General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Services Examinations 2014

444 Pages·2016·4.81 MB·English

General Studies Manual
for
UPSC and State Public Services
Examinations
2014

Indian History
Module-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

www.gktoday.in

First Published in 2010
Last Updated: November 2013

© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any material form (including photo copying or
storing it in any medium in form of graphics, electronic or mechanical means and whether or not transient or
incidental to some other use of this publication) without written permission of the copyright owner.
Discla imer
While all care has been taken in the preparation of this material, no responsibility is accepted by the author for any
errors, omissions or inaccuracies. The material provided in this resource has been prepared to provide general
information only. It is not intended to be relied upon or be a substitute for legal or other professional advice. No
responsibility can be accepted by the author for any known or unknown consequences that may result from reliance on
any information provided in this publication
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

Contents

Archaeology & Ethnoarcheology .......................................................................................... 4
Prehistoric Period: Classification .......................................................................................... 4
Chapter 2. Palaeolithic Era .................................................................................................... 4
Sohanian culture ................................................................................................................... 5
Acheulian culture .................................................................................................................. 5
Technology in Acheulian Culture .................................................................................................... 6
Middle Palaeolithic Era ......................................................................................................... 6
Tools of middle Palaeolithic Era ...................................................................................................... 6
Upper Palaeolithic Era .......................................................................................................... 7
Tools of Upper Palaeolithic Era ............................................................................................. 7
Chapter 3. Mesolithic Era ...................................................................................................... 8
Tools of Mesolithic Era.................................................................................................................... 8
Changes in Life- Mesolithic Era ............................................................................................ 9
From Nomadism to Sedentary settlements ..................................................................................... 9
First Disposal of dead and making of Graves................................................................................... 9
Emerging arts .................................................................................................................................. 9
Food Production .............................................................................................................................. 9
Chapter 4. Neolithic Revolution, Mehrgarh Culture and Chalcolithic Era .......................... 10
Mehrgarh Culture................................................................................................................ 10
First Period .................................................................................................................................... 10
Second Period ............................................................................................................................... 11
Third Period .................................................................................................................................. 11
Fourth Period ................................................................................................................................ 11
Fifth Period ................................................................................................................................... 11
Sixth Period ................................................................................................................................... 11
Seventh Period .............................................................................................................................. 11
Eighth Period ................................................................................................................................ 12
Chalcolithic Period .............................................................................................................. 12
Chapter 5. Indus Valley Civilization ..................................................................................... 12
Notable Observations.......................................................................................................... 13
The questions of Origin of Indus Valley Civilization ............................................................ 13
Salient Common Features of Entire Civilization ................................................................. 13
Observations about Harappa and Mohen Jo-dero ............................................................... 14
Great Bath ..................................................................................................................................... 14
Observations about other sites ............................................................................................ 14
Life at Indus Valley Civilization ........................................................................................... 15
Administration .............................................................................................................................. 15
Language ...................................................................................................................................... 16
Religion ......................................................................................................................................... 16
Protoshiva or Pashupati ................................................................................................................ 16
Linga Worship .............................................................................................................................. 17
Tree Worship and other rituals ..................................................................................................... 17
Talisman ....................................................................................................................................... 17
Food: ............................................................................................................................................. 17
Dress: ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Sports and Entertainments: .......................................................................................................... 17
Tools, arms and weapons: ............................................................................................................. 17
Science & Technology ................................................................................................................... 17
Burial Practice ............................................................................................................................... 18
Economy ....................................................................................................................................... 18
Agriculture .................................................................................................................................... 18
Animal Husbandry ........................................................................................................................ 18

© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 2
|P a ge
P a ge
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

Transportation .............................................................................................................................. 19
Foreign Affairs ............................. ................................................................................................. 19
Consumer Affairs .......................................................................................................................... 19
Finance, Business and Industry ..................................................................................................... 19
Metallurgy ..................................................................................................................................... 19
Pottery ........................................................................................................................................... 19
Seals .............................................................................................................................................. 20
Question of Decline of Indus Valley Civilization.................................................................. 20
Environmental Changes: ............................................................................................................... 20
Aryan Invasion: ............................................................................................................................. 21

