Prehistoric Age in India

Introduction

The Prehistoric Age of India is based on ancient artefacts and ancient things whose written evidence is less likely to be found. The development of humans along with their discoveries and inventions were witnessed in the pre-historic period.

India’s prehistoric age

The prehistoric age of India means the period where documented trace and development trace is not evident. Pre-history is the period before writing is invented. The prehistoric period of India is counted from the initiation of the stone age to the conclusion of the iron age. This end of this era resulted in the beginning of the Indus valley civilization.

Starting from two hundred thousand BC till 3500-2500BC, the prehistoric era of India is divided into five sub-periods. Three of them belong to the stone age, namely, the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Mesolithic periods. And the other two periods post-stone age includes the Chalcolithic age and the Iron age.

Image 1: Prehistoric period of India

Paleolithic Age

This age is also referred to as the Old stone age. This period is considered between 50,0000 to 10,000 BCE. The Negrito race people of India was related to this period. The Paleolithic period is further parted into three segments - lower, middle and upper Paleolithic period.

• Lower Paleolithic period − The Lower Paleolithic age refers to the ice age where food gathering and hunting were the prime activities. In this period, people used stones to carve and design tools and weapons for food hunting purposes.

  In the Paleolithic period, the use of roughly shaped tools was increased. Humans in this era started to utilize fire. Bori, Kashmir, Soan Valley, Saurashtra, and Gujarat are some major places that hold the evidence of the Paleolithic Age.

• Middle Paleolithic Period − This phases involves some portion of the old stone age where sharp tools like pointers, blades, and flakes with paints were made by human beings. Humans made specialized sharp tools for killing animals and, tearing or cutting fleshes. The traces of Middle Paleolithic Period was found in Belan Valley, Bhimbetka, Luni Valley, Narmada rivers, Songhai Cave and other places.

• Upper Paleolithic Period − This phase was the Ice Age’s ending phase and the climate became a little warm. The Homo Sapiens was introduced in this period. Many boring tools, fishing tools, and bone tools were invented. Bhimbetka was a major site of this age where blades, scrapers and hand axes were invented. Son, Belan, Chota Nagpur Plateau, and Maharashtra are some other major sites of this period.

Image 2: Baked knife, Paleolithic age

Mesolithic Age

This age is also referred to as the Middle Stone Age. People in this period were mainly engaged in fishing and hunting occupations. The Mesolithic period holds the time between eight thousand BC to four thousand BC This age had the evidence of Microliths.

In the Mesolithic period, people have faith in life’s existence after death. People used to settle in a semi-permanent manner. The skins of hunted or dead animals were used as human clothing. Rajasthan, Langhnaj and Mirzapur are some of the evidence places.

Neolithic period

The new stone age or Neolithic period enhanced the pottery and agricultural sectors. The period for this stone age existed between 4000 BC and 2500 BC. This age introduced civilizations where people made circular houses. Mahagara, Koldihwa, Mehrgarh, and Chitand are some places where signs of the Neolithic period were found.

Copper Age

Metals like bronze and copper were discovered and used by humans in this period. 2500-1800 BC is the timeline of the Chalcolithic period. The age is also referred to as the Pre-Harappan phase. People settle in rural areas and started cattle rearing. The stone workers and coppersmiths were busy with crafts and arts.

Archaeologists found evidence of burial areas that showed a high mortality rate for infants during this period. Copper-made jewellery, bone-made jewellery, goddesses of clay, and other signs were also found in major sites. Ahar, Malwa, Gilland, and Songhai are some major sites of this age.

Iron Age

Starting from the 19th century, the Bronze Age concluded with the start of the Iron Age. Iron-made weapons were produced in this period. 1500 BCE to 600 BCE was the timeline of the iron age. The Aryans started to settle in The Ganges and Indus Valley for re-urbanization and civilization. 16 Mahajanapadas were introduced. The Vedic age was introduced at the same time along with Jainism and Buddhism.

Image 3: Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE) - Map of places mentioned in ancient Buddhist texts

Artefacts of ancient Indian history

The evidence for the prehistoric period of India was speculated based on some non-literary and literary sources. The non-literary sources include ancient coins, archaeological signs, Inscriptions, and foreign accounts. Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Sutras, and other religious texts give information about India’s pre-historic period. Arthashastra, Dharmashastras, Rajatarangini, Charitas and other secular literature give information about the pre-historical period of India.

Conclusion

The pre-historic age of India denotes a time without writing invention before the historical period. The stone age, bronze or copper age and iron age are part of the pre-historic period of India. Palaeolithic age, Mesolithic age and Neolithic age are different segments of the stone age where stone-made things were heavily used. The last two prehistoric phases belonged to the metal age where bronze, copper and iron were used by people.

FAQs

Q1. What is the prehistoric age of India?

Ans. The prehistoric age of India is the time from the start of the stone age till the pre-stage of the Indus valley civilization. Starting from 200000 BC to 3500 or 2500 BC is the timeline of this pre-historic age.

Q2. Why is the Lower palaeolithic period memorable?

Ans. In the Lower palaeolithic period, humans started using fire for the first time by making collision of rocks. People also started using curved out stones for hunting.

Q3. Why Iron Age is significant?

Ans. The iron age enhanced the technologies of civilizations with the discovery of iron metal. After the discovery, people were able to make high-quality machinery.