ASSIGNMENT FOR HISTORY

Que 3. Delineate some of the key aspects of the tool technology of the Palaeolithic and
Mesolithic poriods of the Indian Subcontinent . Explain the transition to Neolithic
Period/culture ?

Since when human inhabited Indian Subcontinent? The concrete answer can be concluded from
the various primitive tools found here, the antiquity of these tools and their makers goes back to
more than 2 million years which is known as Pleistocene period, People used to reside in small
dwellings and in small nomadic communities. They used tools and implements of stones which
were roughly made by chipping , found throughtout the country except the alluvial plains of
Indus, Ganga and Yamuna rivers. these tools were used for hunting cutting and also to serve
various other purposes of existence They wore animal skin and bark of leaves to protect
themselves from harsh climatic conditions. With due course of time they began to control the fire
and tame animals. The three age systems namely the stone age and then the age of bronze
followed by the age of iron this idea was put forward by the Danish scholars P.F Suhm and
Christian Thomsen in the late 18th and early 19th century .

This theory was further corroborated by the excavations of Danish Scholar ,Jacob Worsaae The
changes between these ages and the difference between them was anoher important step to
identify.

The stone age was further divided into palaeolithic and neolitic age by John Lubbock, however
the usage of Mesolithic term is recent. The palaeolithic is further divided into Lower ,(2 MYA-
100,000 years ago) Middle (100,000-40,000 years ago) and Upper (40,000-10,000 years ago) as
the archaeologists identified the distinct tools makng traditions

Thus the Indian stone age is divided into palaeolithic , Mesolithic and Neolithic on the basis of
geographical age the type of technology used and also the subsistence base.

Stone tools are an important key to understand the lives of prehistoric people .

Early Palaeolithic Tools

Early palaeolithic tools were fairly large core tools which were made up of quartize or other hard
rocks the tools include cleavers, handaxes, chopping tools .However it is also possible that the
primitive people lit fire against them and threw water in order to break rock more easily apart
from hitting directly which will require more effort and strength . Within the palaeolithic there is
a gradual increase in the range and variety of stone tools and shift in preference from coarse
grained to fine grained stone. If the stone is broken into two or more pieces the largest piece is
called the core and the smaller pieces are known as flakes. Hence, if a tool is made up of large
piece it is known as core tool ( handaxe - also known as biface as worked on both sides) and the
tools which are made of smaller pieces are known as flake tools .

Removing flakes from a stone is called flaking ,in the process the depression formed on the
surface of rocks is called flake scar.

Pebble tools are tools made of pebbles A chopping tool is made on a core or a pebble and is
flaked on both the side to produce a cutting edge.

A chopper is large unifacial tool ,worked on one side A cleaver is a flattish tool made on a broad
rectangular or triangular flake with one end broad and straight cutting edge.

The pebble tools are found along with handaxe at several sites. The Hungsi tools were generally
made up of various stones such as limestone, sandstone, dolerite, quartzite .

Archeulian term is used for the stone tools which are made by advanced and increasingly
symmetrical handaxes and cleavers.

Attirampakkam in the Kortallayar river basin,discovered in 1863 is one of the richest

palaeolithic sites in Tamil Nadu

Middle Palaeolithic tools

Within the palaeolithic ages there were gradual changes in the shape and structure of tools like
the handaxes and other tools were not disappeared altogether by were replaced by lighter and
smaller tools. Many tools of the middle palaeolithic period are made up of flakes prepared from
stuck from prepared cores, and there were lot of burins. In the South India the middle
palaeolithic culture is marked by the flake tool industry on the Vishakhapatnam coast materials
like quartzite , chert ,and quartz were used to make stone tools.

The Levallois Technique(named after a place in Paris) is an advanced way of making flaked
tools. Instead of breaking off a flake from the stone the core is carefully prepared its sides were
carefully trimmed and flakes then systematically removed. After this a striking platform was
created by flattening the top of the prepared core. The flake detached in this way is thin , roughly
oval or triangular in shape , shallow and directly flake scars on the upper side. It is also referred
as Tortoise core because the core of levallois tools are similar to that of tortoise.

