Summary The brief History of Ancient India: A crisp note for UPSC Civil service examination Aspirants
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Course
UPSC
Institution
UPSC
Delve into the rich tapestry of ancient India with this comprehensive guide tailored for competitive examination aspirants. This book meticulously covers the vast expanse of ancient Indian history from the early Indus Valley Civilization to the rise and fall of powerful empires like the Mauryas, Gu...
● Topic: Detailed study of the Stone Age
● Sources:
○ RS Sharma's works
○ NCERT Class 11 textbook
○ "History of Ancient and Early Medieval India" by Upinder Singh
Overview of the Stone Age
● Prehistoric Age: Time when humans used tools made of stone.
● Classification:
○ Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
○ Mesolithic (Late Stone Age)
○ Neolithic (New Stone Age)
Paleolithic Age
● Subdivisions:
○ Lower Paleolithic: 3.5 million years ago to 100,000 years ago
○ Middle Paleolithic: Up to 40,000 years ago
○ Upper Paleolithic: After Middle Paleolithic up to 10,000 years ago
Lower Paleolithic Age
● Timeline: 3.5 million years ago to 100,000 years ago
● Climate:
○ Coincides with the Pleistocene period (Ice Age)
○ Cold and dry weather
● Human Settlements:
○ Humans lived in caves as they did not know how to build houses.
○ Examples of caves and rock shelters: Balin River Valley (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh), Stone
River Valley (Pakistan), Thar Desert, Kashmir Valley, Mewar Plains, Saurashtra (Gujarat),
Central India, Deccan Plateau, Chota Nagpur Plateau, north of Kaveri River.
○ Bhimbetka rock shelters: Significant for being continuously inhabited from lower Paleolithic to
upper Paleolithic times. Caves made of sandstone and quartzite.
Human Lifestyle
● Living Conditions:
○ Lived in caves for shelter and proximity to resources like forests and water.
○ Bhimbetka caves: Provided materials like quartzite for tool-making.
● Food and Hunting:
○ No knowledge of agriculture or farming.
○ Dependent on hunting using stone tools.
,Stone Tools
● Characteristics:
○ Made from rough, unpolished stones.
○ Tools were created by breaking stones to form sharp edges.
○ Large piece: Core
○ Small piece: Flake
● Types of Tools:
○ Hand Axes: Triangular in shape, used for breaking the heads of animals.
○ Cleavers: Flattish, rectangular or triangular, with one side sharpened by rubbing.
○ Made primarily of quartzite and other hard rocks.
○ Tools similar to those found in Western Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Middle Paleolithic Period
● Timeline: 100,000 years ago to 40,000 years ago
Climate and Environment
● Climate:
○ The Ice Age continued during this period.
○ Cold and dry climate at higher altitudes.
○ High rainfall in tropical regions.
Human Lifestyle and Settlements
● Inventions and Knowledge:
○ Humans had invented fire.
○ The wheel had not been invented yet.
○ No knowledge of cultivation or domestication of animals.
● Shelter:
○ Humans continued to live in rock caves for shelter.
○ Example locations:
■ Balin River Valley (Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh): Caves and rock shelters from lower to
middle Paleolithic periods.
■ Stone River Valley (present-day Pakistan).
○ Sites where both lower and middle Paleolithic settlements were found:
■ Didwana (Rajasthan)
■ Chota Nagpur Plateau
■ Maharashtra
■ South of Tungbhadra
■ Narmada River
■ Ajmer
■ Potwar Plateau (between Indus and Jhelum River)
■ Central India
■ Visakhapatnam Coast
■ Bhimbetka Rock Shelters: Continued to be a favorite due to proximity to forests and
availability of raw materials for tools.
,Tools and Hunting
● Main Activities:
○ Hunting and food gathering remained the primary activities.
○ No knowledge of cultivation.
● Tool Development:
○ Flake-based Tools:
■ Improvement in stone tools; mainly based on flake.
■ Method: Breaking stones from one side to create rough edges; the larger part was the
core, and the smaller part was the flake.
■ Flake tools like scrapers and borers were commonly used.
○ Core Tools:
■ Tools from the lower Paleolithic (hand axes, cleavers, pebble tools) were still used but
less frequently compared to flake tools.
Upper Paleolithic Period
● Timeline: 40,000 years ago to 10,000 years ago
Human Evolution and Major Changes
● Species: Emergence of Homo sapiens (modern humans) for the first time.
● Animal Domestication: Beginnings of animal domestication.
Climate and Environment
● Climate:
○ End of the Ice Age, climate becoming warmer.
○ Thar Area, Rajasthan: Increased dryness and aridity leading to a reduction in Upper
Paleolithic sites, indicating migration from this region.
Human Settlements and Activities
● Settlements:
○ Balin Valley, Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh):
■ Bones of wild cattle, sheep, and goats found, indicating possible domestication and
migration of these animals from Northwestern regions.
○ Andhra Pradesh:
■ Tools made of bones found in Kurnool and Muchulta Chintamani Gavi.
○ Sown River Valley (Present-day Pakistan):
■ Continuous habitation from Lower, Middle, to Upper Paleolithic periods.
○ Bhimbetka Rock Shelters:
■ Continued to be a favored living place due to proximity to forests and raw materials.
○ Other Sites:
■ 566 Upper Paleolithic sites found in the Indian subcontinent.
■ Notable sites: Sanghao Caves, Rory Hills (Pakistan), Kashmir, Rajasthan, Vindyas,
Chota Nagpur, and some districts of West Bengal.
Tools and Hunting
, ● Tool Advancements:
○ Improvement in stone tools to meet hunting needs.
○ Parallel-sided Blades:
■ Major advancement, sharper blades created by continuous rubbing.
■ Blades were long and narrow, twice or more the length of their width.
○ Burins:
■ Small tools resembling modern screwdrivers.
■ Used to make holes or grooves in wood or bone.
■ Helped in attaching handles to larger stones.
● Hunting and Survival:
○ Ostrich eggshells found, indicating the presence of ostriches in India during this period.
○ Humans possibly hunted ostriches to extinction and used eggshells as bowls and ornaments.
Mesolithic Period
● Timeline: 10,000 years ago to 6,000 years ago
Climate and Environment
● End of Ice Age: The Pleistocene period (Ice Age) ended around 10,000 years ago, and the
Holocene period began.
● Climate:
○ Warmer and more rainy conditions compared to the previous Ice Age.
○ Favorable for flora and fauna, benefiting human activities.
○ Regional Variations:
■ Birbhanpur, West Bengal: Increased aridity (dryness).
■ Rajasthan: Increased rainfall.
■ Eastern Madhya Pradesh: Wetter and warmer climate.
Human Settlements and Activities
● New Settlements: Humans began to settle in new areas due to favorable climatic conditions.
● Key Locations:
○ Rajasthan: Bagor
○ Uttar Pradesh: Balan Valley
○ Gujarat: Loteshwar, Ratanpur
○ Madhya Pradesh (Central India): Adamgarh
○ Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh: Evidence of pottery and burials (Dandama, Mahadaha)
● Activities:
○ Hunting and Food Gathering: Continued as primary activities.
○ Fishing: Became a common practice.
○ Animal Domestication: Evidence of cattle domestication in Loteshwar, Ratanpur, and
Adamgarh.
○ Cultivation: Beginnings of plant cultivation and settled agriculture, indicating a transitional
phase towards Neolithic practices.
Tools and Technological Advancements
● Microliths:
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