ANCIENT HISTORY Flashcards
(16 cards)
STONE AGE 500000 BC - 10000 BC
Also called prehistoric period
Paleolithic (old stone) age»_space;divided into 3 phases»_space; according to nature of tool used + nature of change in climate
> Nomadic people»_space;hunter and gatherer»_space;wandered in groups in search of food and shelter.
Paleolithic sites found in practically all parts of India except alluvial plains of Ganga and Indus.
> Early/lower paleolithic age(up to 100000 BC)
Middle paleolithic period(100000 BC - 40000 BC)
Upper paleolithic age(40000 BC -10000 BC)
EARLY/LOWER PALEOLITHIC PERIOD
> Characteristic feature-Use of hand axes/cleavers/choppers(stone tools)
Tools mainly used for chopping.
Tools found in Soan river valley in Pakistan
Belan valley in Mirzapur(UP) - Caves and shelters - seasonal camps for human beings.
Bhimbetka/Adamgarh- MP
16 R and Singi Talav - Nagaur _ Rajasthan*
Nevasa (Ahmad nagar - MH)
Hungsi - KT and Attirampakkam (Tamilnadu - oldest stone tools found here)***
MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC PERIOD
> Based on flakes - obtained by striking them out from pebbles
scrapers>borers>blade like tools
Soan valley»_space; Crude pebble industry
UPPER PALEOLITHIC PERIOD - Less humid climate
> Coincided with last phase of ice age-warm climate
Flint industries and humans of modern type
Massive flakes/blades/burins/scrapers
cave and rock shelters _ Bhimbetka(MP)
Discovery of rubble built - Allahabad
KURNOOL CAVES -Evidence of FIRE***
MESOLITHIC PERIOD/ LATE STONE AGE/ MICROLITHIC AGE***
> 10000 BC - 6000 BC
PERIOD OF OBSERVATION»_space; Called so as it was a period of
transition between Paleolithic and Neolithic age.***
warm climate / High rainfall
Change in flora and fauna
Movement possible for human beings
Use of Microliths»_space; used as composite tools»_space; hafted in
wood/bones»_space; arrow heads
SITES OF MESOLITHIC PERIOD
> Found in chota nagpur area/central India/south of river krishna
> BAGOR and ADAMGARH**»_space; association of sheep and goat with
mesolithic people -6000 BC»_space;partly settled life***
> Belan valley»_space; all the 3 phases of paleolithic followed by
mesolithic then neolithic»_space; found in sequence*****
> Bagor(Raj) and Langhnaj(GJ) -Contact withHarappan and
Chalcolithic people
PREHISTORIC ART
> > UPPER PALEOLITHIC AND MESOLITHIC PEOPLE
Rock sheltors -animals/hunting scene/birds/fishes
humans-dancing/running/hunting/playing games/battle scene
deep red/white/green/color
Murhana(UP) / Bhimbetka (MP) / Adamgarh etc
Bhimbetka paintings were discovered in 1975-58 by an
archaelogist named V.S. Wakankar
NEOLITHIC PERIOD(NEW STONE AGE)-6000 BC - 1000 BC
> Beginning of settled life**
Tools and implements of polished stone
Particularly used stone axes (parshuram)- Related to agriculture
Based on types of axes used - three sites of neolithic settlement***
Mehrgarh - People learn to grow barley/wheat»_space; rear sheep and goats»_space; remains of square and rectangular houses
SITES OF NEOLITHIC AGE
> > BURZOHAM (Valley of Kashmir)
People lived in pits > HUnting and fishing economy
no agriculture/domestication of animals
> > CHIRAND (PATNA)-Bone implement also found here
settlement was possible because of open land available>joining of four rivers>Ganga/Son/Gandak/Ghaghra
Domestic dogs buried with their masters in graves(Only such neolithic site-2400 BC)***
> > SOUTH OF GODAVARI RIVER
Settled on top of Granite hills/on Plateaus near river banks
stone axes + stone blades
Fire baked earthern figures»_space;art of producing grains(Rubbing
stone querns)
Piklihal»Karnataka, neolithic period site- The people in Piklihal
were cattle herders. They domesticated sheep,goats, and cattle.
Ash mounds have been found.***
> > Hills of Assam third site
Neolithic settlement in Allahabad and Mirzapur
Kuldeep or Belan Valley provide for the earliest example of cultivation of domesticated variety of rice going back to 6500 BC which make it the oldest evidence of rice in anywhere in the world.***
> Thus in all probability cultivation of rice begin in Belan valley around 6500 BC.
> Besides rice evidence of cultivation of Barley is attested at Mahagara in UP.
Neolithic (new stone age)
>Settled life >Agriculture- Rice /Barley/ wheat >Lived in houses >Domestication of animals >Needed pots to store grains and milk and for cooking purposes, hence pottery was found.
