From Hunting-Gathering to growing food

$ Names and Dates:

# Prehistoric peiod:
> Human settlements in India dates back to Prehistoric times.
^[Prehistoric times?]
: The period in history in which no written record are available.
^[How we come to know about that period without any written
record or manuscripts?]
:- Archaeologists have found some of the things that hunter-
gatherers made and used.
:- History of that period is reconstructed through
archaeological remains from that period.
^[Archaeological remains means?]
:= Archaeological remains means the things made and
used by people in the past when people did not had the knowledge of scripts.
^[things like?]
:= Those things include tools [made of stone,
bones and wood], pottery, metal items etc of that time.
^ [Tools used for?]
<> Tools were used to cut meat and bone,
scrape bark(from trees) and hides(animal skins), chop fruit and roots.
<> Some may have been attached to
handles of bone or wood, to make spears and arrows for hunting.
<> Woods was also used to make huts and
tools.
> Archaeologists have given lengthy names for the ancient time
(i.e.Prehistoric period). They call the earliest period the Palaeolithic, followed by
Mesolithic and followed by Neolithic period; followed by Metal Age.

& Palaeolithic Period:

> This comes from two Greek words, ‘palaeo’, meaning old, and
‘lithos’, meaning stone.
> This period before 10,000 BCE[i.e. 12,000 years ago] is Palaeolithic
period.
> Palaeolithic period is divided into Lower, Middle and Upper
Palaeolithic. This span of time covers 99% of human history.
^[Who were they?]
:> Earliest people on the subcontinent lived, today, we
describe them as hunter-gatherers.
^[What they ate?]
 :] They hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered
fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks and eggs.
:] Therefore, they move from place to place.
^[Why they were on move?]
:- If they stayed at one place for a long time, they
would have eaten up all the available plants and animal resources.
:- Animals move from place to place therefore
those who hunted them had to follow their movement.
:- Plants and trees bear fruit in different season.
Therefore, they moved accordingly.
:- Movement due to water required for survival
and other purposes. Many rivers and lakes are perennial others are seasonal. Therefore,
people living on their banks would have had to go in search of water during the dry
season(winter and summer).
^[Tools used for hunting?]
:- Men used stone tools, handsized and flaked-off large
pebbles for hunting.
^[Where they lived?]
@ Sites from which archaeologists have found evidence
of hunter-gatherers[in map]. (Evidence: Cave and rock paintings)
% Near water source
;) Many sites were located near
sources of water such as rivers and lakes. (Why? Water for survival and
other purposes)
% Quality stone
() People find places where good
quality stone was easily available. (Why? Make quality stone tools)
% Chosed rock shelters and natural caves
;( People choose caves and rock shelters as a
place to live in. (Why? People chose natural caves because they provided shelter from
the extreme weather, heat and wind and protection from wild animals). Example
Bhimbetka (in madhya pradesh) is an old site with caves and rock shelters.

& Mesolithic Period:

> The period from 10,000BCE [12,000 years ago] till about 6,000BCE[|
ncert|10,000 years ago] is called Mesolithic Period.
^[Significance of this period?]
:) Stone tools found during this period are generally
microliths. A tiny tool not more than 5 cm in size.
^ [Microliths tools used for?]
<> Microliths tools were used to cut meat
and bone, scrape bark(from trees) and hides(animal skins), chop fruit and roots.
 <> Some may have been attached to
handles of bone or wood, to make spears, saws, sickles and arrows for hunting.
:) Hunting-gathering life continued. Though a shift from
hunting big animals to small animals & fishing is seen.
:) Premitive domestication of animals started.
:) Changes in Environment
:- Around 12000 years ago[i.e. 10,000 BCE], there were
major changes in the climate of the world, with a shift to relatively warm conditions.
^[Significance]
= This led to the development of grasslands.
^[Significance]
: This led to an increase in the number of herbivorous
animals.
^[Significance]
:- Hunter-gatherers learnt about these animals.
:- Those who hunted this animals now followed
them.
:- They started to observe their food habits and
their breeding season.
:- They started thinking about herding and
rearing these animals themselves.
:- Fishing also became important.

& Neolithic Period:

> The period from 6,000BCE[|ncert|10,000 years ago] till 4,000BCE is
known as Neolithic period.
^[Significance of this period?]
= We see remarkable progress in human cultivation.
^[characteristics of remarkable progress?]
+ Chief characteristics are,
- Practicing of agriculture.
- Domestication of animals.
- Polished stone tools.
- Manufacturing of Pottery.
^[Signifuicance of those remarkable progress?]
: Cultivation of plants and domestication
of animals lead to the emergence of village communities.
^[How village emerged?]
$ The beginning of farming and
herding [Around same period[10,000BCE]]
! Farming
:= Several grain bearing grasses, including wheat, barley and rice grew
naturally in different part of the subcontinent.
:= Those people collected these grains as food, and learnt where and when
they ripened.
^[Significance]
:] This may have led them to think about growing plants on
their own.
^[Significance]
:[ In this way they became farmers.
! Herding
> People slowly started attracting and then tame animals.
^[How?]
- By leaving food for them near their shelters.
> The first animal to be tamed was the wild ancestor of the dog. Later,
people encourage animals like sheep, goat, cattle that were relatively gentle to come
near the camps where they lived.
> Often, people protected these animals from attacks by other wild
animals.
^[Significance]
- They became herders.
Q. Why the dog was perhaps the first animals to be tamed? Reason.
> Dogs may had those characteristics which helped the people to tame them quickly and
easily.
^[Significance of the beginning of farming and herding?]
$ A new way of life
> Farming brought stability.
^[How?]
- After planting a seeds, it takes some time to grow.
- Therefore, people growing the plants had to stay in the
same place for a long time.
^[Why?]
= For looking after the plants, watering, weeding, driving away animals
and birds –- till the grain ripened and harvested.
! As grain had to be stored for both food and seed, therefore they
began making large clay pots or wove baskets, or dug pits into the ground.
$ ‘Storing’ animals
- Early humans domesticated animals.
^[Significance]
= Animals multiply naturally.
= They provide milk and meat, which is a source of food
whenever required.
= Apart from food they would have used for clothes from their
hides, security reasons and for movement or transport.
^[How Neolithic period is different from palaeolithic?]
; New stone age which is characterized by the development of
tools and weapons made of polished stone. (maybe because they started primitive
agriculture).

