Stone Age
- The Stone Age marks a period of prehistory in which humans used primitive stone tools. It began about 2 million years ago when Homo habilis made and used the first stone tools and lasted until humans began using metals.
- The Stone Age started and ended at different times in various parts of the world.
- In Africa, it started around 2 million years ago
- In India, it started around 6 Lakh years ago
- The Stone Age is divided into three distinct periods based on the types of stone tools people used and the method or technology (degree of sophistication) they applied to create them.
| Period |
Time Frame in India |
Stone Tools |
| Palaeolithic |
6,00,000 to 10,000 BCE |
Hand-sized and large stone tools |
| Mesolithic |
10,000 to 4,000 BCE |
Microliths (Tiny stone tools) |
| Neolithic |
7,000 to 1,000 BCE |
Polished stone tools, particularly stone axes (celts) |
- In Africa, the palaeolithic culture may have begun around 2 million years ago. However, in India, it developed around 6,00,000 BCE (middle pleistocene), as the earliest human occupations, as indicated by stone tools, were not earlier than this period.
- Tools: The palaeolithic people used stone tools, hand-sized and flaked-off large pebbles, for hunting animals. They also used tools of wood and bone. Large pebbles are often found in river terraces.
- Occupation: The palaeolithic people were nomadic hunter-gatherers. They obtained food by hunting animals and gathering edible plants and tubers. They moved from place to place according to the seasonal availability of plants, animals and water. The people also lived on fishing.
- Shelter: They lived in rock shelters, caves and temporary dwellings of wood, grass and bones.
- Clothing: Palaeolithic people used both animal skin and tree bark for clothing.
- Use of fire: Traces of ash have been found in the Kurnool caves. This suggests that people were familiar with the use of fire. Fire could have been used as a source of light, to roast meat, and to scare away animals.
Three Phases of the Palaeolithic Age in India
- Based on the nature of the stone tools used by the people and the nature of the change in the climate, the Palaeolithic Age in India is divided into three phases:
| Terminology |
Time Frame in India |
Stone tool types |
| Lower Palaeolithic |
6,00,000 to 1,50,000 BCE |
Core tools - Handaxe, cleavers and choppers |
| Middle Palaeolithic |
1,50,000 to 35,000 BCE |
Flake tools - blades, points, scrapers and borers |
| Upper Palaeolithic |
35,000 to 10,000 BCE |
Blade tools - Parallel-sided blades and burins |
The Lower Palaeolithic Age: Tools and Important Sites
- The lower palaeolithic age covers the greater part of the ice age. Typical lower palaeolithic tools were large core tools made from quartzite or other hard rocks. They included handaxes, cleavers and choppers.
- Important Lower Palaeolithic sites:
- Didwana in Rajasthan
- Narmada, Upper Son, and Mahanadi valleys in Madhya Pradesh
- Hiran Valley in Gujarat
- Bori and Chirki Nevasa in Maharashtra
- Belan Valley in Uttar Pradesh
- Hunsgi, Yediapur, and Isampur in Karnataka
- Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh
- Attirampakkam in Tamil Nadu
- Acheulian tools are a specific set of advanced, symmetrical core tools, especially handaxes and cleavers, associated with the lower palaeolithic period.
|
Isampur: A Stone Tool Manufacturing Centre
- Isampur, the largest palaeolithic site in India, is located in the Hunsgi valley on the banks of Kamta Halla (a small seasonal stream) in Gulbarga district, Karnataka.
- It was a centre of stone tool manufacture. Along with handaxes and cleavers, many scrapers (usually associated with the middle palaeolithic) were found at lower Palaeolithic levels.
The Middle Palaeolithic Age: Tools and Levallois Technique
- During the middle palaeolithic age, handaxes, cleavers, and choppers did not disappear entirely; however, the emphasis shifted towards smaller and lighter flake tools. Some of these tools were made using the Levallois technique, a type of prepared-core technology. The principal tools of this period were varieties of blades, points, borers and scrapers made of flakes.
- A blade is a flake tool whose length is more than twice its width
|
Levallois Technique
- The Levallois technique is an advanced method of making flake tools, used mainly during the middle palaeolithic age. It is a type of prepared-core technique in which the stone core is carefully trimmed to produce flakes of predetermined size and shape. Once detached, the resulting flake was typically thin and sharp, requiring very little further work.
