Early human life - class-VIII

Archaeological excavations at Mehrgarh have provided evidence of early agricultural practices, including the domestication of cattle and the cultivation of wheat and barley.

The Chalcolithic period, or Copper Age, was an era of transition between the stone tool-using farmers of the Neolithic and the metal-obsessed civilizations of the Bronze Age. The Copper Age was really a phenomenon of the eastern Mediterranean regions, and occurred from roughly 3500 to 2000 BCE. The people of the chalcolithic phase used different types of pottery, one of which is called black-and-red and seems to have been widely prevalent from nearly 2000 B.C. onwards. It was thrown on wheel and occasionally painted with white linear designs. Hence, Option A is correct. In India, it spanned around 2000 BC to 700 BC. Hence, 3000 BC is prior to the chalcolithic phase in India, 500 BC is post-chalcolithic phase, 1000 BC falls within the chalcolithic phase, hence, incorrect. 

Excavations at Mehrgarh have revealed graves containing various items buried with the deceased, including utensils, which suggests a belief in the afterlife or social status.

The new evidence which comes from Harappa and Chanhu-daro show silk threads almost a millennium earlier than previously believed; the earliest find for silk in India was a thread found in Nevasa (1500 BCE). Now three silk fragments, which came from wild silk moth species, dated to the mature Harappan period (2600 – 1700 BCE) show that wild silk was used not just in China. Hence, Option A is correct.

The age which prevailed 2 million years ago is the oldest age and is called the Old Stone Age, and it stretched over a period of 12,000 years. This long duration has been classified into three stages is - the Early, Middle and Late Old Stone Ages. 

They reveal the awareness and the use of fire by the people of the Stone Age. Probably fire was used for various purposes to cook food, for light and safety from animals.

The Stone Age is traditionally divided into three periods based on the development of stone tool technology: the Paleolithic (Early), Mesolithic (Middle), and Neolithic (Late/New) ages.

The period from 12,000 years to around 10,000 years is called the Middle Stone Age. The implements of this period are generally very small and hence they are called delicate stone implements. Man used to fashion handles from delicate stone for weapons made from bone and wood. He used those implements as axes and saws. These types of tools are also known as micro wears.

It is believed that 12,000 years ago a major change took place in the world’s environment. The earth’s temperature began to gradually increase. This led to the development of grasslands in many places. Birds and animals began to multiply in unprecedented numbers. Animals like deer, elks, goats, sheep and others prospered in these grasslands. 

There are many sites in which stone tool remains have been found. Most of these sites have been discovered along the banks of rivers and lakes. Furthermore, since stone implements were essential for the survival of people of that age, they chose areas abundant with the raw material which could fulfill their needs. Areas, where people used stones to create various implements, have been thought to be industrial sites or factory sites.

Since the prehistoric period predates the invention of writing, historians rely entirely on archaeological remains (tools, pottery, bones, etc.) to study this era.

The Paleolithic lasted from 2.6 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago. The word Palaeolithic derives from the Greek: palaios (old) and lithikos (relating to or composed of stone), means 'old age of the stone'. It is also more generally associated with the cultures and lifestyles of the hunter-gatherers who produced stone tools.

The Paleolithic Era is significant because people established the process of hunting-gathering, which has supported humans for the majority of their existence on earth. The Paleolithic Era also involved the development of simple tools, including the hand ax, and tool-making industries

The period before the discovery of the art of writing is called the Prehistoric age. This is so because we do not find evidence of the linguistic development or the use of scripts. In this age, man was a nomad and indulged in hunting and food-gathering. Archaeologists have discovered few tools created and used by these people. Probably they used tools made of stone, wood and bones. Among these, only tools made of stone have survived today, providing us the sources for study. Pre historic man used stone tools to cut wooden logs.

The period before the discovery of the art of writing is called the Prehistoric age. This is so because we do not find evidence of the linguistic development or the use of scripts. In this age, man was a nomad and indulged in hunting and food-gathering. The relics of the hunting and food-gathering humans are available in Bimbetka, Hunasagi and Kurnool in India. There are many other sites in which such relics have been found. Most of these sites have been discovered along the banks of rivers and lakes. Furthermore, since stone tools were essential for the survival of people of that age, they chose areas abundant with stone which could fulfil their needs. Areas where people used stones to create various tools have been thought to be the first industrial sites of human beings.

The Chalcolithic age was a transition period from the Stone Age (Neolithic) to Metal Age. The first metal to be used was copper. It was used with the stone for making pins and simple implements.The transition is thought to have taken place gradually in the late 7th millennium BCE. It is also called Stone-Copper age.

