Chalcolithic Cultures

• Chalcolithic cultures are cultures of the stone-copper phase in which people used both stone and copper implements. Towards the end of the neolithic period, people started using copper (the first metal used by humans), and several cultures based on stone and copper implements developed, known as “chalcolithic cultures” (stone-copper phase).

Chalcolithic Phase Settlements

• Traces of chalcolithic cultures have been discovered almost all over the country.
  • These are typically found in regions where both hilly land (as stone tools were important) and rivers are present.
  • While settlements are less common in alluvial plains and thickly forested areas, many chalcolithic sites have been found in the alluvial plains of the mid-Ganga region.
• Most prominent chalcolithic cultures flourished in semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
  

Common Features of Chalcolithic Cultures

Use of Stone and Copper Implements

• The chalcolithic people used microliths and other stone tools, supplemented by some copper tools. Occasionally, they also used low-grade bronze (Ahar and Daimabad).
• During the chalcolithic phase, the supply of copper was limited. However, in certain settlements, such as Ahar and Gilund (located near the source of copper), copper objects are found in good numbers.

Painted Ceramic

• The most distinguishing feature of these chalcolithic cultures is their distinct painted pottery. The chalcolithic people used different types of pottery. The wheel turned black and red was most prevalent. They also used channel-spouted pots, spouted basins and bowls, dishes-on-stand and bowls-on-stand.
• Painted pottery, though a prominent feature of the chalcolithic cultures, had already appeared during the neolithic period at several sites.

Subsistence Agriculture

• Chalcolithic people practised agriculture. They cultivated far more cereal than the neolithic community. They produced wheat, barley, jowar, ragi and pulses such as the lentil (masur), black gram, green gram, and grass pea. In particular, they cultivated:
  • Wheat and lentils in western India
  • Rice in southern and eastern India.
• Almost all food grains found in other chalcolithic sites have been found at Navdatoli.

• In eastern India, fish hooks and rice have been found in Bihar and West Bengal. This suggests that the chalcolithic people in the eastern regions lived on fish and rice.
• The chalcolithic people living in central and western India did not practise intensive or extensive cultivation and did not use plough or hoe. Hence, agriculture remained subsistence.

Domestication of Animals

• The chalcolithic people domesticated animals. They kept cows, sheep, goats, pigs and buffalo and hunted deer. But generally, they were not acquainted with the horse. The chalcolithic people could not make full use of the animals. They slaughtered domesticated animals for food but not milked for drink and dairy products.

Rural Background

• The Chalcolithic people were primarily rural communities. They founded rural settlements mostly on river banks near the hills. They founded the first large villages in peninsular India. They used metal, but never reached the level of urbanisation.

Mud Houses

• The chalcolithic people generally did not use burnt bricks, which were rarely found, like in Gilund around 1500 BCE. They built rectangular and circular houses. Their houses were usually made with a simple method called wattle and daub, which involves weaving wooden sticks together and covering them with mud. Most of the time, the roofs were thatched. Sometimes chalcolithic people lived in mud-brick houses.

Arts and Crafts

• Most of the chalcolithic people knew the art of copper smelting. Tools, weapons and bangles of copper have been found. The copper was obtained from the Khetri mines of Rajasthan. Gold ornaments were extremely rare and have been found only in the Jorwe culture.
• The chalcolithic people were good workers in stone. They manufactured beads of semi-precious stones such as carnelian, steatite, and quartz crystal. They knew the art of spinning and weaving because spindle whorls had been discovered in Malwa. They manufactured the cloth.

Trade and Commerce

• The chalcolithic communities traded and exchanged materials with other contemporary communities. Large settlements such as Ahar, Gilund, Nagada, Navdatoli, Eran, Prabhas, Rangpur, Prakash, Daimabad, and Inamgaon would have served as major centres of trade and exchange.

Burial Practices

• In Maharashtra, people buried their dead in urns under the floor of their houses in the north-to-south position. However, in South India, the dead body was placed in the east-west position.
• Pots and some copper objects were deposited in the graves for the use of the dead in the next world.

Settlement Pattern

• Two-tier habitations: A kind of settlement hierarchy appears in several Jorwe settlements. Some of them are as large as twenty hectares, but others are only five hectares and even less in size. The difference in the size of settlements suggests that larger settlements dominated the smaller ones.
• Different houses: In both large and small settlements:
  • Chief and his kinsmen lived in rectangular houses
  • Others lived in round huts

Social Inequalities

• The settlement pattern and burial practices suggest the beginnings of social inequalities in the chalcolithic society.
  • Settlement pattern: Larger settlements dominated the smaller ones. The chief and his kinsmen, who lived in rectangular houses, dominated others who lived in round huts.
  • Burial practices: In the graves at Chandoli and Nevasa, some children were buried with copper-based necklaces around their necks; others had grave goods consisting only of pots.

Religious Beliefs

• Terracotta figures of women suggest that chalcolithic people worshipped the mother goddess. A pot with painted designs also depicted her. Stylised terracotta bulls indicate that the bull was a religious symbol.

Important Chalcolithic Cultures

Ahar or Banas Culture

• Ahar, Balathal and Gilund lie in the dry zones of the Banas river valley in southeastern Rajasthan. In these settlements, copper objects are found in good numbers, as these are located close to the copper source (Khetri mines of Rajasthan).

