Ancient Indian Prehistory & Early Cultures

A set of 70 vocabulary flashcards covering terms, cultures, tool types, scholars and archaeological sites from lecture notes on India’s Stone Age, Chalcolithic and Megalithic periods.

Stone Age

Broad prehistoric period when stone was the principal material for tools (c. 600,000 – 1,000 B.C.).

Middle Palaeolithic

Phase with Levallois/Clactonian flakes, scrapers; associated with Neanderthals in India.

Mesolithic Age

‘Middle Stone Age’ (c. 10,000 – 4,000 B.C.); microlithic tools and first evidence of dog domestication.

Neolithic Age

‘New Stone Age’ (c. 8,000 – 1,000 B.C.); polished tools, agriculture, permanent settlements.

Chalcolithic Age

Copper-Stone phase (c. 3,000 – 700 B.C.) with copper use, rural farming villages and painted pottery.

Megalithic Age

Period (c. 2,000 B.C.–200 A.D.) marked by large stone burial monuments like dolmenoid cists and cairns.

Robert Bruce Foote

British geologist who discovered India’s first Palaeolithic hand-axe at Pallavaram (1863).

V. S. Wakankar

Indian archaeologist who discovered the famous rock-painted caves of Bhimbetka.

Belan Valley

U.P. region yielding sequential Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic cultural layers.

Bhimbetka

M.P. rock shelter complex with Mesolithic paintings and earliest human habitation evidence.

Didwana

Rajasthan locality with Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites on the Luni river system.

Kurnool Caves

Andhra Pradesh Lower Palaeolithic site noted for bone tools.

Bagor

Rajasthan Mesolithic site (Kothari river) with earliest confirmed animal domestication.

Adamgarh

M.P. rock shelter where early domesticated animal bones were found.

Damdama

U.P. site yielding 41 Mesolithic human graves, including double and triple burials.

Mahadaha

Pratapgarh site rich in bone and horn implements—the oldest such Mesolithic finds.

Sarai Nahar Rai

Early Mesolithic burial site in Pratapgarh containing skeletons and pit hearths.

Langhnaj

Gujarat Mesolithic locality with wild animal remains and early pottery traces.

Koldihwa

Near Allahabad; Neolithic circular huts and early rice evidence.

Mahagara

Companion Neolithic site to Koldihwa; noted for crude handmade pottery.

Lahuradev

Kabir Nagar site providing India’s earliest rice cultivation evidence.

Mehrgarh

Baluchistan (Pakistan) Neolithic-Chalcolithic site with sun-dried brick houses and early wheat.

Burzahom

Kashmir Neolithic site famous for pit dwellings and dogs buried with masters.

Gufkral

Adjacent Kashmir site with pit dwellings, stone tools and in-house graveyards.

Chirand

Bihar Neolithic settlement where bone tools were widely used.

SanganaKallu

Karnataka Neolithic–Chalcolithic cluster showing ash mounds of seasonal herders.

Ahar-Banas

Rajasthan Chalcolithic culture known for copper smelting and black-red pottery.

Gilund

Rajasthan site within Ahar culture revealing stone-blade industry and rice remains.

Navdatoli

M.P. Chalcolithic village on the Narmada with varied house types and full crop repertoire.

Kayatha

M.P. site on Chambal river with rich ceramics and sharp copper tools predating Harappans.

Daimabad

Maharashtra Chalcolithic site yielding bronze rhinoceros, elephant and chariot figurines.

Inamgaon

Maharashtra Jorwe-culture village with large mud houses and pit burials beneath floors.

Jorwe culture

Maharashtra–Godavari Chalcolithic horizon marked by black-red ware with white designs.

Dolmenoid cists

Box-shaped stone burial chambers characteristic of South Indian megaliths.

Menhir

Tall, upright, non-sepulchral commemorative stone of megalithic cultures.

Palaeolithic Mother Goddess

Bone figurine from Lohanda Nala, Belan Valley—world’s oldest known female deity symbol.

Ostrich eggshell beads

Decorative items dated to ~34,000 B.C. found at Patne, Ramnagar and Chandresal.