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STONE AGE
27 December 2023 08:19

Period before the development of script is called the prehistoric times also called stone age.
In his book prehistoric times 1865, sir John Lubbock announced the birth of a new science called
prehistory. And divided it into paleolithic and Neolithic.

Earliest human ancestor species to migrate out of Africa was the homo erectus.

Old stone age or the palaelithic age is divided into 3 parts

1. Lower palaelithic
2. Middle palaelithic
3. Upper palaelithic

The period after old stone age is known as the Mesolithic age, post which is the neolithic age.
Paleolithic man was also called "Quartzite man"
They had no knowledge of agriculture, pottery and fire.
Remains of palaeolithic sites are found in almost all parts of india except alluvial plains of ganga and
Indus
Also discovered bone implants and animal remains.

Lower palaeolithic:-
• First palaeolithic tools were identified at the site of pallavaram near Chennai by Robert Bruce
foote in 1863.
• Athirampakkam, pallavaram and gudiyam near chennai, hunsgi valley, isampur in Karnataka,
bhimbetka in MP are some imp palaeolithic sites where acheulian tools are found.
• Ages upto 2 mil year, continued upto 60,000 years

The industries of palaeolithic culture are divided into

1. Early acheulian
2. Middle acheulian
3. Late acheulian industries
Early acheulian tools include polyhedrons, spheroids, hand axes, cleavers and flake tools.
• Quartzite was the preferred rock

The acheulian culture is absent in western ghats, coastal areas and northeast, heavy rainfall is
attributed to its absence.

Pebble flake industries were also known as the sohanian industries, it gets its name from Sohan river
valley in paxtan, it is considered to have used only chopper and chopping tools.

Tit bits about sohanian cult tradition

• Recognised in 1939 by H de terra of Yale and TT Paterson of Cambridge uni in North West part of
sub conti.
• The tools consist of pebbles with working edges on sides or ends, obtained by flaking from one or
both surfaces.
• On India side they found in ghagghar valley of haryana, beas and banganga valley of HP,
hoshiyarpur, chandigarh sector of shivalik frontal range.

Evidence of homonin ( immediate ancestor of homo sapiens) is rare in India, unlike africa.
• Only well known homonin fossil of India was found at hathnora near hoshangabad MP.
• The cranium is named narmada human, scientific name was H. erectus narmadensis
• Considered to represent the archaic homo sapien, only existing fossil find of human in India

Way of life in lower palaeolithic culture

• Gathered fruits, nuts, fed on roots etc
• Flesh, bones eaters
• Lived in open air, river valley, caves and rock shelters like in Bhimbetka in MP and gudiyam in
Chennai
• Pre historics were the homo erectus
• No particular language culture, used signs, sounds etc

Important lower paleo sites

1. Rock shelter 3- MP, BHIMBETKA, yielded acheulian, middle, upper paleolithic and mesolithic
levels.
2. Adamgarh- MP
3. Lalitpur, jhansi- UP, insitu assemblage of granite tools
4. Chirki-nevasa- Maharashtra, fossil bones of wild cattle and other animals, seasonal camp for
multiple purposes
5. Morgaon- Bhima drainage basin
6. Hunsgi- hunsgi- valley and yediyapur in N. Karnataka have in situ cultural levels, yielded artefacts
7. Isampur- Hunsgi- valley, yielded cores, flakes, waste product of limestone
8. Attirampakka - TN, in situ acheulian site, found acheulian assemblage of quartzite and fossilised
bone of wild cattle.

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Middle palaeolithic
• Species of homo erectus existed in this period
• Middle palaeolithic phase was first identified by HD sankalia on pravara river at nevasa in 1956.
• Recently the athirampakkam is dated to be around 3.85-1.72 lakh yrs BP
• Same tool types as stated above
• African middle stone age is associated to homo sapies while European is to neanderthals.
• Majorly sites are found in Narmada, godavari, Krishna, yamuna and other river valleys
• Widely referred to as flake tool industry.
• Techniques used for tool manufacture are stone hammer, cylinder hammer and levalloisian.
• Middle paleolithic culture of Europe, south west asia and Africa is called Mousterian culture
named after rock shelter Le Moustier in France.
• Species associated with Mousterian culture is Homo neanderthalensis, lived during upper
pleistocene.