The Upper Palaeolithic Age
- The upper palaeolithic age coincided with the last phase of the ice age. During this period, the climate became less humid and comparatively warm. During this period, along with older tools, people were using parallel-sided blades and burins
- A burin is a small stone tool made from a blade, resembling a modern screwdriver.
|
Palaeolithic Sites in India: Important Sites and Locations
- The palaeolithic sites have been discovered throughout the country, but generally not in the alluvial plains of the Indus, Ganga, and Yamuna rivers. An exception is Kalpi in Uttar Pradesh, which lies in the Ganga plain. As stone tools were important, many sites were located on hilly slopes and river valleys (sources of water and large pebbles).
Important Palaeolithic Sites
|
Region
|
Site
|
| Punjab province of Pakistan |
Soan river valley |
| Rajasthan |
Desert area of Didwana |
| Uttar Pradesh |
Belan Valley in Mirzapur district |
| Madhya Pradesh |
Bhimbetka and Adamgarh hills |
| Maharashtra |
Bori and Chirki Nevasa |
| Karnataka |
Hunsgi, Yediapur, and Isampur |
| Andhra Pradesh |
Nagarjunakonda and Kurnool |
| Tamil Nadu |
Attirampakkam near Chennai |
- Robert Bruce Foote, a British geologist and archaeologist, was born in 1834. In 1858, he joined the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and was posted to Madras. He is considered as the father of Indian prehistory.
- In 1863, in Pallavaram, Chennai, Foote accidentally found a peculiar stone tool. He felt that it was chiselled by hand and sent it to London for further inspection. Later, it was found that the stone tool or implement dated back to the palaeolithic age. This was the first palaeolithic tool discovered in India.
- The upper palaeolithic age came to an end with the end of the ice age around 10,000 BCE, and the climate became warm and dry.
- In many areas, this change in climate led to the development of grasslands. This led to an increase in the number of animals that survived on grass. i.e. deer, antelope, goat, sheep and cattle, etc. Those who hunted these animals now followed them, learning about their food habits and breeding seasons. This helped people to start thinking about herding and rearing these animals themselves. This led to the domestication of animals. The first animal to be tamed was the wild ancestor of the dog.
- Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan provide the earliest evidence for the domestication of animals in the Indian subcontinent around 5000 BCE.
|
- During this period, several grain-bearing grasses, including wheat, barley and rice, grew naturally in different parts of the subcontinent. This may have led people to think about growing plants on their own, and people started primitive cultivation. Fishing also became important.
- Tools: Mesolithic people used microliths - tiny stone artefacts, often not more than 5 cm in size. These microliths were assembled with wood to form more sophisticated tools.
- Occupation: Mesolithic people lived on hunting, food gathering and fishing. They started primitive cultivation and domestication of animals.
- There had been a shift from big animal hunting to small animal hunting and fishing.
- The people started using bows and arrows.
- Shelter: The people continued to live in rock shelters, caves and temporary dwellings of wood, grass and bones.
- Clothing: Mesolithic people used both animal skin and tree bark for clothing.
Langhnaj: Mesolithic Site in Gujarat
- Langhnaj is a mesolithic site in Gujarat, notable for being the first site in India where stone age human skeletal remains were discovered.
- Although the Mesolithic period in the Indian subcontinent is generally dated to c. 10,000–4,000 BCE, the mesolithic phase at Langhnaj, particularly the layers containing animal bones, has been dated to c. 2550–2185 BCE.
Do You Know?
Pottery at Mesolithic Sites
|
- Pottery making is a typical feature of neolithic cultures and is generally absent at most mesolithic sites. However, hand-made pottery has been discovered at a few mesolithic sites, including Langhnaj in Gujarat and Morahana Pahar, Baghai Khor, Chopani Mando, and Lekhahia in Uttar Pradesh.
|
Mesolithic Sites
- So far, only a few finds of the mesolithic age have been dated scientifically.
Important Mesolithic Sites
|
State
|
Site
|
| Uttar Pradesh |
Sarai Nahar Rai, Damdama and Mahadaha in the Ganga Valley
Baghai Khor, Morhana Pahar and Chopani Mando in Belan Valley |
| Gujarat |
Langhnaj |
| Madhya Pradesh |
Bhimbetka and Adamgarh hills |
| Rajasthan |
Bagor |
- In the world context, the neolithic age (new stone age) began around 10,000-9000 BCE. However, in the Indian subcontinent, it began around 7,000 BCE and continued till 1,000 BCE.
