The Palaeolithic culture of India developed in the Pleistocene period or the Ice Age, which lasted between one million and 10,000 years before the Holocene period
(the present geological period).
. The Holocene period began 10,000 years ago.
. The Lower Palaeolithic phase existed between 2,50,000
BC and 1,00,000 BC; the Middle Palaeolithic between 1,00,000 BC and 40,000 BC; and the Upper Palaeolithic between 40,000 BC and 10,000 BC.
. The Mesolithic culture continued to be important roughly
from 9,000 BC to 4,000 BC. .
. The microliths are the characteristic tools of the Mesolithic
age.
. Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh is a striking site of both
the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic paintings.
. The Mesolithic people lived on hunting, fishing and food
gathering.
. In the Belan valley (Uttar Pradesh), all the three phases
of the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic have been
found in sequence.
. Adamgarh (Madhya Pradesh) and Bagor (Rajasthan)
provide the earliest evidence for the domestication of
animals.
. The Neolithic Age or the New Stone Age began in 9000
BC. But in the Indian continent, the earliest Neolithic
settlement was in Mehrgarh (Baluchistan, Pakistan). T Mehrgarh settlement emerged around 7000 Be.
. The Neolithic people used tools and implements
polished stone.
. Burzahom means the "place of birth", while Gufla
means the "cave of the potter". Burzahom and Gufla
were the prominent Neolithic settlements in Kashm
. The Neolithic people in Kashmir also used bones
making numerous tools and weapons.
. The Neolithic settlers were the earliest farming comm
nities. Neolithic people of Mehrgarh produced whe
and cotton.
. The Homo sapiens, the modern man, emerged in tl
Upper Palaeolithic period.
. The earliest evidence of cultivation of plants occurs i
the region of Rajasthan in India.
. Large scale farming activities were undertaken by th
communities belonging to the Chalcolithic cultures i
peninsular India.
. The Jorwe culture (1400 BC-7oo BC) covered moder
Maharashtra.
. The Ahar culture (2100 BC-1500 BC) lay in the Banas rive
valley in Rajasthan.
. Black and Red Ware (BRW) was the most widel] prevalent pottery form in the Chalcolithic period.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
COPPER PHASE
More than 40 copper hoards consisting of rings, celts, hatchets, swords, harpoons, spearheads and human-like figures have been found in a wide area ranging from Bengal and Orissa in the east to Gujarat and Haryana in the northwest, and from Andhra Pradesh in the south to Uttar Pradesh in the north. The largest hoard comes from Gungeria in Madhya Pradesh. But nearly half of the hoards are concentrated in the Ganga-Yamuna doab. They presuppose good technological knowledge on the part of the copper~ smith, and cannot be the handiwork of nomadic people or primitive artisans. At places these objects have been discovered in association with ochre-coloured pots and some mud structures. Stone tools have also been found in excavations. This suggests that the people of this culture led a settled life, and were one of the earliest Chalcolithic agriculturists and artisans to settle in a good portion of the doab.
CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY The Chalcolithic period was marked by the use of two types of potteries - OCP and BRW.
Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) In 1950, a new pot type was discovered during excavations at Bisauli (Bade and Rajpur Pursu (Bijnor) in Uttar Pradesh, both of tl being copper hoard sites. The pottery was called 0 Coloured Pottery (OCP) because it had a wash of oc Made up of medium grained clay, the pottery's col ranges from orange to red. The Chalcolithic sites associe with this type of ware are ascribed to OCP culture. At 100 such sites have so far been discovered in Uttar Pradt The period covered by OCP culture may roughly be pIa between 2000 BC and 1500 BC. The OCP culture is succeel by Black and Red Ware.
Black and Red Ware (BRW) Excavations at Atranjikl1 in Uttar Pradesh in the early 1960s revealed a disti pottery. Similar pottery system was later excavated at ot
places. This pottery is called Black and Red Ware (BR and is sandwiched between OCP and Painted Grey W (PGW). The characteristic features of BRW are the b1 colour inside and near the rim on the outside, and : c910ur over the rest of the body. This colour combinat has been produced by inverted firing. Though majority the potteries are wheel turned, there are some handme potteries also. Made of fine clay, BRW has a fine fabric w thin walls. BRW pottery with paintings has also been fou in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
BRW pottery has a wide regional distribution. It a covers a vast time span from 2400 BC to the early centur of the Christian era.
