Prehistoric India: Understanding the Stone Age Cultures for UPSC & JKAS

🧭 Introduction – Prehistoric India

Before India had cities like Mohenjo-Daro and empires like the Mauryas, it had stone tools, rock shelters, and nomadic tribes trying to survive in the wild. This was Prehistoric India – a time before the invention of writing. Though there are no written records, archaeological findings help us uncover the lifestyle of early humans on the Indian subcontinent.

Let’s take a step back — thousands of years — and explore the evolution of early human life in India, phase by phase.

⛰️ 1. The Paleolithic Age – The First Indians

Imagine a time when early humans lived in caves and hunted animals using crude stone tools. This was the Paleolithic Age or Old Stone Age (roughly 2 million BCE to 10,000 BCE).

• Humans were hunter-gatherers (Small Groups).
• They used hand axes, cleavers, and flakes made from quartzite (also known as quartzite man).
• Fire may have been discovered toward the later phase.
• The man had no knowledge of cultivation.
• There was no permanent settlement – early humans were nomads.
• No Rituals and extreme cold climate.

🧱 Key Sites:

• Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh) – famous for rock shelters and prehistoric cave paintings.
• Hunsgi (Karnataka) – stone tools discovered.
• Pahalgam and Belan Valley (Kashmir & UP) – evidence of early human habitation.

This age is divided into(in accordance with the type of stone tools) :

• Lower Paleolithic – Hand axes made of quartzite (Attirampakkam in TN)
• Middle Paleolithic – Flake tools (Nevasa, MP)
• Upper Paleolithic – Blade tools, bone tools (Kurnool Caves)

🌿 2. The Mesolithic Age – The Age of Transition

Around 10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE, the climate improved after the Ice Age. Early humans adapted by inventing microlith tools (tiny, sharp stones used with wooden handles).

• First signs of domestication of animals (like dogs).
  • First tamed animal: Dog.
  • First domesticated animal: Sheep.
• It was a transitional phase between the Paleolithic age and the Neolithic age.
• Change in climate brought about changes in fauna and flora and also led to increase in rainfall.
• Temporary huts and campsites started appearing.
• People began fishing, using bows and arrows, and gathering wild grains.
• Some early burials discovered, showing social customs.

🧱 Key Sites:

• Bagor (Rajasthan) & Adamgarh in MP – evidence of animal domestication.
• Damdama (Uttar Pradesh) – burial sites.
• Langhnaj (Gujarat) – skeletons with microliths.

This age is the bridge between the Paleolithic lifestyle and settled agriculture.

🌾 3. The Neolithic Age – The Agricultural Revolution

By 7000 BCE, India saw a revolution — humans began farming.

• Cultivation of crops like wheat and barley began.
• Domestication of animals expanded (cattle, sheep, goats).
• Pottery was used for cooking and storage, due to necessity to store the produce.
• Polished stone tools were used for digging and harvesting.
• Settlements became permanent – with mud houses and granaries.
• House building: circular or rectangular, made of mud.
• Ist time dead body was disposed.

This was the beginning of a settled life and eventually, civilization.

🧱 Key Sites:

• Mehrgarh (Balochistan, Pakistan) – earliest evidence of farming used to produce wheat, cotton etc.
• Chirand (Bihar) – rice cultivation.
• Burzahom (Kashmir) – pit dwellings and bone tools.
• Koldihwa and Mahagara (UP) – domesticated rice.

Three important areas of Neolithic settlements in India—North-West, South Indian, and North-East regions—with key examples and features:

🟠 1. North-Western Neolithic (c. 7000 BCE onwards)

Region: Kashmir Valley, Baluchistan (now in Pakistan)
Key Site: Mehrgarh (in present-day Pakistan), Burzahom & Gufkral (in Kashmir)

Features:

• Mehrgarh is one of the earliest Neolithic sites in South Asia, known for early farming and domestication.
• Crops grown: Wheat and barley.
• Domesticated animals: Sheep, goats, and cattle.
• Use of mud-brick houses.
• Burzahom (Kashmir): Known for pit dwellings, possibly to protect against cold.
• Tools made of bone and polished stone.

📌 Burzahom also showed signs of megalithic burials, with animals buried alongside humans(Special feature).

🔵 2. South Indian Neolithic (c. 2500–1000 BCE)

Region: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu
Key Sites: Hallur, Brahmagiri, Maski, Piklihal, Nagarjunakonda

Features:

• Ash mounds are a unique feature (seen at sites like Kundkund and Utnur).
• Practiced agriculture (millets like ragi, horse gram) and animal domestication.
• Settlements on granite hills and plateaus.
• Use of polished stone axes (celts) and handmade pottery.
• Circular or rectangular huts with thatched roofs.

📌 The Neolithic in this region overlaps with the Megalithic phase in some areas.

🟢 3. North-Eastern Neolithic (c. 2000 BCE onwards)

Region: Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland
Key Site: Daojali Hading (Assam)

Features:

• Neolithic culture here is distinct with links to South-East Asia.
• Use of jadeite and shouldered celts (stone axes with a shoulder-like projection).
• Slash and burn agriculture (also called Jhum cultivation).
• Cultivation of rice and banana.
• Pottery: Handmade, cord-marked pottery.
• Settlements were often in hilly, forested areas.

📌 Daojali Hading provides evidence of stone tools and ceramics, showing a mixed economy of hunting and farming.

📝 Summary Table:

These Neolithic communities laid the foundation for urban life during the later Indus Valley Civilization.

⚒️ 4. The Chalcolithic Age – When Metal Met Stone

In some regions, after the Neolithic Age came the Chalcolithic Age (c. 3000 BCE onwards), where people used both stone tools and copper tools.

• Growth of rural settlements.
• Use of wheel-made pottery, painted in various styles.
• Unique painted earthenware usually black-on-red.
• Hunting was the main occupation.
• They cultivated both Kharif and Rabi crops in rotation and also raised cattle with it.
• Development of trade and crafts.
• Houses were rectangular and circular. The circular houses were mostly in clusters.
• They knew smelting, weaving and spinning.
• Wheeled bullock carts were used for long-distance trade., besides the river transport.
• They used painted pottery for the first time.
• The Chalcolithic people were the first to use metal (copper) but still largely depended on stone tools.
  

🔹 Major Chalcolithic Cultures in India:

🧱 Key Sites:

• Ahar (Rajasthan) – Black-and-Red ware pottery.
• Malwa (MP and Gujarat) – settlements mostly located on the Narmada and its tributaries..
• Jorwe (Maharashtra) Settlements are Prakash, Daimabad(Largest) and Inamgaon. – granaries, houses with storage pits.

📌 Important for UPSC/JKAS Prelims:

🟤 Ochre-Coloured Pottery (OCP) Culture:

Time Period: c. 2000 – 1500 BCE (Late Harappan / Early Iron Age transition)
Region: Western Uttar Pradesh, Eastern Rajasthan, Haryana, parts of Punjab

✅ Key Features of OCP Culture

⚠️ Limitations of the Chalcolithic Age in India

📘 Conclusion

From wandering in forests to farming in fertile valleys, early humans in India slowly built the foundation of civilization. Understanding Prehistoric India helps us appreciate the deep roots of human development and prepares us for the next phase — the rise of urban settlements like the Indus Valley Civilization.

In the next post of this series, we’ll explore:
👉 “Indus Valley Civilization – Life in the First Indian Cities”

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Rohit Thapa

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