Prehistoric Era in India
Prehistoric Era or the prehistoric years of the Indian history have always been a healthy point of discussion and speculation amongst the historians from all across the globe.
The Prehistoric Era has been divided into six major ages which are Stone Age, Paleolithic Age, Mesolithic Age, Neolithic Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. All these six major ages are now described in brief below:
Stone Age: Stone Age is the name given to the period when the humans begun to use stones for various purposes.
Paleolithic Age: Paleolithic Age is sometimes also referred as the early Stone Age and is the oldest division of the Stone Age, believed to exist from unknown till 8000 BC. During this phase of the Prehistoric Era, the major stress of the humans was to gather food. They were mainly dependent on nature for food and other necessities.
Mesolithic Age: After the Paleolithic Age evolved the Mesolithic Age, which is believed to exist between 8000 B.C. and 4000 B.C.
The landmarks of the Mesolithic age is not only limited to the development of communities and agricultural techniques.
Neolithic Age: This is the last Age of the Stone Age period and is also known as the New Stone Age. It is believed to exist between the time period of 4000 B.C. and 2500 B.C.
Bronze Age: After the Neolithic Age it was the turn of the Bronze Age. As the name suggests, this was the Age when bronze was brought in use for most of the metal work. This era emerged in the Indian sub-continent at about 3000 B.C.
Iron Age: Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age era. This was the era when iron and steel got introduced.
Prehistoric period
Remains of the Homo erectus in Hathnora, Narmada Valley, indicate India was inhabited in the Middle Pleistocene era.
Overview of Pre-Historic India
The ancient history of India begins with the discovery of tool crafted by proto-humans, dating back to two million years ago. The earliest archaeological site refers to the Palaeolithic Age followed by Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.
Similar to the remaining world, India also experienced the Stone and Bronze Ages.
Stone Age
Stones used for utilitarian purpose by the prehistoric man lead us into the Stone Age. It is broadly classified into three segments - Palaeolithic Age, Mesolithic Age and Neolithic Age
The Old Stone Age (Palaeolithic Age) stretches up to 8000 BC and Indian subcontinent witnessed the specialized stone tools for the first time.
The Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic period) that extended between 8000 BC and 4000 BC witnessed extensive settlement more towards the end of Ice Age, 12,000 years ago.
The New Stone Age (Neolithic period) stretching from 4000 BC-2500 BC confirms the existence of agriculture cultures from the Indus Valley civilization dating back to 5000 BC.
Bronze Age
The Neolithic Age quickly carved the path for higher, technically advanced cultures. People used copper and bronze to make a range of utilitarian tools. T
Several sites in the Chotta Nagpur Plateau region, the upper Gangetic basin, Karnataka and on the banks of river Narmada portray the imprints of this period.
Bronze Age marks the beginning of Indus Valley civilization that stretched from present-day India to Pakistan and Iran. Historically part of Ancient India, it is amongst the world's earliest urban civilizations, in conjunction with Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.
Population of the Indus Valley civilization – Harappans urbanized new techniques in metallurgy and handicraft and mastered the technique of producing copper, bronze, lead, and tin.
The urban centres like Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rupar, Rakhigarhi and Lothal in present-day India, and Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan were noted for their cities built of brick, drainage system, and multi-storied houses.
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