More than 40 copper hoards consisting of rings, celts, hatchets, swords, harpoons, spearheads and human-like figures have been found in a wide area ranging from Bengal and Orissa in the east to Gujarat and Haryana in the northwest, and from Andhra Pradesh in the south to Uttar Pradesh in the north. The largest hoard comes from Gungeria in Madhya Pradesh. But nearly half of the hoards are concentrated in the Ganga-Yamuna doab. They presuppose good technological knowledge on the part of the copper~ smith, and cannot be the handiwork of nomadic people or primitive artisans. At places these objects have been discovered in association with ochre-coloured pots and some mud structures. Stone tools have also been found in excavations. This suggests that the people of this culture led a settled life, and were one of the earliest Chalcolithic agriculturists and artisans to settle in a good portion of the doab.
CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY The Chalcolithic period was marked by the use of two types of potteries - OCP and BRW.
Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) In 1950, a new pot type was discovered during excavations at Bisauli (Bade and Rajpur Pursu (Bijnor) in Uttar Pradesh, both of tl being copper hoard sites. The pottery was called 0 Coloured Pottery (OCP) because it had a wash of oc Made up of medium grained clay, the pottery's col ranges from orange to red. The Chalcolithic sites associe with this type of ware are ascribed to OCP culture. At 100 such sites have so far been discovered in Uttar Pradt The period covered by OCP culture may roughly be pIa between 2000 BC and 1500 BC. The OCP culture is succeel by Black and Red Ware.
Black and Red Ware (BRW) Excavations at Atranjikl1 in Uttar Pradesh in the early 1960s revealed a disti pottery. Similar pottery system was later excavated at ot
places. This pottery is called Black and Red Ware (BR and is sandwiched between OCP and Painted Grey W (PGW). The characteristic features of BRW are the b1 colour inside and near the rim on the outside, and : c910ur over the rest of the body. This colour combinat has been produced by inverted firing. Though majority the potteries are wheel turned, there are some handme potteries also. Made of fine clay, BRW has a fine fabric w thin walls. BRW pottery with paintings has also been fou in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
BRW pottery has a wide regional distribution. It a covers a vast time span from 2400 BC to the early centur of the Christian era.
CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD
The end of the Neolithic period saw the use of metals of which copper was the first. Consequently, several cultures came to be based on the use of stone and copper implements. Such a culture is called chalcolithic which means the stone-copper phase.
The most extensive excavations have been done at the Chalcolithic sites like Jorwe, Nevasa, Daimabad, Inamgaon, Prakash, Nasik, etc. in Maharashtra. Several Chacolithic sites have been found in Allahabad district, Chirand (near Patna) and Pandu Rajar Dhibi and Mahishadal in Bengal.
The Chalcolithic people used tiny tools and weapons of stone in which the stone-blades and bladelets occupied an important position. In certain settlements copper objects are found in good numbers, e.g., at Ahar and Gilund m Rajasthan. The characteristic pottery of the Chalcolithic phase was black-and-red. People domesticated animals and practised agriculture. They seem to have eaten beef but not
pork. Occasionally their houses were made of mud bricks, but mostly they were constructed with wattle and daub, and seem to have been thatched. However, the people in Ahar lived in stone-built houses.
The Chalcolithic people made tools, weapons and bangles of copper, manufactured beads of semi-precious stones such as carnelian, steatite, and quartz because spindle whorls have been discovered in Malwa. Discovery of cotton, flax and silk threads shows that they knew the manufacture of cloth.
Regional differences in regard to cereals, pottery, etc., appear in this phase. The dead were buried. Terracotta figurines of women suggest that the Chalcolithic people venerated the mother goddess. Probably, the bull was the symbol of a religious cult. Both the settlements and burial practices suggest existence of social inequalities.
Chronologically, there are several series of Chalcolithic settlements in India. Some are pre-Harappan, others are contemporaries of the Harappan culture and still others are post-Harappan. Pre-Harappan strata on some sites in the Harappan zone are also called early Harappan to distinguish them from the mature urban Indus civilisation. Thus the pre-Harappan phase at Kalibangam in Rajasthan and Banwali in Haryana is distinctly Chalcolithic. So is the case with Kot Diji in Sind. The Kayatha culture in Madhya Pradesh (2000-1800 Be) is a junior contemporary of the Harappan culture. It has some pre-Harappan elements in pottery, but it also shows Harappan influence. Several postHarappan Chalcolithic cultures in these areas are influenced by the post-urban phase of the Harappan culture.
