The Stone Age_Classification of Prehistoric period

@sudhanshunath January 31, 2021
Stone age & Classification of Prehistoric period

Paleolithic Age   (Old Stone Age) 
     The history of human settlement in India goes back to prehistoric times. No written records are available for the prehistoric period. However, plenty of archeological remains are found in different parts of India to reconstruct the history of this period. They include the stone tools, pottery, artifacts and metal implements used by pre-historic people. The development of archeological helps much to understand the life and culture of the people who lived in this period. 
          In India, the prehistoric period in divided into the  𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤 (𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘨𝘦), 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘨𝘦 (𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦), 𝘕𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤 (𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘨𝘦.   However this periods were not uniform throughout the Indian subcontinent. The dating of the pre-historic period is done scientifically. The technique of radio-carbon dating is commonly used for this purpose. It is based on measuring the Loss of carbon in organic materials over a period of time. Another dating method is known as dendrochronology. It is refers to the number of tree rings in wood. By counting the number of tree rings in the wood, the date of the is arrived at.
         The Old Stone Age sites are widely found in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. These sites are generally located near water sources. Several rock shelters and caves used by the Paleolithic people are scattered across the subcontinent. They also lived rarely in huts made of leaves. Some of the famous sites of Old Stone Age in India are:
The Soan Valley and Potwar Plateau on the Northwest India. 
  • The Shiwalik hills on the North India. 
  • Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh. 
  • Adamgrah Hills in Narmada Valley
  • Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and 
  • Attirampakkam near Chennai 
      In the old Stone Age, food was obtained by hunting animals and gathering edible plants and tubers. Therefore, these people are called as hunter- gatherers. They used Stone tools, hand- sized and flaked- off large pebbles for hunting animals. Stone implement are made of a hard rock known as quartzite. Large pebbles are often found in river terraces. The hunting of large animals would have required the combined effort of a group of people with large stone axes. We have little knowledge about their language and communication. Their way of life became modified with the passage of time since they made attempts to domesticate animals, make crude pots and grow some plants. A few Old Stone Age painting have also been found on rocks at Bhimbetka and other places. The period before B. C. is assigned to the Old Stone Age. 


Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) 
         The next stage (Old Stone Age) of human life is called Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age which falls roughly from 10000 B. C. to 6000 B. C. It was the transitional phase between the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age. Mesolithic remains are found in Langhanj In Gujarat, Adamgrah in Madhya Pradesh and also in some places of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh nad Bihar. The paintings and engravings found at the rocks shelters give and idea about the social life and economic activities of Mesolithic people. In the sites of Mesolithic Age, a different type of Stone tools is found. These are tiny Stone artifacts, often not more than five centimeters in size, and therefore called microliths. The hurting gathering pattern if life continued this period. However, there seems too have been a shift from big animal hunting to small hunting and fishing. The ise of bow and arrow also began during this period. Also, there began a tendency to settle for longer periods in an area. Therefore, domestication of animals, horticulture and primitive cultivation started. Animal bones are found in these sites and these include dog, deer, boar and ostrich. Occasionally, burials of the dead along with some microliths and shells seem to have been practiced. 

Neolithic Age  (New Stone Age) 
           A remarkable progress is noticed in human civilization in the Neolithic Age. It is approximately dated from 6000 B. C to 4000B B. C. Neolithic remains are found in various parts of India. These include the Kashmir valley, Chirand in Bihar, Belan valley in Uttar Pradesh and in several places of the Deccan. The important Neolithic sites excavated in South India are Maski, Brahmgiri, Hallur, and kodekal in Karnataka, Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. 
        The Chief  Characteristic features of the Neolithic Culture are the practices of agriculture, domestication of animals, polishing of Stone tools and the manufacture of pottery. In fact, the cultivation of plants and Domestication of animals led to the emergence of village communities based on sedentary life. 
       There was a great improvement in technology of making tools and other equipments used by man. Stone tools were now polished. The polished. The polished aces were found to be more effective tools for hunting and cutting trees. Mud brick houses were built instead of grass huts. Wheels were used to make pottery was used for  cooking as well as storage of food grains. Large urns were used as coffins for the burial of the dead. There was also improvement in agriculture. Wheat, barely, rice millet were cultivated in different areas at different point of time. Rice cultivation was extensive in eastern India. Domestication of sheep, goats and cattle was widely prevalent. Cattle were used for cultivation and for transport. The people if Neolithic Age used clothes made of cotton and wool. 
        The history of human settlement in India goes back or pre-historic period. However, plenty of archeological remains are found in different parts of India to reconstruct the history of this period. They include the stone tools, pottery, artifacts and metal implement used by pre-historic people. The development of archeology helps much to understand the life and culture of the people who lived in this period. 
        In India, the prehistoric period is divided into the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and thre Metal Age. However, these periods were not uniform throughout the Indian subcontinent. The dating of the prehistoric period is done scientifically. The technique of radio-carbon dating is commonly used for this purpose. It is based on measuring the loss of carbon in organic materials over a period of time. Another dating method is known as Dendrochronology. It refers ot the number of tree rings in wood. By counting the number of tree rings in the wood, the date of the wood is arrived at. 

Metal Age
      The Neolithic Period is followed by Chalcolitic (cooper-stone) period when copper and bronze came to be used. The new technology of smelting metal ore and crafting metal artifacts is an important development in human civilization. But the use of stone tools was not given up
Some of the micro-lithic tools continued to be essential items. People began to travel for a long distance to obtain metal ores. This led to a network of Chalcolitic cultures and the Chalcolitic cultures were found in many parts of India. 
          Generally, Chalcolitic cultures had grown in river valleys. Most importantly, the Harappan culture. In South India the river Valleys of the godavari , Krishna, Tungabhadra, Pennar  and Kaveri were settled by farming communities during this period. Although they were not using metals in the beginning of the Metal Age, there is evidence of copper and bronze artifacts by the end of second millennium B.C. Several Bronze and copper objects, beads teracotta figurines and pottery were found at Paiyampalli in Tamil  Nadu. 
          The Chalcolitic Age is followed by Iron Age. Iron is frequently referred to in the Vedas. The Iron Age of the Southern Peninsula is often related to Megalithic Burials. Megaligt means Large Stone . The buri pits were covered with these stones. Such graves are extensively found in South India. Some of the important megalithic sites are Hallar and Maski in Karnataka, Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh and Arduchchnallur in Tamil Nadu. Black and Red pottery, Iron artifacts such as hoes and sickles and small weapons were found in the burial pits. 
THE STONE AGE


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