Palaeolithic Age spanned from 100000 years ago till 10000 years ago. It is divided into 3 ages viz. Lower Palaeolithic age which spans till 100000 years ago. Middle Palaeolithic which spans from 100000 years ago till 40000 years and upper Palaeolithic which spans from 40,000 years to 10000 years ago. Palaeolithic tools were club, sharpened stone, chopper, hand axe, scraper, spear, Bow and arrow, harpoon, needle, scratch awl etc. The tools made were generally of hard rock quartzite so the Palaeolithic man was called Quartzite Man. The term Palaeolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It literally means "Old Stone Age." It was marked by the hunting gathering nature. Most Palaeolithic sites in India developed in the Pleistocene period.

Lower Palaeolithic Era

The earliest human settlements in south Asia have been identified with an abundance of stone tool assemblages. The oldest known tools used by human beings were the simple cores and flakes, and they have been reported from the Siwalik Hills at Riwat, near Rawalpindi in Pakistan. These tools date back to as old as two million years. However, the earliest reliable stone tool assemblages belong to two distinct cultural and technological traditions viz. the Sohanian Culture and the Acheulian culture, which we study under the lower Palaeolithic cultures.

Sohanian culture

The name is derived from the Sohan river, a tributary of Indus. The sites of Sohanian culture were found in the Siwalik Hills in North-west India and Pakistan. The artefacts of these stages were found in three river terraces which were correlated with the phases of the four-fold Pleistocene glaciation. These stages have been named T1, T2 and T3. The animal remains from this deposit included horse, buffalo, straight-tusked elephant and hippopotamus, suggesting an environment characterized by perennial water sources, tree vegetation and grass steppes. The tools included the pebble choppers, blades etc.

Acheulian culture

Acheulian culture, named after French site of St. Acheul, was the first effective colonization of the Indian subcontinent and is almost synonymous with the lower Palaeolithic settlements in India. The Acheulian culture was a hunter-gatherer culture that adapted to a variety of climates including but not limiting to western Rajasthan, Mewar plain, Saurashtra, Gujarat, Central India, Deccan plateau, Chota Nagpur plateau and the Eastern Ghats, north of the Cauvery river. Read more about Acheulian Culture here.

Middle Palaeolithic Era

The Acheulian culture was slowly transformed into the middle Palaeolithic by shedding some of the tool types and by incorporating new forms and new techniques of making them.

In some parts of the world, the middle Palaeolithic culture is associated with the Neanderthal man (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis), however, no physical remains of Neanderthal man have been found in India.

But, what has been found in India are the stone tools very similar to those found with this hominid species in Europe and other regions.

The first general observation about the Middle Palaeolithic era is that in comparison to the lower Palaeolithic era, the distribution of sites is sparse. The reason for this is that the middle Palaeolithic culture developed during the upper Pleistocene, a period of intense cold and glaciation in the northern latitudes. In those times, the areas bordering glaciated regions experienced strong aridity. However, generally, the middle Palaeolithic populations occupied the same regions and habitats as the preceding Acheulian populations.

Tools of middle Palaeolithic Era

Middle Palaeolithic tools were primarily made on flakes and blades made by finely trimming the edges. Some of them were used for manufacturing the wooden tools and weapons and also for processing animal hide. There are little hints of use of wooden shafts. In comparison to the lower Palaeolithic era, the tools in middle Palaeolithic became smaller, thinner and lighter. Then, there was also a significant change in the choice of raw material for making tools. While quartzite, quartz and basalt continued to be used, in many areas they were replaced or supplemented by fine-grained siliceous rocks like chert and jasper. Tool Factory sites at chert outcrops occur at many places in central India and Rajasthan.

Important Middle Palaeolithic Sites in India

• Luni valley, around Didwana, Budha Pushkar in Rajasthan
• Valleys of the Belan, Son river, Narmada river and their tributaries in central India
• Some sparse sites in Chota Nagpur platea, Deccan plateau and Eastern Ghats

Upper Palaeolithic Era

Upper Palaeolithic culture developed during the later part of the upper Pleistocene. The Upper Palaeolithic period has recorded a rich panorama of fossils in the peninsular rivers of India. One important discovery is of the ostrich egg shells at over 40 sites in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, which shows that ostrich, a bird adapted to arid climate, was widely distributed in western India during the later part of the upper Pleistocene.There were very important changes in the Palaeolithic-environment which had its own impact on the distribution and living ways of the humans. Some of them were as follows:

• There was extremely cold and arid climate in the high altitude and northern latitudes.
• There was extensive formation of deserts in North west India
• The drainage pattern of western India became almost defunct and river courses shifted "westwards".
• Vegetation cover over most of the country thinned out during this period.
• Coastal areas of south-eastern Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra and Kutch developed quartz and carbonate dunes as a result of the lowering of the sea level.
• During terminal Pleistocene south-westerly monsoons became weak and the sea level decreased by scores of metres.

