran
 Mohenjodaro is the largest site of IVC and Rakhigarhi is
Agate, Saurashtra and
the largest Indian site of IVC. Chalcedoni and West India
 Contemporary civilization of IVC-Mesopotamia, Carnelians
Egypt and China.

GEOGRAPHICAL  It covered parts of Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gujarat,

EXTENT Rajasthan and some parts of Western UP.
 It extended from Manda in Jammu in the north to Daimabad in
the south and from Alamgirpur in Western UP to Suktagendor in
Baluchistan in the west.

TOWN  The towns were in a rectangular grid pattern with roads at right
PLANNING angles.
 The city was divided in two parts- Upper citadel & lower citadel.
 In Mohanjodaro big public bath known as Great Bath.

 Used burnt bricks of good quality as the building material.

 Advanced drainage system in
Dholavira, which is the second
largest Harappan site in
Gujarat after Rakhigarhi.

Town associated with different

Industries-

 Daimabad-Bronze industry
  Lothal-Factory for stone tools and metallic finished goods.
 Balakot-Pearl finished goods, bangle and shale industry.
 Chanhudaro-Bead and bangles factory. It was the only city
without a citadel.
AGRICULTURE  Main crops: Wheat and Barley.
 Evidence of cultivation of rice in Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat)
only.
 Other crops: Dates, mustard, sesamum, cotton, rai, peas etc.

ANIMALS  Sheep, goats, dogs, humped cattle, buffalo, elephants and

Rhinoceros (Amari) were well known.
 Humped bulls were favored by the Harappans.
 Lion was not known to Indus people.
TRADE AND  Harappan Civilization had a well-developed trade network, both
COMMERCE internally and externally.
 Relying on a barter system instead of money.
 Trade importance supported by Granaries, seals, a uniform
script, and regulated weights and measures.
 Records from Mesopotamia around 2350 BCE mention trade
with Meluha, the ancient name for the Indus region.
 Intermediate trading stations- Dilmun (Bahrain) & Makan
(Makran coast).
 Used boats and bullock-carts for transportation.
 Intermediate trading stations- Dilmun (Bahrain) & Makan
(Makran coast).
 Used boats and bullock-carts for transportation.
 IMPORT: Gold, Silver, Copper, Tin, Jade, Steatite
 EXPORTS: Agricultural products,
cotton goods, terracotta
figurines, beads from
Chanhudaro, conch-shell from
Lothal, ivory products, copper.
 Chanhudaro and Lothal had
bead-making factories.
 Nageshwar and Balakot, near the
coast, specialized in making shell
objects.
 A dockyard discovered at Lothal, connected by the Bhogava
River.

SEALS AND  Most of the seals are square plaque (2×2 square inches) made
SEALINGS of Steatite.
 Seals had an animal (no Cow) or human figure on one side and
an inscription on the opposite side or inscriptions on both the
sides.
 Seals used for commercial purposes.
 Seals with symbols similar to ‘Swastika’ design.
SOCIAL  Merchants and priests were important class of this period
ORGANIZATION  Different hairstyles and wearing a beard were popular.
 The use of cosmetics was common (Cinnabar, lipstick and
collyrium)
 Necklaces, filets, armlets and finger rings were worn by both
men and women.
 Bangles, girdles, anklets, ear-rings were worn by women only.
 Beads were made from gold, copper, bronze, cornelian, quartz,
steatite, lapis lazuli etc.
 Fishing, hunting and bull fighting were pastimes.

POLITY  Uniform culture was prevalent. No clear idea of an organized

force or standing army.
 Priests did not rule in Harappa.

RELIGIOUS  Male deity Pashupati Mahadeva (proto-siva)-three-horned

PRACTICES heads. It represented in the sitting posture of a yogi.
 female deity was mother Goddess. They also worshiped fire,
tree (esp. peepal) and animals.
 Prevalence of the Phallus (lingam) and Yoni worship. Thus,
Shiva Shakti worship is the oldest form of worship in India
appeared in Harappa.
 No temple found in IVC.
SCRIPT  Pictographic script (Oldest script in Indian subcontinent)
 Written in boustrophedon (one line was written from right to
left, and the next line was written from left to right).
ART AND  Use of ‘lost wax’ technique or Cire Perdue.
POTTERY  They mainly consist of human and animal figures. Example:
‘Dancing Girl’, stands in a ‘tribhanga’ dancing posture.
 STONE STATUE-Bearded man, figure of a male torso (made of
red sandstone). Terracotta figures (use of fire baked clay) also
found here.
POTTERY-Plain pottery is more common. Most of the pottery is wheel-
made.
 The painted pottery is also known as Red and Black Pottery as it
used red colour.
 Rare polychrome pottery has also
been found.

