Introduction
❖ The study of past events with the help of written documents, oral accounts, artefacts, coins, arts and pictography is called history.
❖ In broader sense here the study of the past means discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these past events.
❖ The word ‘history’ derived from the Greek word ‘historia’.
❖ ‘historia’ means “inquiry, ‘knowledge from inquiry”, or “judge”.
Classification of History
❖ On the basis of the time period the History is divided into three parts. They are __
◘ 1. Ancient history (6000 BC – 650 AD)
◘ 2. Medieval history (500 AD – 1500 AD)
◘ 3. Modern history (500 AD – Present Day)
Division of history
❖ On the basis of discovery of writing and reading system the History is divided into three main categories. They are __
◘ 1. Prehistory
◘ 2. Protohistory
◘ 3. History
❖ Prehistory-
• The time before the writing method was invented.
• It is represented by the three stone ages.
• British geologist and archaeologist, Robert Bruce Foote is considered to be the father of prehistory.
• He discovered the first Paleolithic tool, a handaxe.
• He found the tool at Pallavaram near Madras in southern India.
❖ Proto-history –
• Period between prehistory and history.
• The script / writing system has been found, but remains undecipherable.
• Example – Script of the Indus Valley Civilization (Pictographic Script), Vedic civilization (oral literary tradition)
❖ History –
• Events occurring after the invention of writing and reading systems (writing sources deciphered).
• Societies based on the written and archaeological sources.
• Example – Jainism, Buddhism, Medieval and Modern India to till date.
Classification of Stone Age
❖ On the basis of geological age, the type and technology of stone tools, and subsistence base, the Indian Stone Age is classified primarily into three type ……
◘ Old stone Age or Paleolithic Age (5,00,000 − 10,000 BCE)
◘ Late Stone Age or Mesolithic Age (10,000 − 6000 BCE)
◘ New Stone Age or Neolithic Age (6,000 −1000 BCE)
❒ Paleolithic Age
➢ Paleolithic Age is the earliest period of the Stone Age.
➢ It is developed in the Pleistocene period or the Ice Age.
➢ On the based on the nature of stone tools, It is divided into three phases, They are__
◘ Early or lower Paleolithic
• It Covers the greater part of the Ice Age.
• Fire was discovered in this age.
◘ Middle Paleolithic
• Established by Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankalia and was named Nevasan industry after the site of Nevasa (Maharashtra).
• He excavated Pravara River valley located at Nevasa.
◘ Late or Upper Paleolithic
• Homo sapiens first appeared at the end of this phase.
• Coincided with the last phase of the Ice Age.
Important Tools of this age
Early or lower Paleolithic | Middle Paleolithic | Late or Upper Paleolithic |
---|---|---|
Hand axes, Choppers, and Cleavers | Stone tools made of flakes, scrapers, borers, points, and blade like tools | Parallel-sided blades, burins, and some instances of bone tools. |
Location of the three Paleolithic age
Early or lower Paleolithic | Middle Paleolithic | Late or Upper Paleolithic |
---|---|---|
• Sohan river valley ( Pakistan)
• Thar Desert (Didwana, Rajasthan) • Hiran Valley (Gujarat) • Rockshelters of Bhimbetka (MP) • Belan Valley Mirzapur (UP) | • Soan, Narmada and Tungabhadra river valleys
• Potwar plateau (between Indus and Jhelum) • Sanghao Cave (near peshawar, Pakistan). | • Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Southern UP and Chhotanagpur Plateau.
• Bone tools found only at cave sites of Kurnool and Muchchatla Chintamani Gavi in Andhra Pradesh. |
❒ Mesolithic Age
➢ Mesolithic Culture belong to the Holocene era.
➢ Key aspects of the Mesolithic Age was the reduction in size of well-established tool types.
➢ The Mesolithic people lived by hunting animals, fishing and gathering food.
➢ The main characteristic features of the Mesolithic age was use of microlithic tools.
➢ Features of Microlithic tools
◘ It is a miniature version of the well established tools in Palaeolithic age.
◘ These stone tools usually made up of cryptocrystalline silica, chalcedony, or chert.
◘ The materials can be geometrical and non-geometrical shapes.
➢ Major Tools in this Age – Composite tools, spearheads, arrowheads, and sickles after hafting them on wooden or bone handles.
➢ Major characteristic features of this age
◘ Evidence of Pottery found at Langhnaj in Gujarat, and Kaimur region at Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh.
◘ The Mesolithic era initiated rock art in pre-history.
◘ In 1867, the first rock paintings discovered at Sohagighat (Kaimur Hills, Uttar Pradesh).
◘ No snakes are depicted in Mesolithic Paintings.
