Palaeolithic Age | Stone Age | Ancient History of India

Hello everyone, I am Shreyas Badiye. I welcome you all to my YouTube channel. Today's lecture is going to be the first lecture from the ancient history of India. From the chapter that is Stone Age. And the topic we are going to discuss today is going to be on the Paleolithic period. So let me tell you that you will get all the information about this Paleolithic period. And whatever I will tell you is going to be very important for your exam. Limitations seem real when we lack faith and belief. With faith and belief, anything is possible. Beautifully said. If you have any doubt, you can ask me on Instagram. This is my Instagram ID. This is my Facebook page. This is my Telegram channel. And this is my YouTube channel. First of all, let's get some idea about the meaning of the topic. Two words are used here. One is Paleo and the other is Lithic. The meaning is hidden in these two words. Paleo means old. Remember old. Okay. Paleo means old. And Lithic means related to stone. So related to stone and old. In this way. We can also call this Paleolithic period as Old Stone Age. So the meaning of Paleolithic is clear to you now. So now let's see what topics we have to cover in this lecture. So first of all, we will start with the basics. In which we will see the classification of the prehistoric age. How can we classify the prehistoric age? Because I told you that our first topic will be the prehistoric age. I have already told you in my introductory lecture which I uploaded yesterday. So we will see what things come in the prehistoric age. After that, we will study what is Paleolithic period. In Paleolithic period, we will study three types of Paleolithic period. One is Lower Paleolithic period. One is Middle Paleolithic period. And one is Upper Paleolithic period. We have to learn about these three Paleolithic periods today. So let's start with the classification of the prehistoric age. So in the classification, I will tell you that the prehistoric period. Paleolithic period. Mesolithic period. Neolithic period. Chalcolithic period. And Iron Age. So I will tell you the meaning of Paleolithic period. Old Stone Age. Mesolithic means Middle Stone Age. Neolithic means New. And Lithic means Stone Age. So New Stone Age. Chalcolithic means Stone Age. Stone was mixed with metal. It was joined while making tools. So I will tell you which metal is it. It is Copper. So Copper and Stone were used as tools here. All these periods are classified on the basis that their tools were made. So either it was made of stone, so it was lithic. Or it was made of stone plus copper, so it was chalcolithic. Or it was made of iron, so it is called Iron Age. So we study so many things. Along with that, the Paleolithic period is also divided into different periods. Like Lower Paleolithic. Middle Paleolithic. And Upper Paleolithic. And today we are going to study Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic. So before reading these things, let's see some more things in the background. So first of all, it is believed that 4.4 million years ago, an old fossil was found of the earliest human in Africa. So it was found in Africa. You can see it here. It was a fossil like this. So this is found. After that, we also see that the earliest human beings were a little small in height. And their brain was a little small. Like you know all these things. So it comes in evolution. So here I am just giving you a little basic idea. Although it has nothing to do with history. After that, let me also tell you that the condition in which we are today, it is believed that 50,000 years ago, we are made in the way we look today. So today, our development is like this. See, it starts 4.4 million years ago. If we had gone 50,000 years ago today, then the way we look today, the way we look today, humans come. So this is how these things happened here. So this was a basic fact. First of all, a human fossil was found in Africa. So it is believed that it is so old. That is, humans have come to this world so early. On this earth. We know this. Along with that, if you look at India, a homonid fossil has been found in India. So homonid fossil means the same as we are today. That is, if you look at it, the homonid family is a primate of the family. The ancestors of humans and their fossils. So you know all these things. So the homonid fossil that was found here, the fossil of a human being found in India, which is believed to be the oldest, it is a place called Hathnora. It is found there in the Narmada Valley. It is a fossil like this. You can see it. So here it is known that it is also in India. But it is also known that it is not as old in India as it is in Africa. So India is a little after this. So maybe it came to India after this. This is how we know things. Because of these fossils. After that, we