Mesolithic Sites in India

The Mesolithic Period, often known as the Middle Stone Age, is a historical period in the Stone Age. While the Mesolithic Period began and ended at different times in different parts of the world, it lasted roughly from 10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE. Climate change happened during the Mesolithic period, and the temperatures got warmer. Variations in Plants and Animals were discovered, and humans were able to readily relocate to other locations. 

The Mesolithic Age lasted from around 9,000 B.C. to 4,000 B.C. in India. Mesolithic sites have been discovered in Rajasthan, south of the Krishna River, in central and eastern India, as well as in southern Uttar Pradesh. Mesolithic sites in India include Bagor in Rajasthan, Langhnaj in Gujarat, and Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh.

Mesolithic Age: Part of the Stone Age

The Prehistoric Period, or when human life existed before records chronicled human behaviour, lasted around three million years and ended around 1,200 B.C. The Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age are the three archaeological periods that are commonly recognised.

The stone age is further divided into three ages:

1. Palaeolithic Age – Old Stone Age
2. Mesolithic Age – Middle Stone Age
3. Neolithic Age – New Stone Age

Between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic periods, lies the Mesolithic period. John Lubbock invented the words “Palaeolithic” and “Neolithic” in his 1865 book called the Prehistoric Times. The term “Mesolithic” was added as a middle phase later in the year 1866 by Hodder Westropp. Microliths, which were little bladed stone tools, were used throughout this period.

Major Mesolithic Sites in India

• Bangor in Rajasthan is India’s largest Mesolithic site
• Tilwara, Pachpadra basin and Sojat Area are some of Rajasthan’s other notable Mesolithic monuments
• Mesolithic sites include Akhaj, Valsana, Hirpur, Langhanj in Gujarat among others along the banks of the Sabarmati River
• Sarai Nahar Rai, Morhana Pahar, and Lekkahia are major Mesolithic sites in Uttar Pradesh
• Bhimbetka, Chaturbhujnath Nala and Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh are other significant Mesolithic sites in India
• The Chhota Nagpur plateau in Jharkhand is another prominent Mesolithic site
• Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, and Sundergarh are well-known mesolithic sites in Odisha
• Mesolithic sites are found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh in South India

Most Significant Mesolithic Sites in India

Bagor in Rajasthan

• Bagor in Rajasthan was a late mesolithic village that was occupied regularly for five centuries
• The site’s first settlers had a highly developed geometrical microlithic industry and a hunting and stock-raising economy
• They learned to use copper or bronze tools to make handcrafted ceramics around the middle of the third millennium BC
• Contacts with the early village agricultural cultures in Mewar and Malwa, as well as the urban Harappa Culture of northwestern India, were established at this time
• Pottery made with the wheel as well as iron was finally introduced 
• Although stone tools were still used, their importance in technology waned, as did the significance of hunting in favour of animal husbandry
• Bagor in Rajasthan is India’s most prolific and extensively excavated site of its kind

Langhnaj in Gujarat

• India has long been a land rich in flora, with a wide variety of animals and birds of several species
• The remains of numerous animals have been discovered in the village of Langhnaj in Gujarat’s Mehsana region, dating back to the Mesolithic era
• Bones of wolves, rhinoceros, bears, deers and other creatures dating back to 2,500 BC have been discovered
• The excavation, which took place between 1944 and 1963 at the Department of Environmental Archeology, the University of London yielded seven human skeletons and a considerable amount of microliths

Changes in India during the Mesolithic Age

• Microliths were Mesolithic tools that were smaller in size, had better finishing, and were more geometric than Palaeolithic tools
• These microliths are little tools that range in length from 1-5cm and are manufactured by sharpening one or more sides with a severe retouch
• Food production became a key aspect of Mesolithic life as domesticated crops and animals gradually found their way into human life
• Azamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan have revealed the oldest evidence of animal domestication
• Rice cultivation and pig domestication were presumably very common during this period in the humid plains ranging from the middle Ganga valley to China and Southeast Asia
• Rice and pigs existed in the wild form in this region
• The favourable temperature, greater rainfalls, warmer environment, and greater food security resulted in a shift from nomadism to seasonally stationary habitation and population growth
• The Ganga plains were colonised by people during the Mesolithic phase in India
• The first trace of deliberate burial of the deceased dates back to the Mesolithic Era
• Burial sites have been discovered in Bagor in Rajasthan, Langhnaj in Gujarat and Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh

Conclusion

The ‘Mesolithic stage’ evidence in India is both qualitatively and quantitatively stronger than the Palaeolithic Age. India, like Europe, Africa, and portions of Asia, saw a major climate shift near the end of the Palaeolithic epoch. These changes have had an impact on the way people live in the subsequent ages.