In the North west most of the middle palaeolithic tools were found in the potwar plateau between
Jhelum and Indus rivers

The upper Palaeolithic tools

The important technical advancement in the upper palaeolithic was the making of parallel sided
blades and the increase of burins the trend was towards smaller tools which may be a result of
change in the environment conditions. However, older tool types continued to be made for
activities in which heavier tools were required. Blade is a flake tool , its length is twice its
breadth and blade with more or less parallel sides is known as parallel blade. A burin is a small
tool made on a blade which has sharp but thick border it resemble modern day screwdriver and
can be used as a tools for making grooves in wood or bone.

Towards the beginning of Holocene there were certain changes in the stone tool kits of the
prehistoric people, during this time people started using and making very small tools which are
referred by historians as microliths. Microliths are tools ranging from 1-5 cm and are generally
usually made on short parallel blades of crypto-crystalline silica stones such as quartzite, chert ,
jasper etc .Microliths include miniature versions of some of the tools of upper palaeolithic like
burins, scrapers and points, but why they were made so small and How such tiny tools brought
under usage. By comparing the archaeological data with ethnographic evidence from
communities in the different parts of the world the historians suggested that microliths may be
used as tools in themselves but many have been hafted into the wood to make composite tools.
They can be used to make spearheads dagger knives there is also a possibility that the poison is
applied on the upper tip of microliths to add the lethal effect of the weapon. The term used to
denote the transitional change in the tools that are comparatively smaller than those of that of
upper palaeolithic however smaller than microliths is epi-palaeolithic.
The upper palaeolithic age come to an end with the end of the ice age around 10,000 BC it may
also be noted that the Pleistocene marked by a succession of ice age coincided with the
palaeolithic age in the world context and lasted from 2 MYA to 12,000 BC and when it ended
the climate became warm and rainy Climatic changes brought about changes in flora and fauna
Humans took advantage of the adequate rainfall, dense vegetation, and forest since then no major
changes have appeared in climatic conditions .In 9000 BC began an intermediate stage in Stone
Age culture , which is referred as Mesolithic age The term Mesolithic is used for post
Pleistocene hunting gathering stone age which was marked by the use of microliths however he
classification is not easy or rigid as some sites such as patne and Hien lena have given the
evidence of microliths in later Pleistocene contexts.

The Mesolithic economy was based on hunting and gathering but some sites also given the
evidence of domestication of animals this was corroborated by the discovery of bones of wild
(wild boar) and domesticated animals(cow/cattle) at various Mesolithic sites. The sites represent
different level of sedentariness. Some seem to have been permanent or semi-permanent
settlements inhabited by people. Pottery was absent at most Mesolithic sites but occurred in
some sites such as langhanj in Gujarat. Among all other features of Mesolithic period one was
the spread of settlements to new ecological niches. This is generally seen as a result to increase
in population because of favourable environmental conditions and technological advancements.

Excavations revealed a 1.55 thick occupational deposit divided into 3 periods

 The first is epi-palaeolithic while the second and third were clearly Mesolithic.
 Period II
(1) Period II A – This period had non- geometric microliths such as blades, points,
scrapers, etc among which largely were made up of chert
(2) Period II B – This period had large number of geometric microliths
 Period III- The microliths were continued in usage however this period is marked by the
presence of the handmade pottery with cord-impressed patterns , hammer stones and
querns etc.