studied a little Paleolithic period. The topic we are going to study here is not a little, but we are going to study the entire Paleolithic period. The human being in the Paleolithic period developed gradually. And if we see, humans were hunters and food gatherers at this time. All the people who lived here in this period were hunters and food gatherers. That is, if we see, what did all the humans do? They used to hunt. Or food was the work of collecting. This was the work of a human being. It is not like today's world, that a lot of work was done. There was so much work of a human being. Now let's enter the Paleolithic period. In the Paleolithic period, first of all, let me tell you that there is an archaeological site called Bori. There is a place there. Where does it come from? It comes from the Pune district of Maharashtra. It was found that 1.4 million years old. This site is 1.4 million years old. And we find some artifacts on it. What are artifacts? Let me tell you. See, here I have written the spelling of artifacts. So what are artifacts? Artifacts are such things that have been made by humans. We find such things in Bori, which comes in the Pune district. So here we found some scientific records of early stone tools in India. That is, we see that we have found stone tools here. Now we can do research. Now we know that in the Stone Age, humans were also found in India. Because the place called Bori, which is 1.4 million years old, some things made by humans have been found there. Like some artifacts have been found. So we know all these things here. So here it was believed that the early human settlement in India was contemporary to Asian countries. That is, when human settlement was taking place it happened at that time. But it was after that period that happened in the African region. That is, in the African region, humans come first. There we get some such evidences of the arrival of humans. And here we get something late. So all these things are found here that they come to India after Africa. Humans are seen here. After that, it is also found that stones and pebbles are found here in India. That is, it is found that stones and pebbles were used for hunting and cutting at that time. That is, see, hunting or some trees or whatever things, that is, whatever animal you killed, you have to cut it. If all these things work here, then what will they use for all these things? They will use stones and pebbles. Humans used such things. Let me also tell you that man had no knowledge of cultivation and house building. So in the Paleolithic period, he did not know how to build a house or what cultivation is. That is, you know how to farm. He did not have knowledge of all these things. He was only a hunter here and a food gatherer. He only hunted and collected food. Now let me tell you one thing here. You can see some sites in this map. Here are some Paleolithic sites found in India. If you look at this map, you will find this map on Google. It is also made in your book. So here are some sites. Whether you see it or not, it is my work to give you that you have to take a blank map and you have to mark these sites on it. It will be like this. You have to do Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic. You have to find these sites and mark them. So this will be your work. And I know you will do this. So now we have seen a little information about how humans lived in the Paleolithic period and how we know some things. Now let's see the three phases that go on in Paleolithic. Like you see Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic. Now let's first see what Lower Paleolithic is. So what are we going to study first in this? Phases in Paleolithic Age. So Paleolithic Age is divided into different phases. Now let's see how the phases are. So the first phase we are going to start with is the Lower Paleolithic phase. That is, Age. So if you look at it, the oldest in Paleolithic is called Lower Paleolithic Age. Let me also tell you that Ice Age was going on at that time. If you look at the time of Ice Age, our Earth was mostly surrounded by ice. So the Earth was surrounded by ice. So where does Ice Age go at that time? Then the temperature gradually became warmer and everything changed. So there used to be a lot of snow at that time. At that time, this Lower Paleolithic Age comes and matches. Most of the time, Ice Age is covered here. After that, let me tell you that at that time, humans used hand axes or cleavers or choppers. There were hand axes with which they could hunt. There were cleavers with which they could cut meat. So they made tools like that to cut meat and choppers. So they used these things to cut meat. Stone tools were used at that time to chop meat, to dig pits, as well as for skinning. Skinning means that the skin has to be removed from above so that you can eat the meat of the