Early humans and the Stone Age
People have lived in India for well over a million years. Stone tools, rock shelters and paintings tell us how hunter-gatherers lived long before farming.
How it was ruled
There were no kingdoms. People lived in small bands, probably led by elders and the most experienced hunters.
How people lived
Families moved with the seasons between river valleys, forests and rock shelters. They used fire, made tools of stone and bone, and painted on rock walls.
What people did
Hunting animals, fishing, and gathering fruit, roots, nuts and honey. Making hand-axes, cleavers and, later, tiny sharp blades (microliths) set in wooden handles.
What people ate
Wild animals such as deer and wild cattle, fish, fruit, tubers, seeds and honey.
Trade
Little long-distance trade. Good stone for tools was carried or exchanged between neighbouring groups.
Region by region
- Tamil Nadu: Attirampakkam near Chennai has stone hand-axes about 1.5 million years old, among the oldest in South Asia.
- Madhya Pradesh: The Bhimbetka rock shelters (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) hold paintings of hunting, dancing and animals; the oldest are more than 10,000 years old.
- Karnataka: Isampur in the Hunsgi valley was a workshop where early humans made stone tools.
- Uttar Pradesh: The Belan valley and sites near Prayagraj show the move from Old Stone Age to Middle and Late Stone Age tools.
Key events
- c. 1.5 million years ago: Acheulian hand-axes made at Attirampakkam
- c. 70,000–50,000 years ago: Modern humans spread across the subcontinent
- c. 12,000 years ago: Microlith tools and rock paintings become common
Legacy
Rock art traditions continue in tribal painting; Bhimbetka is one of the oldest records of human art in the world.