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Introduction and pre-history


Introduction

India is a beautiful country which accommodates various religions, cultures, languages, and traditions. The diversity of India socially and geographically is what makes the country loved all over the world. But India wasn’t always like this right? Why did so many languages form? How do cultures vary across the terrain of the country? When did all this come to exist? In this series we are going to try and figure out answers to these and various such questions. In this process I believe we will learn to appreciate the country and people who co-exist despite differences.


The era before civilizations were established

Pre-History

The modern day humans i.e. Homo Sapiens are believed to have originated from Africa. They were living in this continent for thousands of years and a few clans slowly started to move north towards modern day Europe due to climate changes, lack of food or intra-clan clashes. After moving towards Europe gradually the homo-sapien population reached the subcontinent.

Spread of humans from Africa


So, who was living in India before the Sapiens arrived? Was there no human population? Archaeologists state that the subcontinent was home for a different species of human, Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis about half a million years ago. This conclusion was arrived at by examining the fossils found in the Narmada Valley. They were a hunter-gatherer species who are an integral part of the Stone-age history of India.

The Stone Age

According to historians, Homo Sapiens arrived in India around 70,000 years ago. Did Homo Sapiens meet the Homo heidelbergensis? This is unknown as there is no proof of co-existence of these two species in India. The Sapiens were also a hunter-gatherer species when they arrived in India. They spread throughout India, even crossing the Vindhyas to reach the southern parts. This spread was gradual, which spanned over thousands of years. Very specific information is not available about these periods of stone-age, as the carvings on various rocks could not be de-crypted and understood.

Stone Age tools


Neolithic history

When did the people move towards agriculture? The neolithic history of India starts around 9000 years ago when humans started to settle down instead of moving around as hunters-and-gatherers. Strong agricultural foundations were formed 7000 years ago where apart from planting, tending, and harvesting, the domestication of animals also started. All these developments were predominantly happening in the north-west of India around the Indus river and then spread to regions around the Ganga river. Other important sites in this region include, Gufkral and Burzahom in Kashmir, Mahgara, Chopani Mando, and Koldihwa in Belan valley in Uttar Pradesh, and Chirand in Bihar.

The neolithic period in north-east India is dated at 4000 B.C.E., and evidence of agriculture is found around the rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra. These sites are majorly found around modern-day Guwahati and Kolkata. Archaeologists state that rice cultivation originated in north-eastern India. Imporatant regions include Garo hills, Selbalgiri, Rangigiri, and Thusekgiri.

Neolithic age arrived a little late in south India, around 2500 B.C.E.. Agricultural establishments were majorly concentrated around the rivers of Krishna and Kaveri. Few important sites include Kodekal, Utnur, Nagatjunikonda, and Palavoy in Andhra - Telangana region, Tekkalkolta, Maski, Narsipur, Sangankallu, Hallur, and Brahmagiri in Karnataka, and Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu.

Neolithic settlements

What's next in the series?

In India, the stone-age existed till the start of the 40th Century B.C.E. Around 4000 B.C.E is when civilizations started to form around the rivers in north-western India. The most popular of this is the Indus-Valley civilization, which marks the start of the Bronze Age. Let’s look into how these civilizations were formed and spread in the next part of this series.

Foot notes

The information provided here is based on my research of various sources. If you feel like this information is inaccurate, let me know and I would love to correct myself and learn more. In my encounter with various books I have seen that the history of India is mainly concentrated around the Indus valley and Delhi and very little information is provided of the southern and north-eastern parts, in this series I plan to cover all parts of India equally to the best of my efforts. 

If you like the content, share this post!

Also let me know what topics you would want me to cover in the comments below. :)

- Aniruth

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