Several other Chalcolithic cultures, though younger in age than the mature Harappan culture, are not connected with the Indus Civilisation. The Malwa culture (1700-1200
BC) found in Navadatoli, Eran and Nagda is considered to be nonHarappan. So is the case with the Jorwe culture (1400-700 BC) which covers the whole of Maharashtra except parts of Vidarbha and Konkan. In the southern and eastern' parts of India, Chalcolithic settlements existed independently of the Harappan culture. In south India they are found invariably in continuation of the Neolithic settlements. The Chalcolithic settlement of the Vmdhyan region, Bihar and Bengal Pre-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures spread farming communities in Sind, Baluchistan, Rajasthan, etc., and created conditions for the rise of the urban civilisation.
Western India disappeared by 1200 BC or so; only the Jorwe culture continued until 700 Be. However, in several parts of the country the Chalcolithic blackand-red ware continued till the second century BC. The eclipse of the Chalcolithic habitation if! attributed to a decline in rainfall from about 1200 BC onwards. In fact, the Chalcolithic people could not continue for long with the digging stick in the black soil area which is difficult to break in the dry season. In the red soil areas, especially in eastern India, however, the chalcolithic phase was immediately followed, without any gap, by the iron phase which gradually transformed the people into full-fledged agriculturists. Similarly, at several sites in southern India Chalcolithic culture was transformed into megalithic culture using iron.
The Chalcolithic people were the first to use painted pottery. They used both Iota and thali. In South India, the Neolithic phase imperceptibly faded into the Cha1colithic phase, and so these cultures are called Neolithic-Chalcolithic. The Chalcolithic communities founded the first large villages in peninsular India and cultivated far more cereals than is known in the case of the Neolithic communities. The settlements at Kayatha and Eran in Madhya Pradesh and Inamgaon in western Maharashtra were fortified. No plough or hoe has been found at Chalcolithic sites. The rate of infant mQrtality was very high. Although most Chalcolithic cultures existing in the major part of the country were younger than the Indus Valley civilisation, they did not derive any substantial benefit from the advanced technolQgical knowledge of the Indus people.
The end of the Neolithic period saw the use of metals of which copper was the first. Consequently, several cultures came to be based on the use of stone and copper implements. Such a culture is called chalcolithic which means the stone-copper phase.
The most extensive excavations have been done at the Chalcolithic sites like Jorwe, Nevasa, Daimabad, Inamgaon, Prakash, Nasik, etc. in Maharashtra. Several Chacolithic sites have been found in Allahabad district, Chirand (near Patna) and Pandu Rajar Dhibi and Mahishadal in Bengal.
The Chalcolithic people used tiny tools and weapons of stone in which the stone-blades and bladelets occupied an important position. In certain settlements copper objects are found in good numbers, e.g., at Ahar and Gilund m Rajasthan. The characteristic pottery of the Chalcolithic phase was black-and-red. People domesticated animals and practised agriculture. They seem to have eaten beef but not
pork. Occasionally their houses were made of mud bricks, but mostly they were constructed with wattle and daub, and seem to have been thatched. However, the people in Ahar lived in stone-built houses.
The Chalcolithic people made tools, weapons and bangles of copper, manufactured beads of semi-precious stones such as carnelian, steatite, and quartz because spindle whorls have been discovered in Malwa. Discovery of cotton, flax and silk threads shows that they knew the manufacture of cloth.
Regional differences in regard to cereals, pottery, etc., appear in this phase. The dead were buried. Terracotta figurines of women suggest that the Chalcolithic people venerated the mother goddess. Probably, the bull was the symbol of a religious cult. Both the settlements and burial practices suggest existence of social inequalities.
Chronologically, there are several series of Chalcolithic settlements in India. Some are pre-Harappan, others are contemporaries of the Harappan culture and still others are post-Harappan. Pre-Harappan strata on some sites in the Harappan zone are also called early Harappan to distinguish them from the mature urban Indus civilisation. Thus the pre-Harappan phase at Kalibangam in Rajasthan and Banwali in Haryana is distinctly Chalcolithic. So is the case with Kot Diji in Sind. The Kayatha culture in Madhya Pradesh (2000-1800 Be) is a junior contemporary of the Harappan culture. It has some pre-Harappan elements in pottery, but it also shows Harappan influence. Several postHarappan Chalcolithic cultures in these areas are influenced by the post-urban phase of the Harappan culture.