- Most Neolithic settlements in the Indian subcontinent emerged after 6000 BCE. Mehrgarh, located in present-day Balochistan, Pakistan, is the earliest known neolithic site in the region, attributed to c. 7000 BCE.
- Tools: The neolithic people used tools and implements made of polished stone, particularly stone axes (celts). These polished axes proved to be more effective for hunting and cutting trees. Besides polished tools of stone, they used microlithic blades.
- Occupation: During this period, agriculture and the domestication of animals became important. Neolithic settlers were the earliest farming communities (early farmers and herders). They tilled the soil using stone hoes (not a plough). Crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and millet were cultivated in different areas at different times, with rice cultivation particularly widespread in eastern India. However, they could not produce more than bare subsistence.
| Additional Information |
- Mehrgarh was probably one of the places where people (first farmers of the Indian subcontinent) began to grow barley and wheat around 6000 BCE (8,000 years ago).
- Cotton was probably grown at Mehrgarh from around 5000 BCE (7000 years ago). This is the oldest evidence of cotton in the world.
- Neolithic sites in the Allahabad district (north of the Vindhyas) are noted for rice cultivation in 6000 BCE.
|
- Sedentary life: When people began growing plants, they had to stay in the same place for a long time, looking after them. The cultivation of plants and the domestication of animals led to the emergence of village communities based on sedentary life.
- Shelter: Gradually, people started living in mud-brick houses instead of grass huts.
- Clothing: The neolithic people developed the arts of weaving. They used clothes made of cotton and wool.
- Pottery: As neolithic people started producing cereal, they needed pots to store the foodgrains and cooking. Hence, pottery first appears in this phase. Hand-made pottery is found in the early stage. Later, wheels were used to make pottery.
- Their pottery included black-burnished ware, grey ware, and mat-impressed ware.
- They also used mortars and pestles for grinding grain.
- Progress in technology: The neolithic period saw remarkable progress in technology in Western Asia. The neolithic people were on the threshold of civilisation:
- People developed the arts of weaving, pot-making, and house-building.
- There was also an improvement in agriculture, and people began producing wheat and cereals.
- People no longer depended on hunting, gathering and fishing. Subsistence agriculture and animal domestication provided them with food.
- Gradually, the neolithic age gave way to the use of metals.
Neolithic Revolution: From Hunter-Gatherers to Settled Agriculture
- The neolithic age marked a transformative period in human history, characterised by the shift from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to settled agricultural communities. Though the transition took a prolonged period, laying the foundation for agriculture and permanent villages paved the way for innovations and, eventually, civilisation.
- Recognising the revolutionary changes in human society during this era, Australian archaeologist Gordon Childe coined the term ‘Neolithic Revolution’ to highlight its significance as a turning point in the journey toward modern civilisation.
Lahuradeva: A Home of the First Farmers?
- Excavations by the Archaeological Department of Uttar Pradesh (UP) at Lahuradeva in the Sant Kabir Nagar district uncovered carbonised material containing grains of cultivated rice along with wild grass. This suggests that the middle ganga valley might have been an early site for the start of agriculture. However, further research is needed to determine whether Lahuradeva was home to the first farmers.
- Note: The earliest evidence of agriculture in India has been found at Mehrgarh. However, if Lahuradeva is mentioned as an option, it will be the correct answer.
Neolithic Sites: Evidence of Grain and Bones
- In many neolithic settlements, archaeologists have found the remains of burnt grain (these may have been burnt accidentally or on purpose). Below is the list of some of the sites from which grain and bones have been found.
|
Sites
|
Grain and Bones
|
| Mehrgarh (in present day-Pakistan) |
Wheat, barley, sheep, goat, cattle |
| Koldihwa (Uttar Pradesh) |
Rice, fragmentary animal bones |
| Mahagara (Uttar Pradesh) |
Rice, cattle (hoof marks on clay surface) |
| Gufkral (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Wheat and lentil |
| Burzahom (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Wheat and lentils, dog, cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo |
| Chirand (Bihar) |
Wheat, green gram, barley, buffalo, ox |
| Hallur (Karnataka) |
Millet, cattle, sheep, goat, pig |
| Paiyampalli (Tamil Nadu) |
Black gram, millet, cattle, sheep, pig |
Three Important Areas of Neolithic settlements
North-western Neolithic Settlements
- North-western neolithic settlements include Baluchistan and the Kashmir valley settlements. Mehrgarh and Burzahom are important neolithic sites of Baluchistan and Kashmir, respectively. The Kashmiri neolithic culture (e.g. Burzahom) was distinguished by its dwelling pits, the range of ceramics, the variety of stone and bone tools, and the complete absence of microliths.