➢ Important Mesolithic sites
• Madhya Pradesh (Bhimbetka Caves, Kharwar, Jaora, and Kathotia)
• Odisha (Sundargarh and Sambalpur)
• Kerala (Ezhuthu Guha)
• Central India (Chhotanagpur Region)
• Tamil Nadu (Tinnevelly)
• West Bengal (Birbhanpur)
• Uttar Pradesh ( Sarai Nahar Rai near Allahabad , Mahadaha)
_ Bone artifacts including arrowheads and bone ornaments. are found in Mahadaha.
• Rajasthan (Bagor ,on River Kothari) – One of the largest and best documented Mesolithic sites.
♦ Both Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan provide the earliest evidence for the domestication of animals.
❒ Neolithic Age
➲ Major characteristic features of this age
◘ Neolithic Age also known as Food-Producing Stage.
◘ The people of the Neolithic age cultivated land and grew fruits & corn like ragi and horse gram.
◘ Neolithic man domesticated animals like cattle, sheep, and goats.
◘ They made the first hand made pottery with the help of the potter’s wheel.
◘ Their pottery included black burnished ware, grey ware, and mat-impressed ware.
◘ They mostly lived in circular and rectangular houses which is made up of mud and reed.
◘ They also knew how to make boats and could spin cotton and wool and weave cloth.
➲ Major tools of this age
◘ Mostly Polished stone tools like pecked, ground stone tools and handaxes.
◘ Neolithic man uses polished stones and celts instead of quartzite for making tools.
➲ Three Important Neolithic Settlements
◘ North-Western Region
• Major tools – rectangular axes with curved cutting edge.
◘ North-Eastern Region
• Polished stone axes with rectangular butt, has occasional shouldered hoes.
◘ Southern region
• Axes with oval sides and pointed butt.
➲ Important Excavated Sites
◘ Mehrgarh
• It is the earliest Neolithic site known as the Breadbasket of Baluchistan, a province of Pakistan.
◘ Burzahom
• Evidence of unique rectangular chopper, domestic dogs (buried with their masters in graves) found here.
◘ Chopani Mando, Belan valley
• Earliest evidence of use of pottery.
◘ Belan Valley (Northern side of Vindhyas, middle of the Narmada valley
• Evidence of all the three phases of Paleolithic , Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements found here.
◘ Koldihwa, Belan valley
• Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Iron Age settlements.
◘ Koldihwa and Mahagara, south of Allahabad
• Earliest evidence of rice cultivation in the world.
◘ Gufkraal in Jammu and Kashmir
• Famous for pit dwelling, stone tools, and graveyards.
◘ Piklihal
• Proof of cattle herding
◘ Budihal
• Community food preparation and feasting.
◘ Chirand in Bihar
• Evidence of use of antlers made bone implements.
❒ Chalcolithic Age (3000 – 500 BCE)
➢ Chalcolithic Age Also knew as Copper-Stone Age
➢ It is the transition phase between Stone age and Bronze age.
➢ Greek word ‘Chalkos’ means “Copper.”
➢ From this phase the Chalcolithic people started using metal along with stone tools.
➢ The first metal to be used was copper.
➢ The Chalcolithic age largely covers the late stone age or neolithic age or pre Harappans settlements and the remaining part covers the bronze age or mature Harappan settlements .
➲ Major PreHarappan Chalcolithic site
◘ Ganeshwar, near the Khetri Mines of Rajasthan
◘ Kalibangan in Rajasthan
◘ Banawali in Haryana
◘ Kot Diji in Sindh (Pakistan)
➲ Domesticated animals of Chalcolithic people
◘ Cows
◘ Sheep
◘ Goats
◘ Pigs
◘ Buffaloes
◘ Deer
♦ They are not acquainted with horses.
➲ Common food of Chalcolithic people
◘ As a staple food the Chalcolithic people produces wheat and rice.
◘ Other food materials they produced are bajra, several pulses such as lentils, black gram, green gram, and grass pea etc.
◘ Besides agricultural products they also ate meat of all the domesticated animals except Pigs.
➲ Major features of Chalcolithic age
◘ Chalcolithic people practiced jhum cultivation.
◘ But, neither the plough nor the hoe has been found at any site of this period.
◘ They used mainly black and red pottery.
◘ Infant mortality was very high among Chalcolithic people.
◘ They were generally lived in thatched houses , made of mud bricks.
◘ They were not acquainted with burnt brick.
◘ Chalcolithic-era people did not know the use of writing.
◘ Small clay images of earth goddesses have been found from Chalcolithic sites.
◘ The bull is considered to be the religious cult symbols of Chalcolithic people.
◘ The Chalcolithic people knew the art of copper-smelting , manufacturing of beads of semi-precious stones such as carnelian, steatite, and quartz crystal.
◘ They knew spinning and weaving.
➲ Major Chalcolithic sites
◘ Ahar, Rajasthan in Banas Valley
• Major evidence of Metallurgy like smelting of copper and stone houses
◘ Gilund, Rajasthan in Banas Valley
• Major evidence of occasional use of burnt bricks.
◘ Western Maharashtra
• Burial of a large number of children found here.
◘ Nevasa, Jorwe
• non-Harappan culture
◘ Navdatoli
• cultivated almost all food grains
◘ Daimabad
• Largest Jorwe culture site in the Godavari valley.
• Daimabad famous for the recovery of bronze goods.
◘ Songaon, Inamgaon
• large mud houses with ovens and circular pit house. and Nasik, Maharashtra.
◘ Kayatha
• Mud-plastered floors, pre-Harappan elements in pottery
◘ Malwa
• Richest Chalcolithic ceramics, spindle whors, non-Harappan culture.
◘ Eran, M.P
• Non- Harappan culture.
Pre History Phase Key Points
Division of History | ||
Pre-History | Proto-history | History |
Events before invention of writing system | Writing system developed but still undecipherable | Writing system has been deciphered |
Represent by 3 stone age | Bronze age , Indus Valley civilization | Jainism, Buddhism, Medieval and Modern India |
Division of Stone age
Paleolithic | Mesolithic | Neolithic | |
---|---|---|---|
Tools | • Hand Axes • Choppers • Cleavers • Scrapers • Burins | • Composite tools • Spearheads • Arrowheads | • Polished stone tools. • Pecked • Ground stone tools • Handaxes. |
Location | • Soham river valley (Pakistan) • Hiran Valley (Gujarat) • Belan Valley (UP) • Sanghao cave • Potwar plateau (Btw. Indus and Jhelum) • Narmada and Tungabhadra valley • Andhra Pradesh | • Madhya Pradesh (Bhimbetka Caves) • Odisha (Sundargarh and Sambalpur) • Kerala (Ezhuthu Guha) • Central India (Chhotanagpur Region) • Tamil Nadu (Tinnevelly) • West Bengal (Birbhanpur) | • Mehrgarh • Burzahom • Chopani Mando, Koldihwa, Belan valley • Gufkraal in Jammu and Kashmir • Budihal • Chirand in Bihar |
Features | • Hunters and Food Gatherers
◘ Three phase of Palaeolithic Age • Early Palaeolithic covers the greater part of ice age. | • Belong to the Holocene era. • Use of microlithic tools • Mesolithic era initiated rock art in pre-history. • First rock paintings discovered at Sohagighat (Kaimur Hills, Uttar Pradesh). | • Food-Producing Stage. • Grew fruits & corn like ragi and horse gram. • Domestic animals – cattle, sheep, and goats. • First hand made pottery. • Black , grey and mat impressed pottery • Circular and rectangular houses |
Major evidence | • Bone tools – Kurnool and Muchchatla Chintamani Gavi caves , Andhra Pradesh. | • Bone artifacts , bone ornaments – Mahadaha, Uttar Pradesh. • Best documented Mesolithic sites – Bagor, Rajasthan. • Earliest evidence of domestic animals – Adamgarh in MP and Bagor in Rajasthan | • Unique rectangular chopper – Burzaham, Srinagar Valley • Dog burial with their masters in graves – Burzaham, Srinagar Valley • Earliest evidence of use of pottery – Chopani Mando, Belan valley • Pit dwelling, stone tools, and graveyards – Gufkraal , J & K • Evidence of all the 3 (Paleolithic , Mesolithic and Neolithic) settlements – Belan Valley. |
Most Important Points |
◘ Invention of Potter’s Wheel • Potter’s Wheel discovered in late Neolithic age or Transition phase of Neolithic to Copper age or Chalcolithic age.◘ Discovery of Spoked wheel and Chariot • Spoked wheel and Chariot discovered in middle Bronze age.◘ Discovery of Fire • In the early or lower paleolithic age the fire was discovered by the earliest ancestor of man , Homo erectus◘ Usage of Microlithic tools • Usage of this tool was one of the important features of Mesolithic people. • Microlithic tools is the miniature version of early established tools of Paleolithic people.◘ Usage of Polished tools • It is the major features of the Neolithic people.◘ Usage of Metal • The first metal to be used was copper.
◘ Evolution of modern Human • In India modern humans Homo sapiens first appeared at the end of Late or Upper Paleolithic age. • Modern humans, Homo sapiens evolved from their most recent ancestor Homo erectus. • Modern humans (Homo sapiens) originated in Africa. Download PDF – Click Here |