PALAEOLITHIC
Archaeologists have given lengthy names for the time that we are studying. They call the earliest period the Palaeolithic. This comes from two Greek words, ‘palaeo’, meaning old, and ‘lithos’, meaning stone. The name points to the importance of finds of stone tools. The Palaeolithic period extends from 2 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago. This long stretch of time is divided into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Palaeolithic. This long span of time covers 99% of human history.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
MESOLITHIC
The period when we find environmental changes, beginning about 12,000 years ago till about 10,000 years ago is called the Mesolithic (middle stone). Stone tools found during this period are generally tiny and are called microliths. Microliths were probably stuck on to handles of bone or wood to make tools such as saws and sickles. At the same time, older varieties of tools continued to be in use.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
NEOLITHIC
The next stage, from about 10,000 years ago, is known as the Neolithic.
What do you think the term Neolithic means?
We have also mentioned the names of some places. You will find the names of many more places in later chapters. Very often, we use present-day names of the places where people lived in the past because we do not know what they called them.
A Neolitchic site
One of the most famous Neolithic sites, Catal Huyuk, was found in Turkey. Several things were brought from great distances —flint from Syria, cowries from the Red Sea, shells from the Mediterranean Sea — and used in the settlement. Remember, there were no carts — most things would have been carried on the backs of pack animals such as cattle or by people. What do you think cowries and shells would have been used for?
Activity:
* Find Turkey in your atlas.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK