The name Bharatavarsha derives from the name of an ancient tribe called the Bharatas, and the people were called Bharatasantati or the descendants of Bharata.

Bharatvarsha was said to be the part of larger unit ‘Jambu Dvipa’ which was considered to be the innermost of the seven concentric island continents into which the earth was supposed to be divided.

The names ‘India’ and ‘Hindustan’ we owe to the early invaders of the country the ‘Persians’ and the ‘Greeks’. The Greeks pronounced the word ‘Sindhu’ as ‘Indus’ and hence India. Persians pronounced the letter ‘S’ as ‘H’. So, they pronounced the word ‘Sindhu’ as ‘Hindu’, and hence ‘Hindustan’.

The Palaeolithic Period

Hunters and food gatherers

Palaeo means ‘old’ and ‘lithic’ means stone (old stone age).

Palaeolithic age in India is divided into three phases.

The Palaeolithic culture of India developed in Pleistocene period.

Robert Bruce was the first to discover a palaeolithic stone tool in India in 1863.

The palaeolithic research in India got a boost only with the coming of Yale Cambridge Expedition in1935 led by Deterra and Patterson.

Lower palaeolithic culture

Covers the greater part of the Ice Age and its characteristic feature is the use of hand-axe, cleavers and choppers.

Important sites-Sohan Valley in Punjab (now in Pakistan), Madras region, Belan Valley in Mirzapur District of U.P., desert area of Didwana in Rajasthan, Narmada Valley and caves and rock shelters of Bhimbetka in M.P. are rich in palaeolithic tools.

Middle palaeolithic culture

The middle Palaeolithic Industries are mainly based on flakes. The principal tools are variety of blades, points and scrappers made of flakes.

Important sites

Nevasa, Surgeon, Bel-phandri and Nadur Madhmeshwar in Maharastra. (The main credit goes to H.D. Sankalia for demonstrating the stratigraphic context of this culture).

Malaprabha and Ghataprabha basin of Northern Karnataka.

Bankura and Purulia in West Bengal.

Neanderthal Man is said to have dominated this stage of human evolution.

Upperpalaeolithic Culture

It marks the appearance of new flint industries and man of modern type (Homo Sapiens).

The major developments of this period are as follows:

• The relatively sudden and widespread appearance of figurines and other artefacts reflecting art and rituals.
• The appearance of wide range of bone tools, including needles, fishing tools and harpoons.
• Blades and burin tools were principal tools of upper Palaeolithic Age
• Similar Tools have been found in A.P., Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bhopal (Bhimbetka) and Chotanagpur plateau in Bihar.

General Characteristics of Palaeolithic Period

• The Palaeolithic sites were spread in practically all parts of India except the alluvial plains of Indus and Ganga.
• The people of this age were food gathering people who lived on hunting and gathering wild fruits and vegetables.
• Man during this period used tools of unpolished, undressed, rough stones and lived in caves and rock shelters.
• Stone tools were meant for huntingand were also used for cutting and boring. They mainly used hand-axes, cleavers, choppers, blades scrappers and burins.
• The tools were usually made of hard rock ‘quartzite’ and therefore palaeolithic man in India are also called ‘Quartzite Man’.
• They had no knowledge of agriculture, they could not make potteries, had no knowledge of lighting fire, could not make houses and were ignorant of metals.

The Mesolithic Age

Huntersand herders

It is the transitional period between Palaeolithic and Neolithic age. It began around 9000 B.C. and continued till 400 B.C. The mesolithic people lived on hunting, fishing and food gathering at a later stage they also domesticated animals. The characteristic tools of Mesolithic Age are ‘microliths’ i.e., blades and scrapers, all mode of stone.

The ‘microliths’ were first discovered by ‘Carlyle’ in 1867 from Vindhayan Rock Shelters.

The most important excavated sites of this period are:

(1) Birbhanpur in West Bengal (2) Tinnevelly inTamil Nadu (3) Bagor in Rajasthan (4) Langhraj in Gujarat (5) Bhimbetka and Adamgarh in M.P., and (6) Sarai Nahar Rai in U.P.

Adamgarh in M.P. and Bagor in Rajasthan provide the earliest evidence for the domestication of animals.

The Neolithic Age

Domestication of animals has been considered as one of the main characteristic of Neolithic Age.