Major features of middle palaeolithic perod:-

• Tools became smaller
• Use of hand axes decreased
• Core prep strategy in stone tool production
• Use of chert, jasper, chalcedony and quartz as raw materials
• Remains found near sohan, narmada and tungrabhadra.
Major middle paleo sites
1. Didwana, budha pushkar- raj
2. Hiran valley- gujrat
3. Potwar plateau- b/w indus and jhelum
4. Sanghao cave- NWFP, Pak
5. Chirki nevasa- Maha
6. Kalpi- UP

Upper palaeolithic
• Marked innovation in tool technology and increased cognitive capacity of humans
• Species associated- Anatomically modern homo sapiens(AMHS)
• Tools based on blade and bone tool
• Microliths were introduced
• Bone tools and faunal remains have been found in kurnool caves in Andhra
• A time bracket of 40,000 - 10,000 years BP is associated to Upper palaeolithic phase.
• Meralbhavi in Karnataka, kurnool caves in Andhra, Godavarikhani in Telangana, Baghor 1 and
Baghor 3 of son valley in MP, Patne in Maharashtra are some imp upper palaeolithic sites.
• Comparitively warmer climate.
• Appearance of new type of flint industries
• Numerous blades removed from a single core, these cores have prismatic or fluted appearance,
hence the technique is called Prismatic-core or fluted core technique.

Upper paleo sites

1. Rohiri hills- upper sindh
2. Milestone 101- lower sindh
3. Chopani mando- belan valley
4. Baghor I- MP
5. Paisra- munger, bihar
6. Lalmai hills- bangladesh
7. Haora and khowai river valleys- tripura
8. Kurnool caves- chittor, andhra
9. Renugunta- chittor, andhra

MESOLITHIC CULTURE

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• Weather patterns had changed, which led the Mesolithic man to

occupy various Eco zones.
• We live in Holocene age
• Warmer climate associated to the onset of Holocene age or Neo thermal phase, it followed the
pleistocene age.
• The additional "Mesolithic" category was added as an intermediate category by Hodder
Westropp in 1866.
• Used spear bow and arrow and traps.
• Traces of oval and circular huts and possible wattle daub are found in Chopani mando and
damdama in UP and Baghor and tilwara in raj.
• Mesolithic man buried the dead, which shows belief system and relationship with humans.
• Men and women hunted together, used fire and roasted food, microlith tools enabled them to hunt
smaller birds and preys.
• Human skeletons have been found in Mahadaha, damdama and Sarai nahar Rai in UP.
• At the end of mesolithic period, Marks the beginning of animal domestication and agriculture
• Different timeslines in different places, ex in India at 10000 bce.

• Microliths were predominant, 3 cms is taken as the limit for the length of determining a
microlith.
• Another type of tool used by the mesolithic people is called the MACROLITH, Heavy duty tools
• Bone and antler tools are yet another type of tools used by the meso people
• The earliest discovery of microliths and other meso tools was made by ACL CARLYLE, found them
at the Mirzapur district of UP.
• Discovered first paintings portraying mesolithic way of life

Major meso sites in India

1. Tilwara, bagor, ganeshwar- Raj
2. Payment, pachad, hathkhamba- Maha
3. Paisra- Bihar
4. Tenmalai- Kerala
5. Birbhanpur- West Bengal
6. Chopani mando, morkhana, baghai khor, Mahadaha, Sarai nahar rai- Up
7. Baghor II-III, BHIMBETKA, putli karar, adamgarh- MP
Sites like bagor, Sarai nahar rai-, Mahadaha and Adamgarh are truly mesolithic coz of their early dates
and associated material culture

Other fax about paleo and meso

• They lived either in cave or open air sites.
• Used to move in bands of people.
• Huntin and gathering was an effective mode of subsistence, that's why it has continued to this day
• It is widely accepted that stone age niggas extensively made use of wild fruits and berries, nuts
etc.
• Had high cognitive faculties- which is represented in symmetric and aesthetically pleasing hand
axes and other weapons.
• Art mobilier or home art:- Art executed on movable materials
• Art parietal or cave art:- Art executed on walls and ceilings of caves and rock shelters.
• Indian paleolithic has examples of portable art in the form of ostrich egg shell beads and engraved
fragmants.
• Mural art:- Cave and rock shelters of BHIMBETKA
• Auditoriam cave at BHIMBETKA MP

• The hills at BHIMBETKA are of sandstone and quartzite, heavy annual rainfall and dense
vegetation, that's why it was attractive to hunters and gatherers.
• BHIMBETKA declared as world heritage site by UNESCO in 2003.

Neolithic culture
• The term was first used by Sir John Lubbock in his book prehistoric times 1865.
• Early evidence found in crescent region of Egypt, Indus region, ganges in India, and also in China
• South-west Asia has the earliest evidence of the development of agriculture and animal
domestication. The region of Israel, Palestine and syria and turkey and Iraq witnessed early
development of Neolithic village around 9th millenium BCE.

