Context: 

A celt, belonging to the neolithic period, was discovered in Poothinatham village in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. 

• The celt was used either as a plough or an axe, and was made of Doloraid stone.

About Neolithic Age:

• The time span of the Neolithic Age in India was around 7,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C. It was the third and last part of the Stone Age. 
  • The other two parts were -Paleolithic Age (500,000 B.C. to 10,000 B.C.) and Mesolithic Age (9,000 B.C. to 4,000 B.C.). 
• Main features: The Neolithic Age is mainly characterised by the development of settled agriculture and the use of tools and weapons made of polished stones. 
• Major crops: Ragi, horse gram, cotton, rice, wheat, and barley. 
• Tools used: The people used microlithic blades in addition to tools made of polished stones as well as bones. They used axes, adzes, chisels, and celts.
• Pottery: It first appeared in this age and included grey ware, black burnished ware, and mat-impressed ware.
• The Neolithic Age is significant for its Megalithic architecture.
• Important Neolithic settlements: Mehrgarh (located in Balochistan, Pakistan), Burzahom (Kashmir), Gufkral (Kashmir), Chirand (Bihar), and Utnur (Andhra Pradesh).
• The oldest Neolithic settlement in the Indian Subcontinent was Mehrgarh which is located in Balochistan, a province of Pakistan.

News Source: The Hindu

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