UPSC NCERT Notes - Ancient History

The term ‘Stone Age’ is used to describe a period of human evolution where stone was used as the hardest material for making tools. The Stone Age started around 2 to 2.5 million years ago. The transition out of the Stone Age occurred between 6000 BC and 2500 BC.

Table of Contents

Human Evolution:

The process of human evolution delineates the timeline of human development on Earth, with the earliest fossil evidence of life dating back 3.7 billion years.
Australopithecus, a group of hominins, inhabited the planet 4.4 million to 1.4 million years ago, closely related to and nearly the ancestors of modern humans.
Homo habilis, an extinct species regarded as the earliest member of the human genus, Homo, inhabited parts of sub-Saharan Africa around 2-1.5 million years ago.
The first fossil of Homo erectus considered the missing link between man and apes, was discovered on Java Island in 1891.
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, commonly known as Neanderthal man, is a species within the Homo sapiens family, with the first fossil finds in Germany in AD 1856.
Homo sapiens, an upright-walking species, first evolved in Africa approximately 315,000 years ago.
The oldest fossils of modern human beings, Homo sapiens sapiens, were discovered at Cro-Magnon in France, dating back 100,000-125,000 B.P. years.

The earliest evidence of humans in India is found in the Narmada Valley (Madhya Pradesh), commonly known as Homo erectus narmandesis

The history of Ancient India has been divided by historians into three heads as follows: GIG
- Pre-historic period (Stone Age)
- Proto-historic period
- Historical period

Pre-historic Period or Stone Age

The Stone Age or the pre-historic cultural stage is characterized by the creation and use of stone tools. It is the period that goes from the appearance of the first hominids on Earth, that is to say, the ancestral human species of Homo sapiens.
Pre-history is also understood as progressive stages in the evolution of human capacities to handle materials and produce tools.
The archaeological system based on the Stone Age was developed by Christian Jurgensen Thomson in 1820.
The Pre-history of the Stone Age is divided into three broad divisions

Paleolithic Age: Hunters and Food Gatherers (Up to 10,000 BC)

The term “Palaeolithic” was introduced by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865, defining a prehistoric era marked by the emergence of the first stone tools made of Quartzite.
Consequently, individuals from the Palaeolithic period are also known as Quartzite Men. This era unfolded during the Pleistocene period, commonly referred to as the Ice Age.
The Palaeolithic age is conventionally categorized into three periods: the Lower Palaeolithic, Middle Palaeolithic, and Upper Palaeolithic distinguished by the nature of stone tools created by humans and climatic changes.
During this period, people did not know about pottery, agriculture, or the use of metals.

Prominent Archaeologists in Pre-Historical Studies in India

Two notable British archaeologists significantly contributed to the discoveries and identification of pre-historical studies in India:
Sir Alexander Cunningham: A British historian and archaeologist, he became the first director of the Archaeological Survey of India established in AD 1861.
Robert Bruce Foote: A British geologist and archaeologist, often regarded as the Father of Indian Pre-history. He was the first to discover Palaeolithic tools in India, with the Pallavaram Hand Axe being a crucial find.

The Lower Palaeolithic Age (Up to 100,000 BC)

This is the earliest sub-division of the Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age.
Key features of this phase include tools such as hand axes, cleavers, choppers, and chopping tools.
The people of the Lower Stone Age primarily engaged in foraging, hunting, and fishing for sustenance.
No burials were discovered during this phase, and shelters were constructed using tree branches, leaves, and stones.

Lower Palaeolithic Age Sites

Sites	Area
Belan Valley	Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
Bhimbetka, Jogdaha	Madhya Pradesh
Bagor, Budha Pushkar	Rajasthan
Patne, Nandipalle	Maharashtra
Renugunta, Kurnool Caves	Andhra Pradesh
Singhbhum	Jharkhand
Sohan Valley	West Punjab (Pakistan)

The Middle Palaeolithic Age (100,000-40,000 BC)

The tools of this age are based upon flakes and crude pebble industry. The dominant tool types are blades, points, and borers.
Hunting, food gathering, and fishing are the main occupations of the people.
The Belan Valley (Uttar Pradesh), which lies at the foothills of the Vindhyas, is rich in stone tools and animal fossils including cattle and deer.
These remains relate to both the Lower and Middle Stone Ages.

