The Chalcolithic Culture

With the end of the Neolithic Age, several cultures started using metal, mostly copper and
low grade bronze. The culture based on the use of copper and stone was termed as
Chalcolithic meaning stone-copper Phase. In India, it spanned around 2000 BC to 700 BC.
This culture was mainly seen in Pre-Harappan phase, but at many places it extended to
Post-Harappan phase too. The people were mostly rural and lived near hills and rivers. The
Chalcolithic culture corresponds to the farming communities, namely Kayatha, Ahar or
Banas, Malwa, and Jorwe.

The term Chalcolithic is a combination of two words- Chalco+Lithic was derived from the
Greek words "khalkos" + "líthos" which means "copper" and "stone" or Copper Age. It is
also known as the Eneolithic or Æneolithic (from Latin aeneus "of copper") is an
archaeological period that is usually considered to be part of the broader Neolithic (although
it was originally defined as a transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age).
Important Chalcolithic Culture
Chalcolithic Culture Sites of Chalcolithic Culture
1. Ahara Culture Aahar (Rajasthan), balathal,
Gilund etc. The distinctive
feature is black and red ware.
2. Kayatha Culture Located in Chambal and its
tributaries, the sturdy red slipped
ware with chocolate designs is
main feature.
3. Malwa Culture Narmada & its tributaries in
Gujarat. One of the largest
Chalcolithic settlements.
4. Svalda Culture Dhulia district of Maharashtra.
5. Prabhas & Rangpur Both of them are derived from
Culture the Harappa culture. The
polished red ware is the hall
mark of this culture.
Chronology of Chalcolithic Settlement
The first metal age of India is called Chalcolithic Age which saw the use of copper along with
stone. It was also called Stone-Copper Age. Along with the use of copper and stone these
people also used low grade bronze to make tools and weapons. Chronologically, there are
several settlements. Some are Pre-Harappan or early Harappan (Kalibangan in Rajasthan
and Bhanawali in Haryana) and some are Harappan and Post-Harappan. The Chalcolithic
culture mainly had farming communities and they existed between 2000 BC and 700 BC. In
India it was mainly found in South-Eastern Rajasthan, Western part of Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra, and in South and East India.
List of the Upper, Middle & Lower Palaeolithic Sites in India
Characteristics of Chalcolithic Age
1. Agriculture and Animals
(a) People of Chalcolithic Age survived on hunting, fishing, and farming

(b) Hunting was one of the important occupations

(c) Animals such as sheep, buffalo, goat, cattle, and pig were reared and killed for food

(d) Remains of camels are also found. People ate beef but no traces of eating pork are
found

(e) People of Navdatoli grew ber and linseed

(f) Cotton was produced in black cotton soil

(g) Traces of rice cultivation are also found. This shows that their food included fish and
rice. Eastern India produced rice and Western India produced barley

(h) The major crops cultivated were barley and wheat, lentil, bajra, jowar, ragi millets,
green pea, green and black gram

2. Tools and Weapons

(a) Metals such as copper and its alloys were used to make knives, axes, fishing hooks,
chisels, pins, and rods

3. Houses
(a) Use of bricks was extensive during the Chalcolithic people of Harappa but there are no
traces of burnt (baked) bricks.

(b) The planning of the houses was simple which was either rectangular or circular.

(c) The walls of houses were made from mud and plastered with cow dung and lime.

(d) The houses mostly had only one room, but sometimes multi-roomed houses were also
seen.

(e) For influential people, large mud houses with 5 rooms, 4 rectangular and 1 circular in
centre of the settlement are found.

(f) In Inamgaon, ovens and circular pit houses are found.

List of the Mesolithic and Neolithic Sites in India

4. Pottery
(a) Different types of potteries were used by the people of the Chalcolithic phase. The
Black-and-Red pottery among them was quite common. The Ochre-Coloured Pottery(OCP)
was also in use.

5. Burials
(a) People buried the dead in the floors of their houses in the North-South direction along
with pots and copper objects.
(b) In Navas, children were buried with necklaces around their necks or with pottery of
copper. These children were mainly from affluent families.

(c) In Kayatha region; bodies were found with 29 bangles and 2 unique axes.
6. Art and Craft
(a) The specialty of the Chalcolithic culture was wheel made pottery mostly of red and
orange colour.