$ Domestication
> It is the process in which people grow plants and look after animals.
^[Significance]
- Plants and animals that are tended by people become different
from wild plants and animals for domestication.
^[Explain]
- For example, people selected those plants and animals for domestication
that are not prone to disease.
# For Plants: They select plants that yeild large-size grain, and have
strong stalks, capable of bearing the weight of the ripe grain. Seeds from selected
plants are preserved and sown to ensure that new plants and seeds will have the same
quality. Earliest domesticated plants were wheat and barley.
# Amongst animals: those that are relatively gentle are selected for
breeding.
@ All the plant and animal produce that we use as food today is a result of
domestication.

$ Finding out about fire:

- Traces of ash have been found at Belgam cave aka kurnool caves (in map above).
- This suggest that people were familier with the use of fire. Fire could have been
used for many things: as a source of light, source of heat during chilling nights, to roast
meat, and to scare away animals.

$ Finding out about the first farmers and herders

@ [in the above map, neolithic sites] Site from where archaeologisthave found
evidence of early farmers and herders.
- Most important ones are: in the north-west[Mehrgarh], in present-day
Kashmir[Burzohom] and in east and south India.
^[Evidence?]
- To find out whether these sites were settlements of farmers and
herders, scientific study evidence of plant and animal bones. One of the most exciting
finds includes remains of burnt grains.
[People started to lead a settled life from here].

$ Towards a settled life

 > Archaeologists have found traces of huts or houses at some sites.
^[Example]
# Burzahom(Pit-houses)
# Pit-house
- Pit house are houses dug into the ground, wits steps
leading into them. This may have provided shelter in cold weather.
# Other finds?
- Archaeologists have also found cooking hearths both
inside and outside the huts, depending on the weather. People could cook food either
indoors or outdoors.
# Stone tools
- Stone tools have been found from many sites as well
which were different from earlier Palaeolithic tools and that is why they are called
Neolithic.
^[Which tools?]
- These tools were polished to give fine cutting
edge.
- Mortars and pestles used for grinding grain
and other plant produce.
# Earthern pots
- Many kinds of earthern pots have also been found.
^[Like?]
- Decorated
- Used for storing things.
- Cooking food[rice, wheat and lentils, an
important part of diet].
# Clothes
- Settled people began weaving cloth, using different kinds of
material, example Cotton.

$ A closer look – living and dying in Mehrgarh

- Located in a fertile plain, near the Bolan Pass[which is an important routes into
Iran].
- Probably one of the places where people learnt to grow barley and wheat, and
rear sheep and goats for the first time in this area.[earliest village]
- Other find include remains of square or rectangular houses. Each house had
four or more compartments, some of which may have been used for storage.
- When people die, their reltives and friends generally pay respect to them.
^[How?]
- They beleived that there is some form of life after death. Burial is
one such arrangement.
^[Evidence?]
 - In Mehrgarh, a burial sites have been found where the dead
person was buried with goats. [Probably this meant to serve as food in the next world.]
Q. Many people who lived in Mehrgarh were hunters to start with and that herding
became more important later.
> -Archaeologist found bones of many wild animals deep inside the earth, hence
they could conclude that they were hunters.
- Herding became important because they found bones of sheep and goats on the
top of the earlier remains.
Q. The lives of farmers and herders would have been different from that of hunter-
gatherers.
> - Farm-herd would stay in one location, whereas hunt-gat would have to move
from place to place following the movement of animals.
- Farm-herd would stay in huts or houses whereas hunt-gat would stay in caves.
- Farm-herd food source would be crops and domesticated animals hunt-gat
would rely on wild animals as a source of food.

# Metal Period: Metal age is been divided into two stage viz. Copper age or
Chalcolitic age, Bronze age and Iron age.
> Neolithic period is followed by Chalcolithic period.
> Chalcolithic comes from two Greek words, ‘chalco’, meaning copper, and
‘lithos’, meaning stone.
> Copper was the first metal to be used by human beings.
^[Significance?]
= After the discovery of tin, bronze came to be used [tin + copper =
bronze.]{Copper age is followed by Bronze age BUT in any period stone tools was not
given up.}
= Technology of smelting metal ore and crafting metal was an
important development in human civilization of this age.
^[Significance?]
:= People began to travel long distances in search of metal
ores and esablished distant contact and trade.
^[Where this culture developed?]
:- Generally Chalcolithic culture developed in river valleys.
^[Example?]
:] Harappan culture is considered a part of chalcolithic
culture[bronze age.].{it started with Copper-stone and declined with bronze age.}
> Chalcolithic age is followed by Iron age.[Iron is frequently referred in
Vedas. ]