UPSC CORE · NCERT HISTORY · SHARMA CH 6-7: STONE AGE (PALAEO/MESO/NEOLITHIC) + CHALCOLITHIC CULTURES
📚 NCERT TEXTBOOK ALIGNMENT
Class UPSC History — NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar) — Chapter: Sharma Ch 6-7: Stone Age (Palaeo/Meso/Neolithic) + Chalcolithic Cultures.
Two main Lower Palaeolithic stone-tool industries in India?
(i) SOHAN / SOAN industry (Soan valley, Punjab/Pakistan) — characterised by PEBBLE / CHOPPER-CHOPPING tools. (ii) MADRAS industry — characterised by HANDAXES + cleavers, made on the Acheulian model (similar to those found in Africa + Europe). The two industries reflect different stone-knapping traditions.
When did Lower Palaeolithic begin in India?
New evidence from ATTIRAMPAKKAM (TN, 2018 dating) suggests handaxes go back ~1.5 million years; HUNSGI (Karnataka) tools also ~1.7 mya. Lower Palaeolithic spans roughly 2 mya to 1 lakh years ago.
What did Lower Palaeolithic people do?
PURE HUNTER-GATHERERS — no agriculture, no pottery, no permanent dwellings; lived in small bands; followed game; used unrefined CORE TOOLS (handaxes, choppers). Tools made of QUARTZITE in India (since flint was rare).
SOAN VALLEY — features + dating?
SOAN VALLEY (Punjab Pakistan, near Rawalpindi) — Lower Palaeolithic site of "SOAN CULTURE" — pebble + chopper tools, ~500,000-200,000 years ago. Distinguished from MADRASIAN (south Indian) Acheulian hand-axe culture. Soan was studied by H. de TERRA + T.T. PATERSON (1930s).
MADRASIAN CULTURE — what + where?
MADRASIAN (after Madras) Lower Palaeolithic culture of S India — hand-axes + cleavers in Acheulian tradition. Key sites: ATTIRAMPAKKAM (TN, recently dated 1.5 MILLION years — oldest Indian site), Pallavaram, Hunsgi, Kortallayar valley. Differs from Soan: hand-axe-based vs pebble-based.
Soan Valley culture is associated with which Stone Age?
Lower Palaeolithic (Sohan/Soan industry, c. 500,000 BP)
Soan Valley is in?
Punjab (Pakistan)
Soan tools were studied by?
Hellmut de Terra and T.T. Paterson (1935)
How did Middle Palaeolithic tools differ from Lower?
Tools made on FLAKES (not cores); smaller; SCRAPERS, BORERS, POINTS. Made through more refined PREPARED-CORE technique (like Levallois in Europe). Reflects appearance of Homo sapiens-like populations.
Upper Palaeolithic — what changed?
BLADE TECHNOLOGY — long thin sharp blades struck off prepared cores; BURINS (engraving tools), END-SCRAPERS; some evidence of ART (engraved ostrich-egg shells from Patne); use of fire well established (Kurnool caves).
MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC — features?
Middle Palaeolithic (~150,000-40,000 BP) used SMALLER tools — flakes, scrapers, points (Levallois technique). Key Indian sites: NEVASA (Maharashtra), BHIMBETKA (lower layers), DIDWANA (Rajasthan), Belan Valley. Hominins likely Homo neanderthalensis or H. heidelbergensis.
UPPER PALAEOLITHIC — what changed?
Upper Palaeolithic (~40,000-10,000 BP) — anatomically MODERN HUMANS (Homo sapiens) using BLADE technology (long thin tools), bone tools (needles, awls), early ART (Bhimbetka cave paintings, Patne Maharashtra ostrich-shell pendant). End of last Ice Age (~10,000 BP) → Mesolithic.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, specifically the textbook NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar), drawn from the chapter Sharma Ch 6-7: Stone Age (Palaeo/Meso/Neolithic) + Chalcolithic Cultures. Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar, Satish Chandra for history; G.C. Leong, Savindra Singh for geography; the UPSC Civil Services prelims + mains syllabus).
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