Ancient Prehistoric Era

The prehistoric age is the period where there is no written documentation of human civilization. Since there is no writing from the people this period is referred to as the prehistoric period in Ancient history. This time period dates back from 2.5 million years ago to 1,200 B.C.

During that time stone tools were used by the people for hunting. Since there were no written notes it was very difficult to interpret the lifestyle and behaviour of the people who lived back then. The evidence of this period is found out using archaeology and excavation. In this article, we will tell you everything about the prehistoric age.

Ancient History is categorised into three ages: Stone Age, Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Let’s talk about all three ages.

Stone Age

The Stone Age refers to the time period when stone was used to make tools. This age is further divided into three periods:

• Paleolithic age (old stone age): Period – 500,000 – 10,000 BCE
• Mesolithic age (late stone age): Period – 10,000 – 6000 BCE
• Neolithic age (new stone age): Period – 6000 – 1000 BCE

Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)

• The Paleolithic Age is also called the Ice age because the entire earth was covered with snow and the sunshine coming on the earth was a rare occasion
• As the weather was very cold, plants and humans couldn’t survive. But, human life was found in the tropical regions since the ice used to melt there

Major characteristics of the Paleolithic Age

• The people of this age used to live in the caves and rock shelters near the river and valleys
• Humans didn’t know how to cook and agriculture and pottery were unknown to them
• They used to eat wild fruits and vegetables and hunt on a large scale
• All the weapons used by them were purely made from stone

The Paleolithic Age is divided into three phases according to the types of weapons used and climate conditions:

• Lower Paleolithic Age: up to 100,000 BC
• Middle Paleolithic Age: 100,000 BC – 40,000 BC
• Upper Paleolithic Age: 40,000 BC – 10,000 BC

Mesolithic Period (Middle Stone Age):

During this period, the climate became warm due to which a large amount of ice melted. Major developmental changes occurred in both the plant and human life.

Major characteristics of the Mesolithic Period

• In the start, the primary things people used to do were hunting, fishing and food gathering. Later, they shifted to domesticating animals like dogs, sheep, goats and cultivated plants which laid the foundation of agriculture
• Mesolithic people used to wear clothes made from animal skin
• People started using bows and arrows for hunting
• The major feature of this period was microliths – small stone tools made of flint or chert. These tools were used to hunt smaller animals and birds
• Mesolithic people were art lovers and used to draw paintings on the stone depicting the wild animals, hunting scenes, dancing and food collection
• This period witnessed the first human colonization of the Ganga Plains

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Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

During this period humans made a lot of significant changes in their social and economic life.

Major characteristics of the Neolithic Period

• People of this period discovered fire and agriculture started on a huge scale. They started cultivating crops like wheat, ragi and horse gram
• Houses of mud and reed were built
• Since agriculture had stated people needed something to store grains. That’s why pottery was also born
• In the start, pottery was made by hand and later pottery wheels were used
• The people used the microlithic blades and took the next step and built more advanced tools from the polished stones
• Other Weapons like needles, scrapers, borers, arrowheads and many more were made from the bones
• People knew how to build boats and could weave cloth
• Neolithic people used to live near the hilly river valleys and slopes of the hills

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Chalcolithic Age (Stone Copper Age)

In the Chalcolithic age, metal was used along with stone weapons.

Major Characteristics of Chalcolithic Age:

• Agriculture was majorly developed in this age and people produced several pulses like green gram, grass pea, lentil and black gram
• People dominated several animals like cows, sheep, goats, pigs and buffaloes and hunted deer
• Chalcolithic people used to live in the eastern regions and are mostly fish and rice
• Black and red pottery along with ochre-coloured pottery were popular
• White linear designs were crafted by the people
• Infant mortality was very high
• Tools were made up of copper and stones
• Chalcolithic people knew about weaving and spinning
• People used to live in thatched houses made of mud bricks. Although the chief of the village used to live in a large rectangular house marking the beginning of social inequalities

Bronze Age:

• The Bronze Age ended the Stone Age. The timeline of this age is 3,300 to 1,200 BCE
• People started making weapons and tools made from bronze
• During the period states and kingdoms emerged. People started migrating and trading with each other
• The wheel and the ox-drawn plough were invented. Proto-writing also started during the period
• Social stratification and slavery were introduced into society

Iron Age

• The time period of the Iron Age is between 1200 B.C. and 600 B.C.
• People from Europe, Asia and parts of Africa started making weapons from iron and steel
• This age witnessed the arrival of Aryans. Jainism and Buddhism were also introduced
• Mahajanapadas, the first civilization on the banks of the river Ganga after the Indus Valley also started during this period

Conclusion

In human history, these three periods are very important since they tell us how many humans have evolved. In the start the man didn’t know anything about cooking, agriculture, trading, politics but as the years passed he learned a lot of ways to live more efficiently.

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