Due to the harsh and arid climate, the vegetation was sparse though the faunal fossils show presence of grasslands. The human population faced rusticated food resources and that is the reason that the number of Upper Palaeolithic sites is very limited in the arid and semi-arid regions. The most opulent archaeological evidence of this period comes from the Belan and Son valleys in the northern Vindhyas , Chota Nagpur plateau in Bihar , upland Maharashtra, Orissa and from the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh.

Tools of Upper Palaeolithic Era

The tools of Upper Palaeolithic Era are essentially characterized by blade and they show a marked regional diversity with respect to the refinement of techniques and standardization of finished tool forms. The middle Palaeolithic tradition continued but in this period we see the parallel-sided blades struck from standardized prismatic cores. Further, the prototypes of traps, snares and nets were probably used during the upper Palaeolithic times. The bored stones and grinding slabs have also been found giving hints to advancements in the technology of tool production. The bored stones are still used by fishermen as net sinkers in riverine fishing and marine fishing. The Upper Palaeolithic settlements also show a distinct trend of being associated with permanent sources of waters. The use of grinding stones might have been for processing plant foods such as wild rice.

The earliest form of art is found in the form of ostrich egg shell pieces engraved with cross-hatched designs from the upper Palaeolithic period.

Bhimbetka Rock Shelters

Bhimbetka rock shelters are located in Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh, 45 km south of Bhopal at the southern edge of the Vindhyachal hills. These served as shelters for Palaeolithic age man for more than 1 lakh years. This is the most exclusive Palaeolithic site in India which contains the rock carvings and paintings. These paintings belong to the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic ages, Chalcolithic, early-historic and even medieval times. Bhimbetka is a World heritage Site.

Please note that it was earlier considered to be a Buddhist site and was later recognized as Palaeolithic site by Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar who is now also called "father of rock art in India ". Bhimbetka Rock shelters were included in the world heritage list in 1970

Important Palaeolithic sites in India:

• Lingsugur in Raichur district, Karnataka was the first site to be discovered from India.
• Lidder river Pahalgam , Kashmir
• Sohan valley Punjab,
• Banks of River Beas, Bangagnga
• Sirsa Haryana,
• Chittorgarh and Kota, Rajasthan,
• River Wagoon, Kadamali basins Rajasthan.
• River Sabaramati and Mahi basins (Rajasthan & Gujarat),
• Basins of river tapti, Godavari, Bhima and Krishna
• Koregaon, Chandoli and shikarpur (Maharashtra),
• River Raro (Jharkhand),
• River Suvarnrekha (Orissa),
• Ghatprabha River Basin (Karnataka).
• Pahalgam , Jammu & Kashmir
• Belan Valley, Allahabad
• Sinsgi Talav, Didwana , Nagaur Rajasthan
• Hunsgi, Gulbarga in karnataka.
• Attirampakkam in Tamilnadu

The transition from the Palaeolithic period to Mesolithic period is marked by transition from Pleistocene period to Holocene and favourable changes in the climate. The climate became warmer and humid and there was expansion of flora and fauna contributed by increased rainfall. This led to availability of new resources to humans and thus the human beings moved to new areas. This period is marked with increased population, though core economy of this period continued to be based on hunting and gathering.

Most important Change

The early period of Mesolithic age marks the hunting, fishing and food gathering which turn to hunting, fishing, food gathering as well as domesticating the animals.

One more important fact about the Mesolithic era in India is that the first human colonization of the Ganga plains took place during this period. There are more than two hundred Mesolithic sites found in Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh. This era also marks the dramatically increased settlement in deltaic region of Bengal, the areas around Mumbai and other places of western coast of India.