animal. So humans used to eat meat at this time. As you know, there was no vegetarian or non-vegetarian. Humans used to do this at that time. They were hunters. And let me tell you that the climate at that time used to be a little less humid. In the Lower Paleolithic Age, humidity and all these things affected the lifestyle, flora, fauna and vegetation. That's why the climate here was like this. Historians study it. Now let's see what they used in the Lower Paleolithic Age. They didn't use big tools. You can see here these are the tools of the Paleolithic Age. You can see here that there were different tools. Some tools were used for chopping and some for cutting eggs. They used these things. And if we see, the different sites found here in the Lower Paleolithic Age, because you have to mark these sites on the map. First of all, we will see the site of Pahalgam in Kashmir. You can see the traces of humans that humans have lived here. Belan Valley is found in Allahabad District, UP. Along with that, Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, Hoshangabad District, which is in Madhya Pradesh. There are caves in Adamgarh and Bhimbetka. Along with that, I forgot to tell you one thing. Remember that Belan is a river. There are some caves in Bhimbetka and some in Adamgarh. All these are found in Hoshangabad District. Along with that, 16R, which is a locality of Rajasthan, and Singhi Talav, which is in Nagaon District. These two, 16R and Singhi Talav, are the sites of Rajasthan. Some traces of lower Paleolithic age have also been found here. Along with that, Nevasa is found in Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra. Hunsgi is found in Gulbarga District, Karnataka. It is also found in Karnataka. Finally, we see Attirampakkam. Attirampakkam is found in Tamil Nadu. Some sites of Paleolithic age are also found here. These are the major sites of Rajasthan. It is very important to note this in your map. Let's see some other important sites that have been found. Shivali Crane is found in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Belan Valley is found in Uttar Pradesh. We have seen this. Beraj Basin and Hilly Region of Rajasthan are also found here. Narmada and Son River are also found here. These sites are also found in the valleys of Madhya Pradesh. Malprabha and Ghatprabha are also found in Karnataka. Chhota Nagpur Plateau is also found in some regions of Maharashtra. Chhota Nagpur Plateau is also found here. There are also some areas near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Orissa, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh are also found here. These sites belong to Lower Paleolithic Age. I have told you the sites. You don't have to worry about these sites. It is important to mark these sites on your map. This is a guarantee. Mark these sites on your map. You won't have to worry about these sites. Now I will tell you about Middle Paleolithic Age. We have seen Lower Paleolithic Age. Now we will see Middle Paleolithic Age. The tools found here are based on stone tools. All these phases are also based on stone tools. All these phases are also based on stone tools. First of all, the flake tools are sharp. The flake tools are sharp. The flake tools are sharp. The flake tools are sharp. These are the flake tools. These tools are found in Middle Paleolithic Age. These tools are made of various blades. The blades are also fitted with borers and scrapers. Borers are used to create holes. Borers are used Scrapers are used to create holes. Scrapers are used Scott Fetched Kalydez Many such things have been found here in the Middle Paleolithic. Most of the sites here have coincided with the Lower Paleolithic period. That is, most of the sites are common. Apart from that, if I tell you where the Middle Paleolithic tools have been found, they have been found in Central India, Deccan, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa. These things have been found in so many places in the Middle Paleolithic. Now let's look at some of the major sites of the Middle Paleolithic Age. In the major sites, you will see Bhimbetka, which has coincided with the Lower Paleolithic. We also saw Nevasa there. Pushkar, which comes in Rajasthan, is also found here, which is a Middle Paleolithic site. There were some sites in Rajasthan as well. Rohiri Hills, Upper Sindh, comes in this region. This Middle Paleolithic Age has also been found here. And Samnapur is also found here on the Narmada River. These sites are the sites of the Middle Paleolithic Age. We should know so many things about the Middle Paleolithic Age. In the Paleolithic period, we saw the Lower Paleolithic Age first. Now we have seen the Middle Paleolithic Age. You know the difference between the two. Here, people used hand axes, cleavers and choppers. Here, people used flake tools, which are sharp. Now we are going to look