The Neolithic Age – First Food Producers
Ancient History › Prehistoric and Chalcolithic Cultures · Topic 2.5
The Neolithic or New Stone Age began about 9000 BC in the world and about 7000 BC in the Indian subcontinent, at Mehrgarh. Its people used polished stone tools, farmed wheat, barley and later rice, kept cattle, sheep and goats, made pottery with the wheel and lived in villages. This was a revolutionary change in subsistence, though stone tools kept them near hills and allowed little surplus.
5 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · Prehistoric and Chalcolithic Cultures
At a Glance
- World start About 9000 BC
- India About 7000 BC at Mehrgarh
- Tools Polished stone celts, axes, hoes
- Economy Farming and animal keeping
- Limit Little surplus; settlement near hills
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Prehistoric and Chalcolithic Cultures
Where Does It Fit?
This is the fifth topic of the category on prehistoric and chalcolithic cultures. The previous topic covered Stone Age art and society, and this one covers the first farmers. The next topic covers Neolithic settlements by region. Previous topic: Rock Art and Earliest Human Organisation in the Stone Age.
What Was the Neolithic Revolution?
In short: the Neolithic marked a change from gathering food to producing it, with farming, herding, pottery and settled villages.
In the world context the Neolithic began about 9000 BC. Early evidence of farming is found in the Fertile Crescent of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Indus region, the Ganges valley and China, where agriculture emerged between 10,000 and 5000 BCE. In western Asia the period from 9000 to 3000 BC saw progress in cultivation, weaving, pottery, house building, stock raising and writing; the process started a little later in India, where the Neolithic began around the seventh millennium BC. The introduction of domesticated animals and plants produced a large supply of grain and animal food, and the surplus led to large villages, pottery and permanent houses. This is called the Neolithic revolution. What distinguished the people was their use of stone celts, edged and pointed, which served as hoes and ploughshares for digging the ground and sowing seeds.
How Did Neolithic People Live?
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tools | Polished stone axes, adzes, chisels and celts; microlith blades; stone hoes and digging sticks weighted with ring stones; stone querns for grinding corn |
| Regional axe types | North-western: rectangular axes with a curved cutting edge; north-eastern: polished axes with a rectangular butt and shouldered hoes; southern: axes with oval sides and pointed butt |
| Farming | The first farming communities; ragi and horse gram (kulathi), and even rice in the south; wheat and barley at Mehrgarh |
| Animals | Cattle, sheep and goats domesticated; at Mehrgarh goats predominated at first and cattle later |
| Houses | Circular or rectangular houses of mud and reed; mud-brick houses at Mehrgarh; mud-brick granaries |
| Pottery | First appears now, handmade at first and later wheel-made; the potter’s wheel seems to have come to Baluchistan from western Asia; black-burnished, grey and mat-impressed wares |
Surplus food and settled life changed society, as seen when the band became a clan in the Neolithic phase, discussed in Rock Art and Earliest Human Organisation in the Stone Age.
What Were the Progress and Limits?
The Neolithic changed the mode of subsistence: people no longer depended on hunting, fishing and gathering alone, since cultivation and cattle husbandry gave food, and with new means of food and shelter they stood on the threshold of civilisation. But they were still tied to stone. Because they depended on stone tools and weapons, they could not settle far from hilly areas and had to live on hill slopes, rock shelters and hilly river valleys. Even with great effort they could not produce more than they needed for bare subsistence. Neolithic tools were also few in parts of Madhya Pradesh and the upper Deccan, where stone suitable for grinding and polishing was lacking, and Neolithic celts and axes have been found in Orissa and the Chhotanagpur hills.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 9000 BC | Neolithic age begins in western Asia |
| About 7000 BC | Neolithic settlement at Mehrgarh, Baluchistan |
| About 4500 BC | Potter’s wheel at Mehrgarh |
| About 2700 BC | Earliest date of Burzahom in Kashmir |
| About 2500 to 1000 BC | Neolithic in south and eastern India |
As an analytical point, India’s Neolithic was a mosaic of regional cultures with different dates, and the next step beyond stone was the use of copper, as seen in Chalcolithic Cultures of India. The settlements are described in Neolithic Settlements – Baluchistan, Kashmir, Chirand and South India.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Revolution concept Food production and settled life
- Facts Tools, crops and pottery
- Regional pattern Different dates in different regions
What Came Next?
The next topic describes Neolithic settlements in Baluchistan, Kashmir, Chirand and south India. Next topic: Neolithic Settlements – Baluchistan, Kashmir, Chirand and South India.
Key People and Terms
- Celt Polished stone axe or adze
- Neolithic revolution Shift to food production
- Quern Stone for grinding grain
- Potter’s wheel Wheel for making pots
- Granary Grain store
- Ragi Finger millet
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- World Neolithic: 9000 BC; India: about 7000 BC.
- Tools: polished stone celts.
- Pottery first appears in this phase.
- Potter’s wheel from about 4500 BC at Mehrgarh.
- Limit: stone tools tied people to hills.
Do Not Confuse With
- Palaeolithic and Neolithic tools Flaked versus polished
- Mesolithic and Neolithic Herding with microliths versus farming with celts
- Hoe and ploughshare Digging tool versus plough tip
Memory Hook
Polish the stone, plant the grain, pen the herd, turn the wheel; but stone still binds you to the hills.
Mains Angle
Questions on the Neolithic ask for its significance and limits. These points add depth.
- Change From foraging to food production
- Features Tools, pottery, villages
- Limits Stone-bound surplus
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Why is the Neolithic age called a revolution? Point out its limitations.”
How to Answer
- Shift Hunting to farming.
- Features Celts, pottery, villages.
- Effect Settled life and clans.
- Limit Stone tools, little surplus.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Neolithic revolution?
The Neolithic revolution is the shift from hunting and gathering to food production through the domestication of plants and animals. It created grain surplus, large villages, pottery and permanent houses, and it set the stage for later civilisations.
When did the Neolithic begin in India?
In the world the Neolithic began about 9000 BC. In the Indian subcontinent the earliest known Neolithic settlement is Mehrgarh in Baluchistan, attributed to about 7000 BC, while regions of south and east India reached it much later.
What tools characterise the Neolithic?
The Neolithic is distinguished by polished stone tools, especially celts, axes and adzes edged and pointed for use as hoes and ploughshares. People also used digging sticks with ring stones, microlith blades and stone querns for grinding grain.
What crops and animals did Neolithic people have?
They cultivated wheat and barley in the north-west, ragi and horse gram in the south, and rice in places. They domesticated cattle, sheep and goats, and kept dogs, with cattle eventually outnumbering the others at Mehrgarh.
What were the limitations of Neolithic society?
Dependence on stone tools kept settlements on hill slopes, rock shelters and hilly river valleys. People could not produce more than they needed for bare subsistence, so the surplus for large cities and states did not arise.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 Pottery first appeared in the Neolithic phase.
It was needed for storing and cooking grain.
2 Mehrgarh is the earliest known Neolithic site in the subcontinent.
It is attributed to about 7000 BC.
3 Neolithic people used iron ploughshares.
They used stone celts.
4 The potter's wheel seems to have come to Baluchistan from western Asia.
It then spread across the subcontinent.
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