Middle Palaeolithic Age Sites

Sites	States
Nevada	Maharashtra
Bhimbetka, Narmada Valley	Madhya Pradesh
Bagor, Karmali Valley, Didwana	Rajasthan
Singhbhum	Jharkhand

The Upper Palaeolithic Age (40,000-10,000 BC)

The Upper Palaeolithic Age (40,000-10,000 BC) is distinguished by the presence of burins, scrapers, a developed flint industry, and the emergence of modern man (Homo sapiens).
In the Belan Valley of the Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh, remnants of animals such as goats, sheep, and cattle indicate human exploitation.
During this period, known as the last phase of the Ice Age, the climate experienced a shift towards warmth and reduced humidity. Human habitation sites, including caves and rock shelters, have been uncovered at Bhimbetka.

Bhimbetka Rock Shelter

Bhimbetka Rock Shelter, located in Madhya Pradesh, is a significant archaeological site renowned for being one of the largest prehistoric complexes in India. It boasts the country’s oldest-known rock art.
Designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003, these Palaeolithic rock shelters and caves offer a unique glimpse into the evolution of human settlement and culture, transitioning from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to agriculture, as well as the expression of prehistoric artistic forms.

Upper Palaeolithic Age Sitesheand

Sites	Area
Kurnool Caves	Andhra Pradesh
Belan Valley	Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
Nevasa	Maharashtra
Sabarmati Valley	Gujarat
Singrauli	Madhya Pradesh
Kichler	Andhra Pradesh
Hunsgi Valley	Karnataka
Attirampakkam	Tamil Nadu
Pahalgam	Kashmir Valley
Hathnora, Narmada Valley, Bhimbetka, Adamgarh	Madhya Pradesh
Kortallayar Valley	Tamil Nadu

Mesolithic Age Hunters and Herders (9000-4000 BC)

Serving as a transitional phase between the Palaeolithic Age and the Neolithic Age, the Mesolithic Age belonged to the Holocene era.

Technologically characterized by microliths, and small pointed and sharp stone tools, this period spanned from around 35,000 to 3,000 years ago. Microliths, typically made of flint or chert, were about a centimeter in length and half a centimeter wide, primarily utilized for hunting smaller animals and birds.

Ghagaria rock shelter in the Vindhyas region stands out as a Mesolithic site with the highest number of human skeletons.

Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan provide early evidence of the domestication of animals such as cows, horses, and other poultry and farm animals.

Mesolithic art and paintings are abundant in sites like Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, Pratapgarh, and Mirzapur.
Damdama in the Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh gained fame for containing three human skeletons in a single grave.
Indian archaeologist VS Wakankar was the first Indian to visit the Bhimbetka caves in 1957.
The discovery of microliths in India dates back to 1867 when Carlyle found them in Vindhyan Rock Shelters.
Initially, the primary activities of people in this era included hunting, fishing, and food gathering.
Later, they shifted to domesticating animals and cultivated plants which laid the foundation of agriculture. Mesolithic people used to wear clothes made from animal skin.
People started using bows and arrows for hunting.

Mesolithic people were art lovers and used to draw paintings on stone depicting wild animals, hunting scenes, food collections, etc. This period witnessed the first human colonization of the Ganga plains.

First Pottery in the Mesolithic Phase

Researchers believe that the first pottery started in Sanganakallu (Karnataka) during the Mesolithic phase.
The pottery was usually dull brown or black and hand-made out of coarse clay Pottery was created to help people of that period in home settings or in the fields to help with farming.

Mesolithic Age Sites

Sites	Area
Langhnaj	Gujarat
Tilwara, Bagor	Rajasthan
Patne, Hatkhamba	Maharashtra
Damdama, Chopani Mando	Uttar Pradesh
Pachmarhi, Bhimbetka, Adamgarh	Madhya Pradesh
Sanganakallu	Karnataka
Kuchai	Odisha

Neolithic Age Food Producers (4000 -1000 BC)

Marking the final phase of the Stone Age, the Neolithic Age, or the New Stone Age, was coined by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 and corresponds to the Holocene age.
Characterized by the use of polished stone tools, the Neolithic Age saw the inception of crop cultivation, alongside notable inventions like the wheel and the discovery of fire.
Key features of Neolithic culture include the cultivation of crops such as ragi, horse gram, cotton, rice, wheat, and barley, earning the people the label of food producers.
Domestication of cattle, sheep, and goats.
Construction of rectangular or circular houses using mud and reed. Mehrgarh in Balochistan (Pakistan), dating back to 7000 BC, stands as the oldest Neolithic site in the Indian subcontinent.

