Hunter-Gatherers of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages
Chapter – 2
Table of Contents
- In 1863, Robert Bruce Foote discovered the first palaeolithic tool in India, a handaxe made of quartzite, in Pallavaram, near Madras (modern Chennai).
- Prehistoric tools had been found in India earlier, with Le Mesurier discovering a small chert arrowhead near Nyagurhee village in 1856.
- Geologists and archaeologists in India shared their findings with European counterparts, leading to international recognition of Indian prehistory.
- Hundreds of prehistoric sites have been identified in the Indian subcontinent since the 19th century.
- Sources of information about prehistory include structural remains, burials, plant and animal remains, rock art, and stone tools.
- Stone tools represent craft skills developed over centuries, requiring time, strength, labor, skill, and patience.
- Stone tools may be found on the surface, in river deposits at habitation sites, or at factory sites where tools were made.
- Understanding the functions of stone tools is aided by experimentation, studying contemporary tool-making communities, and microwear analysis to examine wear marks and polish.
- It is likely that both men and women participated in making stone tools due to their active involvement in subsistence activities.
- Prehistory involves not only describing and classifying stone tools but also using archaeological remains to understand the life-ways of prehistoric people.
The Geological Ages and Hominid Evolution
- Humans are a relatively late addition to the Earth’s long evolutionary history, having appeared around 200,000 years ago on a planet that is approximately 4.5 billion years old.
- Advances in the physical and genetic sciences in the 20th century significantly enhanced our understanding of Earth’s history and the processes of biological evolution.
- Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” (1859) and Charles Lyell’s “Principles of Geology” (1830-33) laid the foundations for evolutionary theories in the 19th century.
- Evolutionary theory challenged traditional religious beliefs and suggested that change in nature was ongoing and unpredictable.
- Geologists divide Earth’s history into eras, with the Cenozoic era (age of mammals) comprising the Tertiary and Quaternary periods, the latter being important for hominid evolution.
- Evolution in biology involves gradual changes in heritable features over generations due to changing gene frequencies and natural selection, potentially leading to the emergence of new species.
- The terms “species” and “genus” are central in discussions of evolution, with Homo sapiens sapiens representing anatomically modern humans.
- Prehistoric archaeology seeks to understand early humans’ biological and cultural evolution, including stone tool-making, social organization, language, and symbolic thought.
- Hominid evolution begins with the Australopithecus genus in Africa around 4.4-1.8 million years ago.
- Homo habilis, the earliest member of the Homo genus, appeared approximately 2 million years ago, with the earliest stone tools found dating back to 2.5 million years ago.
- Homo erectus emerged in East Africa around 1.7 million years ago and eventually spread to other continents.
- Homo sapiens, modern humans, appeared in Africa around 500,000 years ago, while Homo sapiens neanderthalis (Neanderthals) existed around 130,000 years ago.
- Hominid remains have been found in various parts of Asia, suggesting complex migration and evolutionary patterns.
- Evolution was not a linear process; there is evidence of species overlap and coexistence in different parts of the world. For example, Homo habilis and Australopithecus coexisted in East Africa, and Neanderthals coexisted with anatomically modern humans in the eastern Mediterranean.