INTRODUCTION TO STONE AGE
•The Stone Age is the earliest known period in the history of humankind prior to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
•The period is referred as Stone Age because this period is marked by the use of stone implements and weapons.
•The people of this age used to fulfill all their needs only with the help of stone tools.
•During this age, the primary purpose of humans was to feed themselves and protect them from danger.
•The Stone Age started nearly 2.5 million years ago and ended at 2500 BC.
•The Stone Age ended when men began smelting metal particularly copper and tin.
•Gradually, the bronze use became common for making tools and weapons which were earlier made from stone.
STONE AGE TIMELINE
The Stone Age is usually dividied into three parts -
1. Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age
2. Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age
3. Neolithic or New Stone Age
PALEOLITHIC AGE
Paleolithic word is derived from two Greek words - 'Palaios' which means ancient and 'Lithos' which means stone. Thus this period being the earliest period is often referred as Old Stone Age.
According to archaeologists, it started 2.5 million years ago and continued till 9600 BC. The period was characterized by the use of flint, stone, bone tools, hunting, fishing, and the gathering of plant foods.
On the basis of changes in the climate and size of stone tools used in the Palaeolithic period. This era is further divided into three parts -
1. Early Paleolithic
2. Middle Paleolithic
3. Late Paleolithic
Paleolithic Age Facts
• The Paleolithic Age is said to be the first and longest period in the history of Stone Age. It is believed that man has lived for the longest time in this era.
• The humans made different tools from stones and pebbles. These tool were not very efficient.
• The oldest recognizable tools were stone choppers made almost 1 million years ago. These tools were formed by chipping stones and pebbles.
• Tools used during the Paleolithic period included piercing stones, scraper, chopper, spear, bow and arrow, hand axe, etc.
• The people of this age were hunters and food gatherers. Hunting was the major subsistence activity and the evidences were found in the rock paintings and carvings found at Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh.
• In this era, man did not do farming but hunted using stones. They gathered food by fishing, hunting wild animals and birds and collecting fruits and nuts.
• In this era people lived in caves and were called Neanderthals initially. Homo sapiens evolved later in the Upper Paleolithic phase.
• The most important thing that man learned in this age was to light a fire. Fire started being used for various purposes.
• When Paleolithic Age was about to end, the humans started to make shelters, wear sewn clothes composed of fur and animal skin, and built sculptures. They greatly mastered and improved their tool-building skills during this time.
• The man of this era used to paint, the evidence of which is found in the caves where they lived.
• Remains of ashes of this era have been found in Kurnool caves in South India.
• Archaeologists have discovered sites from this era in the Pune-Nashik region, the Hunsgi region of Karnataka, the Kurnool region of Andhra Pradesh. There are many rivers in these areas, such as – Tapti, Godavari, Krishna Bhima, Wardha etc. Many palaeolithic tools made of limestone have been found in these places.
• Due to rivers, there was moisture in the climate of these places. Many skeletons of rhinoceros and wild bull have been found here.
• From this it has been estimated that these areas would have received more rainfall in this era than today. It has been estimated on the basis that rhinoceros and wild bull prefer to live in moist places.
• It is estimated that by the end of this era, the climate started changing. Gradually the temperature of these areas increased.
MESOLITHIC AGE
The Mesolithic Age is the period between the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age. It started at 9600 BC in India and lasted till 4000 BC. However, the Mesolithic Age started at different time in different regions of the World. Many changes took place with the changed era including a change in lifestyle. The temperature also began rising. Along with the changes in the climate, there were also changes in the flora and fauna. Around this time, the Palaeolithic Age ended and the climate became hot and dry. As a result many seasonal water bodies dried up and many fauna (animals) migrated to the south or east, where seasonal rainfall allowed beneficial and suitable dense vegetation. The Mesolithic Age came to an end with the introduction of agriculture.
Mesolithic Age Facts
• Mesolithic period began with greater innovation and humans started using the new forms of chipped stone tools called microliths. They were very small stone tools intended for mounting together on a shaft to produce a serrated edge.
• There was a change in temperature. Due to increasing heat, crops like barley, wheat, paddy started growing.
• People of this time also lived in caves.
• By this time, humans started to use the different techniques for hunting, fishing and gathering food. This was a result of the adaptations of the humans to the changing ecological conditions.