The transition from hunting gathering stage to beginning of settled

agriculture can be traced at chopani mando in the belan valley.
In the world context the Neolithic (New stone age) began in 9000 BC. The only known Neolithic
settlement in Indian subcontinent is Mehrgarh,situated in Baluchistan province of present day
pakistan which is attributed to 7000 BC. Mehrgarh is located on the bank of the bolan river in the
kochi plain which is also called as the bread basket of Baluchistan. The settlement lay on the
edges of Indus river .it is called one of the largest settlements between the Indus and
Mediterranean Though the earliest settlers raised the domesticated animals and produced cereals
they were distributed around 5500 BC by floods Agricultural and other activities were resumed
around 5000 BC with the help of both polished stone and bone tools. The people from this
Neolithic phase produced wheat and barley. They domesticated goats , cattle , sheep in the
earliest phase Initially goats dominated by later on the cattle outnumbered the other two animals
Sheeps may have been reared and cereals were produced in substantial quantities and were stored
in granaries which were made of mud bricks which were used to construct dwellings, discovered
in different phases. The period between 4500-3500 BC saw the expansion in agriculture , Upto
5000 BC people didn’t knew about pottery and the potter wheel was known by 4500 BC. Pots
rapidly multiplied and then began to be painted. Hemudu in the south china has given the
evidence of rice cultivation and domestication of water buffalo, dog and pig in late 6 th early and
5th late millennia BCE. By 5000BCE people in mexico were growing corn , beans and avocados
and were domesticating dogs and honeybees . The primary domestication of plants and animals
took place in the areas where the concerned species were native. Why after thousand of years
after hunting and gathering what was the need of food production and why some groups started
domesticating animals ? V.Gordon Childe attempted to answer this question by suggesting that
environmental changes at the end of Pleistocene were towards the impetus of food production.
He argued that about 10,000 years ago climate in parts of west asia became drier due to the
northward shift of the summer rains this led the people plants and animals to shift closer to water
resources such as rivers and oases. This enforced closeness and eventually led to domestication
of animals. Robert J. Braidwod questioned Childe’s theory and he pointed out that
environmental changes also occurred in the Pleistocene as well but it never resulted in settled
agriculture. He argued that domestication appeared in some specific Nuclear zones which
supported wild animals and plants and also had potential of domestication , and in such areas the
domestication was the result of human experimentation.
Lewis R Binford rejected Braidwood’d theory and further asserted that ethnographic evidences
indicates that in areas where environment and population remained constant, a stable balance
between the human population and food resources have achieved and people do not have to look
for new strategies and sources of getting food. Binfold further emphasized that that at the end of
Pleistocene era there was a rise in sea levels, people living along the coasts migrated to inland
areas which were less populated . This upset the people food equilibrium in inland area and gave
impetus to search for new strategies to increase the food supplies. Kent Flannery shifted the
focus to food production itself . He distinguished the two systems of food proqurement systems –
Negative and Positive feedback Food Proqurement systems . In Negative feedback system
there was a balanced exploitation and use of various food resources within an area and
discourage any change whereas in positive feedback system the productivity of resources
actually increases as a result of human interference and exploitation. He also gave example of
maize, when people transplanted the plant from its origin to other areas the plant responded in
different ways such as increase in its size or the number of grains.

When animals are domesticated over long periods of time certain morphological changes tend to
take place .However these changes appear only when they were domesticated for long time and
not in early stages . The Neolithic age is generally associated with food production, pottery , and
sedentary living , The reality is more complex For example in the Indian Subcontinent the roots
of some of the features associated with Neolithic phase can be traced to the Mesolithic phase .
And there were evidences of pottery and domestication at some Mesolithic sites However there
are some Neolithic sites without pottery The issue of sedentism or sedentary life is even more
complex as some Mesolithic hunter gatherer communities led a fairly sedentary life. The
beginning of settled agriculture does not implies the end of settled agriculture for example the
communities those reared animals continued to hunt and forage for food and there were some
communities were also there who retained hunting and gathering and never switched to
domestication at all. The people of the stone age suffered from one great limitation As they had
to depend almost on tools and weapons made up of stone so they could not found settlements far
away from the hilly areas they could inhabitate only on the slopes of the hills in the rock shelters
and hilly river valleys Also even with great effort , they were unable to produce more than they
needed for bare subsistence. However there is a difference in plant collecting and practicing
agriculture and animal keeping and animal domestication as both involve special kind of human
interference and exploitation. It is possible to identify gradual shifts in the balance of subsistence
strategies from hunting and gathering towards animal rearing and agriculture.

REFERENCES

- Ancient India in historical outline-DN Jha

- History of Early India-Romila Thapar

- A History of Early and Medieval India- Upinder Singh

- India’s Early Past - R.S. Sharma

Akshat Bhadoriya

Roll No – 12609

Course BA Programme (History+Philosophy)