Several other Chalcolithic cultures, though younger in age than the mature Harappan culture, are not connected with the Indus Civilisation. The Malwa culture (1700-1200
BC) found in Navadatoli, Eran and Nagda is considered to be nonHarappan. So is the case with the Jorwe culture (1400-700 BC) which covers the whole of Maharashtra except parts of Vidarbha and Konkan. In the southern and eastern' parts of India, Chalcolithic settlements existed independently of the Harappan culture. In south India they are found invariably in continuation of the Neolithic settlements. The Chalcolithic settlement of the Vmdhyan region, Bihar and Bengal Pre-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures spread farming communities in Sind, Baluchistan, Rajasthan, etc., and created conditions for the rise of the urban civilisation.
Western India disappeared by 1200 BC or so; only the Jorwe culture continued until 700 Be. However, in several parts of the country the Chalcolithic blackand-red ware continued till the second century BC. The eclipse of the Chalcolithic habitation if! attributed to a decline in rainfall from about 1200 BC onwards. In fact, the Chalcolithic people could not continue for long with the digging stick in the black soil area which is difficult to break in the dry season. In the red soil areas, especially in eastern India, however, the chalcolithic phase was immediately followed, without any gap, by the iron phase which gradually transformed the people into full-fledged agriculturists. Similarly, at several sites in southern India Chalcolithic culture was transformed into megalithic culture using iron.
The Chalcolithic people were the first to use painted pottery. They used both Iota and thali. In South India, the Neolithic phase imperceptibly faded into the Cha1colithic phase, and so these cultures are called Neolithic-Chalcolithic. The Chalcolithic communities founded the first large villages in peninsular India and cultivated far more cereals than is known in the case of the Neolithic communities. The settlements at Kayatha and Eran in Madhya Pradesh and Inamgaon in western Maharashtra were fortified. No plough or hoe has been found at Chalcolithic sites. The rate of infant mQrtality was very high. Although most Chalcolithic cultures existing in the major part of the country were younger than the Indus Valley civilisation, they did not derive any substantial benefit from the advanced technolQgical knowledge of the Indus people.
IMPORTANT NEOLITHIC SITES ON THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
IMPORTANT NEOLITHIC SITES ON THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT Given below are some of the Neolithic sites in the Indian Subcontinent.
North-western The earliest evidence of the cultivation of wheat and barley has been found in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Punjab, Kashmir, West-Pakistan, and Afghanistan were the original places of bread-wheat and spelt-wheat cultivation. Excavations at Mehrgarh in Baluchistan have revealed the evidence of cultures ranging from pre-pottery Neolithic to the mature Harappan period. The Neolithi. levels at Mehrgarh have been classified into two phases: (i) the early aceramic without pottery (Period I); and (ii) the later phase (Period ll). The cereals at the site included two varieties of barley and three varieties of wheat. Plum and date seeds have also been found. The beginning of the pre-pottery settlement phase in Mehrgarh has been fixed at about 6000 Be. Period II represents the Chalcolithic phase (5000 BC). It is assumed that the Harappans inherited the knowledge of wheat, barley, and cotton cultivation from their ancestors in Mehrgarh.
Kashmir Burzahom and Gufkral in the Kashmir valley, where village settlements appeared by about 2500 Be, are other important Neolithic sites in Kashmir. The Neolithic culture in the valley is characterised by pit-dwellings with well made floors smeared with red-ochre, and dwellings in the open. The eastern phase in Gufkral is aceramic (prepottery), discovered for the first time in India. According to C-14 dates, the Neolithic culture in th Kashmir valley existed between 2500 and 1500 BC.
Uttar Pradesh The important excavated sites of th Belan valley (Belan river is tributary of Tons which jom the Ganga near Allahabad) include Chopani-Mand< Koldihawa and Mahagara. Excavations at these sites incU cate transition from the food-gathering stage to the food producIng stage. At Chopani-Mando, a three,.phase cultur, sequence-epi-Palaeolithic, late-MesolithA.c and proto Neolithic, has ~ discovered. The excavations at Koldihaw. have also revealed a three-fold cultural sequence: Neolithi Chalcolithic and Iron Age. The combined evidence fron Chopani and Koldihawa indicates sedentary life, and do mestication of rice and of cattle and sheep / goat. It has been suggested (though the idea has not beel accepted by..all) that Belan valley emerged as the earlies rice-farming community in India (6000 BC).
