On the Trail of the Earliest People

Subject – Social Science

Class – VI

By – Catherine Z. Pachuau
 HUNTER GATHERERS
 Lived in the Indian Sub-continent two million years ago
 They hunted wild animals,
 Caught fish and birds,
 Gathered fruits, roots, nuts and seeds,
 Leaves, stalks and eggs
 Reasons why Hunter-Gatherers moved from place to
place
1. In search of food
2. To hunt animals
3. In search of different types of
plants
4. In search of water
 How do we know about these people?

 Tools (stone, wood and bone)

 Early sites (located near river valleys)
 Cave settlements
 Rock paintings
Stone Tools
Cut meat and bone
Scrape bark and hides
Chop fruits and roots
To make spears and
arrows
To make huts and tools
 Archaeological Sites
Sites – Sites are places where remains of
things were found
Factory sites – Places where stone tools
were made
Habitation cum Factory sites – Places where
people lived for longer periods of time and
made tools
Archaeological Sites
 Hunsgi
Habitation cum Factory Site (Tools used)
Cave Paintings
 Rock Shelter
Bhimbetka- Madhya Pradesh
 Making Stone Tools
Stone tools were made using two different techniques –
1. Stone on stone – Here, the pebble or the core from which
the tool was made was held in one hand. The other hand
then hammered it with another stone. The hammer stone
was used to strike off flakes from the core stone till the
desired shape was achieved.

2. Pressure flaking – In this process, the stone was placed on a

firm surface. The hammer stone was then used on this
stone to remove flakes which were then shaped into tools.
Uses Of Fire
Source of light
To cook meat
To scare away
animals
To warm themselves
 Changing Environment
(Around 12000 years ago)
Warm climate
Development of grasslands
Increase in the number of deer, goat, sheep etc.
Herding and rearing of animals and fishing
Grain bearing grasses – wheat, barley and rice
grew naturally
- This led to the development of agriculture.
a) Why did hunter-gatherers live in caves
and rock shelters?
b) Why did hunter-gatherers move from
place to place?
c) List some ways in which the hunter-
gatherers used fire.