Introduction
Prehistoric and historic
The past of humankind has been divided into two broad categories viz. .
Prehistoric period belongs to the time before the emergence of writing and the historic period to
the time following it. It has been so fare believed that Modern Humans originated in Africa and have
lived on our planet for around 150,000 years. In recent months, there have been some challenges to
this theory.
The anthropologists have long theorized that humans emerged from Africa and into East and
Southeast Asia around 60,000 years ago; there has been a significant lack of fossil evidence to
. In August 2012, a new skull was found that dates back to
support these claims. The earliest skull fossil evidence in the region had dated back 16,000 years
46,000 to 63,000 years. This distchovery has bolstered the genetic studies that point to modern humans
and was found in the early 20 century
inhabiting Laos and the surrounding environs at that time, according to a report of the
anthropological discovery published in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences (PNAS). The skull has been found in Tam Pa Ling, “the Cave of the Monkeys” in northern
Laos. It helps fill in this mysterious gap in the fossil record
.
Origin of Man
But, man learnt writing only about 5000-8000
The origin of man begins in the Miocene period, around twenty million
years ago, when the great apes, from whom the humans evolved,
years ago. Writing most likely began as a
flourished in large areas of the Old World. Proto humans appeared in the
consequence of political expansion in ancient Pliocene period, around five million years ago, and their cultural
evolution largely took place during the Pleistocene period, which began
cultures, which needed reliable means for about two million years ago. While biologically humans differ from the
other apes in their upright posture, ability to walk on two feet or hind
transmitting information, maintaining financial limbs, extremely versatile hand, and an unusually powerful brain,
culturally they differ in their ability to manufacture and use tools.
accounts, keeping historical records, and
similar activities. It has been concluded that
th
around the 4 millennium BC, the complexity of
trade and administration outgrew the power of human memory, and writing became a more
Dispilio Tablet
dependable method of recording and presenting transactions in a permanent form. The earliest
th 10-12 % of the Human
record of human writing may be the , dated to the 6 millennium BC.
Population is illiterate
So, we humans have not learnt writing for a long time, even today
. So, written history gives us account of only 0.1% of human history. Then,

before the invention of printing technology in the medieval period, written documents were few
© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 3
|P a ge
P a ge
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

and far between, and many of them have been lost due to being written on perishable materials like
tree bark, palm leaf, papyrus and cloth. This means that the story of humankind has to be
reconstructed largely with the help of non-literary or archaeological sources. These sources
comprise objects – tools, weapons, ornaments, structures and artistic creations which were
Archaeology & Ethnoarcheology
produced and used by humans and which have survived the ravages of time.
Like other creatures, we humans also had to adapt ourselves to the environment, but unlike other
beings, we have done so with the aid of technology and material culture (material objects like tools,
weapons, utensils, houses, clothes, ornaments, etc). Since, the components of environment such as
landscape, climate, flora and fauna alsAobs oltueten adnds Retloat ivce hCharonngoleog yo ver time, archaeologists have to
Chronology of the past can be either relative or absolute. Relative chronology dates
reconstruct past environments as prehistoric events in relation to other events and geological deposits. The relative
chronology tells us if a particular event is earlier or later than another event. On the
well. Moreover, the biological
other hand, the Absolute chronology dates events and phenomena in solar calendar
years. The techniques such as Radiocarbon, K/Ar, fission tracks, thermoluminescence,
remains of men have contributed to
TH230/U234 and dendrochronology are the techniques of absolute chronology. Out of
then, the dendrochronology is applicable only to a period of a few thousand years and
the understanding of not only his
only in the few areas where old wood samples have been preserved. Then, the
radiocarbon dating can date events up to sixty thousand years old. The other methods
biological evolution but also cultural
can, however, date events belonging to the entire prehistoric period. However, their
evolution. Archaeology, thus, is a application is dependent on the availability of suitable materials such as volcanic ash and
rock at archaeological sites.
multi-disciplinary study involving
disciplines like geology,
palaeontology, palaeobotany, biological anthropology and archaeological chemistry.
Then, the cultural changes take place at an uneven pace in different regions. In many parts of the
world, for example in India, prehistoric ways of life have survived more or less unchanged into
hunting-gathering, fishing, primitive cultivation and pastoralism,
modern times. The discipline, under which we study the non-industrialized societies, especially
those practising is known as
Prehistoric Period: Classification
ethnoarchaeology. This study contributes to interpreting the archaeological record.
The prehistoric period is divided into three ages, namely the stone, bronze and iron ages. These
ages, besides being technological stages, also have economic and social implications.
lithic
The Stone Age is divided into three periods, viz. Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. The suffix
indicates that technology in these periods was primarily based on stone.
Economically the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods represent the hunting-gathering stage while
Chapter 1. Palaeolithic Era

the Neolithic represents the stage of food production, i.e. plant cultivation and animal husbandry.
The earliest human settlements in south Asia have been identified with an abundance of stone tool
assemblages. The oldest known tools used by human beings were the simple cores and flakes, and
they have been reported from the Siwalik hills at Riwat, near Rawalpindi in Pakistan. These tools
date back to as old as two million years. However, the earliest reliable stone tool assemblages

© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 4
|P a ge
P a ge
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

Palaeolithic Period: Some Observations to Note
• The Palaeolithic period is further divided into three sub-periods, namely lower,
belong to two distinct cultural and
middle and upper.
• Most Paleolithic sites in India developed in the Pleistocene period.
technological traditions viz. the
• The tools made were generally of hard rock quartzite so the Paleolithic man was
called Quartzite Man.
Sohanian Culture and the Acheulian
• The term Paleolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It literally
culture, which we study under the means "Old Stone Age." It was marked by the hunting gathering nature.
Sohanian culture • Paleolithic Age spanned from 100000 years ago till 10000 years ago. It is divided into 3
lower Palaeolithic cultures. ages viz. lower Paleolithic age which spans till 100000 years ago.
• Middle Paleolithic which spans from 100000 years ago till 40000 years and upper
Paleolithic which spans from 40,000 years to 10000 years ago.
The name is derived from the Sohan • Paleolithic tools were club, sharpened stone, chopper, hand axe, scraper, spear, Bow
and arrow, harpoon, needle, scratch awl etc.
river, a tributary of Indus. The sites
of Sohanian culture were found in
the Siwalik Hills in North-west India and Pakistan. The artifacts of these stages were found in three
Important Palaeolithic sites in India:
river terraces which were correlated with the phases • Lingsugur in Raichur district, Karnataka was the first
site to be discovered from India.
of the four-fold Pleistocene glaciations. These stages • Lidder river Pahalgam , Kashmir
• Sohan valley Punjab,
have been named T1, T2 and T3. The animal remains
• Banks of River Beas, Bangagnga
• Sirsa Haryana,
from this deposit included horse, buffalo, straight-
• Chittorgarh and Kota, Rajasthan,
tusked elephant and hippopotamus, suggesting an • River Wagoon, Kadamali basins Rajasthan.
• River Sabaramati and Mahi basins (Rajasthan &
environment characterized by perennial water Gujarat),
• Basins of river tapti, Godavari, Bhima and Krishna
sources, tree vegetation and grass steppes. The tools • Koregaon, Chandoli and shikarpur (Maharashtra),
Acheulian culture • River Raro (Jharkhand),
included the pebble choppers, blades etc.
• River Suvarnrekha (Orissa),
• Ghatprabha River Basin (Karnataka).
• Pahalgam , Jammu & Kashmir
Acheulian culture, named after French site of St. • Belan Valley, Allahabad
• Sinsgi Talav, Didwana , Nagaur Rajasthan
Acheul, was the first effective colonization of the
• Hunsgi, Gulbarga in karnataka.
Indian subcontinent and is almost synonymous with • Attirampakkam in Tamilnadu
the lower Palaeolithic settlements in India. Remains of
Acheulian culture have been found extensively from
the Siwalik hills in the north to areas near Chennai in the south but not in the Western Ghats and
the coastal region running parallel to them, northeast India and the Ganga plains. Heavy rainfall and
dense vegetation in the Western Ghats and northeast India probably inhibited early man from
colonizing these regions. In the case of the Ganga plains, the non-availability of stone and the
swampy environment may have discouraged early man from occupying them.
The Acheulian culture was a hunter-gatherer culture that adapted to a variety of climates
including but not limiting to western Rajasthan, Mewar plain, Saurashtra, Gujarat, Central
India, Deccan plateau, Chota Nagpur plateau and the Eastern Ghats, north of the Cauvery
river.
The sites are densely concentrated in the central India and the southern part of the Eastern
Ghats as this area received adequate rainfall, have perennial rivers, a thick vegetation cover
and are rich in wild plant and animal food resources.

© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 5
|P a ge
P a ge
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

The most known sediments yielding Acheulian assemblages are found in rock shelter III F-23 at
Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh . Acheulian people occupied a variety of microhabitats in different
regions of India. The hunter-gatherers of Acheulian culture were more concentrated in Nagaur and
Didwana of Rajasthan, Vindhya Hills of Central India (Bhimbetaka), Barkhera near Bhimbetka and
at Putlikarar in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. The rock shelter and open-air sites represent
Technology in Acheulian Culture
seasonal camping places of the same populations.
Acheulian tools include the choppers, chopping tools, polyhedrons, spheroids, discoids,
handaxes, cleavers, scrapers, denticulates, notches, flakes, blades and cores. They served
a variety of functions like hunting, butchering and skinning of animals, breaking bones
for extraction of marrow, digging of roots and tubers, processing of plant foods, and making of
wooden tools and weapons. The main raw material used for making the weapons of the Acheulian
era was Quartzite, though occasionally quartz was also used. In some parts of India such as Hulgi in
Middle Palaeolithic Era
Karnataka limestone was the main material.
The Acheulian culture was slowly transformed into the middle Palaeolithic by shedding some of the
tool types and by incorporating new forms and new techniques of making them.
In some parts of the world, the middle Palaeolithic culture is associated with the Neanderthal man
(Homo sapiens neanderthalensis), however, no physical remains of Neanderthal man have been
found in India.
But, what has been found in India are the stone tools very similar to those found with this hominid
species in Europe and other regions.
The first general observation about the Middle Palaeolithic era is that in comparison to the lower
Palaeolithic era, the distribution of sites is sparseM. idTdhlee P arlaeeaoslitohnic Sfioters inth Inidsia i s that the middle Palaeolithic
• Luni valley, around Didwana, Budha Pushkar in Rajasthan
culture developed during the upper • Valleys of the Belan, Son river, Narmada river and their
tributaries in central India
Pleistocene, a period of intense cold and • Some sparse sites in Chota Nagpur platea, Deccan plateau and
Eastern Ghats
glaciations in the northern latitudes. In those
times, the areas bordering glaciated regions
experienced strong aridity. However, generally, the middle Palaeolithic populations occupied the
Tools of middle Palaeolithic Era
same regions and habitats as the preceding Acheulian populations.
Middle Palaeolithic tools were primarily made on flakes and blades made by finely trimming the
edges. Some of them were used for manufacturing the wooden tools and weapons and also for
processing animal hide. There are little hints of use of wooden shafts. In comparison to the lower
Palaeolithic era, the tools in middle Palaeolithic became smaller, thinner and lighter. Then, there
fine-grained
was also a significant change in the choice of raw material for making tools. While quartzite, quartz
and basalt continued to be used, in many areas the y were replaced or supplemented by
© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 6
|P a ge
P a ge
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

siliceous rocks like chert and jasper

. Tool Factory sites at chert outcrops occur at many places in
Upper Palaeolithic Era
central India and Rajasthan.
Upper Palaeolithic culture developed during the later part of the upper Pleistocene. There were
very important changes in the Palaeolithic-environment which had its own impact on the
•
distribution and living ways of the humans. Some of them were as follows:
The Upper Palaeolithic period has recorded a rich
There was extremely cold and arid climate in
panorama of fossils in the peninsular rivers of India.
• One important discovery is of the ostrich egg shells at
the high altitude and northern latitudes.
over 40 sites in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and
There was extensive formation of deserts in Maharashtra, which shows that ostrich, a bird adapted
to arid climate, was widely distributed in western India
•
North west India during the later part of the upper Pleistocene.
The drainage pattern of western India became
almost defunct and river courses shifted
•
“westwards”.
•
Vegetation cover over most of the country thinned out during this period.
Coastal areas of south-eastern Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra and Kutch developed quartz and
•
carbonate dunes as a result of the lowering of the sea level.
During terminal Pleistocene south-westerly monsoons became weak and the sea level
decreased by scores of metres.
Due to the harsh and arid climate, the vegetation was sparse though the faunal fossils show
presence of grasslands. The human population faced rusticated food resources and that is the
reason that the number of Upper Palaeolithic sites is very limited in the arid and semi-arid regions.
The most opulent archaeological evidence of this period comes from the Belan and Son valleys in
the northern Vindhyas , Chota Nagpur plateau in Bihar , upland Maharashtra, Orissa and from the
Tools of Upper Palaeolithic Era
Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh.
The tools of Upper Palaeolithic Era are essentially characterized by blade and they show a marked
Bhimbetka Rock Shelters
regional diversity with Bhimbetka rock shelters are located in Raisen
District of Madhya Pradesh, 45 km south of Bhopal
respect to the refinement of at the southern edge of the Vindhyachal hills.
These served as shelters for Paleolithic age man for
techniques and more than 1 lakh years. This is the most exclusive
Paleolithic site in India which contains the rock
standardization of finished carvings and paintings. These paintings belong to
the Paleolithic, Mesolithic ages, Chalcolithic, early-
tool forms. The middle
historic and even medieval times. Bhimbetka is a