Bihar The Gangetic valley of Bihar was occupied bJ sedentary village settlements much later-2000-1600 Be Chirand (Saran district), Chechar, Senuwar (Rohtas district) Taradih, etc are the important Neolithic sites. They thrO\\ significant light on the life pattern of the Neolithic peop" of the region. Chirand and Senuwar are known for their remarkable bone tools. The grains cultivated at Chiranc were wheat, barley, rice and lentil.
South India The Neolithic settlements in South Indi, are found on the hilly and dry Deccan plateau. Importanl excavated sites include Sangankallu, Nagarjunakonda, Maski. Brahmagiri, Tekkalakota, Piklihal and Hallur.
Ragi (millet) was one of the earliest crops cultivated by the South Indian Neolithic farmers. It is believed thai the domesticated ragi came from East Africa. Other crop~ cultivated in the region included wheat, horsegram and green gram (moong). Domesticated animals like cattle, sheep and goat, buffalo, ass, and fowl are also reported from same sites.
Abundance of cattle and other kinds of food articles suggest that the economy of South Indian Neolithic people was agriculture-cum-pastoral. According to C-14 dates, the Neolithic culture of South India has been placed between 2600 and 1000 BC.
North-western The earliest evidence of the cultivation of wheat and barley has been found in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Punjab, Kashmir, West-Pakistan, and Afghanistan were the original places of bread-wheat and spelt-wheat cultivation. Excavations at Mehrgarh in Baluchistan have revealed the evidence of cultures ranging from pre-pottery Neolithic to the mature Harappan period. The Neolithi. levels at Mehrgarh have been classified into two phases: (i) the early aceramic without pottery (Period I); and (ii) the later phase (Period ll). The cereals at the site included two varieties of barley and three varieties of wheat. Plum and date seeds have also been found. The beginning of the pre-pottery settlement phase in Mehrgarh has been fixed at about 6000 Be. Period II represents the Chalcolithic phase (5000 BC). It is assumed that the Harappans inherited the knowledge of wheat, barley, and cotton cultivation from their ancestors in Mehrgarh.
Kashmir Burzahom and Gufkral in the Kashmir valley, where village settlements appeared by about 2500 Be, are other important Neolithic sites in Kashmir. The Neolithic culture in the valley is characterised by pit-dwellings with well made floors smeared with red-ochre, and dwellings in the open. The eastern phase in Gufkral is aceramic (prepottery), discovered for the first time in India. According to C-14 dates, the Neolithic culture in th Kashmir valley existed between 2500 and 1500 BC.
Uttar Pradesh The important excavated sites of th Belan valley (Belan river is tributary of Tons which jom the Ganga near Allahabad) include Chopani-Mand< Koldihawa and Mahagara. Excavations at these sites incU cate transition from the food-gathering stage to the food producIng stage. At Chopani-Mando, a three,.phase cultur, sequence-epi-Palaeolithic, late-MesolithA.c and proto Neolithic, has ~ discovered. The excavations at Koldihaw. have also revealed a three-fold cultural sequence: Neolithi Chalcolithic and Iron Age. The combined evidence fron Chopani and Koldihawa indicates sedentary life, and do mestication of rice and of cattle and sheep / goat. It has been suggested (though the idea has not beel accepted by..all) that Belan valley emerged as the earlies rice-farming community in India (6000 BC).
Bihar The Gangetic valley of Bihar was occupied bJ sedentary village settlements much later-2000-1600 Be Chirand (Saran district), Chechar, Senuwar (Rohtas district) Taradih, etc are the important Neolithic sites. They thrO\\ significant light on the life pattern of the Neolithic peop" of the region. Chirand and Senuwar are known for their remarkable bone tools. The grains cultivated at Chiranc were wheat, barley, rice and lentil.
South India The Neolithic settlements in South Indi, are found on the hilly and dry Deccan plateau. Importanl excavated sites include Sangankallu, Nagarjunakonda, Maski. Brahmagiri, Tekkalakota, Piklihal and Hallur.