Ahar

• The people of Ahar practised smelting and metallurgy from the very beginning. The ancient name of Ahar was “Tambavati,” meaning a place rich in copper. The people of Ahar did not use microlithic tools, or stone axes or blades. Instead, objects like flat axes, bangles, and sheets, mainly made of copper, were common, though a bronze sheet has also been found.

Malwa Culture

• The Malwa culture was a major chalcolithic farming culture of central and western India. Malwa ware, typical of the Malwa chalcolithic culture, is considered the richest among the chalcolithic ceramics.

Kayatha

• Kayatha, located in the Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh on the banks of the Chhoti Kali Sindh river, provides a well-documented sequence of three distinct chalcolithic farming cultures — Kayatha culture, followed by Ahar culture and then Malwa culture.

Jorwe Culture

• The most extensive excavations have taken place in Maharashtra, where nearly 200 sites have been identified. These sites covered the entire modern Maharashtra, except parts of Vidarbha and the coastal region of Konkan. This culture was named after its first discovered site, Jorwe, in Maharashtra.
• Located in semi-arid areas with black cotton soils, the Jorwe sites extended from the Tapi river in the north to the Krishna river in the south. The core area of the culture lay in the Pravara–Godavari valleys.
• Although the Jorwe culture was rural, some settlements, such as Daimabad and Inamgaon, had almost reached the urban stage.

Daimabad

• Daimabad, located on the left bank of the Pravara river, is the largest known Jorwe site, covering about 20 hectares. It is famous for the recovery of a large number of bronze artefacts, some of which were influenced by the Harappan culture.

Previous Year Questions and Practice Questions on Chalcolithic Cultures

[UPSC CDS 2026] The Chalcolithic Ahar Culture has been identified in which of the following river systems?

1. Sarayu and Ganga river systems
2. Krishna and Tungabhadra river systems
3. Banas and Berach river systems
4. Brahmaputra and Meghna river systems

Answer: (c) Banas and Berach river systems

[UPSC CSE 2021] Consider the following pairs:

Historical place: Well-known for

1. Burzahom: Rock-cut shrines
2. Ganeshwar: Copper artefacts
3. Daimabad: Bronze goods

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

1. 3 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 2 only
4. 2 and 3 only

Answer: (d) 2 and 3 only

[UPSC CDS (I) 2024] Consider the following statements about the Jorwe culture of the Deccan:

1. It covers, practically, the whole of modern Maharashtra except the coastal Konkan district.
2. The Pravara-Godavari valleys seem to have been the nuclear zone.
3. The large sites of this culture yield evidence of shifting agriculture.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Chalcolithic Cultures

What are Chalcolithic Cultures?

Chalcolithic cultures are cultures of the stone-copper phase in which people used both stone and copper implements. They developed towards the end of the Neolithic period after people began using copper.

What is the Chalcolithic Phase?

The Chalcolithic Phase refers to the period when communities used stone tools along with copper tools. The document places the Chalcolithic Cultures discussed here broadly between 4000 and 700 BCE.

Where were Chalcolithic Cultures found in India?

Traces of Chalcolithic Cultures have been discovered almost all over India. The most prominent cultures flourished in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Sites were also found in Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

What are the main features of Chalcolithic Cultures?

Major features include the use of stone and copper implements, painted pottery, subsistence agriculture, domestication of animals, rural settlements, mud houses, arts and crafts, trade and exchange, distinctive burial practices, settlement hierarchy, social inequalities and religious beliefs.

What pottery was common in Chalcolithic Cultures?

Painted pottery was a distinguishing feature of Chalcolithic Cultures. Wheel-turned black-and-red pottery was most prevalent. Channel-spouted pots, spouted basins and bowls, dishes-on-stand and bowls-on-stand were also used.

What did Chalcolithic people eat and cultivate?

Chalcolithic people practised agriculture and cultivated wheat, barley, jowar, ragi and pulses such as lentil, black gram, green gram and grass pea. Wheat and lentils were cultivated in western India, while rice was cultivated in southern and eastern India. In eastern India, evidence of fish hooks and rice suggests that people lived on fish and rice.

Which animals were domesticated during the Chalcolithic period?

Chalcolithic people kept cows, sheep, goats, pigs and buffalo and hunted deer. Generally, they were not acquainted with the horse.

What were Chalcolithic houses like?

Chalcolithic people built rectangular and circular houses, generally using wattle and daub. This involved weaving wooden sticks together and covering them with mud. Roofs were usually thatched, and mud-brick houses were also used in some cases.

Which are the important Chalcolithic Cultures in India?

Important Chalcolithic Cultures discussed in the document include Ganeshwar–Jodhpura, Ahar or Banas, Kayatha, Malwa, Savalda, Jorwe, Rangpur, Prabhas, Brahmagiri and other regional cultures and sites.

What is the Ahar or Banas Culture known for?

Ahar, Balathal and Gilund lie in the dry zones of the Banas river valley in southeastern Rajasthan. Copper objects are found in good numbers there because the settlements are located close to the copper source at the Khetri mines of Rajasthan.

What is the Jorwe Culture?

The Jorwe Culture was a major Chalcolithic culture of Maharashtra. Nearly 200 sites have been identified across modern Maharashtra except parts of Vidarbha and the coastal Konkan region. Its core area lay in the Pravara–Godavari valleys.

Why is Daimabad important?

Daimabad is the largest known Jorwe site, covering about 20 hectares. It is located on the left bank of the Pravara river and is famous for the recovery of a large number of bronze artefacts, some of which were influenced by the Harappan culture.