Mehrgarh is a unique site with cultural remnants spanning from the Stone Age to the Harappan Civilization.

With the rise of agriculture, the need for food storage, cooking facilities, drinking water arrangements, and consumption of finished products emerged. This led to the introduction of pottery in the Neolithic Age, categorized as grey ware, black-furnished ware, and mat-impressed ware.
Surplus food production played a pivotal role in the development of early urban cultures.
Fire-baked earthen pots were widespread, and Neolithic communities shared common property rights, leading to settled lives.

Some Important Features of Neolithic Sites

Kashmir is the sole site devoid of microliths.
Chirand and Kashmir are distinctive for yielding significant bone implements.
Burzahom, a renowned archaeological site in Kashmir, featured the earliest Neolithic homes as pits dug below ground level using stone tools, with plastered mud sides. Domestic dogs were buried with their masters.
Gufkral (Kashmir) gained prominence as a Neolithic site with pit dwellings, stone tools, and house graveyards.
Chirand (Bihar) showcased Neolithic tools and weapons crafted from bones.

Neolithic Age Sites

Sites	Area
Burzahom, Gufkral	Kashmir
Mehrgarh, Kili Gul Muhammad	Balochistan
Daojali Hading	Assam
Chopani Mando, Mahagarha	Uttar Pradesh
Chirand, Chechar	Bihar
Tekkalakota, Sanganakallu, Narsipur, Hallur, Kupgal, Kodekal, Brahmagiri	Karnataka
Nagarjunakonda, Piklihal, Utnur	Andhra Pradesh
Paiyampalli	Tamil Nadu

Pre-Historic Art

The three main art forms were cave painting, rock engraving and miniature figurative carvings. During this period, pre-historic society began to accept rituals and ceremonies of a quasi-religious or shaman-type nature.
The very first art was made from tools and canvases readily accessible to them such as cave walls, bones, and pigments such as ochre and burnt wood.
Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh, Belan Valley in Uttar Pradesh, and Narmada Valley have pre-historic art belonging to all three phases.
Paintings consist of man, animal, and geometric patterns. Some pictures also depict family life.

Chalcolithic Age (3500 -1000 BC)

In the Chalcolithic age, people used copper and bronze to make a range of utilitarian tools.
Several such sites have been found in the Chhota Nagpur plateau region, the upper Gangetic basin, Karnataka, and near the banks of river Narmada.
This culture was mainly seen in the Pre-Harappan phase, but at many places, it extended to the Post-Harappan phase too.
The people were mostly rural and lived near hills and rivers.
People used to live in thatched houses made of mud bricks.
However, the chief of the village used to live in a large rectangular house marking the beginning of social inequalities.
Chalcolithic people used to live in the Eastern regions and were mostly dependent on fish and rice.
People practiced Jhum cultivation. Neither plow nor hoes have been found at Chalcolithic sites.
Ganeshwar was an archaeological site located in the state of Rajasthan. The site was famous for copper artifacts. Ganeshwar site was related to the Jodhpura culture

Sites	Area
Ahar-Banas	Rajasthan
Kayatha	Madhya Pradesh
Malwa	Madhya Pradesh
Eran	Madhya Pradesh
Nevasa	Maharashtra
Daimabad	Maharashtra
Jorwe	Maharashtra

Some important features of Chalcolithic culture are as follows

The most distinctive feature of this period was brilliant colored wheel-made potteries. Black and Red Ware were first appeared in the Chalcolithic period in India.
Black and red pottery along with ochre-colored pottery were popular: Chalcolithic people knew about weaving and spinning.
Metals such as copper and its alloys were used to make knives, axes, fishing hooks, chisels, pins, and rods.
Ornaments were made from semi-precious stones and beads such as agate, jasper, chalcedony and carnelian were used.
Agriculture was majorly developed in this age and people produced several pulses like green gram, grass pea, lentil and black gram.
People domesticated several animals like cows, sheep, goats, pigs and buffaloes and hunted deer.

Different Chalcolithic Cultures

Different Chalcolithic Cultures	Cultures	Period	Features
Ahar-Banas	Rajasthan	3000-1500 BC	Contemporary and adjacent to the Indus Valley Civilisation. Typical Ahar potteries were Black and Red Ware (BRW).

