DIVISION OF ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY

The ancient Indian history is divided by historians in Three Phases which are as follows:

1. Prehistoric period
2. Proto history period
3. Historical period

                                    

Prehistoric period:

It is a period of human culture for which no written record are available. Humans of this period were not civilized. History of this period is studied by archeological evidences only. This period is divided into three parts:

• Paleolithic age
• Mesolithic age
• Neolithic age

Proto history period:

It is the period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing ,but other culture noted its existence in their own writings. This period duration is 2500 BC to 600 BC.

Historical period:

It is the period whose information is available in written records. Humans of this period were civilized and historical activities after 600 BC included in this period.

Paleolithic age:

• The earliest period is called Paleolithic  age .The term is derived from two Greek words 'Paleo' meaning old and 'lithos'  meaning stone. This period developed in the Ice age or Pleistocene period. 
• Its evidences found in Sohan valley in Pakistan and Belan Valley in south India .In these sites humans were living roughly  from 5,00,000 BC. Such sites have also been discovered in Kashmir.
• The Paleolithic period extend from two million years ago to 12000 years ago. This long span covers 99% of human history.
• The early man used stone tools for hunting, cutting and other purposes. The tools were made up of stones.

• Some of these stone tools  were used to cut meat and bone, chop fruits and roots.
• Some tools have been attached to handle of bone or wood to make spears and arrows for hunting .Other tools were used to chop wood ,which was used as fire  wood.
• The Paleolithic men discovered fire, which is evidenced by the traces of ash found in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.
• In winters, earlier man wrapped animal skins or leaves of trees around to keep themself warm.
• In this period, man barely managed to gather his food and lived on hunting. He had no knowledge of cultivation and house-building. Animal remains found on Belan Valley in Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh show that goats, sheep and cattle were domesticated around 25,000 BC. They hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruits, roots, nuts etc.
• The life was not settled yet, the hunter-gatherers of this age moved from place to place :

- in search of food

- to follow the movements of animals they hunted

-in search of different kind of plants 

- to meet their friends and relatives

• Around 12,000 years ago, there were major changes in the climate of the world, with a shift to relatively warm conditions. In many areas, this led to the development of grasslands. This in turn led to an increase in the number of deer, antelope, goat, sheep and cattle, i.e., animals that survived on grass.
• This helped people to start thinking about herding and rearing these animals. Fishing also became an important occupation.
• This was also the period when several grain bearing grasses, including wheat, barley and rice grew naturally in different parts of the sub-continent.
• Men, women and children probably collected these grains as food, learnt where they grew and when they ripened. This may have led them to think about growing plants on their own.

Phases in the Palaeolithic Age

The Palaeolithic Age in India is divided into three phases according to the nature of the stone tools used by the people and also according to the nature of change in the climate.

1. Early or Lower Palaeolithic (5,00,000 BC and 50,000 BC)

• The Lower Palaeolithic age covers the greater part of the Ice Age. Its characteristic feature is the use of hand-axes, cleavers and choppers.
• Its sites are found in the valley of river Soan or Sohan in Punjab, (now in Pakistan). Other sites were found at Hunsgi. Karnataka.
• The Early Palaeolithic tools have found in Belan valley. The Belan sites contain caves and rock shelters, which could have served as seasonal camps for human beings.
• The sites found in the desert area of Didwana in Rajasthan, in the valleys of the Belan and the Narmada (Madhya Pradesh) and in the caves and rock shelters of Bhimbetka near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh roughly belong to 1,00,000 BC.
• At some sites, a large number of tools, were found that were used for all sorts of activities. These were probably habitation-cum factory sites.

2. Middle Palaeolithic (50,000 BC and 40,000 BC)

• The Middle Palaeolithic industries are mainly based upon flakes, which are found in different parts of India and show regional variations.
• The principal tools are varieties of blades, points, borers and scrapers made of flakes.
• Middle Palaeolithic sites are found in Soan Valley, Narmada River valley and at places South of Tungabhadra river.

3. Upper Palaeolithic (40,000 BC and 10,000 BC)

• The Upper Palaeolithic phase was less humid. It coincided with the last phase of the Ice Age, when climate became comparatively warm.
• In the world context, it marks the appearance of new flint industries and modern men (Homo sapiens).

• Caves and rock shelters used by human beings in the Upper Palaeolithic phase have been discovered at Bhimbetka, 45 km South of Bhopal. This phase was characterised by massive flakes, blades, burins and scrappers, which have been found in upper level of Gujarat dunes.

The Mesolithic Age: Hunters and Herders

• The Upper Palaeolithic Age came to an end with the end of Ice Age around 9000 BC and the climate became warm and dry. 
• From 9000 BC, an intermediate stage emerged in Stone Age culture, which is called the Mesolithic Age. 
• It intervened as a transitional phase between the Palaeolithic Age and the Neolithic or new Stone Age. It is also called the Later Stone Age.
• In case of India, it started about 8000 BC and continued up to 4000 BC.
• The characteristic tools of the Mesolithic Age are microliths.
• The Mesolithic people lived on hunting, fishing and food gathering. At a later stage, they also domesticated animals.

                           

• Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan provide the earliest evidence for the domestication of animals.
• Mesolithic sites are found in Chhota Nagpur plateau, Central India and South of River Krishna.
• The Mesolithic site Bagor in Rajasthan is very well preserved. It had a distinctive microlithic industry, and its inhabitants depended on hunting and pastoralism.

The Neolithic Age: Food Producers

• In the context of the world, the New Stone Age began in 9000 BC. However, the Neolithic settlements in the Indian sub-continent are not older than 7000 BC. Whereas Neolithic settlements found in South India are not older than 2500 BC. The people of this age used tools and implements of polished stone. They particularly used stone axes.
• The Neolithic settlers were the earliest farming communities. They also started to tame animals. The first animal to be domesticated was dog. Other animals like sheep, goat, cattle and pig were domesticated by them and they became herders.
• With various discoveries and developments, the Neolithic man settled in one place, forming a village. These were the earliest village. They were to be found all over India but more often in river valleys and on the flat plains, where the soil was more fertile and it was easier to grow crops.