Human history is broadly divided into two main categories:

1. Prehistoric Era

This era refers to the period before the invention of literature. As there are no written records available from this time, our knowledge of human history during this period is limited. The prehistoric period is further subdivided into the following ages:

• Stone Age
• Bronze Age
• Iron Age

Stone Age

The Stone Age began around 2.6 million years ago when researchers found the earliest evidence of humans using stone tools. It lasted until approximately 3,300 B.C., when the Bronze Age began. The Stone Age is divided into three phases:

• Paleolithic Age
• Mesolithic Age
• Neolithic Age

The Timeline of this Period with Respect to India

Period: Paleolithic

• Timeline: 2,50,000 BC – 10,000 BC
• Lifestyle: Hunters and food gatherers
• Tools and Weapons: Hand axe, blade tools, and chopper

Period: Mesolithic

• Timeline: 10,000 BC – 6,000 BC
• Lifestyle: Hunters and herders
• Tools and Weapons: Microlithic tools

Period: Neolithic

• Timeline: 6,000 BC – 4,000 BC
• Lifestyle: Food-producer
• Tools and Weapons: Polished tools

The first two stages, Paleolithic and Mesolithic, were characterized by a hunting-gathering lifestyle, whereas the Neolithic phase marked a significant shift toward crop cultivation and animal husbandry. The Neolithic period is notable for humans settling down instead of roaming.

The Stone Age was followed by the Chalcolithic Age.

Chalcolithic Age

Also known as the “Copper Age,” the Chalcolithic Age was a transitional period where early copper metallurgy appeared alongside the widespread use of stone tools. The Chalcolithic culture was succeeded by the Iron Age.

Iron Age

The Iron Age is a significant phase in human history, marked by the first appearance of ferrous metallurgy.

Paleolithic Age

The Paleolithic period began when humans first learned to make stone tools. The discovery of the fist-hatchet, spear, and fire were significant achievements during this period.

Lower/Earlier Paleolithic Age

• Time Period: 2,50,000 BC – 1,00,000 BC
• Tools and Weapons: Hand axe, cleaver, chopper, and chopping tools

Middle Paleolithic Age

• Time Period: 1,00,000 BC – 40,000 BC
• Tools and Weapons: Flake implements

Upper/Later Paleolithic Age

• Time Period: 40,000 BC – 10,000 BC
• Tools and Weapons: Implements made of blade and flake

Features of the Paleolithic Age in India

• The old stone age or Paleolithic culture in India developed during the Pleistocene epoch, also known as the Ice Age.
• Food gathering and hunting were the primary occupations.
• Paleolithic people covered themselves in animal skins.
• There was no knowledge of houses, pottery, or agriculture. The discovery of fire came in the later stages.
• Paleolithic sites have been discovered along the Tapi, Godavari, Bhima, and Krishna rivers.

Lower Paleolithic Age

• Tools were made by extracting flakes from a stone block or core.
• Tools used included hand axes, choppers, and cleavers. They were rough and heavy.
• The earliest Lower Paleolithic site in India is Bori in Maharashtra. In Hunsgi (Karnataka), limestone was commonly used.

Middle Paleolithic Age

• Tools became smaller and lighter.
• The flake industry dominated this era, producing tools such as scrapers, points, and borers.
• Middle Paleolithic tools were discovered in the Potwar Plateau between the Indus and Jehlum rivers.

Upper Paleolithic Age

• This period saw advancements in tool technology and human cognitive abilities.
• Tools were smaller, with the introduction of microliths (tiny stone tools).
• Important sites include Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh), Kurnool caves (Telangana), Son Valley (Madhya Pradesh), and Patne (Maharashtra).
• Bhimbetka rock paintings date back to this phase, depicting hunting as the primary subsistence activity.

Salient Features of Paleolithic Culture in India

• People were nomadic herders who traveled extensively for fishing, hunting, and gathering food.
• Initially, they hunted large, slow-moving animals like elephants, but with improved tools, they started hunting smaller, fast-moving animals.
• Social structures are hard to decipher due to the lack of evidence.
• Large manufacturing sites hint at some form of social organization.
• Evidence of religious beliefs includes a mother-goddess figure found in the Belan Valley (Uttar Pradesh) and an ostrich shell bead found in Patne, indicating the presence of early belief systems.

Mesolithic Age

The Mesolithic Age marked the transition between the Paleolithic and Neolithic phases. Initially, people lived by hunting, fishing, and food gathering, but they gradually started domesticating animals and cultivating plants.

Features of Mesolithic Age

• Tools were tiny stone artifacts called microliths, often less than five centimeters in size.
• People began to wear clothes made from animal skins.
• Important Mesolithic sites in India include Bagore (Rajasthan), Morhana Pahar (Uttar Pradesh), and the coastal plains of Odisha.

Salient Features of Mesolithic Culture in India

• People lived in semi-permanent and temporary settlements.
• Domestication of animals and primitive cultivation began.
• Pottery was not widespread but has been found at sites like Langhnaj (Gujarat) and Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh).
• Notable sites with Mesolithic art and paintings include Adamgarh, Bhimbetka, Mirzapur, and Pratapgarh. Animal depictions dominate these artworks.
• Bones of wild animals like rhinoceros were found at Langhnaj, along with human skeletons and microliths.

Neolithic Age

The Neolithic Age, also known as the “Neolithic Revolution,” introduced significant changes in human social and economic life. Humans transitioned from being food gatherers to food producers.

