1. Stone Age MCQ | Ancient History of India

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Prehistoric Periods in India – According to Tools
Ancient history can be divided into different periods according to the tools used by people then.

Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age): 500,000 BCE – 10,000 BCE
Mesolithic Period (Late Stone Age): 10,000 BCE – 6000 BCE
Neolithic Period (New Stone Age): 6000 BCE – 1000 BCE
Chalcolithic Period (Stone Copper Age): 3000 BCE – 500 BCE
Iron Age: 1500 BCE – 200 BCE
Stone Age
The stone age is the prehistoric period, i.e., the period before the development of the script, therefore the main source of information for this period is the archaeological excavations. Robert Bruce Foote is the archaeologist who discovered the first palaeolithic tool in India, the Pallavaram handaxe.
Palaeolithic age (old stone age): Period – 500,000 – 10,000 BCE
Mesolithic age (late stone age): Period – 10,000 – 6000 BCE
Neolithic age (new stone age): Period – 6000 – 1000 BCE
Palaeolithic Age (Old Stone Age)
The term ‘Palaeolithic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘palaeo’ which means old and ‘lithic’ meaning stone. Therefore, the term Palaeolithic age refers to the old stone age. The old stone age or palaeolithic culture of India developed in the Pleistocene period or the Ice Age, which is a geological period of the age when the earth was covered with ice and the weather was so cold that human or plant life could not survive. But in the tropical region, where ice melted, the earliest species of men could exist.


Lower Palaeolithic Age: up to 100,000 BC
Middle Palaeolithic Age: 100,000 BC – 40,000 BC
Upper Palaeolithic Age: 40,000 BC – 10,000 BC

Mesolithic Period (Middle Stone Age)
The term Mesolithic is derived from two Greek words – ‘meso’ and ‘lithic’. In Greek ‘meso’ means middle and ‘lithic’ means stone. Hence, the Mesolithic stage of prehistory is also known as the ‘Middle Stone Age’.

Both Mesolithic and Neolithic phases belong to the Holocene era. In this era, there was a rise in temperature, the climate became warm which resulted in melting of ice and also brought changes in flora and fauna.

Characteristic Features of the Mesolithic Era

The people of this age lived on hunting, fishing and food gathering initially but later on they also domesticated animals and cultivated plants, thereby paving the way for agriculture.
The first animal to be domesticated was the wild ancestor of the dog. Sheep and goats were the most common domesticated animals.
The Mesolithic people lived in semi-permanent settlements along with occupying caves and open grounds.
The people of this era believed in life after death and hence they buried the dead with food items and other goods.
The characteristic tools of this era were microliths – the miniature stone tools usually made of crypto-crystalline silica, chalcedony or chert, both of geometrical and non-geometrical shapes. They were not only used as tools but were also used to make composite tools, spearheads, arrowheads, and sickles after hafting them on wooden or bone handles. These microliths enabled the Mesolithic man to hunt smaller animals and birds.
The Mesolithic men started to wear clothes made of animal skin.
The Mesolithic people were art lovers and initiated rock art. The subject matter of these paintings was mostly wild animals and hunting scenes, dancing and food collection were also depicted in such paintings. These rock paintings give an idea about the development of religious practices and also reflect the division of labour on the basis of gender.
The first human colonization of the Ganga Plains happened during this period.