What Is Pre-Historic Age? | UPSC History
Human history dates back to prehistoric times which are called as Stone, bronze, and iron ages. There are no written records of this period which is why it is called the prehistoric period. Based on the archaeological findings like stone tools, metal implements, and artifacts used by the people that are found in many places are pieces of evidence.
It is the period, there was no way of writing. The prehistoric age is only understandable based on the physical things found on the various archaeological sites. The pre-historic age is divided into various categories related to the history of human settlements. Let’s discuss the pre-historic age in detail.
Pre-Historic periods in India.
Ancient history is divided into five parts which are:
1)Paleolithic Period(Old Stone Age) from 500,000BCE to 10,000BCE– The term Paleolithic is derived from the Greek word Paleo which means old and lithic means stone. This is a period when the earth was covered with ice and the weather was so cold that human beings or plants cannot survive. When the ice melted, the earliest spices of men came into existence. There is evidence of art in the form of paintings. Humans used unpolished, rough stones like axes, choppers, blades, and scrapers. There was no knowledge of houses or agriculture. The old stone age is the age when human beings discovered fire.
2)Mesolithic Period(Late Stone Age) from 10,000BCE-6000BCE– Mesolithic means Middle Stone Age. In this age, the climate became warm and the ice melted which brought changes in flora and fauna. People lived on hunting, fishing, and food gathering but they learned to domesticate animals and cultivated plants. This age was the time when people learned agriculture. This era believed in life after death which is why they buried the dead bodies with food items and other goods.
In this age, Mesolithic men started wearing clothes made of animal skin. Mesolithic people loved art and they did rock art of wild animals, hunting scenes, dancing, and food collection.
3)Neolithic Period(New Stone Age) from 6,000BCE-1,000BCE– Neolithic Age means the new stone age. In this age, man became a food producer from a food gatherer. They used tools and weapons made of bones. They domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats and cultivated lands to grow fruits and corn. People started living in rectangular houses made of mud and reeds. They learned to make boats and weave cloth. They led a more settled life and this period is the beginning of civilization.
4)Chalcolithic Period(Stone Copper Age) from 3000BCE-500BCE– In this age, metal along with stone came into existence. The first metal used for work was copper. The people living in Stone Copper Age domesticated cows, goats, pigs, and buffaloes. They produced pulses like black gram, green gram, and peas. They lived in thatched houses made of mud bricks and every village consisted of more than 35 houses of different sizes. In this age, the people were expert coppersmiths. They learned the art of copper smelting and also the art of manufacturing cloth.
People used to worship earth goddesses, and the bull served as a religious cult. They were also fond of ornaments and decorations. Women wore ornaments made of shell and bone.
5)Iron Age from 1500BCE-200BCE– Iron Age is also called as Vedic Period. The Janapadas and the Mahajanapadas were the realms of this period. The people learned the smelting of iron to make weapons and religious divisions like Buddhism and Jainism were also introduced during the Iron Age. The Iron Age began with Indus Valley Civilization and ended with Mauryan Empire.
The civilization growth and how man learned different methods to live is an interesting aspect.
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