Features of Neolithic Age

• People lived more settled lives, paving the way for the dawn of civilization.
• Neolithic communities mostly lived in hilly river valleys, rock shelters, and slopes of hills.
• Pottery and the wheel were significant innovations during this period, leading to advancements in crafts like spinning, weaving, and bead-making.
• Cultivation of crops such as wheat, barley, fruits, ragi, and lentils began between 6000 BC and 5000 BC.
• Gender-based division of labor emerged, with women participating in agriculture and pottery-making while men continued to hunt and fish.

Important Neolithic Sites in India

• Mehrgarh (Pakistan)
• Chirand (Bihar)
• Burzahom (Kashmir)
• Hallur (Karnataka)

Salient Features of Neolithic Culture in India

• Burzahom (Kashmir): Known for pit dwellings with conical roofs.
• Gufkral (Kashmir): A site inhabited by potters using cave shelters.
• Neolithic communities built mud-brick houses instead of grass huts.
• Community festivals and communal animal butchering sites, such as the one at Budihal, indicate the beginnings of social gatherings.
• Cachar Hills (Assam): Inhabitants lived in mud-walled houses, and their handmade pots had basket impressions.
• Koldihwa and Mahagara (south of Allahabad): Evidence of circular huts and crude handmade pottery. These sites also provided the earliest evidence of rice cultivation dating between 5440 BC and 4530 BC.
• Neolithic people knew the art of making boats and weaving cotton and wool to make cloth.
• Cave dwellings with hunting and dancing scenes were common.

The Neolithic Age marked the end of the prehistoric era and laid the foundation for the next stage of human civilization with settled communities, agriculture, and technological advancements.

Chalcolithic Age (3,500 BC – 1,000 BC)

The Chalcolithic Age refers to a cultural phase based on the use of both copper and stone. The term “Chalcolithic” means “stone-copper phase,” and these cultures exhibit distinct regional identities.

Stages of the Chalcolithic Age

Key Features of the Chalcolithic Age

• The people lived in rural settlements and were not acquainted with burnt bricks.
• Their houses were made of mud bricks and thatched roofs.
• They domesticated animals and grew food grains. The main domesticated animals included deer, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and buffaloes.
• The pottery used by these people included black and red pottery. The potter’s wheel was used, and some pots featured white linear painted patterns.
• The people were skilled in copper smelting and stonework.

Social and Economic Structure

• Social inequalities began to appear, with chiefs living in rectangular houses and commoners in round huts.
• Villages consisted of more than 35 houses of varying sizes, either circular or rectangular.
• The Chalcolithic economy was primarily village-based.

Important Chalcolithic Sites

• Ahar (Banas Valley, South Eastern Rajasthan)
• Gilund (Banas Valley, Rajasthan)
• Daimabad (Ahmadnagar, Gujarat)
• Malwa (Madhya Pradesh)
• Sonpur (Bihar)
• Songaon, Inamgaon, and Nevasa (Maharashtra)

Characteristics of India’s Chalcolithic Cultures

• The Chalcolithic culture in India was non-urban and non-Harappan, characterized by the use of copper and stone.
• People practiced pastoralism, agriculture, hunting, and fishing.
• They farmed with wooden or bone ploughs and used irrigation systems.
• They were cattle pastoralists but switched to sheep-goat pastoralism during adverse climatic conditions.
• Houses were generally rectangular or circular, made of mud and mud bricks, with thatched roofs.

Religious Practices

• The Chalcolithic people worshipped bulls and the Mother Goddess.
• Fire worship was widespread, as indicated by the presence of fire altars in many excavated sites.

Pottery and Burial Practices

• Pottery was significant in their daily lives, with consistent and specialized pot-making techniques.
• They used black-on-red painted wares, with variations across sub-cultures.
• Burial sites of the Malwa and Jorwe people contained pots and other funerary objects, suggesting a belief in life after death.

Trade and Tools

• There is evidence of trade with other cultures through the presence of foreign goods.
• Although they were skilled coppersmiths, copper was scarce and mainly sourced from Rajasthan. Therefore, bone and stone tools were also used.

Key Chalcolithic Cultures

• Kayatha Culture: 2000-1800 BC
• Banas or Ahar Culture: 2000-1400 BC
• Malwa Culture: 1700-1200 BC
• Jorwe Culture: 1300-700 BC
• Chirand Culture: 1600-600 BC
• Pandu Rajr Dhibi: 1700-700 BC
• Golabai Sasan: 2200-700 BC
• Nagarjuna Konda: 2000-1000 BC
• Brahmagiri: 2000-1000 BC

Megalithic Culture

A megalith is a large stone used alone or in combination with other stones to create structures or monuments.

Key Features of Megalithic Culture

• Megaliths were primarily used to mark burial sites.
• The dead were often buried with distinctive pots known as Black and Red Ware.
• Iron tools and weapons, along with horse skeletons, horse equipment, and stone and gold ornaments, have been discovered at burial sites.
• The oldest megaliths are found in central India and the upper Indus valley, with later megaliths in the eastern regions.

Burial Practices

• Burials were an important aspect of Megalithic culture.
• Burial sites have been found throughout the Deccan region, providing most of the information about the Iron Age in South India.

Iron Objects and Settlements

• Iron objects have been found universally at megalithic sites, from Junapani (Vidarbha region, Central India) to Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu).
• While settlement evidence is scarce, burial sites provide significant insights into the culture and practices of the people during this period.