Ragi (millet) was one of the earliest crops cultivated by the South Indian Neolithic farmers. It is believed thai the domesticated ragi came from East Africa. Other crop~ cultivated in the region included wheat, horsegram and green gram (moong). Domesticated animals like cattle, sheep and goat, buffalo, ass, and fowl are also reported from same sites.
Abundance of cattle and other kinds of food articles suggest that the economy of South Indian Neolithic people was agriculture-cum-pastoral. According to C-14 dates, the Neolithic culture of South India has been placed between 2600 and 1000 BC.
NEOLITHIC PERIOD
NEOLITHIC PERIOD
In the world context, the Neolithic Age began in 9000 Be. The only Neolithic settlement in the Indian subcontinent attributed to 7000 Be lies in Mehrgarh in Baluchistan. Some Neolithic sites fOW1d on the northern spurs of the Vindhyas are as old as 5000 Be. The tools and implements were now made of polished stone. An important Neolithic site is Burzahom, which means 'the place of birth', near Srinagar.
The term 'Neolithic' was coined by Sir John Lubbock in his book Prehistoric Times, first published in 1865. The term denotes an age in which stone implements were made more skilfully and were more varied in form than earlier. V. Gordon Childe defined the Neolithic-Chalcolithic culture as a selfsufficient food economy. Miles Burkit put forward the following four characteristics a culture should fulfil to be known as a Neolithic culture: (i) agriculture practice, (ii) animal domestication, (iii) grinded and polished stone tools, and (iv) pottery manufacture.
The Neolithic people lived there by a lakeside in pits, and probably had a hunting and fishing economy.. Besides stone implements, the people of Burzahom also used bone implements (the only other site in India known for bone implements is Chirand near Patna). They used coarse grey pottery, and buried domesticated dogs with their masters in the graves. Pit-dwelling and burial of dogs in their masters' graves were not practised in any other part of India.
The Neolithic people of South India usually settled on the tops of the granite hills or on plateaus near the river banks. Fire-baked earthen figurines suggest that they kept a large number of cattle. They used rubbing stone querns, which shows that they were acquainted with the art of producing cereals. Neolithic sites in Allahabad district are noted for the cultivation of rice in the sixth millenium Be.
The Neolithic phase in South India seems to have covered the period from about 3000 Be to 1000 Be.
The Neolithic settlers were the earliest farming communities. They lived in circular or rectangular houses made of mud and reed. Pottery first appears in this phase-black burnished ware, grey ware and mat-impressed ware. A few villages also appeared.
In the world context, the Neolithic Age began in 9000 Be. The only Neolithic settlement in the Indian subcontinent attributed to 7000 Be lies in Mehrgarh in Baluchistan. Some Neolithic sites fOW1d on the northern spurs of the Vindhyas are as old as 5000 Be. The tools and implements were now made of polished stone. An important Neolithic site is Burzahom, which means 'the place of birth', near Srinagar.
The term 'Neolithic' was coined by Sir John Lubbock in his book Prehistoric Times, first published in 1865. The term denotes an age in which stone implements were made more skilfully and were more varied in form than earlier. V. Gordon Childe defined the Neolithic-Chalcolithic culture as a selfsufficient food economy. Miles Burkit put forward the following four characteristics a culture should fulfil to be known as a Neolithic culture: (i) agriculture practice, (ii) animal domestication, (iii) grinded and polished stone tools, and (iv) pottery manufacture.
The Neolithic people lived there by a lakeside in pits, and probably had a hunting and fishing economy.. Besides stone implements, the people of Burzahom also used bone implements (the only other site in India known for bone implements is Chirand near Patna). They used coarse grey pottery, and buried domesticated dogs with their masters in the graves. Pit-dwelling and burial of dogs in their masters' graves were not practised in any other part of India.
The Neolithic people of South India usually settled on the tops of the granite hills or on plateaus near the river banks. Fire-baked earthen figurines suggest that they kept a large number of cattle. They used rubbing stone querns, which shows that they were acquainted with the art of producing cereals. Neolithic sites in Allahabad district are noted for the cultivation of rice in the sixth millenium Be.
The Neolithic phase in South India seems to have covered the period from about 3000 Be to 1000 Be.
The Neolithic settlers were the earliest farming communities. They lived in circular or rectangular houses made of mud and reed. Pottery first appears in this phase-black burnished ware, grey ware and mat-impressed ware. A few villages also appeared.