World heritage Site.
Paleolithic tradition
Please note that it was earlier considered to be a Buddhist site and was later recognized as Paleolithic
continued but in this period site by Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar who is now also called "father of rock art in India ". Bhimbetka Rock
shelters were included in the world heritage list in 1970
we see the parallel-sided
blades struck from
standardized prismatic cores. Further, the prototypes of traps, snares and nets were probably used
during the upper Palaeolithic times. The bored stones and grinding slabs have also been found

© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 7
|P a ge
P a ge
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

giving hints to advancements in the technology of tool production. The bored stones are still used
by fishermen as net sinkers in riverine fishing and marine fishing. The Upper Palaeolithic
settlements also show a distinct trend of being associated with permanent sources of waters. The
use of grinding stones might have been for processing plant foods such as wild rice.
The earliest form of art is found in the form of ostrich egg shell pieces engraved with cross-hatched
Chapter 2. Mesolithic Era

designs from the upper Palaeolithic period.
The transition from the Palaeolithic period to Mesolithic period is marked by transition from
Pleistocene period to Holocene and favorable changes in the climate. The climate became warmer
and humid and there was expansion of flora and fauna contributed by increased rainfall. This led to
The early period of Mesolithic age marks the hunting, fishing and food
availability of new resources to humans gathering which turn to hunting, fishing, food gathering as well as
domesticating the animals.
and thus the human beings moved to new
areas. This period is marked with
increased population, though core economy of this period continued to be based on hunting and
gathering.
The more important fact about the Mesolithic era in India is that the first human colonization of the
Ganga plains took place during this period. There are more than two hundred Mesolithic sites found
in Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh. This era also
marks the dramatically increased settlement in deltaic region of Bengal, the areas around Mumbai
Tools of Mesolithic Era
and other places of western coast of India.
Microliths
The tools are Mesolithic Era are smaller in size and better in finishing (more

geometric) than the Palaeolithic age and are called . These microliths
are tiny tools of one to five centimetres length, made by blunting one or more
sides with steep retouch. The main tool types are backed blades, obliquely
truncated blades, points, crescents, triangles and trapezes. Some of the microliths
were used as components of spearheads, arrowheads, knives, sickles, harpoons
and daggers.
They were fitted into grooves in bone, wood and reed shafts and joined together by natural
adhesives like gum and resin. Hunting-gathering way of life was slowly replaced by food
production from about 6000 B.C. Thus we see that the use of the bow and arrow for hunting had
become common in this period, which is evident from many rock paintings. The Bored stones,
which had already appeared during the upper Palaeolithic, became common during this, and the
Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. These are believed to have been used as weights in digging sticks
and as net sinkers. Similarly, shallow querns and grinding stones also occur at several sites. These
new technological elements led to enhanced efficiency in hunting, collection and processing of wild

plant foods.
© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 8
|P a ge
P a ge
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