Man
has moved from a nomadic stage to a settled social life. A stable and
secure community life is necessary for the development of the individual
as well as society. In the nomadic stage, man did not have this
stability and security. They were continuously on move in search of food and shelter from wild animals and other predators.

Prehistoric period is the period for which no written records are available by which to write its history. Prehistory is the period that begins with the appearance of the human being like species, about five million years ago, and finishes with the invention of writing, about 6,000 years ago. It is a long period divided into three stages: the Palaeolithic Age, the NeolithicAge and the Metal Age.

Neanderthals (or Neanderthals) are our closest extinct human relatives. They emerged at least 200,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch. They lived during the Ice Age and to protect themselves from cold they started wearing leather clothing and took shelter in limestone caves.

The period before the discovery of the art of writing is called the Prehistoric age. This is so because we do not find evidence of the linguistic development or the use of script. In this age, man was a nomad and indulged in hunting and food-gathering. The relics of the hunting and food-gathering humans are available in Bimbetka, Hunasagi and Kurnool in India. There are many other sites in which such relics have been found. Most of these sites have been discovered along the banks of rivers and lakes. Bhimbetka is a rick shelter site.

The period before the discovery of the art of writing is called the Prehistoric age. This is so because we do not find evidence of the linguistic development or the use of scripts. In this age, man was a nomad and indulged in hunting and food-gathering. Archaeologists have discovered few tools created and used by these people. Probably they used tools made of stone, wood and bones. Among these, only tools made of stone have survived today, providing us the sources for study. 

The Harappan Civilization is classified as a Bronze Age civilization, which falls under the broader Chalcolithic period, characterized by the use of both stone and copper tools.

The Chalcolithic age was a transition period from the Stone Age (Neolithic) to Metal Age. The first metal to be used was copper. The transition is thought to have taken place gradually in the late 7th millennium BCE. The largest site of the Chalcolithic period is Diamabad situated on the left bank of the Pravara River.

Daojali Hading is a site on the hills near the Brahmaputra Valley, close to routes leading into China and Myanmar. Here stone tools, including mortars and pestles, have been found. These indicate that people were probably growing grain and preparing food from it. Other finds include jadeite, a stone that may have been brought from China. 

Mehrgarh is a Neolithic site on the Kacchi Plain.

The burial site of Mehrgarh shown that the dead people were buried with Goats.

The Harappan people cultivated a variety of crops, including wheat, barley, rice, and various millets, which supported their urban population.

Copper was the first metal discovered and utilized by humans, marking the transition from the Neolithic period to the Chalcolithic period.

Hallur is an archaeological site located in the Haveri District, in the Indian state of Karnataka

Hallur, South india's earliest Iron Age site lies in a semi-arid region with scrub vegetation, located on the banks of the river Tungabhadra the site is a low mound about 6.4 m high.

The site was first discovered by Nagaraja Rao in 1962, and excavated in 1965.

Further sampling was carried out in the late 1990s for the recovery of archaeobotanical evidence and new high precision radiocarbon dates.

Daojali Hading is located in Assam. It is the most well-known sites of entire Northeast India located in a low hillock having an altitude of 1,000 feet AMSL in the North Cachar Hills.

False.

Hunter-gatherers used to live in a temporary settlement close to water.

Traces of ash have been found in the Kumool caves.

This suggests that people in the past used fire. Answer: They used fire to make light, to cook meat and to frighten animals.

The Paleolithic Age is also called the Old Stone Age. The Paleolithic Age began about 2.5 million years ago and lasted until around 8000 B.C. Remember, that is about 4,500 years earlier than recorded time, which starts about 5,500 years ago. Try to imagine what life was like during the Paleolithic Age.

Settled Life began only after man settled down and started practicing agriculture during the Neolithic age.

India's Iron Age emerged in an era of transition known as the Vedic period (ca. 1,500-600 BCE).

Thus, the use of iron in the Indian Subcontinent began about 3000 years ago.

Hunter and gatherers used to collect their food from hunting. They do not used to use any form of irrigation.

While the Neolithic age is defined by stone tools, gold was one of the few metals known and used for ornamental purposes during this time, though it was not used for tools.

Iron ploughshare was used to churn the fertile soil, hence increasing the productivity of the soil. Kings also helped to increase agricultural production by extending aid for building several irrigation structures such as tanks, canals, and wells.

Alamgirpur is a significant archaeological site located in the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, which falls within the Ganges river system, unlike the Indus-based sites like Mohenjodaro.