BEGINNING OF A NEW WAY OF LIFE

  • The beginning of farming and herding led to a new way of life.
  • From sowing seeds till the grain ripened, it needed a long span with the utmost care and attention.
  • Now people had to stay in one place rather than move around as they did previously.
  • They used grain as
    • Seeds
    • Food
    • Gifts
    • Stored for food
  • People had to think of ways of storing grain.
  • In large clay pots

  • In woven baskets
  • dug pits into the ground
  •  

  • Animals multiplied naturally. Now people started storing them also as
    • They provide milk- an important source of food
    • Provide meat,when required
  • Storing grains and animals led to becoming farmers and herders.

  • Evidence of plants and animal bones clearly stated the sites of settlements of herders and farmers.
  • One of the most striking finds includes remains of burnt grain.
  • Scientists' study reveals that different crops were grown in different parts of the subcontinent.

Towards a settled life:

  • Traces of huts or houses are found at some sites in Burzahom, present day Kashmir.
  • People built pit - houses and dug into the ground with steps leading into them.
  • These pit houses provided shelter in cold weather.
  • Archaeologists found cooking hearths both inside and outside the huts.

  • Stone tools found from many sites are different from the early Palaeolithic tools that’s why they are called Neolithic tools.
  • These tools were polished with fine cutting edges.

  • Mortars and pestles are in use today even for grinding the grains.
  • At the same time, Palaeolithic tools continued to be made and used.

  • Some tools were also made of bone.
  • Many kinds of earthen pots have also been found-
    • Sometimes decorated
    • Used for storing things
    • People began using pots for cooking food
      • Rice
      • Wheat
      • Lentils​​​​ 

 

  • They began weaving clothes with different kinds of materials, especially cotton
  • But these changes in life could not be seen everywhere.
  • In many areas, men and women still depended on hunting the animals and gathering food.
  • So the pace of progress is seen differently in different places of the world.

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