Prehistoric period is also called ancient period. It is divided into parts – Palaeolithic period, Mesolithic period and Neolithic period.
World historians have divided ancient history into three time periods:
(i) Prehistoric period
(ii) Protohistory (iii) Historical period
Prehistoric period is called that period of human history in which there is no evidence of written records. This period spans from the emergence of Homo habilis about 3.5 million years ago to the beginning of written history about 5,000 years ago.
Protohistory is the time between the prehistoric period and the historical period. This is the time when humans started farming to get food. This is the period of cultural development of man. At this time there is written material but it cannot be read.
Historical period is the period in which evidence of written records is available. This period extends from approximately 5,000 years ago to the present day. This is a period in which written material both exists and has been read.
Stone age or stone age
This is the period in which humans used only stones. The origin of the Earth is considered to be about four billion years old. The origin of living beings is considered to be much later and the origin of humans on this earth is considered to be about 20 lakh years ago.
Stones played great importance in the development of human civilization. Man stored food from stone, built houses from stone, learned art from stone, made inventions from stone. The oldest artefacts are found engraved on stones. It was from stone that man obtained the energy of inventions, ‘fire’. Man obtained all the tools, weapons and shelter from stones, hence the history of early man is called ‘Stone Age’.
Gradually in the Stone Age, human life started becoming more organized. Paleolithic civilization in India developed from the Ice Age or Pleistocene era. On the basis of the design of stone tools used by humans and the changes in climate, the Stone Age can be divided into three parts –
(i) Paleolithic period (20 lakh BC-9000 BC)
ii) Mesolithic period (9000 BC-4000)
iii) Neolithic period (6000 BC-2 000 BC)
(i) Paleolithic Age (20 lakh BC-9000 BC)
This is the first period of human culture in which man started his life.
Time– (20 lakh BC-9000 BC)
Place: Man used to live in caves and caves at this time. Humans lived in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Survival – Humans at this time mainly hunted to earn their living. Lived in the mountains and open sky. At this time, human tools were not very developed. In this period, weapons were made by breaking round stones under the chopper-chopping tradition. Evidence of which has been found in Sohan culture.
In this period, humans used axe, stone, knife, scraper, chisel etc. as tools. The tools of this period were not very sophisticated.
The animals with which humans of the Paleolithic period were familiar were deer, monkey, goat, buffalo, cow, bull, nilgai, elephant, reindeer, pig etc. The remains of all these animals have been found in the rock shelter artefacts. Once upon a time, humans were also familiar with turtles and fish. At this time humans were also familiar with fruits, flowers and roots.
Note
1.In the Paleolithic period, humans lived naked.
2.In the Paleolithic period, humans did not perform any religious or supernatural activities.
3.During the Paleolithic period, humans did not practice agriculture.
4.There was no social division among humans during the Paleolithic period.
ii) Mesolithic period (9000 BC-4000)
This is the period between the Palaeolithic period and the Neolithic period. In India, 800 years ago, the Ice Age ended and with this the Mesolithic period began.
The biggest feature of the Mesolithic period was that during this period humans became animal herders. Now man started living in caves, still man mainly depended on hunting but also started animal husbandry in the Mesolithic. Man was the first to domesticate the dog.
During this period, due to increase in population and ease of hunting, humans started living in small groups. The tradition of permanent residence developed, animal husbandry and
Agriculture started and pottery also started being made. Bagor reveals the method of burying dead bodies in a planned manner.
It is estimated that Sarai Nahar Rai and Mahdaha were built in permanent huts.
There is also evidence of human invasion or war from Sarai Nahar Rai. This war probably happened because of personal property.
Pictures of hunting, war and dance have been found in the caves and rock shelters of Vindhyachal. Hand made earthen pots have been found from Langhnaz.
iii) Neolithic period (6000 BC-2 000 BC)
In Greek, the word Neo is used in the meaning of new, that is why this period is also called ‘Neolithic Age’.
The most important stage of human development in prehistoric times was the Neolithic culture. Although this era is quite small in chronological terms. However, all the revolutionary changes took place in this era. For the first time in 1860, ‘Le Memorier’ reported about this period.
The first stone tools were found in the Tons river valley of Uttar Pradesh. After this, in 1872, ‘Nivlian Fraser’ declared ‘Bellary’ region of Karnataka as the main site of Neolithic civilization of South India. Apart from this, the main focal point of this civilization is Kashmir, Indus Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam etc.
There were three main regions of Neolithic civilization in India – (i) North-West region (about 6000 BC) (ii) North-Eastern region (about 5000 BC)
(iii) Southern region (about 2500 BC) • The earliest and clearest evidence comes from Mehrgarh (Sindh and Baluchistan). Probably, agricultural production had started at this place as early as 7000 BC. There is evidence of growing of various species of wheat and barley from here as early as 5000 BC.
Similarly, Neolithic finds from the following sites in India .Remains of settlements have been found – Burzahom (Kashmir)
Fort Gul Mohammad (Quetta Valley, Pakistan) Rani Ghudai (Blochistan-Pakistan) Sarai Khola (Rawalpindi, Pakistan) Chirand (Bihar)
Maski, Brahmagiri, Hallur, Kodikal, Sangankallu (Karnataka) Pikkihal, Utnoor (Andhra Pradesh) Payyampalli (Tamil Nadu) Koladihwa (Uttar Pradesh) Kalibanga (Rajasthan)
The main features of the Neolithic civilization in the north-west region are the production of wheat and barley, rectangular houses made of mud bricks, animal husbandry on a large scale, etc. Remains of pottery have been found in the North-West region since 5000 BC, which are the oldest available in India.