at the Upper Paleolithic Age. Let me tell you something important about the Upper Paleolithic Age. The Upper Paleolithic Age coincides with the last phase of the Ice Age. The Ice Age and the Upper Paleolithic Ages end together. The Upper Paleolithic Age coincides with the last phase of the Ice Age. The climate here was comparatively warmer. Because the Ice Age was coming to an end. The Earth was surrounded by ice. When the Ice Age was coming to an end, the climate became warmer. After the Ice Age, we can see some changes in everything. A modern type of man comes from here. It is called Homo Sapiens. Homo Sapiens is not afraid of words. The way we see it today. Homo Sapiens. Let me show you the evolution. The first thing you see here is this type of person. Then it gradually changed. You can see Homo Erectus here. What you see in the end is Homo Sapiens. In this way, some changes came in humans. This modern type of man is found in the Upper Paleolithic Age. So you have to remember this very well. This is a very important fact. Along with that, some flint industries are found here. What is the meaning of flint industry? Let me tell you. Don't be afraid. Flint means a shiny stone. If you look at it, you will see a shining stone like this. This is flint. These flint industries are found here. It's not like a big factory is open. It's not like that. People will sit here and do some development. People will sit here like this. They will make flakes, blades, burins, scrappers. So here you know what flakes are. You know what blades are. You also know what scrappers are. So what are burins? Let me tell you this. Burins are a little pointed. It is called burins. Some stones look a little pointed. You can see some stones here. So there are some burins that are a little pointed. So it can be like this here. So there are not many stones like this here. So remember as much as I am telling you. So what are burins? They are a little pointed. So different things were being made here in this way. It was being developed. This is how flint industries are considered. So these things will be developed here. And all this was happening in Upper Paleolithic. Different shapes of stones were coming. Man was doing development in it. If we see, the sites of Middle Paleolithic Age. Sorry, Upper Paleolithic Age. Let's see which are those. So the sites are Rajasthan. So it is found in Rajasthan. If you see, Upper Paleolithic Age was also found in Rajasthan. It is found in Central and Western India. Along with that, Ganga or Belan Valley. These two rivers. It is also found on the banks of these rivers. It is found in their valleys. This is Upper Paleolithic Age. It is found in Gujarat. It is found in Andhra Pradesh. It is also found in Karnataka. So in so many places, it is found from the site of Upper Paleolithic Age. If you want to see humans, humans used to live like this. In this Paleolithic Age. You are able to see. Then slowly, when it came to this phase, which phase is formed? That is Upper Paleolithic Age. But if you see, in Lower Paleolithic Age, humans used to hunt like this. You are able to see here. He used to live in caves. He did not have a house to live. Caves or you can see, rock shelter. He used to find his place here. This is a cave. Human is sitting here. You can see, meat is kept here. And it is being eaten here. So in this way, there used to be an arrangement to live there. Human used to live in caves. No house was built here. So in this way, our phase works. The first phase, which we studied here, whose name is Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age Period. So this was our lecture. So here, I will also tell you that now in your NCERTs, whatever I will tell in this lecture, if you complete it with me, then your ancient history will be completed very soon. And I am not trying to make very big videos. I am trying to make short videos only. Along with that, I will also tell you that from ancient, although not many questions come, but questions are asked in pre. So remember this. And until it is not ancient, who knows, it will be difficult to understand art and culture. And from art and culture, questions are asked here in UPSC, in mains. So this, and in pre too. So it is very important But from ancient history, many questions come in pre these days. So this trend has changed a little. So if you like my videos, then like them, share them, and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Follow and like my pages on Facebook, Shreyas Bedi and Shreyas Bedi Interpretation. Along with that, you can follow me on Instagram to know more Shreyas Bedi The Peace Lover is my Instagram ID and you can also shreyasbedi at the red gmail dot com. So thank you very much You guys take good care of yourself, study well with this hope I Shreyas Bedi will meet you in the next lecture. Till then, your day is auspicious.