Decline of Indus  After 2000 BC Indus Valley Civilization declined & gradually
Valley faded away.
Civilization  Possible reasons – declined soil fertility, depression in land,
Aryans invasion, decline of trade, Floods, Earthquake etc.
  Most acceptable reason is ecological imbalance

Site River District State Country Excavations

Harappa Ravi Sahiwal Punjab Pakistan Daya Ram Sahni (1921),
Madho Swaroop Vatsa
(1926), Wheeler (1946).
Mohenjodaro Indus Larkana Sindh Pakistan Rakhal Das Banerji (1922),
Mackay (1927), Wheeler
(1930)
Chanhudaro Indus Nawabshah Sindh Pakistan Mackay (1925), N.G.
Mazumdar (1931).
Lothal Bhogava Ahmedabad Gujarat India S.R. Rao (1954)
Kalibanga Ghaggar Hanumangar Rajasthan India Amalanand Ghosh (1951),
(Black bangles) h B.V. Lal and B.K. Thapar
(1961)
banawali Ghaggar Fatehbad Haryana India R.S. Bist (1973)
Dholavira Luni kutchh Gujarat India J.P. Joshi (1967-68)

The Aryan and The Vedic Period

 Numerous historians have proposed various theories regarding the original homeland of the
Aryans. Among these, Max Muller's Central Asian theory is the most widely accepted.
 According to this theory, the Aryans were semi-nomadic pastoralists who originated from the
region around the Caspian Sea in Central Asia.
 They entered India through the Khyber Pass in the Hindukush Mountains around 1500 BCE.
 Evidence supporting this theory includes the Boghazkoi Inscription from Asia Minor (modern-day
Turkey), which mentions four Vedic deities: Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and the Nasatyas, thus
reinforcing the Central Asian origin.
 Additionally, the Iranian holy book, the Zend Avesta, suggests that the Aryans entered India via
Iran.
 Theories of Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s ("The Arctic Home in the Vedas") claims that the Aryans came
from the Arctic region, while Swami Dayanand argues that Tibet was their original homeland.

VEDIC PERIOD

Vedic period is divided into Early Vedic Period or Rigvedic (1500 BC-1000 BC) & Later Vedic Period (1000
BC- 600 BC)

EARLY VEDIC OR RIGVEDIC PERIOD

  During the early Vedic or Rigvedic period, the Aryans settled in regions of Eastern Afghanistan,
modern Pakistan, Punjab, and parts of western Uttar Pradesh.
 This area, where they first established themselves in India, is referred to as the 'Land of Seven
Rivers' or Sapta Sindhava, encompassing the Indus River, its five tributaries, and the Saraswati
River.

Life of the Vedic Period

Features Early Vedic Period Later Vedic Period

Political  Monarchy but the office of the  Kingship became hereditary

Organizations chief was not hereditary  They performed various sacrifices.
 Chief (Rajan) was called Gopati or  Rajasuya (king conferred supreme
Gopa. power) and Vajapeya (chariot race)
 No doctrine of divinity  Ashwamedha (control over the
 Purohit (priest) and area in which royal horse ran)
Senani (leader of the army) were
 Jana changed to Janapadas and
important functionaries
Kingdom enlarged into
 System was Patrilineal.
 Kula (Family) with the head as Mahajanpadas.
Kulapa (clan) Jana or tribe  Rastra (wars were fought for
(largest social unit) territories)
 Sabhas (body for elites) and  Sabhas and Samiti loss its
Samiti (assembly, presided by the importance
Rajan)  Vidhata disappeared.
 Gana (Assembly or troop) and
Vidhata (tribal assembly).
 Gramini (leader of a village).

Social Life  Division based on Clan and not  Four-fold Division of Society based
Caste line on Caste (see image)
 Varna (colour) differentiation  The Varna system of social
between Vedic and non-Vedic distinction more distinct
people (called ‘dasyus’ or ‘dasas’)  Varna system based on birth
 women had important positions,  Varna-ashrama-dharma
they had the choice to society: Showed four stages of life
choose their husband.  Women were not permitted to
 Both girls and boys received attend assemblies like Sabhas and
education from Gurukulas samiti.
 No incidence of Sati, or Purdah  Instance of Sati and purdah
 Practiced usually Monogamous  Child marriages became common.
marriage but Polygyny and  There were women scholars such
Polyandry also existed as Gargi, Maitreyi, and Katyayani.
 widow remarriage was prevalent.  Marriage between persons of
the same gotra was forbidden.

Economic  Pastoral economy: Cattle rearing  Collection of taxes and tribute was
Life was the main occupation made mandatory
 The measure of wealth was cattle  Vaishyas were the only tribute
 and wealthy man was called paying community
Gomat.  Started to use Iron. They knew
 No regular revenue system. of Tin, lead, silver, gold, bronze and
 Bali-1/6th of the agriculture Copper.
 Chariot-making, Carpentry etc.  Later Vedic culture is also
 They were familiar called PGW (Painted Grey ware)-
Iron Phase
with copper but didn’t use Iron
 Settled agriculture had started.
 It had Ochre Colored Pottery.
 Mixed farming was one of the
 Shifting type of agriculture.
prime occupations
 Barley (yava) was the main grain  Rice (Vrihi) and Wheat (Godhuma)
was the staple diet.
Religious
life