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choppers and presence of only a few crude Acheulian sites. If both small and large ones are
cleavers are believed to characterise the early taken into account, the number would cross 200.
phase. The late phase is marked by a predomi- A large number of stone artefacts have been
nance of flake tools, particularly cleavers. They found from the Acheulian sites of the Deccan.
are heavy and very sharp. Early man may have The stone tools gave us valuable information on
used it for chopping meat. how they were used. On the basis of this, archae-
Sites ologists and historians deduce as to how man
A large number of Acheulian sites — both early must have lived, what he ate and how he dealt
and late — have been excavated in the Deccan. with the harsh living conditions of those times.
In Bori and Morgaon, a huge quantity of small
flake tools have been unearthed. Other
Acheulian sites are Chirki-Nevasa, Isampur,
Gunore, Saswas Nasre, Yedurwadi, Attiram-
pakkam, Bhimbetka and many more.
The Hunsgi and Baichbal valley in the Deccan
has many Stone Age sites, ranking from the
Lower Paleolithic to the Mesolithic. This region
has a particularly dense concentration of
Acheulian tools
THE FIRST FARMERS sites. For example, wheat grains have been
Neolithic Age found at Mehrgarh in Pakistan, Gufkral and
(8,000 – 4,000 BC) Burzahom in Kashmir and Chirand in Bihar. Rice
grains have been discovered at Koldihwa and
During the Neolithic times, people slowly learnt
Mahagara in Uttar Pradesh. Lentils have been
the technique of sowing seed, growing plants and
found in Gufkral and Burzahom while millets
finally harvesting them. They must have learnt
have been reported from Hallur in Karnataka
this accidentally or by observing the plants
and Paiyamplalli in Andhra Pradesh. Black gram
growing in the wild. When they started growing
has also been found at Paiyampalli
plants, they had to stay in the same place tending
Where do you think the Neolithic people stored
these plants. Thus, they abandoned their
their surplus grain?
nomadic lifestyle and began to lead a settled life
without having to frequently move from place to Beginning of Agriculture
place in search of food. As a result of settling Agriculture was the biggest discovery of this
down, their food supply became regular though period. Nothing is known as to how cultivation of
they continued with hunting and gathering. Their crops started. Discarded seeds might have
population grew and some people became free sprouted and suggested the link between seed
to do other jobs. As their food supply increased, and plant to the Neolithic man. Wheat and
they could store food for the next year. barley were the first cereals grown. Sickles, which
In many Neolithic sites, archaeologists have have been found at many Neolithic sites, might
discovered remains of ancient grains, indicating have been used for harvesting the crops. Thus,
the cultivation and use of those grains in the from a food-gatherer, man became a food-
producer.
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