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Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic)

Prehistoric Periods in India

Meaning and Sources

The prehistoric period in India refers to the time before the development of writing systems. Since no written records exist, archaeological excavations and material remains form the chief sources of information. Stone tools, animal bones, rock paintings, and habitation sites help reconstruct early human life. The study of prehistoric cultures in India owes much to the discovery of the first Palaeolithic tool by Robert Bruce Foote at Pallavaram (Tamil Nadu).

On the basis of tool-making techniques, subsistence patterns, and geological age, the Indian prehistoric sequence is classified into five broad cultural stages:

  1. Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) – 500,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE
  2. Mesolithic (Late Stone Age) – 10,000 BCE – 6000 BCE
  3. Neolithic (New Stone Age) – 6000 BCE – 1000 BCE
  4. Chalcolithic (Stone–Copper Age) – 3000 BCE – 500 BCE
  5. Iron Age – 1500 BCE – 200 BCE

1. Palaeolithic Age (Old Stone Age)

The term derives from the Greek palaeo (old) and lithic (stone). This phase coincides with the Pleistocene (Ice Age). Early humans lived in open plains, caves, and river valleys, sustaining themselves by hunting and food gathering. They were Negrito in racial stock, used crude stone tools, and gradually discovered the use of fire.

Salient Features
  • Life was nomadic and dependent on natural food sources.
  • Tools were unpolished, heavy and crude, including hand-axes, choppers, cleavers and scrapers made mostly of quartzite — hence the term Quartzite men.
  • Art and early rock paintings appear in the upper phase.
Sub-Phases of the Palaeolithic Age

(a) Lower Palaeolithic (up to 100,000 BCE):
Covered most of the Ice Age. Tools include hand-axes, choppers, cleavers made of quartzite and limestone. Major sites: Soan valley, Bori (Maharashtra), Belan valley (U.P.), Bhimbetka (M.P.), Mewar, Saurashtra, Chotanagpur, and Deccan plateau.

(b) Middle Palaeolithic (100,000–40,000 BCE):
Tools were smaller, thinner flakes, blades, scrapers, and borers; use of hand-axes declined. Key sites: Belan valley, Luni valley (Rajasthan), Son and Narmada valleys, Bhimbetka, Tungabhadra, and Sanghao cave (Pakistan).

(c) Upper Palaeolithic (40,000–10,000 BCE):
Associated with the emergence of Homo sapiens. Bone tools, harpoons, burins, and fine blades became common. Major sites: Bhimbetka, Belan, Chota Nagpur, Kurnool, Muchchatla Chintamani Gavi, and sites in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

2. Mesolithic Age (Middle Stone Age)

Derived from meso (middle) and lithic (stone), this phase corresponds to the Holocene epoch, when climate became warmer and more stable. Humans gradually shifted from pure hunting to animal domestication and primitive cultivation.

Key Characteristics
  • Continued hunting and food gathering with the beginnings of animal domestication (dog, sheep, goat).
  • Semi-permanent settlements along rivers and caves.
  • Belief in life after death, evidenced by burials with food items.
  • Use of microliths—tiny geometric stone tools made of chert, chalcedony, or quartz—used for arrows, sickles, and spearheads.
  • Beginnings of rock art depicting animals, hunting, dancing, and social life.
  • The Ganga Plains witnessed first human colonization.
Major Sites
  • Bagor (Rajasthan) – evidence of microliths and animal bones.
  • Adamgarh (M.P.) – earliest domestication evidence.
  • Bhimbetka, Kharwar, Jaora, Kathotia – rich rock paintings.
  • Langhnaj (Gujarat) and Biharanpur (W.B.) – human skeletons and microliths.
  • Pottery first appears in Langhnaj and Kaimur (U.P.).

3. Neolithic Age (New Stone Age)

Derived from neo (new) and lithic (stone). The Neolithic Revolution marks the transformation from food-gathering to food-producing economy.

Distinctive Features
  • Polished stone tools and microlithic blades; celts and bone implements like needles and scrapers.
  • Agriculture began; earliest evidence of rice from Koldihwa (U.P.).
  • Domestication of cattle, sheep, and goats.
  • Pottery production increased—greyware, black-burnished and mat-impressed varieties.
  • Settled life in circular or rectangular mud-and-reed houses; spinning and weaving of cotton and wool.
  • Population concentrated in hilly river valleys and slopes.
Important Sites
  • Mehrgarh (Balochistan) – earliest Neolithic settlement; cotton and wheat cultivation.
  • Koldihwa–Mahagara (U.P.) – earliest rice evidence.
  • Burzahom and Gufkral (Kashmir) – pit dwellings, dog burials, bone tools.
  • Chirand (Bihar) – bone tools and settled life.
  • Piklihal, Maski, Brahmagiri, Hallur (Karnataka) – cattle herding, ash mounds.
  • Belan valley – continuous sequence from Palaeolithic to Neolithic.

4. Chalcolithic Age (Stone–Copper Age)

The term denotes the use of both stone and copper tools. This period often overlaps with or follows the Neolithic cultures and precedes the widespread Iron Age.

Key Features
  • Agriculture and animal husbandry as primary occupations; wheat, rice, lentils, and millets cultivated.
  • Pottery types include Black-and-Red Ware and Ochre-coloured Ware; wheel-made and decorated.
  • Rural settlements with mud or thatched houses; emergence of social hierarchy (chiefs vs commoners).
  • Copper smelting, weaving, and bead-making developed; writing was still unknown.
  • Worship of Mother Goddess and bull cult common.
  • High infant mortality evident from child burials.
  • Ornaments made of shell, bone, carnelian, steatite, and quartz.
Important Sites
  • Ahar and Gilund (Rajasthan) – copper smelting, rice cultivation.
  • Kayatha and Malwa (M.P.) – rich pottery, copper objects.
  • Navdatoli (Narmada) – large settlement, diverse crops.
  • Daimabad (Maharashtra) – bronze figurines including a chariot, elephant, and buffalo.
  • Inamgaon, Nevasa (Maharashtra) – village economy, pit houses.
  • Chirand, Sonpur (Bihar) and Mahishdal (W.B.) – eastern Chalcolithic culture.

5. Iron Age and the Transition to Early Historic India

Around 1500 BCE–200 BCE, the widespread use of iron revolutionized agriculture and warfare, leading to population expansion and state formation. The Vedic Aryans entered India, introducing the Vedic culture, which gradually transformed into early historical polities.

This period culminated in the rise of Mahajanapadas along the Ganga Valley, accompanied by the emergence of urban centers, trade networks, and new religions like Jainism and Buddhism, laying the foundation for the first major civilizations after the Indus Valley.