• People in the Mesolithic age were mainly cattle herders. Humans domesticated these animals by feeding them fodder. Thus in the Mesolithic period, man became a pastoralist.
• In this era, along with farming, man used to do fishing, honey gathering, hunting etc.
• Archaeologists have found remains of the Mesolithic era from the Archaeological sites in the regions of - Bagore of Rajasthan, Langhnaj of Gujarat, Sarai Nahar Rai, Chopani Mando, Mahgada and Dumdama of Uttar Pradesh, Bhimbetka and Adamgarh of Madhya Pradesh.
• Many caves of this era have been found in West, Central India and Mysore (Karnataka).
NEOLITHIC AGE
With the termination of Mesolithic Age the Neolithic Age started. The Neolithic Age was the third and last period of the Stone Age and began with the introduction of agriculture. It began around 4000 BC and ended on 2500 BC with the introduction of smelting metals for tools in different regions.
The word 'Neo' means new and 'Lithic' means stone and thus this period is also known as New Stone Age.
After the Mesolithic period, there was a lot of change in the life of man in the Neolithic Age. In this age, he became a producer of food, that is, he got good knowledge of agricultural methods. In this era, the human brain was more developed. By taking advantage of his intellectual development, experience, tradition and memory, he greatly improved the tools and weapons of his earlier times.
Evidence of this culture has been found at many places in South India and East India. These evidences have been found in the south of the Godavari river in South India. In this era, Indian humans had established settlements on granite hills or near river banks. In eastern India, humans lived in the deltas of the Ganges, Son, Gandak and Ghaghara rivers.
Neolithic Age Facts
• During the Neolithic Age, the humans began forming settled communities and domesticated plants and animals for the first time in the history of human culture.
• Human came to know that the plant is made from the seed. He started planting seeds. Along with sowing seeds, he also learned to irrigate. He learned to harvest and store the grain when it was ripe. They transitioned from food-collecting to food-producing.
• In the Neolithic Age, man was both an agriculturist and a pastoralist.
• Grains of this era have been found at many places. It is known from these grains that many crops were grown at that time.
• In this era, humans started living in one place permanently due to agricultural work. Somewhere the remains of huts and houses have been found.
• Evidence has been found in Burzahom to make the pit a house. Such a house was given the name of Gartwas.
• The remains of many houses have been found in Mehrgarh, which are square and rectangular.
• In the Neolithic era, farmers and cattle ranchers started living together in one place by making small settlements.
• The group of families gave birth to the tribe. The members were given work on the basis of age, intelligence and physical strength.
• The eldest and powerful man was made the chieftain of the tribe.
• In the Neolithic Age, tribes had their own culture and traditions. Language, music, painting etc. gives knowledge of their culture.
• During this period, people especially worshiped water, sun, sky, earth, cow and snake (worship).
• Earthenware made in this period has been found from many places. They used to try to make them attractive by applying color and drawing on these utensils.
• Archaeological sites discovered from this era was Mehrgarh (in Pakistan), Gufkral and Burzahom (in Kashmir), Koldihwa and Mahagadha (in Uttar Pradesh), Chirand (in Bihar), Hallur and Payyampalli (in Andhra Pradesh) were the discovered sites from this era. Evidence of growing crops like rice, jowar, millet, pulses, black gram and green gram has been found.
Key Points : Stone Age
Palaeolithic Age
Tools – Hand made or natural objects used as weapons or tools – spear, axe, bow, arrow, needle, mace.
Economy – Hunting and food gathering
Refuge – Basically the refuge or temporary residents were Caves.
Society – Comprising of a group of 25-100 people (mostly members of the same family) living on temporary huts, mainly on the banks of the river and lake.
Mesolithic Age
Tools – Hand made or natural objects used as weapons/tools – Bows, Arrows
Economy – Fish hunting and storage tools
Religion – Evidence of belief in life after death is found in the form of graves and funeral rites around the Middle Palaeolithic period.
Society – Clans and family groups
Neolithic Age
Tools – Hand made or natural objects used as weapons or tools – Chisel (for chopping wood and stones), Agricultural tools, Earthenware
Economy – Farming, fishing, animal husbandry, hunting and food collection
Refuge – From small settlements around farms to Bronze Age cities
Society – From clans to the states of the Bronze Age
0 Comments