> > Limitation of Neolithic people
> Could settle only in hilly areas near the river bank
Could not produce more than their own need
Entirely dependent on stone tools
STONE COPPER AGE(CHALCOLITHIC) 3000 BC to 500 BC
> End of Neolithic period > use of metal
First metal >copper >culture based on copper >chalcolithic*
Found in SE Rajasthan-Ahar and Gilund >Dry zones of Banas
valley**
Western MP -In Malwa >Kayatha and Eran**
Western MH- Most extensive >Jorwe/Nevasa/Daimabad
>In Ahmadnagar> Chandoli/ songaon/ inamgaon in Pune
>Semi arid areas >Mostly black cotton soil
Navadtoli (Situated on Narmada)
Allahabad Region
Eastern India -Chirand/Pandu Rajar Dhibli in Burdwan(West
Bengal)
Jorwe culture-1500-900 BC
Ahar -white painted black and red ware >1500 BC
Kayatha culture-2450-1700 BC
CHALCOLITHIC CULTURES
> Found everywhere except alluvial plains and thick forest
Small tools and weapons made of stone >Stone blade occupies
imp position
AHAR-Stone axes and blades >Completely absent
Hand axes and copper objects -Huge numbers >copper locally
available
Gilund -stone blade industry
First to use painted pottery**
used different type of pottery >black and red
Thrown on wheel and occasionally painted with white linear
designs
People knew art of spinning and weaving >Manufacture of cloth
Worshipped Mother God -Terracotta figure/bull
Beginning of Social Inequalities
Domestication of animals and grain production
cows/sheeps/goats/pigs/buffaloes
remains of camel
horse >not clear >horse/donkey/wild ass
people ate beef
wheat/rice/bajra/pulses >found in Navadatoli(MH)
Cotton in Deccan area
Eastern region >fish hooks >fish + rice
burnt bricks seldom used
Village economy > Large settlement(Founded first villages in
India)
Copper hoards -Largest from Gungeria(MP) >424 copper objects
and 102 thin sheets of silver
LIMITATIONS OF CHALCOLITHIC CULTURES
> Child mortality high
Rural background near river bank and not far from hills and did not
live in cities as bronze age people did
Art of writing-absent
No knowledge of bronze(Tin with copper)
Most stone age cultures> Younger than Indus valley civilization yet
did not learn from them**
THE STONE AGE CULTURE
The earth is over 4600 million years old. The evolution of its crust shows four stages. The fourth stage is called the quaternary.
It is divided into two epochs called Pleistocene (ice age) and Holocene (post-ice age).
Humans appeared on the earth in pre-Pleistocene and early Pleistocene times. Several types of humans, called hominids, lived in southern and eastern Africa about 6 million years ago. The earliest humans were not very different from apes which first developed 30 million years ago. The birth of the creature called Australopithecus was the most momentous step in the
evolution of the human line.
The first important Homo or human was Homo habilis found in eastern and southern Africa about 2–1.5 million years ago.This first real human broke stone into pieces and sharpened the latter to use as tools.The second important step saw the appearance of Homo erectus dated to 1.8 to 1.6 million years ago. New types of stone tools have been found with Homo erectus. The hand axe is considered the most distinctive. It is believed that the Homo erectus people discovered how to make and use fire, and this kept them warm in cold climates and protected them from wild animals. In sharp contrast to the Homo habilis, the Homo erectus travelled long distances. Their remains have been found not only in Africa but also in China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
The third step marked the emergence of Homo sapiens, which means wise man. Our own species evolved from Homo sapiens. The full-fledged modern man called Homo sapiens sapiens is traceable to about 115,000 years ago in southern Africa in the late Stone Age called the Upper Palaeolithic.
The Early Man in India
Only a few fossils relating to human evolution have been discovered in the subcontinent. None the less, some of the earliest skull fossils have been found in the Siwalik hills covering India and Pakistan. These skulls appear in the Potwar plateau, in Punjab province of Pakistan, which developed on
sandstone. These skulls are called Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus. Ramapithecus was the female, but both belonged to the same group. A representative of this group found in Greece is dated around 10 million years ago. This may be a ground for dating Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus, but these skulls are considered c. 2.2 million years old. In any case, there is
nothing to show that this species spread in other parts of the subcontinent. It seems that further evolution from the Siwalik category of hominids came to a dead end in the subcontinent, and this species became extinct.
Nevertheless, an almost complete hominid skull was discovered in 1982 in the middle valley of the Narmada at Hathnora in MP. This fossilized skull was called Homo erectus or upright human, but is now anatomically recognized as archaic Homo sapiens.
So far the remains of Homo sapiens have not been found elsewhere in the subcontinent.
THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
Geographical Extent
The Harappan civilization was discovered in 1920-21 following the excavations by R.D. Banerjee at Mohenjodaro and by D.R. Salini at Harappa
➢ Since at that time the remains of the civilization were found only in the Indus valley, it came to be known also as the Indus civilization
➢ The focus of Harappan civilization was not the Indus but the Saraswati river and its tributaries which flowed between the Indus and the Ganga.
➢ Some scholars call it Indus-Saraswati civilization, and few prefer the nomenclature Saraswati civilization
➢ Named after Harappa, the first site where this unique culture was discovered , the civilisation is dated between c. 2600 and 1900 BCE.
➢ There were earlier and later cultures, often called Early Harappan and Late Harappan, in the same area.
➢ The Harappan civilisation is sometimes called the Mature Harappan culture to distinguish it from these cultures.
➢ Early Harappan Phase : c. 3500 - 2600 B.C.
Mature Harappan Phase: c. 2600 -1900 B.C.
Late Harappan Phase : c. 1900 - 1300 B.C
