NEOLITHIC AGE: Agricultural Revolution and Settlements

• The development of agriculture led to surplus food production, resulting in the rise of civilisations. 
• Large villages came to exist, alongwith the development of pottery and the building of permanent residences.

Neolithic Sites and their Characteristics

• The Neolithic culture of north-western India is the earliest to have evidence of plant and animal domestication inIndia. 
• Neolithic sites in Northwest India: Mehrgarh, Rana Ghundai, Sarai Kala and Jalilpur. 
• Thesesites are now situated in Pakistan.
•  Mehrgarh has produced evidence of early Neolithic times, dating to 7000 BC. Wheat and Barley were cultivated and sheep, goat and cattle were domesticated. This culture preceded the Indus Civilisation.
• 1st cultural phase (7000-5500 BC) of Mehrgarh – cultivated crops and domesticated animals, but did not use pottery.
  • They cultivated six-row barley, emmer and einkorn wheat, jujube, ilanthai, and dates.
  • They were semi-nomadic, pastoral groups, built their houses with mud and buried the dead. 
  • They used sea shells, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and sandstone ornaments.
• 2nd cultural phase (5500-4800 BC) and 3rd phase (4800-3500 BC) of Mehergarh 
  • They practised long-distance trade (revealed by Lapis Lazuli, which is available only in Badakshan).
  • Evidence for pottery during these periods. 
  • Terracotta figurines and glazed faience beads have been found.

Early Dentistry in the Neolithic Mehrgarh

• From the Neolithic period, people began to eat ground grain and cooked food, which caused dental and other health problems. 
• The earliest evidence for drilling human tooth (of a living person) has been found at Mehrgarh. It is seen as a prelude to dentistry.

• Burzahom, an important site of this culture, provides evidence for the Megalithic and Early Historic Periods.
• People lived in pit dwellings to escape the cold weather. The houses were oval in shape, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. 
• They used bone & stone tools. There was evidence of menhirs (standing stone) and the use of redware pottery and metal objects. They used copper arrowheads. 
• The people practised agriculture and domesticated animals.
• Seeds of wheat, barley, common pea and lentil have been recovered from the excavations. The use of lentils suggests that they had contacts with Central Asia.
• They were contemporary to Harappa civilization and traded with them.
• Two phases of Neolithic culture have been identified. They are termed aceramic and ceramic phases. Aceramic phase did not have evidence of ceramics. The ceramic phase shows evidence of pottery.
• They also used black ware pottery, beads of agate and carnelian and painted pottery. 
• A burial site produced wild dog bone and antler horn. An engraving of a hunting scene is depicted on a stone with a dog and sun.

• Lehuradeva, Chopani Munda, Koldiwa and Mahagara in Uttar Pradesh; Chirand and Senuwar in Bihar are major sites.
• The site of Lehuradeva (Uttar Pradesh) has produced early evidence of rice cultivation dated to 6500 BC.
• These sites also have evidence of pottery and plant and animal domestication. These sites are characterised by cord-marked pottery.
• Evidence for the cultivation of hulled and six-rowed barley, several types of wheat, rice, pea, green gram, and gram/chicken pea, mustard, flax/linseed and jackfruit have been found.
• Sheep, goat and cattle bones have been found besides bones of wild animals.

• The Neolithic sites are found at many sites in Bihar and West Bengal.
• Birbhanpur, Chirand, Kuchai, Golbaisasan, and Sankarjang are important sites.
• Tools like pointed butt, celts, chisel and shouldered axes have been found.

• Tools used include stone axes and blades.
• Fire-baked earthen figurines are found suggesting cattle keeping.
• These sites have ash mounds in the centre with settlements around them. Utnur and Palvoy in Andhra Pradesh and Kodekal, Kupgal and Budihal in Karnataka feature ash mound sites.
• These sites are found near the granite hills with water sources. 
• These sites are found in the river valleys of Godavari, Krishna, Pennaru, Tungabhadra and Kaveri. 
• Major sites include:
  • Karnataka: Sanganakallu, Tekkalakota, Brahmagiri, Maski, Piklihal, Watkal, Hemmige and Hallur; 
  • Andhra Pradesh: Nagarjunakonda, Ramapuram, and Veerapuram;
  • Tamil Nadu: Paiyyampalli.

• The culture dates from 2500-1500 BC.
• Tools like shouldered axes and splayed celts were found at the sites in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Daojali Hading and Sarutaru are important sites bearing evidence for shifting cultivation.
• The cultivation of yams and taro, building stone and wooden memorials for the dead, and the presence of Austro-Asiatic languages are the marked features of this region.

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