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Paleolithic Age in India

The Paleolithic Age in India (Indian Stone Age) is divided into the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods based on geological age, the type and technology of stone tools, and the subsistence base.

Palaeolithic Period:

The Palaeolithic period is further divided into three phases: Lower, Middle, and Upper Palaeolithic.

  • Lower Palaeolithic:
    Time range: Approximately 2 million years ago (mya) to 100,000 years ago.
    The Lower Palaeolithic phase represents the earliest stage of human culture.
  • Middle Palaeolithic:
    Time range: Approximately 100,000 to 40,000 years ago.
    This phase is characterized by the use of flake tools and smaller implements compared to the earlier Lower Palaeolithic.
  • Upper Palaeolithic:
    Time range: Approximately 40,000 to 10,000 years ago.
    This period saw the emergence of burins and scrapers, as well as advanced tool-making techniques.

Geological Context:

The Palaeolithic cultures belong to the Pleistocene geological era, while the Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures belong to the Holocene era. The Pleistocene, often referred to as the “Ice Age,” was a period during which large parts of the Earth’s surface were covered by ice sheets, significantly impacting early human habitation and development.

Regional Variations:

Stone Age cultures did not evolve uniformly across the Indian subcontinent. There were regional variations in their features, and the dates for different sites vary considerably.

For example:

  • Celts, typically associated with the Neolithic period, were found in some regions as late as the historical period in certain parts of eastern India.
  • Similarly, even after the introduction of animal and plant domestication, hunting and gathering activities continued. Many agricultural communities continued to rely on foraging and hunting as supplementary subsistence activities. Even today, hunting and gathering persist in certain remote niches of the subcontinent.

Palaeolithic Age (Old Stone Age):

The Palaeolithic Culture developed during the Pleistocene period, starting approximately 2 million years ago. This era is often referred to as the Great Ice Age, a time when much of the Earth’s surface was covered by ice. The Palaeolithic period was primarily a hunting and food-gathering culture.

  • The term Palaeolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865, meaning “Old Stone Age” (‘Palaeo’ means ‘old’ and ‘lithic’ means ‘stone’).
  • Robert Bruce Foot was the first to discover a Palaeolithic stone tool in India in 1863.

Tools of the Palaeolithic:

  • Palaeolithic tools included clubs, sharpened stones, choppers, hand axes, scrapers, spears, bows and arrows, harpoons, needles, and scratch awls.
  • The tools were generally made from hard rock like quartzite, earning the early Palaeolithic people the name Quartzite Man.
  1. Handaxe:
    A handaxe is a core tool, often bifacial (worked on both sides). It is typically triangular in shape, with a broad butt end and a narrower working edge. It might have been used for cutting and digging purposes.
  2. Cleaver:
    A cleaver is a flat tool made on a broad flake, featuring a wide, straight cutting edge. It was likely used for splitting and clearing objects, such as tree trunks.
  3. Chopper:
    A chopper is a large, unifacial tool, worked on one side only. It was used for chopping purposes.
  4. Chopping Tool:
    This tool is made from a core or pebble, alternately flaked on both sides to produce a sharp, wavy cutting edge, making it more effective than the simpler chopper.
  5. Flake:
    A flake is a rough tool made by applying force to a stone to achieve the desired shape.
  6. Side Scraper:
    Made from a flake or blade, a side scraper has continuous retouch along a border and might have been used for scraping tree bark or animal skins.
  7. Burin:
    A burin is a small tool made on a blade, with a thick, sharp working border. It was used for engraving on soft stones, bones, or walls of rock shelters.

Acheulian Culture:

  • The term Acheulian refers to an assemblage of stone tools marked by advanced and symmetrical hand axes and cleavers. These tools are associated with the Lower Palaeolithic but continued to be used in subsequent periods.
  • Factory sites were often located close to raw material sources and were visited repeatedly throughout the Stone Age.

Division of Palaeolithic Culture in India:

Palaeolithic culture in India is divided into three phases based on the nature of stone tools and changes in climate:

  1. Lower Palaeolithic:
    • Tools: Handaxes, cleavers, choppers, and chopping tools.
    • These tools were made by removing flakes from large boulders, often using fire and water to break off large fragments.
  2. Middle Palaeolithic:
    • Tools: Primarily flakes and smaller tools.
    • A notable change during this phase is the switch to finer materials like chert and jasper for toolmaking.
  3. Upper Palaeolithic:
    • Tools: Burins and scrapers, along with the emergence of parallel-sided blades.
    • This phase is characterized by an increased variety of smaller, more refined tools, reflecting environmental adaptations.

Subsistence and Society:

  • Palaeolithic people primarily lived as hunter-gatherers, subsisting on large and medium-sized mammals like deer, bison, and wild boar, supplemented by plant foods, fruits, and roots.
  • The division of labor was likely based on age and gender, with men primarily involved in hunting and women in gathering.

Despite advances in tool technology and early forms of art, the hunter-gatherer lifestyle remained central to survival throughout the Upper Palaeolithic. Rock paintings and engravings from this era, especially at Bhimbetka, provide key insights into the subsistence patterns, social structure, and cultural practices of Palaeolithic societies.

Palaeolithic Age and Tool Technology:

The tools used during the Palaeolithic Age were not uniform across all regions, and different areas had variations in tool types and their uses. The Acheulian Culture and Soanian Culture represent two distinct traditions of tool-making in the Lower Palaeolithic era in India.

