CHAPTER-5 : Ecology and Environment
Ancient History of India
OLD NCERT
Short Notes or Revision Notes
Ecological Impact
Iron Tools and Agriculture (c. 500 BCE)
- Iron axe and ploughshare use enabled working tougher soils:
- Mid-Gangetic plains (alluvial)
- Vindhyan zone (red soil)
- Deccan and western India (black cotton soil)
Urbanization and Geography
- Pataliputra (first major city): junction of Ganges, Son, Gandak, Ghagara, Punpun rivers.
Forestry and Settlements
- Chirand’s location (Ganges-Ghaghara junction) suggests past forests.
- Neolithic tools (antler bone) from Chirand indicate deer hunting.
Climate Change and Adaptation
- Inamgaon (Maharashtra) evidence:
- Arid phase around 1000 BCE forced farmers to abandon settlements.
- Shift to pastoral nomadism as a coping mechanism.
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