Kayatha Culture		2400-2000 BC	Represents the earliest known agricultural settlement in the present-day Malwa region. The characteristic feature is the ceramic assemblage distinguishing it from other Chalcolithic cultures.
Malwa Culture		1600-1300BC	Navdatoli, Eran, and Nagda were the well-developed sites in this culture, among which Navdatoli was the largest one.
Savalda Culture		2000-1800 BC	Highly influenced by the Mesolithic culture in Northern Maharashtra and the Harappan people in Gujarat. Savalda culture people at Daimabad used wheel-made pottery for the first time.

Cultures	Period	Features
Jorwe Culture	1400-700 BC	Characterized by a distinct type of painted pottery – Black or Red painted pottery, a blade-flake industry of chalcedony, as well as tools and ornaments of copper.
Prabhas and Rangpur Culture	2000-1400 BC	Derived from the Harappan Civilisation. Famous for lustrous Red Ware with glossy surfaces.

The Chalcolithic period was followed by the Iron Age in India. In the Northern part, it developed as the Vedic age and in Southern India, it appeared as Megalithic culture

Megalithic Culture in South India

Megaliths and Megalithic cultures exhibit a universal presence, extending from West Asia to India and South-East Asia. The term “megalith” originates from the Greek words “megas,” meaning great, and “lithos,” meaning stone.
Sir Mortimer Wheeler, through excavations at Brahmagiri, established a robust archaeological foundation for Megalithic cultures in South India.
The primary concentration of Megalithic cultures is in South India, particularly south of the river Godavari. Despite this, structures resembling typical Megalith types have been documented in North India, Central India, and Western India.
Iron artifacts have been discovered consistently across all Megalithic sites, ranging from Junapani near Nagpur (Maharashtra) in the Vidharba region to Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu in the far South.

Potteries of Megalithic Culture in South India

Ceramic fabrics associated with Megalithic culture include Black and Red Ware (BRW), furnished Black Ware, Red Ware, Grey Ware, Painted Grey Ware, etc.
The wheel-turned pottery of the BRW primarily comprises utilitarian shapes, with many forms likely serving as tableware in Megalithic society. Painted Grey Ware (PGW) is a finely crafted, smooth, and uniformly grey pottery with a thin fabric. In various parts of South India, Black and Red Pottery, iron tools like hoes and sickles, and other artifacts have been unearthed.
Several notable features define Megalithic culture:
- The introduction of tank irrigation in South India revolutionized the agricultural system.
- Iron was the predominant metal, used for crafting weapons, tools, and implements for agriculture and daily household needs. Megalithic communities resided in villages with a sizable population, lacking the development of cities like their Gangetic valley counterparts.
- Megalithic dwellings likely consisted of huts with thatched roofs made of reeds, supported by wooden posts.

Burial practices during the Stone Age were particularly noteworthy:

A distinctive aspect was the elaborate method of disposing of the dead.
The dead were often buried in separate places, such as a cemetery or graveyard away from the house, in stone boxes called cists. The burial pits in the house were accompanied by four or five posts.
Differences in monument size and grave valuables reflected variations in status and rank within Megalithic culture.
The construction of these monuments underscored the megalithic people’s deep veneration for the deceased.
Sangama literature from the same period as the end phase of Megalithic culture in South India sheds light on various methods of disposing of the dead among the Megalithic people.
Remarkably, Megalithic burial practices persist among different tribes in India, including the Maria Gonds of Chhattisgarh, the Bondos and Gadabas of Odisha, the Oraons and Mundas of Jharkhand, and the Khasis and Nagas of Assam.

Prelims facts

The three-age system, divided into stone, bronze, and iron from the collection of Copenhagen Museum was coined by whom? – Thomsen [UPPSC (Pre) 2010]
According to the excavated evidence, the domestication of animals began in – The Mesolithic Period [UPPSC (Mains) 2006]
The Ash mound is associated with which neolithic site? – Sanganakallu [UPPSC (Mains) 2009]
Which period is also known as the ‘chalcolithic age? – Copper Age [BPSC (Pre) 2000]
In the Chalcolithic period, people of Maharashtra buried their dead under the floor of their houses in which orientation? – North to South position [UPPSC (Pre) 1997]
In July 2019, experts visited for the first time documentation of the megalithic site in Bihar in which district? – Kaimur [BPSC (Pre)2017
Three human skeletons in a single grave were recovered at – Dhamdama [UPPSC (Pre) 2016]
The earliest evidence of man in India is found in – Narmada Valley [UKPSC (Pre) 2006]
In the Mesolithic context evidence of animal domestication has been found at – Adamgarh [UPPSC (Pre) 2008]
Which place has given the earliest evidence of agriculture in the Indian sub-continent? – Mehargarh [WBCS (Pre) 2020]
The cultivation of cereals first started in – Neolithic Age [UPPSC (Mains) 2005]
From which rock shelter of Vindhyas, a maximum number of human skeletons have been found? – Ghagharia [UPPSC (Pre) 2016]