Burzahom: Neolithic Settlement and Pit Dwellings
- Burzahom is situated 16 km north-west of Srinagar. People lived in pit houses, which were dug into the ground, with steps leading into them. These may have provided shelter in cold weather.
- They probably had a hunting and fishing economy.
- They used numerous tools and weapons made of bone.
- Domestic dogs were buried with their masters in their graves.
| Additional Information
Pit Dwellings in the Neolithic Period |
- Pits have been discovered at neolithic levels at Burzahom and Gufkral in Kashmir, as well as at Loebanr and Kalako-deray in the Swat Valley. Traditionally, these structures have been interpreted as pit dwellings used as winter homes; however, some scholars suggest that they may have functioned as underground grain-storage units.
|
Mehrgarh: Neolithic Settlement and Early Farmers
- Mehrgarh, situated in Baluchistan, Pakistan, is the only neolithic settlement in the Indian subcontinent attributed to 7000 ВCE. During this period, people lived in square or rectangular mud brick houses.
- Several burial sites have been found at Mehrgarh. In one instance, the dead person was buried with goats, probably meant to serve as food in the next world.
- The excavations at Mehrgarh revealed seven occupational levels (Period I to Period VII). Periods I and II are classified as neolithic despite the presence of small amounts of copper. Why? (Read - Metal Technology vs Metal Age)
|
| Key Concept
Metal Technology vs Metal Age |
- The presence of a few copper or iron objects, or knowledge of their extraction and use (metal technology), does not mark the beginning of the copper age or iron age. These ages begin only when copper or iron is widely used in everyday life, particularly for production activities. In agricultural societies, for example, the iron age is identified by the widespread use of iron implements in farming operations, such as ploughs, hoes, and sickles, rather than by the mere presence of a few iron artefacts.
- At sites like Mehrgarh, Periods I and II are considered neolithic despite the presence of a few copper beads because the community still relied primarily on stone and bone. It entered the chalcolithic phase in Period III (mid-fifth millennium BCE) only when there was clear evidence of copper smelting, including terracotta crucibles, and the large-scale production and use of copper objects.
|
Southern Neolithic Settlements
- It includes neolithic sites south of the Godavari River. They kept a large number of cattle.
North-eastern Neolithic Settlements
- It includes neolithic sites on the hills of Assam, the Garo hills in Meghalaya, and the northern spurs of the Vindhyas in the Mirzapur and Allahabad districts of Uttar Pradesh.
- Considerable bone implements were also found in Chirand, Bihar.
Daojali Hading: Neolithic Site in Assam
- Daojali Hading is a neolithic site near the Brahmaputra valley (Assam), close to routes to China and Myanmar. Stone tools like mortars and pestles found here suggest people were growing grain and preparing food. Other findings include jadeite (a stone that may have been brought from China), tools made of fossil wood (ancient wood that has hardened into stone), and pottery.
Important Neolithic Sites
|
State
|
Site
|
| Baluchistan (Pakistan) |
Mehrgarh |
| Kashmir |
Burzahom |
| Bihar |
Chirand |
| Uttar Pradesh |
Koldihwa and Mahagara in the Belan Valley |
| Assam |
Daojali Hading |
| Karnataka |
Hallur, Maski and Brahmagiri |
| Andhra Pradesh |
Nagarjunakonda |
| Telangana |
Utnur |
| Tamil Nadu |
Paiyampalli |
Limitations of Stone Age People
- Relying primarily on stone tools and weapons, the people of the stone age couldn't settle far from hilly areas. They lived on hill slopes, in rock shelters, and in river valleys.
- Despite their efforts, they could not produce more than they needed for their bare subsistence.
Previous Year Questions and Practice Questions on the Stone Age
[UPSC CDS (II) 2023] Consider the following statements regarding the 'Levallois Technique':
- It refers to making perforated Harappa pottery.
- It refers to making prehistoric flake tools.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (b) 2 only
- Islampur was a well-known centre of stone tool manufacture located in the Gulbarga district of Karnataka and was situated along a small seasonal stream known as Kamta Halla.