The stone implements of Neolithic age were more skilfully made, varied in form and often polished.

The main characteristic traits of Neolithic culture:-

• Practice of agriculture
• Domestication of animals
• Grinding and polishing of stone tools
• The manufacture of pottery.
• Agriculture and domestication of animals led to:-
• Emergence of village communities.
• Greater control over nature by exploitation of natural resources.

The new Stone Age began in 9000 B.C. the Neolithic settlements in India are not older than 5000 B.C. The only Neolothic settlement attributed to 7000 B.C. lies in Mehergarh, which is situated in Baluchistan.

Based on type of axes used by Neolithic settlers we notice following three important areas of Neolithic settlements:-

North Western Group - It includes important sites like Mehargarh, (Burzahom, Gufkarl and Martans)-Kashmir.The Kashmir Neolithic culture was distinguished by its dwelling pits, range of ceramics, the variety of stone and bone tools and complete absence of microlith. The most important site is that of Burzahom in Kashmir which is famous for pit dwellings and placing of domestic dog in grave of the master.The people here also used tools and implements made of one.They practised agriculture and domestication of animals. The people of Burzahom used coarse grey pottery.

North Eastern Group - The area comprises the hills of Assam including North Cachar, the Garo and Naga hills. The Assam Neolithic phase has been dated around 2000 B.C.The most important site is Deojali Hading in North Cachar.

South Indian Group - Important sites are:-Maski, Brahmagri, Hallur, Kodekal, Sangana Kallu, T. Narsipur and Takkalakota in Karnataka.Paiyampalli in T.N. (Tamilnadu), Piklilal and Utnur in A.P. (Andhra Pradesh).The Neolithicphase in South India seems to have covered the period from about 2000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.The southern group is distinguished by axes with oval shape and pointed butt.

Belan Valley - The excavated sites of BelanValley which indicates transition from the food gathering stage to food pooducing stage are:-Chopari-Mando, Koldihawa, and Mahagara.Chopari-Mando provides the earliest evidence of pottery in the world.

Pottery types known to Neolithic people:

Black Burnished ware, Gray Ware, Mat-impressed ware, Cord-impressed ware

The Dolmans or Megalithic Tombs are characteristic features of Neolithic age.

The Chalcolithic Culture

It is the stone-copper phase where people mostly used objects made of stone and copper but they occasionally used low grade bronze.

They were primarily rural communities.

People used tiny tools and weapons made of stone in which stone blade and bladelets occupied an important position.

They did not practice cultivation on any intensive or extensive scale. Neither hoe nor plough has been found at any Chalcolithic sites. They practiced Slash burn or Jhum cultivation.

They cultivated barley, wheat and lentil in western India and Rai in southern and eastern India. The remains of food grains have recovered from a site at Navadatoli in Maharashtra in large quantity.

The Chalcolithic people were not acquainted with burnt bricks but there evidence to this is available in Glund dated around 1500 B.C. Houses were made of mud bricks but mostly these were constructed with wattle and daub and seem to be thatched houses.

In Ahar in Rajasthan stone built houses have been found.

The settlements of Kayatha and Eran in (M.P.) and Inamgaon and Daimabad are fortified.

The Chalcolithic communities founded the first large village in peninsular India.

Religious life/burial practices

In Maharashtra, dead body was placed in North-to-South direction, but in South India it was East-West position. Almost complete extended burial is obtained in western India. Fractional burial but partial banal prevailed in eastern India.

Terracota figurines of women suggest that Chalcolithic people venerated mother goddess.

In Malwa and Rajasthan bull was a symbol of religious cult.

The settlement pattern and burial practice suggest the beginningof social in-equalities.

The Chalcolithic culture in central and western India disappeared by 1200 B.C. Only the Jorwe culture continued till 700 B.C.

The eclipse of Chalcolithic habitation is attributed to a decline in rainfall around 1200 B.C. onwards.

Important sites

• South Eastern Rajasthan-Ahar and Gilund
• Western M.P. - Malwa, Kayatha, Eran.
• Western Maharashtra-Jorwe, Nevesa, Daimabad, Sonegaon, Inamgaon, Prakasha and Nasik.
• Bihar-Chirand, Senwar, Sonpur, Taradih.
• West Bengal-Pandu Rajar Dhibi, Mahishdal.
• Eastern U.P.-Khairadih, Narhan.