Palaeolithic Age
Introduction
The Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) is the earliest and longest phase of human history. The word comes from the Greek palaios (old) and lithos (stone). The terms Paleolithic and Neolithic were popularised by John Lubbock in 1865.
It covers the period from about 2 million years ago to c. 10,000 BC, which is almost the whole of the Pleistocene (Ice Age). Humans lived as hunter-gatherers, used crude stone tools and had no agriculture, no pottery and no permanent homes.
Discovery in India
• The first Paleolithic tool in India, a hand-axe, was found by Robert Bruce Foote in 1863 at Pallavaram near Chennai. He is called the Father of Indian Prehistory
• De Terra and Paterson studied the Soan valley and Potwar plateau (1930s), linking tool types with Ice Age glacial and interglacial phases
• H. D. Sankalia excavated Paleolithic sites in Maharashtra and the Narmada region (e.g. Nevasa)
Dating note: Dates differ across books and new finds keep pushing them back. For example, Attirampakkam (Tamil Nadu) has produced very early Acheulian tools, showing humans were in India for well over a million years.
Climate and Environment
• The Paleolithic coincided with the Ice Age (Pleistocene), with alternating cold glacial and warmer interglacial periods
• Climate changes decided which plants and animals were available, so humans kept moving in search of food
• Large game and river valleys with forests and grasslands supported hunting and gathering
Three Phases of the Paleolithic Age
Feature | Lower Paleolithic | Middle Paleolithic | Upper Paleolithic |
Period | Up to c. 100,000 BC | c. 100,000 – 40,000 BC | c. 40,000 – 10,000 BC |
Main Tools | Hand-axe, cleaver, chopper, chopping tool | Flake tools: scrapers, borers, points | Blades, burins, bone tools |
Material | Mainly quartzite | Chert, jasper, flint | Fine-grained stone, bone, antler |
Human Type | Homo erectus (e.g. Narmada skull) | Archaic Homo sapiens | Modern Homo sapiens |
Key Sites | Attirampakkam, Hunsgi, Belan, Didwana, Soan | Nevasa, Bhimbetka, Son and Narmada valleys | Renigunta, Kurnool caves, Belan, Bhimbetka |
Special | Two traditions: Soanian and Acheulian | Flake industry replaces hand-axes | Rock art begins; bone figurines |
[Infographic 1: Timeline of Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic]
Stone Tools Explained
Tool | Description and Use | Phase |
Hand-axe | Pear-shaped, shaped on both faces; used for cutting, digging and chopping | Lower |
Cleaver | Flat tool with a straight cutting edge at one end; used to cut and chop | Lower |
Chopper | Pebble flaked on one side to make a rough cutting edge | Lower |
Chopping tool | Pebble flaked on both sides for a zig-zag edge | Lower |
Flake, Scraper, Borer | Sharp pieces struck from a core; used to scrape hides, bore holes in wood or bone | Middle |
Point | Pointed flake used as a spear or tool tip | Middle |
Blade | Long, narrow, parallel-sided flake | Upper |
Burin | Chisel-like tool used for engraving and working bone, antler and wood | Upper |
[Infographic 2: Illustrated stone tools: hand-axe, cleaver, chopper, flake, blade, burin]
Two Cultural Traditions (Lower Paleolithic)
Feature | Soanian Tradition | Acheulian (Madras Hand-axe) Tradition |
Region | North-west (Soan valley, Potwar plateau) | Peninsular India and other parts |
Main Tools | Pebble tools: choppers and chopping tools | Hand-axes and cleavers |
Linked To | Soan river valley | Pallavaram and Attirampakkam near Chennai |
Important Paleolithic Sites
Site | Location | Note |
Soan Valley | Punjab (now in Pakistan) | Soanian pebble tool tradition |
Belan Valley | Uttar Pradesh (Mirzapur) | All three phases found; bone Mother Goddess figure at Lohanda Nala (Upper) |
Attirampakkam | Tamil Nadu | Very early Acheulian tools; Foote's Pallavaram nearby |
Hunsgi | Karnataka | Acheulian hand-axes and cleavers |
Didwana | Rajasthan (Thar) | Lower and Middle Paleolithic tools |
Narmada Valley (Hathnora) | Madhya Pradesh | Narmada skull, earliest human fossil in India |
Bhimbetka | Madhya Pradesh | Tools of all phases and early rock paintings |
Nevasa | Maharashtra (Pravara river) | Middle Paleolithic flake tools |
Kurnool Caves | Andhra Pradesh | Bone tools and ash deposits suggesting use of fire |
Renigunta | Andhra Pradesh | Upper Paleolithic tools |
[Infographic 3: Map of major Paleolithic sites in India]
Life of Paleolithic People
Food and Economy
• Hunting of animals, fishing, and gathering of fruits, roots, nuts and seeds
• No agriculture, no domesticated animals, no pottery
Shelter and Movement
• Nomadic life; caves, rock shelters and temporary open-air camps near water
Fire
• Fire gave warmth, protection from animals and a way to cook food. Early use was occasional; its regular control grew slowly
Society
• Small, mobile bands based on kinship, with sharing of food and no private property
• Division of labour: men mainly hunted, women gathered
Art and Belief (Upper Paleolithic)
• Beginning of rock paintings and engravings, e.g. at Bhimbetka
• A bone Mother Goddess figurine at Lohanda Nala (Belan valley) hints at early religious ideas
• Ostrich eggshell beads and ornaments show a sense of decoration
Key Concepts to Remember
• Paleolithic = hunter-gatherer stage; nothing is produced, only collected
• Tools become smaller and finer over time: hand-axe → flake → blade
• Modern humans (Homo sapiens) appear in the Upper Paleolithic
• Climate (Ice Age) and tool-making are strongly linked
Quick Revision (Exam Points)
• Paleolithic = c. 2 million years ago to 10,000 BC | Pleistocene Ice Age
• First tool: Robert Bruce Foote, 1863, Pallavaram | Father of Indian Prehistory
• Lower: hand-axe, cleaver | Middle: flakes | Upper: blades, burins
• Soanian = pebble tools (north-west) | Acheulian = hand-axes (Chennai region)
• Narmada skull (Hathnora) = Homo erectus | Lohanda Nala = bone Mother Goddess
• Hunsgi, Attirampakkam, Didwana = Lower Paleolithic | Nevasa = Middle | Renigunta = Upper
Prelims PYQ Hint: Questions often ask which tool belongs to which phase, the Soanian and Acheulian traditions, and match-the-following on sites.