Burjom and Gufkral were the major centers of the Neolithic era in Kashmir.
In Burzahom, remains of pit dwellings, various types of pottery, stone as well as bone tools, production of lentils, pigeon pea besides wheat and barley, polishing on tools etc. have been found. Here, evidence has been found that a dog was also buried along with a human being.
A place called Chirand in Saran district in Bihar was a major site of the Neolithic era. Tools made from deer horns have been found in abundance here. Terracotta human sculptures have been found from here.
The oldest evidence of rice has been found in Koldihwa, Uttar Pradesh.
In Deccan, there were Neolithic sites like Chandoli, Nevasa, Daimabad, Airan, Jokhe etc. Although the humans here had entered the Metal Age.
Nagarjunakonda, Maski, Pikkihal, Brahmagiri, Hallur etc. were the major Neolithic settlements in South India.
Important Neolithic sites have been found in Assam and Meghalaya. The ceramics obtained from this region are distinctive in that they are marked with rope and have beads affixed on them.
Metal age
The use of metal (copper) started from the last phase of the Neolithic era. With time, people also became familiar with bronze and iron. Therefore, after the Stone Age, the Metal Age began. The entire Metal Age is conveniently divided into three periods –
(i) Copper Age
(ii) Bronze Age
(iii) Iron Age
The Chalcolithic Age
During the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization, some farming settlements were developing in some parts of India with limited use of copper, although most of the tools of the people in these settlements were made of stone only. Local tendencies prevailed in these settlements, hence instead of naming them Indus Civilization, the cultures of different areas have been known by their place names.
Copper was first used around 5000 BC. The people of the Chalcolithic period were mainly rural communities. The main areas of Chalcolithic period in India are south-eastern Rajasthan (Ahar and Gilund), western Madhya Pradesh (Malwa, Kayatha and Eran).
Jorve , Nevasa, Daimabad, Chandauli, Songaon, Inamgaon of Ahmednagar in western Maharashtra, all these places belong to Jorve culture. During this period man had become proficient in cultivating wheat, paddy and pulses.
The people of Ahar lived in houses made of stone. Items made of bronze have been found in Daimabad. Evidence of all grains has been found in the excavation of Navdatoli.
People of this period were knowledgeable about textile manufacturing. People of this period worshiped the Mother Goddess and the Taurus was the symbol of the religious sect.
Evidence of potters, metallurgists, ivory craftsmen, lime makers, toy-clay figurine (terracotta) artisans has also been found in Inamgaon.
According to the chronological order, many series of Chalcolithic settlements have been found in India. Some are pre-Harappan, some are contemporary with the Harappan culture, some are from the post-Harappan period.
The Chalcolithic culture became extinct around 1200 BC.
Jorve culture lasted till 500 BC.
The main reason for the disappearance of the Chalcolithic settlements is considered to be insufficient rainfall. Kayatha culture is the oldest among the Chalcolithic cultures. It was in the Chambal river area. All Chalcolithic communities used black and red pottery made on wheels. ,
Painted pottery was first used by the Chalcolithic people. It was the people of this period who first established big villages in peninsular India.
Plough, spade have been found from Chalcolithic sites. The largest copper hoard has been found from Gungeria in Madhya Pradesh, in which 429 copper tools and 102 silver plates have been found.
The Ganga Valley Copper Deposit probably developed between 2000 – 1800 BC. Presumably they were related to the Harappan culture. These provide evidence of permanent life, agriculture and crafts for the first time in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.
(ii) Bronze Age
In this era, use of bronze started in place of copper tools, which was more durable and harder than copper.
The Bronze Age is the period when humans started using bronze. Bronze is a metal made from a mixture of copper and tin. It is stronger and more durable than stone tools.
The Bronze Age in India extended from approximately 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE. Many civilizations developed in India during this period, including the Harappan Civilization, Malava Civilization, and the Kushan Empire.
Modern excavations show that between 2000-1700 BC, a developed urban civilization developed in the Indus Valley and outside it – Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Western Uttar Pradesh. Many cities emerged during this culture, such as Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal, Kalibanga, Banawali etc.
These cities were centers of crafts, trade and commerce. In cities, buildings made of burnt bricks were built according to a definite plan.
The Bronze Age was a turning point in the history of India. During this period, humans learned to use bronze, developed permanent settlements, and developed urbanization. All these changes deeply affected the society and culture of India.
Iron Age
The discovery of iron in Asia Minor around 1400 BC brought a revolutionary change in human life.
After the Copper Age, the Iron Age started in North India and the rise of Magadha is proof of this. Iron Age after the Stone Age in South India Came. Iron was discovered independently in South India
And it was used much later. In the sixth century BC, iron started being used more and more in eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar, this led to additional produce and other economic changes, emergence of various crafts, awakening of regional sentiment.
It is generally believed that the use of iron started with the arrival of Aryans in India. The use of iron from the Later Vedic period (1000-600 BC) is evidenced by literary and archaeological evidence.
From about 1000 BC, evidence of the use of iron begins to be found in areas like Gandhara, Baluchistan, Eastern Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan etc.