- A Palaeolithic blade is a flake tool, the length of which is more than twice its width.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
[UPPCS 2023] Match list-l with list-ll and choose the correct answer using the code given below the lists
|
List-1 (Archaeological site)
|
List – II (Present location)
|
- Nevasa
- Isampur
- Didwana
- Gudiyam cave
|
- Rajasthan
- Tamil Nadu
- Maharashtra
- Karnataka
|
Code -
- A-(3), B-(4), C-(1), D-(2)
- A-(4), B-(3), C-(1), D-(2)
- A-(3), B-(4), C-(2), D-(1)
- A-(3), B-(2), C-(4), D-(1)
Answer: (a) A-(3), B-(4), C-(1), D-(2)
[Practice Question] Consider the following statements:
- The earliest evidence of animal domestication and agriculture in India has come from Mehrgarh.
- The cultivation of cereals first started in the Neolithic Age.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
[Practice Question] Consider the following statements about the Neolithic settlements.
- Daojali Hading, a Neolithic site, is located in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Considerable bone implements were found in Chirand in Maharashtra.
- People lived in pit houses in Burzahom.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3 only
Explanation
Answer: (c) 3 only
[Practice Question] Consider the following statements about the Stone Age in India:
- Mesolithic site of Bagor is located in Rajasthan
- Extensive pit-dwellings have been identified at Burzahom and Gufkral
- Bhimbetka is a Neolithic site
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Stone Age
What is the Stone Age?
- The Stone Age is a period of prehistory in which humans used primitive stone tools. It began about 2 million years ago when Homo habilis made and used the first stone tools and lasted until humans began using metals.
What are the three periods of the Stone Age?
- The Stone Age is divided into three periods: the Palaeolithic Age, the Mesolithic Age and the Neolithic Age. The division is based on the types of stone tools used and the technology applied to make them.
When did the Stone Age begin in India?
- In India, the Stone Age started around 6 lakh years ago. The earliest human occupations in India, as indicated by stone tools, were not earlier than around 6,00,000 BCE.
What are the main features of the Palaeolithic Age?
- Palaeolithic people were nomadic hunter-gatherers. They used stone tools, hunted animals, gathered edible plants and tubers, and lived in rock shelters, caves and temporary dwellings. They also used tools of wood and bone.
What are microliths?
- Microliths are tiny stone artefacts, often not more than 5 cm in size. Mesolithic people used microliths and assembled them with wood to form more sophisticated tools.
What is the Neolithic Revolution?
- The Neolithic Revolution refers to the shift from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to settled agricultural communities. Agriculture, animal domestication and permanent villages laid the foundation for innovations and eventually civilisation.
What is the earliest known Neolithic site in the Indian subcontinent?
- Mehrgarh, located in present-day Balochistan, Pakistan, is the earliest known Neolithic site in the region, attributed to around 7000 BCE.
Which site is notable for Stone Age human skeletal remains?
- Langhnaj in Gujarat is notable for being the first site in India where Stone Age human skeletal remains were discovered.
- Isampur in the Hunsgi Valley in Karnataka was a centre of stone tool manufacture. Along with handaxes and cleavers, many scrapers were found at lower Palaeolithic levels.
Who is known as the Father of Indian Prehistory?
- Robert Bruce Foote, a British geologist and archaeologist, is considered the Father of Indian Prehistory. In 1863, he found a Palaeolithic stone tool at Pallavaram in Chennai.
What is the Levallois technique?
- The Levallois technique is an advanced method of making flake tools, used mainly during the Middle Palaeolithic Age. It is a prepared-core technique in which the stone core is carefully trimmed to produce flakes of predetermined size and shape.
What is the difference between the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic Ages?
- The Palaeolithic Age was characterised by large stone tools and a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The Mesolithic Age saw the use of microliths, continued hunting and gathering, primitive cultivation and animal domestication. The Neolithic Age saw the increasing importance of agriculture and animal domestication, settled village communities and polished stone tools.
What are some important Stone Age sites in India?
- Important sites mentioned in the chapter include Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, Belan Valley, Bori, Chirki Nevasa, Hunsgi, Isampur, Attirampakkam, Langhnaj, Bagor, Burzahom, Gufkral, Koldihwa, Mahagara, Chirand, Daojali Hading, Paiyampalli and Mehrgarh.
For more information on this topic, refer to PMF IAS Ancient and Medieval Indian History book by Dr. Vishwjeet Kawar