  • Soanian Culture:
    • Named after the Sohan River, a tributary of the Indus.
    • Soanian tools were primarily pebble tools, blades, and chopper/chopping tools.
    • These were found in regions like the Siwalik Hills of northwestern India and Pakistan, including the Soan Valley (now in Pakistan) and parts of the Thar Desert and Kashmir.
    • The remains of horses, buffaloes, straight-tusked elephants, and hippopotamuses have been found in association with Soanian tools, suggesting an environment characterized by perennial water sources and grassland.
  • Acheulian Culture (Madrasian Culture):
    • The Acheulian culture, synonymous with Lower Palaeolithic settlements, is noted for advanced hand axes and cleavers.
    • Acheulian sites are found across Rajasthan, the Mewar Plain, Saurashtra, Central India, the Deccan Plateau, Chota Nagpur Plateau, and the Eastern Ghats.
    • These areas were rich in natural resources, such as water, vegetation, and wild plant and animal food sources.
    • The Bori site in Maharashtra is considered the earliest Lower Palaeolithic site in India. The most well-known Acheulian sites are found in the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh.

Middle Palaeolithic Period (100,000 to 40,000 years ago):

During the Middle Palaeolithic period, the Acheulian culture slowly transformed, and there were changes in both the types of tools and the techniques used to make them.

  • Tools:
    • Middle Palaeolithic tools became smaller, lighter, and thinner than those from the previous phase.
    • Flake tools and blade tools were more common, and these were often made from chert and jasper, finer materials than quartzite.
    • These tools were used for more precise tasks, such as manufacturing wooden weapons and processing animal hides.
  • Sites:
    • Sites from this period are more sparsely distributed compared to the Lower Palaeolithic. The development of Middle Palaeolithic culture occurred during the Upper Pleistocene, a period marked by intense cold and glaciation, which likely influenced the spread of human populations.
    • Rock shelters began to be occupied in areas like Tamil Nadu for the first time.
    • Important Middle Palaeolithic sites include the Potwar Plateau, the Sanghao Cave in Pakistan, and Kalpi in Uttar Pradesh.
    • The Belan Valley is another important site, containing Middle Palaeolithic tools and animal fossils, such as cattle and deer, which provide insight into the environment and subsistence patterns of the period.

Upper Palaeolithic Period (40,000 to 10,000 years ago):

The Upper Palaeolithic period in India saw significant advances in technology, subsistence patterns, and even early forms of art. This phase marks the appearance of Homo sapiens in India.

  • Tools:
    • The hallmark of the Upper Palaeolithic period was the creation of burins, scrapers, and parallel-sided blades.
    • There was an increase in the number of bone tools, such as needles, harpoons, and fishing tools.
    • Stone tools became smaller, reflecting adaptations to environmental changes, including a trend toward arid climates in northern and western India.
  • Art and Culture:
    • This period is significant for the earliest examples of art, including rock paintings and petroglyphs (engravings).
    • Paintings found at Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh) are some of the earliest known examples of prehistoric art in India. These paintings depict animals such as bison, elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, and boars in large, vibrant figures.
    • Ostrich eggshells with engraved designs have been found at over 40 sites, indicating a symbolic or artistic inclination among Upper Palaeolithic people.
  • Environmental Changes:
    • There were significant climatic changes during this period. Extensive desert formations in northwestern India and shifting river courses impacted the landscape.
    • Vegetation cover reduced, and many areas became increasingly arid.
    • Coastal areas in Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, and Kutch developed quartz and carbonate dunes due to the lowering of sea levels.

Palaeolithic Subsistence Patterns:

Throughout the Palaeolithic period, early humans relied on hunting and gathering as their primary means of survival. They used tools to hunt large and medium-sized animals, such as deer, ox, bison, rhinoceros, and elephants. In addition to hunting, they foraged for fruits, roots, leaves, and seeds.

  • The balance between hunting and gathering varied, but recent studies suggest that gathering might have been more important than previously believed, especially for providing a stable food source.
  • Men likely focused on hunting, while women gathered plant-based foods. This division of labor helped ensure the survival of Palaeolithic communities.
  • The seasonal availability of resources influenced their nomadic lifestyle, with camps being set up in different locations depending on the time of year.

Palaeolithic Sites in India:

  • Belan Valley (Uttar Pradesh): Rich in stone tools and animal fossils, including evidence of early domestication of animals.
  • Chopani Mando (Uttar Pradesh): An Upper Palaeolithic site with a cultural sequence transitioning from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic period.
  • Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh): One of the most important rock shelter sites, containing a long sequence of stone tool industries from the Lower Palaeolithic to the historic period. It is also famous for its Upper Palaeolithic rock paintings.
  • Sanghao Cave (Pakistan): Evidence of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic tools and hearths, suggesting continued human occupation.
  • Paisra (Bihar): A Lower Palaeolithic site that shows evidence of habitation, with tools and living areas.

Conclusion:

The Palaeolithic period in India represents a critical stage in human history, characterized by hunter-gatherer societies, evolving tool technologies, and early forms of art. The Lower Palaeolithic marks the emergence of basic tools like hand axes and cleavers, while the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic saw significant advancements in tool refinement and artistic expression. Despite regional variations in the evolution of Stone Age cultures, hunting and gathering remained central to the survival of early humans. The rock paintings and engravings of the Upper Palaeolithic provide important insights into the subsistence patterns and social organization of these early societies, making this period an essential chapter in the prehistory of the Indian subcontinent.

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