Tools of Mesolithic Era

The tools are Mesolithic Era are smaller in size and better in finishing (more geometric) than the Palaeolithic age and are called Microliths. These microliths are tiny tools of one to five centimetres length, made by blunting one or more sides with steep retouch. The main tool types are backed blades, obliquely truncated blades, points, crescents, triangles and trapezes. Some of the microliths were used as components of spearheads, arrowheads, knives, sickles, harpoons and daggers.

They were fitted into grooves in bone, wood and reed shafts and joined together by natural adhesives like gum and resin. Hunting-gathering way of life was slowly replaced by food production from about 6000 B.C. Thus we see that the use of the bow and arrow for hunting had become common in this period, which is evident from many rock paintings. The Bored stones, which had already appeared during the upper Palaeolithic, became common during this, and the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. These are believed to have been used as weights in digging sticks and as net sinkers. Similarly, shallow querns and grinding stones also occur at several sites. These new technological elements led to enhanced efficiency in hunting, collection and processing of wild plant foods.

Changes in Life- Mesolithic Era

From Nomadism to Sedentary settlements

There were some more interesting changes in lifestyle of the Mesolithic era humans. The favourable climate, better rainfalls, warm atmosphere and increased food security led to reduction in nomadism to seasonally sedentary settlement.

First Disposal of dead and making of Graves

The sedentary settlements lead to beginning of the tradition of various ways of intentional disposal of the dead. The first evidence of intentional disposal of the dead comes from Mesolithic Era. Mesolithic human burials have been found at Bagor in Rajasthan, Langhnaj in Gujarat , Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh etc. The dead were buried in graves both in extended and crouched position. In some cases two individuals were buried in a single grave. The dead were occasionally provided with grave offerings which include chunks of meat, grinding stones, stone, bone and antler ornaments, and pieces of haematite.

Emerging arts

The Mesolithic man was a lover of art, evident from the paintings in several thousand rock shelters in the Vindhyan sandstone hills in central India. The paintings have been found in both inhabited and uninhabited shelters. The paintings are made mostly in red and white pigments, made form the nodules found in rocks and earth. The subject matter of the paintings are mostly wild animals and hunting scenes, though there are some related to human social and religious life such as sex and child birth.

Food Production

The hunting-gathering way of life was slowly replaced by food production from about 6000 B.C. The core economic activities were now included hunting, fowling, fishing and wild plant food gathering. The first animals to be domesticated were dog, cattle, sheep and goat and the first plants to be cultivated were wheat and barley. This new subsistence economy based on food production had a lasting impact on the evolution of human society and the environment. In the humid lands, extending from the middle Ganga valley to China and Southeast Asia, rice cultivation and domestication of pig was accomplished probably around the same time because rice and pig existed in wild form in this region. The cultivation of yams and taro also took place in this region. Domesticated animals proved to be useful not only for meat but also for milk, hide, agricultural operations, and transport.

Mesolithic Era: Important Points

• Agriculture had not fully developed.
• The earliest evidence of domestication of animals has been provided by Adamagarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan. A study has also suggested cultivation of plants around 7000-6000 years back near Sambhar lake in Ajmer Rajasthan.
• The Pachpadra basin and Sojat Area of Rajasthan is a rich Mesolithic sites and lot of microliths have been discovered.
• Bagor in Rajasthan is the almost largest Mesolithic site in India. Another major Mesolithic site in Rajasthan is Tilwara.
• In Guajarat some places on the banks of river Sabarmati are Mesolithic sites which include the Akhaj, Valsana, Hirpur, Langhanj etc.
• Sarai Nahar Rai in Allahabad-Pratapgarh of Uttar Pradesh is a Mesolithic site. Other sites in Uttar Pradesh are Morhana Pahar and lekkahia.
• In Madhya Pradesh Bhimbetka along with Adamgarh are major Mesolithic sites.
• In Jharkhand Chhota nagpur plateau is a major Mesolithic site in India.
• In Orissa Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh is a major Mesolithic site in India.
• In south India Godavari basin is rich in microliths,
• The rock painting of Mesolithic period is found in Adamgarh, Bhimbetka of Madhya Pradesh and Pratapgarh, Mirzapur of Rajasthan. Apart from the animals, hunting scenes, the Mesolithic sites have also painting of social life, sexual activity, child birth, rearing of children and burial ceremony.