Stone Age - I
The primitive man made use of stones and stone tools for every day chores. Thus, the era was termed as Stone Age. The Stone Age is broadly divided into three parts on the basis of specialization of stone tools utilized by the primitive man; namely, the Old Stone Age or the Paleolithic age dating from approximately 2000000 BC to 8000 BC, the Middle Stone Age or the Mesolithic Age dating from 8000 BC to 4000 BC and the New Stone Age from 4000 BC to 2500 BC.
The Homo sapiens that lived during the Paleolithic Age were basically food gatherers who were dependent of nature for food. With the passage of time, they began hunting wild animals which led to the creation of stone tools and weapons. Initially, they used stone weapon that were bluntly carved. The demand for food increased as the group became bigger, so the designed special tools with pointed ends. These pointed weapons were basically used to hunt small animals and tearing flesh from their carcass. These tools were made by flaking the sides of a stone with the help of a bigger and heavier stone. These rough and blunt tools and weapons were the main feature of this age and the primitive man by this time had started making and using fire.
With the passage of time, these small groups developed into communities in the Mesolithic Age. The need to survive and feed all the members of the community also grew in this time. The tools that were made during this age were more specialized, sharp and pointed. Hand axes were made which could be flung at fast moving animals from a distance. These axes were attached with a rope made from thick branches of trees or from animal skin and their muscles. Other weapons that were used during this time were adzes, burins, blunt stone- tipped wooden spears and borers.
The primitive man also began to wear clothes made of animal skin. This time also saw the cultivation of wild variety of crops and plants. Small settlements began to take shape because of farming activities of the primitive man. Mesolithic remains have been found from the Archeological excavations in Langhanj, Gujarat, some places of Rajasthan, Bihar, Utter Pradesh and Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh. The painting of the prehistoric man depicting hunting scenes, wild animals, scenes from everyday life and ritual scenes have be found from these sites. They used red and white pigment in making these painting. The oldest painting is approximately 12,000 years old but the exact date of these painting is not yet certain.
Around 3000 BC, the New Stone Age began to take shape with the emergence of urban Indus Valley Civilization.
