Mesolithic and Neolithic period in India.

Mesolithic age started with the changes brought about after the end of last ice age in 9k BC. This is the time when India as we envision started to emerge. People moved from the hill sides and colonised the river valleys. They domesticated animals and started cultivation. Population had boomed with favourable warm climate and regular rains. Certain traits of civilisation like a settled life and burial of the dead started appearing.

An important development during the period was the usage of lighter and more symmetric tools called microliths. Bagor in Rajasthan is a Major Microlith excavation site.

The earliest evidence of domestication of animals emerges from Adamgarh in MP.

The earliest evidence of cultivation comes from near Sambhar lake in Rajasthan.

This period saw much increase in arts, supported by the increase in production. Bhimbetka in MP is an ideal example of this. Populated for a very long period, it has over 500 painted shelters in an area of 10 kms. It was declared a world heritage site in 1970.

The earliest Neolithic site in India is Mehrgarh in Baluchistan dating from 7k BC.

Other later Neolithic sites can be found in Vindhyas from 5k BC, In southern India from 2.5k BC and some exceptions in southern India from 1k BC.

This was the period when we started creating the first signs of a true civilization in India.

People settled down in villages, of houses made of mud bricks. Usage of pottery emerged and the art got sophisticated over time from baskets covered with mud to wheel based bots.

Though stones continued to be used, Copper was discovered and soon mixed with tin to get Bronze which was stronger than both. Wheels made of copper were used which revolutionised transport.

Early on life was a subsistence based on hunting, herding and cultivation. But soon, with advances in cultivation people could be freed from these trades and this saw the emergence of new trades and a complex society was created.

Mehrgarh is the predecessor to the most advanced civilization of its time, the Indus valley civilization.