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Neolithic settlements differed according to the tribes. Let us read a little about a tribe that lives
region. At this time, groups that lived together close to nature even today.
became close-knit and soon developed into
CASE STUDY—THE ABHUJ MARIA earth, as it would mean inflicting pain on her
TRIBE body. Pointed wood pieces are used for piercing
The Abhuj Maria tribals are one of the main the earth's crust for cultivation. Stone implements
Gond tribes. They live in the interiors of the are used for harvesting produce.
Baster district of Madhya Pradesh. The area The Abhuj Marias still depend heavily on hunting
which they inhabit is known as Abhuj Maria and collecting forest produce for their consump-
region spread over 1,500 sq. miles of dense tion. There are hundreds of rivulets in the area
forest area. and it is not easy to travel even on foot. But, the
The Abhuj Marias virtually live in isolation. Since triblas remember all the names of these hundreds
they keep themselves away from the outer world, of rivulets. They often exchange their products in
their traditional culture has not yet been dis- weekly bazaars. There is no individual ownership
turbed. of land in the Abhuj Maria area and all village
land is owned collectively. In the Maria villages,
Both men and women wear only a piece of cloth
the houses are constructed in two parallel rows
around the waist. They wear several iron rings
with a broad space intervening in which the
around their necks, sometimes as many as
common granary stands.
twenty. They practice shifting cultivation and
grow bananas, coarse grains and rice. They leave Do you think the Abhuj Marias still live in the
a village because the land around it becomes Neolithic Period? Why?
unfit for cultivation. They do not plough the
Houses Burying the Dead
When Neolithic people had to lead a settled life, The Neolithic people probably believed that after
they needed a safe and comfortable house that death, man lives in another world. They had an
would protect them from the sun, wind, rain, elaborate procedure for burying the dead. Often,
insects and wild beasts. Slowly, they began to the dead were buried in pits under the ground.
build houses with materials like timber and grass Sometimes, the dead person was buried along
that were available locally. In many places, the with his dog. Many tribes in India still follow such
Neolithic people lived in small circular or rectan- practices.
gular huts made of mud and reed. Some CHALCOLITHIC AGE
Neolithic people such as those in Burzahom near
(4,000 – 2,000 BC)
Srinagar in Kashmir lived in pits dug below the
Chalcolithic is also known as Eneolithic Period
ground, with steps leading down to the floor of
which saw the use of the metals among which
the pit. These cozy underground pit houses
the Copper was first. It is called Chalcolithic
would have protected the Neolithic people from
which means use of stone and well as copper
the cold climate of Kashmir.
was prevalent in this period. The earliest settle-
Underground pit houses are safer and more ments of the Chalcolithic period range from the
comfortable than houses on the surface or
Gangetic basin to Chhotanagpur Plateau. The
ground.
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