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• Warm climate began to set in across the world leading to change in nature of animal, plant and
their distribution.
• Humans started to cultivate plants and domesticate animals in this period, began to effectively
manage, control natural resources to their advantage.
• 10000-5000 BCE agriculture emerged
• Large village came to exist and pottery developed
• Permanent residences were built
• Cultural development of this period were called neolithic revolution (V Gordon childe)
• Earliest evidence for drilling human tooth has been found at mehargarh.
• Mehargarh, Rana ghundai, Sarai kala and jalilpur are some neolithic sites, all located in now
Pakistan
• New tools were made with polished stone tools
• Large urns were used as coffins for the burial of the dead
• Use of polished stone tools, axes often called Celts
• Surplus food production was one of the main factors that led to the developments of urban culture
later.

Site of mehargarh has produced evidence of early Neolithic Times dating to 7000 BCE - 5500 BCE
Period 2 of mehrgarh dates:- 5500-4800
Period 3 of mehargarh dated:- 4800-3500

• People belonging to this age did not use pottery, but cultivated Six row barley, emmer and
einkorn wheat, jujube and dates.
• Semi nomadic pastoral groups
• Mud houses were built
• Buried the dead
Used ornaments of sea shell, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli and sandstone.

There is evidence of pottery during Periods 2-3 of neolithic cultures

• Teracotta figurines and glazed faience beads have been found
• Women used to wear ornaments
• Long distance trade was practised as revealed in Lapis lazuli in Badakshan
• Has evidence of cultivation of cotton and grapes.

Neolithic culture of Kashmir

• Burzahom, an important neolithic kashmiri site
• People made oval shaped 4 ft deep pit houses to escape cold weather
• Had domestic sheeps, goat and cultivated plants
• Used stone axes, chisels, adzes, pounders, mace heads, points and picks.
• Dogs were buried with their masters
• People from burzahom traded with harrapan people.
• Use of awls for stitching skins into clothes to adjust to cold weather
• KOT DIJI PHASE POTTERY DEPICTING HORNED DEITY IS AN IMPORTANT FIND.
The Neolithic culture of kashmir is considered to have had connection with the East Asian Neolithic
culture of Yang shao phase.

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Two phases of neolithic culture
1. Aceramic
2. Ceramic :- shows evidence of pottery, built mud houses in this phase, used copper arrowheads,
painted pottery existed, used black ware pottery, beads of agate and carnelian and painted
pottery.

Neolithic culture of vindhyan- Ganges valley and central India:-

• Sites found at Lehuradeva and Chopani mundo the former has produced early evidence of rice
cultivation in 6500 BCE
• Vindhyan- ganga valley characterised by cord marked pottery and also evidence of rice has not
been found here.
• Koldiwaha, chirand, senuwar and mahagara are important neolithic sites in this region
• Plant and animal domestication
• Neotlithic sites in allahabad are noted for cultivation of Rice.
• Koldiwaha in UP revealed a threefold cultural sequence i.e neolithic, chalcolithic and iron age.

Neolithic culture in eastern India

• Birbhanpur, chirand, kuchai, golbaissan and sankarjang are some imp Neolithic site in east India
• People at chirand lived in circular and semicircular houses with wattle and daub walls, post holes
have been found.
• Pointed butt celts, chisels and shouldered axes have been found here

Neolithic cultures of South India

• Mainly found in Andhra, Karnataka and north west Tamil Nadu
• Most sites found near granite hills with water sources
• Payyampalli has produced evidence of Neolithic culture in TN.

• Spotted in river valleys of , Godavari, Krishna, pennaru, tungabhadra and kaveri, sanganakallu,
tekkalakota, brahmagiri, maski, piklihal, watkal, hemmige and hallur in Karnataka,
nagarjunakonda, ramapuram and veerapuram in Andhra and paiyyanpalli in Tamil Nadu are
major neolithic sites of south India
• Evidence of habitation in form of houses and burials are found near the ash mounds
• Acquainted with the art of producing cereals.
• Evidence of water harvesting has been identified
• South India Neolithic sites have evidence of rock bruising nearby and human burials within the
houses

Neolithic culture in North East India

• Dated from 2500-1500 BCE
• Sites found in Assam, meghalaya, arunachal and nagaland.
• Daojali heading and sarutaru are neolithic sites in Assam region.
• Neolithic phase in North East Belongs to a slightly later period
• Bears evidence of Shifting cultivation
• Cultivation of yams and taro, building stone and wooden memorials for the dead and presence of
Austro-asiatic languages are marked features, showing similarity with south East Asia
• Shows cultural affinities with southeast asia.

Neolithic culture of northwest region(pak-afg)

• This region has early evidence for domestication of wheat, barley and animals.
• Aegilops tauschii, one of the ancestral species of wheat, had its natural habitat in this region
• Imp Neolithic sites of this region are:- Mahrgarh-kacchi plains, kili Gul Muhammad -Quetta
valley, Rana ghundai- Loralai valley and Anjira in durab valley. All in paxtan.

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