CHAPTER-7 : Human Evolution: The Old Stone Age
Ancient History of India
OLD NCERT
Short Notes or Revision Notes
Early Human Evolution (Africa)
Geological Timeline
- Earth: 4.6 billion years old
- Quaternary Period:
- Pleistocene Epoch (Ice Age): 2 million BCE – 12,000 BCE
- Holocene Epoch (Post-Ice Age): 12,000 BCE – Present
Hominid Species
- Australopithecus:
- First major step in human evolution
- Bipedal, small braincase (400 cc)
- Lived in Africa (2 million BCE – 12,000 BCE)
- Homo habilis (“Handy Man”):
- Early human species (2-1.5 million BCE)
- Found in Africa with stone tools
- Larger braincase (500-700 cc)
- Homo erectus (“Erect Man”):
- Appeared 1.8-1.6 million BCE
- Larger braincase (800-1200 cc)
- Used hand axes
- Found in Africa, Asia (including South Asia)
- Homo sapiens (“Wise Man”):
- Ancestor of modern humans
- Resembles Neanderthals (230,000-30,000 BCE)
- Large braincase (1200-1800 cc)
- Possibly originated in Europe
Modern Humans
- Homo sapiens sapiens (“Fully Modern Man”):
- Emerged in Africa (115,000 BCE)
- Large braincase (1200-2000 cc)
Early Humans in India
Siwalik Hills (India & Pakistan)
- Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus skull fossils found (hominid features, but ape-like)
- Possible dead end in hominid evolution
Narmada Valley, Madhya Pradesh
- 1982 discovery of near-complete hominid skull (Homo erectus, now considered archaic Homo sapiens)
Sri Lanka (Fa Hien Cave)
- Homo sapiens sapiens fossils found (34,000 years old)
The Paleolithic Age in India (3 Phases)
Lower Paleolithic (Early Old Stone Age – 600,000 – 150,000 BCE)
- Tools: Hand axes, cleavers, choppers (similar to Africa, Europe, Asia)
- Use: Chopping, digging, skinning
- Sites: Bori (Maharashtra – earliest), Sohan Valley (Punjab, Pakistan), Kashmir, Thar desert, Belan Valley (UP), Didwana (Rajasthan), Chirki-Nevasa (Maharashtra), Nagarjunakonda (Andhra Pradesh), Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh)
- Climate: Ice age
Middle Paleolithic (150,000 – 35,000 BCE)
- Tools: Flakes (blades, points, borers, scrapers)
- Sites: Narmada Valley, South India (beyond Tungabhadra river), Belan Valley (UP)
- Climate: Less humid
Upper Paleolithic (35,000 – 10,000 BCE)
- Tools: Blades, burins (found in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand)
- Sites: Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh), Gujarat sand dunes
- Climate: Less humid, warming trend (last phase of ice age)
- Number of Sites: 566
Additional Notes:
- Bhimbetka caves show evidence of habitation and tool production.
- Evidence suggests early people were gatherers along the Narmada river.
The Mesolithic Age
Transitional Period
- Between Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages
- Hunting, fishing, gathering (Paleolithic practices)
- Early animal domestication (Neolithic practice)
Mesolithic Tools
- Microliths (tiny tools)
Sites
- Rajasthan, South Uttar Pradesh, Central/Eastern India, South India (beyond Krishna River)
- Bagor (Rajasthan): Hunting, pastoralism, microliths (5th millennium BCE onwards)
- Adamgarh (Madhya Pradesh): Early animal domestication (around 5000 BCE)
Possible Plant Cultivation
- Rajasthan (around 7000-6000 BCE)
Art and Society in Prehistory
Art
- Paleolithic & Mesolithic eras
- Bhimbetka rock shelters (Madhya Pradesh): 500+ paintings (Upper Paleolithic – Mesolithic)
Social Organization
- Hunting bands
- Possible alliances between bands
- Bands evolving into exogamous clans (Neolithic)
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