MESOLITHIC PAINTINGS
MESOLITHIC PAINTINGS
Rock paintings and engravings by the Mesolithic people describe a good deal about their social life and economic activities. Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, Pratapgarh and Mirzapur are rich in Mesolithic art. In the paintings at these sites, hW1ting, food-gathering, fishing and other human activities are reflected. Particularly striking are the paintings of Bhimbetka. Many animals such as boar, buffalo, monkey and nilgai are frequently depicted. Activities like sexual union, childbirth, rearing of children and burial ceremony are depicted in the Mesolithic paintings and engravings. It suggests that social organisation had become more stable during the Mesolithic period.
Rock paintings and engravings by the Mesolithic people describe a good deal about their social life and economic activities. Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, Pratapgarh and Mirzapur are rich in Mesolithic art. In the paintings at these sites, hW1ting, food-gathering, fishing and other human activities are reflected. Particularly striking are the paintings of Bhimbetka. Many animals such as boar, buffalo, monkey and nilgai are frequently depicted. Activities like sexual union, childbirth, rearing of children and burial ceremony are depicted in the Mesolithic paintings and engravings. It suggests that social organisation had become more stable during the Mesolithic period.
MESOLITHIC SITES
MESOLITHIC SITES Mesolithic sites are fOW1d in good numbers in Rajasthan, Gujarat, southern and eastern Uttar Pradesh, and South India.
Rajasthan The Pachpadra basin and the Sojat area in Rajasthan are rich in microliths-small stone tools. Bagor on the river Kothari is the largest Mesolithic site in India. The site has been horizontally excavated and it gives evidence of three cultural phases. Phase I or the earliest phase has been placed between 5000 and 2000 Be. Tilwara, another important Mesolithic site in the state, has two cultural phases: Phase I (presence of microliths and hence Mesolithic) and Phase II (presence of pieces of iron together with microliths).
Gujarat Akhaj, Valasana, Hirpur and Langhnaj, situated on the eastern bank of River Sabarmati, have yielded many Mesolithic tools. Langhnaj is the most extensively
studied site in the state.
Uttar Pradesh Sarai Nahar Rai in the AllahabadPratapgarh area of Uttar Pradesh is the most extensively studied Mesolithic site in the state. Morhana Pahar and Lekhahia are two other important Mesolithic sites.
Madhya Pradesh Bhimbetka and Adamgarh (Hosangabad) are among the prominent Mesolithic sites in this state.
Eastern India Chhota Nagpur plateau Oharkhand); Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and SW1dergarh (Orissa); Birbhanpur (West Bengal); and Sehalgiri 2 in Garo Hills (Meghalaya) have yielded Pre-Neolithic and Neolithic microliths.
South India The Krishna and Bhima rivers have produced many microliths. The Godavari delta is also rich in microliths. Microliths have also been reported from RenigW1ta (Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh).
Rajasthan The Pachpadra basin and the Sojat area in Rajasthan are rich in microliths-small stone tools. Bagor on the river Kothari is the largest Mesolithic site in India. The site has been horizontally excavated and it gives evidence of three cultural phases. Phase I or the earliest phase has been placed between 5000 and 2000 Be. Tilwara, another important Mesolithic site in the state, has two cultural phases: Phase I (presence of microliths and hence Mesolithic) and Phase II (presence of pieces of iron together with microliths).
Gujarat Akhaj, Valasana, Hirpur and Langhnaj, situated on the eastern bank of River Sabarmati, have yielded many Mesolithic tools. Langhnaj is the most extensively
studied site in the state.
Uttar Pradesh Sarai Nahar Rai in the AllahabadPratapgarh area of Uttar Pradesh is the most extensively studied Mesolithic site in the state. Morhana Pahar and Lekhahia are two other important Mesolithic sites.
Madhya Pradesh Bhimbetka and Adamgarh (Hosangabad) are among the prominent Mesolithic sites in this state.
Eastern India Chhota Nagpur plateau Oharkhand); Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and SW1dergarh (Orissa); Birbhanpur (West Bengal); and Sehalgiri 2 in Garo Hills (Meghalaya) have yielded Pre-Neolithic and Neolithic microliths.
South India The Krishna and Bhima rivers have produced many microliths. The Godavari delta is also rich in microliths. Microliths have also been reported from RenigW1ta (Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh).
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