UPSC NCERT Practice Questions

1. The earliest evidence of man in India is found in UKPSC (Pre) 2006

(a) Nilgiri hills

(b) Shiwalik hills

(d) Narmada valley

2. Which rock shelter in India has the largest number of paintings? UPPSC (Pre) 2011

(a) Ghagharia

(b) Bhimbetka

(d) Adamgarh

3. Which one of the following Indian archaeologists first visited Bhimbetka caves and discovered the pre-historic significance of its rock paintings? MPPSC (Pre) 2020, UPPSC (Pre) 2020

(a) Madho Swaroop Vatsa

(b) VS Wakankar

(d) RM Wheeler

4. The cultural remains from Stone age to Harappan Civilisation have been obtained from which one of the following ancient sites? UPPSC (Pre) 2008

(a) Amri

(b) Mehrgarh

(d) Kalibangan

5. From which rock shelter of Vindhyas, a maximum number of human skeletons have been found? UPPSC (Pre) 2016

(a) Morhana Pahar

(b) Ghagharia

(d) Lekhania

6. Three human skeletons in a single grave were discovered at UPPSC (Pre) 2016

(a) Sarai Nahar Rai

(b) Damdama

(d) Langhnaj

7. The evidence of burying the dog with a human body is found from which of the following places?UKPSC (Pre) 2010

(a) Burzahom

(b) Koldihwa

(d) Mando

8. During the Neolithic age, the earliest evidence of the origin of agriculture has been found at which of the following places in the North-Western region of the Indian subcontinent? CGPSC (Pre) 2017, BPSC (Pre) 2018, WBCS (Pre) 2020

(a) Munidgak

(b) Mehrgarh

(d) Balakot

9. Consider the following statements and choose the correct answer option. MPSC (Pre) 2018

1. The relics of Chalcolithic Civilisation were found at Jorwe, Nevasa, Daimabad, Chandoli, Songaon, Inamgaon, Prakash, Nasik, etc. in Maharashtra.

2. The relics of Chalcolithic Civilisation were found at Ahar and Gilund in Rajasthan and Malwa, Kayatha, Eran, etc., in Madhya Pradesh.

Codes

(a) Both the statements are correct.

(b) Both the statements are incorrect.

c) Statement 1 is correct, but statement 2 is incorrect.

(d) Statement 2 is correct, but statement 1 is incorrect.

10. Consider the following statements about the Ahar Civilisation. RAS/RTS (Pre) 2021

1. The natives of Ahar knew copper smelting.

2. Rice was unknown to them.

3. Metalwork was one of the means of economy of the Ahar.

4. Black-Red colored pottery has been found here, on which generally White colored geometrical designs have been carved.

Select the correct answer by using the codes given below

Codes

(a) 1, 3 and 4

(b) 1 and 2

(d) 3 and 4

11. Megaliths have been identified as UPPSC (Mains) 2005

(a) caves for hermits

(b) burial sites

(d) None of the above

Know Right Answer

1 (d)

2 (b)

3 (b)

4 (b)

5 (b)

6 (b)

7 (a)

8 (b)

9 (a)

10 (a)

11 (b)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What is the Stone Age, and how is it divided?

A1: The Stone Age is a prehistoric period characterized by the widespread use of stone tools. It is divided into three main stages: the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (New Stone Age). Each stage is marked by advancements in tool technology, lifestyle, and social organization.

Q2: What were the key features of the Paleolithic Age?

A2: The Paleolithic Age, or Old Stone Age, spanned from around 2.5 million years ago to about 10,000 BCE. Key features include the use of simple stone tools, a nomadic lifestyle based on hunting and gathering, the development of language and art, and the control of fire. Homo habilis and Homo erectus were prominent species during this period.

Q3: How did the Neolithic Age differ from the Paleolithic Age?

A3: The Neolithic Age, or New Stone Age, emerged around 10,000 BCE and witnessed significant advancements. Unlike the Paleolithic Age’s nomadic lifestyle, the Neolithic Age saw the transition to settled agriculture and the domestication of animals. This led to the establishment of permanent settlements, the development of pottery, polished stone tools, and the emergence of more complex social structures.

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UPSC NCERT Notes – Ancient History – The Stone Age