(b) Pottery was painted in linear designs, mainly in black pigment and was decorated with
different shapes.

(c) Designs of flowers, vegetation, animals, and birds were used.

(d) The Black-and-Red pottery came into existence for the first time.

(e) People from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar produced channel-spouted pots,
dish-on-stands, and bowls-on-stand.

(f) The people of Chalcolithic Age were expert coppersmiths, ivory carvers, lime makers,
and terracotta artisans.

(g) Ornaments were made from semiprecious stones and beads such as agate, jasper,
chalcedony, and carnelian were used.

(h) People had knowledge of spinning and weaving. Flax, cotton, and silk thread is found
from sites in Maharashtra

List of Archaeological Finding & Evidences | Prehistoric & Indus Valley Civilisation
Importance of Chalcolithic Phase
1. Chalcolithic area expanded throughout the country except for alluvial region and thick
forests.

2. People were settled mostly near hills and rivers.

3. People used microlithic tools of stone and copper.

4. They knew the art of smelting.

5. They used painted pottery for the first time. Mostly all used black and red, wheel turned
pots. These pots were used for cooking, storing, drinking, and eating. Use of lota and thali is
seen.

6. At some places where Neolithic phase transferred to Chalcolithic, it was called Neolithic-
Chalcolithic.
7. Chalcolithic people were colonizers.

8. In Peninsular India there was their large village and a large amount of cereal cultivation
is known/seen.

9. They grew wheat, barley, lentils, and rice.

10. Fish and rice were the important foods.

11. People from Kayatha, Inamgaion, and Eran were well-off while the people from Chirand
and Pandi Rajar Dhibi were poor.

12. In Maharashtra, the dead were buried in north-south direction while in South India in
the east-west direction.

Limitations of Chalcolithioc Phase

The limitations of Chalcolithic phase were:
(a) Chalcolithic people could not make full use of domestic animals as they used them only
for food and not for milk (they thought that milk is for animals’ young ones).

(b) They did not do much of cultivation. They lived in black cotton soil area which required
iron tools for cultivation and there are no traces of plough or hoe.

(c) Chalcolithc phase did not show longevity. There are traces of a large number of children
buried which indicate lack of nutrition and outbreak of epidemics.

(d) People had no knowledge of mixing two metals so they could not use the stronger metal
bronze nicely. Copper had its own limitations and its supply was also less.

(e) People were not aware of the art of writing and they could not gain any benefit from the
technical knowledge of the Indus people.

List of Era’s in the Indian History & Time Line of Ancient

Indian History
Chalcolithic Sites in Indian Sub-Continent
1. Indus Region
(a) Mohenjodaro
(b) Harappa
(c) Ropar
(d) Suratgarh
(e) Hanumangarh
(f) Channudaro
(g) Jhukar
(h) Amri
(i) Jhangar
2. Ganges Region
(a) Kausambi

(b) Alamgirpur

3. Brahmaputra Region
4. Mahanadi Region
5. Chambal Region
(a) Pseva

(b) Nagda

(c) Paramar kheri

(d) Tungini
(e) Metwa

(f) Takraoda

(g) Bhilsuri

(h) Maori

(i) Ghanta Bilaod

(j) Betwa

(k) Bilawati

(l) Ashta

6. Saurashtra Region
(a) Rangpur

(b) Ahar

(c) Prashas Patan

(d) Lakhabawal

(e) Lothal

(f) Pithadia

(g) Rojdi

(h) Adkot

7. Narmada Region
(a) Navdatoli

(b) Maheshwar

(c) Bhagatrav

(d) Telod

(e) Mehgam

(f) Hasanpur

8. Tapi Region
(a) Prakash

(b) Bahal

9. Godavari-Pravara Region
(a) Jware

(b) Nasik

(c) Kopergaon

(d) Nivasa

(e) Daimabad

10. Bhima Region

(a) Karegaon

(b) Chandoli

(c) Umbraj

(d) Chanegaon

(e) Anacji

(f) Hingni

(g) Nagarhalli

11. Karnataka Region

(a) Brahmagiri

(b) Piklithal

(c) Maski

The first metal to be used at the end of the Neolithic period was copper which was used in
addition to stone by several cultures. The cultures to use stone and copper implements were
known as Chalcolithic which means stone-copper phase. The main occupations of the phase
were hunting, fishing, and farming.