Prehistoric, Proto-historic, and Historic Periods

Periods of History

• The period without documented evidence of its history is called the Prehistoric period.
• The Proto-historic period is the period having shreds of evidence of a script which is still not deciphered.
• The Historical period starts from Vedic Culture, where we get documented descriptions.

Stone Age

• The Stone Age comes under the Prehistoric period.
• Research on Stone Age Civilization started in India in 1863.
• The whole Stone Age has been categorized into three parts based on the difference of tools used: Palaeolithic period, Mesolithic period, and Neolithic period.

Palaeolithic Period

• The Palaeolithic Period is further categorized into three periods based on tools used:
  • The Lower Palaeolithic period: Handaxe, Cleaver, Chopper, etc.
  • The Middle Palaeolithic period: Points, Borer, Scrapper
  • The Upper Paleolithic period: Burins
• Chopper-chopping pebble pieces of tools were first obtained from Sohan river valley of Punjab (Pakistan).
• Hand-axe pieces of equipment were found in Vadamadurai and Attirapakkam near Madras.
• Other tools of this culture are cleaver, scraper, etc.

Important Discoveries

• Robert Bruce Foote was a British geologist and Archeologist.
• The expedition of L.Cambridge team under the leadership of D.Tera did the most important research in Sohan valley in 1935.
• In Belan valley, the research was carried under the direction of G.R.Sharma of Allahabad University.
• 44 archaeological sites were found in Belan valley, related to the lower Paleolithic period.
• A statue of bone-made Mother Goddess of this age was obtained from Lohanda Nala region of Belan Valley, currently preserved at the Kaushambi museum.

Life of Palaeolithic People

• The life of Palaeolithic people was completely natural.
• They were primarily dependent on hunting.
• They were unfamiliar with fire, so they ate raw meat.
• Palaeolithic people were unfamiliar with farming and animal husbandry.

Mesolithic Period

• We came to know about the Mesolithic period after C.L.Carlyle discovered Rock Painting from Vindhya region in 1867-68.
• According to excavated evidence, the domestication of animals began in the Mesolithic period.

Periods of History

• Prehistoric period: The period without documented evidence of its history.
• Proto-historic period: The period with shreds of evidence of a script that is still not deciphered, referring to the period between prehistoric and historical periods.
• Historic period: The period after which we get documented descriptions.

Stone Age

• The Stone Age comes under the Prehistoric period.
• The research on Stone Age Civilization in India started in 1863.
• The Stone Age has been categorized into three parts based on the difference of tools used:
  • Palaeolithic period
  • Mesolithic period
  • Neolithic period

Palaeolithic Period

• Further categorized into three periods:
  • Lower Palaeolithic period: Characterized by tools such as Handaxe, Cleaver, Chopper, etc.
  • Middle Palaeolithic period: Characterized by tools such as Points, Borer, Scrapper.
  • Upper Paleolithic period: Characterized by tools such as Burins.
• The first Chopper-chopping pebble pieces of tools were obtained from Sohan river valley of Punjab (Pakistan).
• The first-hand axe pieces of equipment were found in Vadamadurai and Attirapakkam near Madras.
• Other tools of this culture include Cleaver, Scraper, etc.

Notable Research and Discoveries

• Robert Bruce Foote was a British geologist and Archeologist.
• The expedition of L.Cambridge team under the leadership of D.Tera did the most important research in Sohan valley in 1935.
• G.R.Sharma of Allahabad University led the research in Belan valley, discovering 44 archaeological sites related to the Lower Paleolithic period.
• The statue of a bone-made Mother Goddess of this age was obtained from Lohanda Nala region of Belan Valley, currently preserved at the Kaushambi museum.

Life of Palaeolithic People

• Their life was completely natural.
• They were primarily dependent on hunting.
• They were unfamiliar with fire, so they ate raw meat.
• They were unfamiliar with farming and animal husbandry.

Mesolithic Period

• We came to know about this period only after C.L.Carlyle discovered the Rock Painting from Vindhya region in 1867-68.
• According to excavated evidence, the domestication of animals began in the Mesolithic period.

This quiz covers the definitions and characteristics of prehistoric, proto-historic, and historic periods in history, including the Stone Age and Indus Valley Civilization. Learn about the periods having no, partial, and documented evidence of scripts.