Key Terms

TERMS

* Prehistory and Proto-history

Prehistory comprises all those events of the past,which have not been documented or put down in the form of written accounts or records. Proto-history, on the other hand, means such events, which have been documented in the form of written accounts of the past,but have not been deciphered or understood or explained on the basis of these accounts. Harappan civilisation, for instance, is placed under the category of proto-history. The reason is that though the Indus people have left numerous written records, the script used by them has not been deciphered so far.

AGES IN HISTORY

* Palaeolithic Period

Also termed as Old Stone Age,it dates from 500000 BC or 500 millennium BC (one millennium being equal to one thousand years)-the earliest point of time yielding evidence of human habitation in the indian subcontinents-to 8000 BC or eight millennium BC. On the basis of the nature of stone tools used by the people as also the nature of climatic changes, this Age has been further sub-divided into three phases:(a) the lower or early Palaeolithic; (b) the middle Palaeolithic; and and (c) the upper Palaeolithic age.

* Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs

The end of Palaeolithic age coincided with the end of the geographical period known as the Pleistocene epoch or the Ice Age during which greater part of the earth's surface abounded in thick covers of ice. Pleistocene epoch was followed by the Holocene epoch, which was characterised by more favourable climate for settled life. Historically, the Holocene epoch triggered the beginning of the Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age in many parts of the world,regarded as the transitional stage between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic ages.

* Mesolithic Age

In india, no substantial evidence to suggest a systematic start and end of the Mesolithic Age has come to light. At some sites in South India,however,numerous tools and artifacts bearing Mesolithic features have b een unearthed. These include special types of stone tools called 'microliths' (very small tools).

* Neolithic Age

It's also called the New Stone Age and covers period from 4000 BC onwards.The most striking feature of this age was the use of stone tools.

* Chalcolthic Age

Also known as the Stone-Copper Age, it covers the period from 1800 BC to 1000 BC or 800 BC. During this age, apart from stone,copper (the first metal to be used in India) was also used.

* Bronze Age

In Indian subcontinent, pure copper was not used for a long time even after the arrival of the Chalcolithic Age. Instead of copper, the use of bronze was very extensive. Now,we have ample evidence to suggest that Bronze Age was almost conterminus to the Chalocolithic Age in broader global context. The Indus people lived in Bronze Age although the use of chert blades to supplement the tool-repertoire cannot be overlooked. Bronze objects for domestic use during the Harappan civilization included knife-blades, saws, sickles, chisels, etc.