Changes in Life- Mesolithic Era

From Nomadism to Sedentary settlements
There were some more interesting changes in lifestyle of the Mesolithic era humans. The favourable
climate, better rainfalls, warm atmosphere and increased food security led to reduction in
First Disposal of dead and making of Graves
nomadism to seasonally sedentary settlement.
The first evidence of
The sedentary settlements lead to beginning of the tradition of various ways of intentional disposal
intentional disposal of the dead Mesolithic Era: Important Points
of the dead.
• Agriculture had not fully developed.
comes from Mesolithic Era
• The earliest evidence of domestication of animals has been provided by Adamagarh in
Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan. A study has also suggested cultivation of
. plants around 7000-6000 years back near Sambhar lake in Ajmer Rajasthan.
• The Pachpadra basin and Sojat Area of Rajasthan is a rich Mesolithic sites and lot of
Mesolithic human burials have been microliths have been discovered.
• Bagor in Rajasthan is the almost largest Mesolithic site in India. Another major
found at Bagor in Rajasthan, Mesolithic site in Rajasthan is Tilwara.
• In Guajarat some places on the banks of river Sabarmati are Mesolithic sites which
Langhnaj in Gujarat , Bhimbetka in
include the Akhaj, Valsana, Hirpur, Langhanj etc.
• Sarai Nahar Rai in Allahabad-Pratapgarh of Uttar Pradesh is a Mesolithic site. Other
Madhya Pradesh etc. The dead were
sites in Uttar Pradesh are Morhana Pahar and lekkahia.
buried in graves both in extended • In Madhya Pradesh Bhimbetka along with Adamgarh are major Mesolithic sites.
• In Jharkhand Chhota nagpur plateau is a major Mesolithic site in India.
and crouched position. In some • In Orissa Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh is a major Mesolithic site in India.
• In south India Godavari basin is rich in microliths,
cases two individuals were buried • The rock painting of Mesolithic period is found in Adamgarh, Bhimbetka of Madhya
Pradesh and Pratapgarh, Mirzapur of Rajasthan. Apart from the animals, hunting
in a single grave. The dead were scenes, the Mesolithic sites have also painting of social life, sexual activity, child birth,
rearing of children and burial ceremony.
occasionally provided with grave
offerings which include chunks of
Emerging arts
meat, grinding stones, stone, bone and antler ornaments, and pieces of haematite.
The Mesolithic man was a lover of art, evident from the paintings in several thousand rock shelters
in the Vindhyan sandstone hills in central India. The paintings have been found in both inhabited
and uninhabited shelters. The paintings are made mostly in red and white pigments, made form the
nodules found in rocks and earth. The subject matter of the paintings are mostly wild animals and
hunting scenes, though there are some related to human social and religious life such as sex and
Food Production
child birth.
The hunting-gathering way of life was slowly replaced by food production from about 6000 B.C. The
core economic activities were now included hunting, fowling, fishing and wild plant food gathering.
The first animals to be domesticated were dog, cattle, sheep and goat and the first plants to be
cultivated were wheat and barley. This new subsistence economy based on food production had a
lasting impact on the evolution of human society and the environment. In the humid lands,
extending from the middle Ganga valley to China and Southeast Asia, rice cultivation and
domestication of pig was accomplished probably around the same time because rice and pig existed
in wild form in this region. The cultivation of yams and taro also took place in this region.
© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 9
|P a ge
P a ge
General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Service Examinations
History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization

Domesticated animals proved to be useful not only for meat but also for milk, hide, agricultural
Chapter 3. Neolithic Revolution, Mehrgarh Culture and Chalcolithic Era

operations, and transport.
The human settlements in the Mesolithic era got more sedentary and this was the beginning of
establishment of villages. Man now could keep cattle, sheep and goats and protect crops from pests.
In due course, as the efficiency of agricultural production improved, some farmers were able to
generate surplus food. As a consequence, a section of the population were freed from the task of
food production and their talents and energies were diverted to tasks such as the production of
pots, baskets, quarrying of stone, making of bricks, masonry and carpentry.
This was the beginning of the new occupations such as the oil presser, washerman, barber,
Neolithic revolution
musician, dancers etc. This transition from hunting-gathering to food production is called the
. Around 6000BC, the smelting of metals such as Copper began which was
Use of bronze for tools led to the
used for raw material to be used in tool production. Later, Tin was mixed with cooper and bronze
invention of wheel which revolutionized transport and pottery production.
appeared which stronger metal than both tin and copper was.

The Neolithic period began around 10700 to 9400 BC in Tell Qaramel in Northern Syria. In South
Asia the date assigned to Neolithic period is 7000 BC and the earliest example is Mehrgarh Culture.
Mehrgarh Culture
Mehrgarh is the oldest agricultural settlement in the Indian subcontinent.
Mehrgarh is the oldest agricultural settlement in the Indian subcontinent Agriculture-based
Neolithic settlements. Despite being the agriculture settlement, it used only stone tools, so is why
placed in Neolithic Era. It flourished in the seventh millennium B.C.
Mehrgarh is located on the Bolan River, a tributary of the Indus, at the eastern edge of the
Baluchistan plateau overlooking the Indus plain. The Mehrgarh culture has been divided into 8 sub
First Period
periods and following are important features of these sub-periods:

Earliest period of Mehrgarh is characterized by polished stone tools, microliths and bone
tools. In this phase the subsistence economy consisted of a combination of hunting, stock-

breeding and plant cultivation.
The domesticated animals comprise cattle, sheep, goat and water buffalo while the

cultivated plants comprise several varieties of wheat and barley.

The houses were made of mud and mud-bricks.
The dead were buried under the floors of the houses where people lived
Multiple rooms without doors are believed to have been used for storing grain.
. Some of the skeletons

which were buried have been found sprinkled with red ochre.
Necklaces of microbeads of steatite along with beads of turquoise, lapis lazuli and sea shell,
stone axes and microliths have also been fo und in the graves.
© 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email: [email protected] 10
|P a ge
P a ge