The fossils
of the early human being have not been found in India, but in Africa about 2.6
million years back. So, it appears that India was settled later than Africa.
The recent reported artefacts from Bori in Maharashtra suggest the appearance
of human beings in India around 1.4 million years ago.
The early man in India used tools of stone
roughly dressed by crude clipping. This period is therefore, known as the Stone
Age, which has been divided into.
1. The Palacolithic or Old Stone Age (5
lakh- 9000 BC)
2. The Mcsolithic or Middle Stone Age
(9000- 4000 BC)
3. The Neolithic or New Stone Age
(4000- 1000 BC)
It seems that Palaeolithic men belonged to the Negrito race.
Homo sapiens first appeared in the last of this phase.
Palaeolithic men were hunters and food gatherers. They had
no knowledge of agriculture, fire or pottery, they used tools of unpolished,
undressed rough stones and lived in cave rock shelters. They are also called
Quartzite men.
The Mesolithic people
lived on hunting, fishing and food-gathering. At a later stage they also
domesticated animals.
The characteristics tools pf the Mesolithic Age are
microliths, pointed cresconic blades, scrapers, etc, made up of stones.
Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan provide
the earliest evidence for the domestication of animals.
The people of
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ages practicised painting. Bhimbetka in Madhya
Pradesh is a striking site of Pre-historic painting.
The people of
Neolithic age used tools and implements of polished stone. They particularly
used stone axes.
It is interesting that in Burzahom domestic dogs were buried
with their masters in their graves.
The Neolithic settlers were the earliest farming
communities. They produced ragi and horse-gram (kulathi). Neolithic sites in
Allahabad district are noted for the cultivation of rice in the sixth
millennium BC. They domesticated cattle, sheeps and goats. They wove cotton and
wool to make cloths.
Hand made pottery and
use of potter wheel first appears during the Neolithic age.
Indus Cities
|
Cities |
Provinces |
River Bank |
Years of Discovery |
Archaeologist(s) |
|
Harappa |
Pakistani Punjab |
Ravi |
1921 |
Daya Ram Sahni |
|
Mohenjodaro |
Sind |
Indus |
1922 |
RD Banerjee |
|
Ropar |
Indian Punjab |
Sutlej |
1953 |
YD Sharma |
|
Lothal |
Gujarat |
Bhogava |
1957 |
SR Rao |
|
Kalibangan |
Rajasthan |
Ghaggar |
1959 |
BB Lal |
|
Chanhudaro |
Sind |
Indus |
1931 |
MG Majumdar |
|
Alamgirpur |
Uttar Pradesh |
Hindon |
1974 |
YD Sharma |
|
Sutkagendor |
Baluchistan |
Dasht |
1931 |
Aurel Stein |
|
Banawali |
Haryana |
Ghaggar |
1974 |
RS Bisht |
|
Rangpur |
Gujarat |
Bhadur |
1931 |
MS Vats |
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