Paleolithic Archaeology and Prehistory
I. Introduction
The Paleolithic period, or the Old Stone Age, represents the longest phase of human history.
Spanning from roughly 2 million years ago to 10,000 years ago, it is marked by the use of
stone tools, hunting-foraging subsistence, small kin-based groups, and the earliest forms of
symbolic expression. This period is divided into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic,
each characterized by distinctive tool types, technologies, and cultural traits.
II. Chronology and Divisions of the Paleolithic
Lower Paleolithic (2 million – 100,000 years ago)
• Emergence of core tools such as handaxes, cleavers, and choppers.
• Humans: Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens.
Middle Paleolithic (100,000 – 40,000 years ago)
• Use of flake tools (scrapers, points, burins).
• Rise of the Levallois prepared-core technique.
• Expansion of hunting strategies.
Upper Paleolithic (40,000 – 10,000 years ago)
• Specialized tools: blades, burins, microliths, and composite implements.
• Associated with modern Homo sapiens.
• Emergence of art, ornaments, and symbolic behavior.
📌 Diagram suggestion: A simple timeline chart showing Lower → Middle → Upper Paleolithic
with tool types and human species.
III. Paleolithic Tool Technology
Raw materials: Quartzite (most common), semi-jasper, agate.
Major tool types:
• Handaxe: bifacial, almond-shaped.
• Cleaver: bifacial with a straight cutting edge.
• Chopper: unifacial, used for wood/bone chopping.
• Scrapers: flake tools for hide/wood processing.
• Blades: long, narrow flakes from prepared cores.
• Burins: pointed tools, similar to screwdrivers.
• Microliths: small, geometric, hafted on wood/bone.
Technological advances:
• Direct percussion → soft hammer technique.
• Levallois technique (Middle Paleolithic): prepared core to produce predetermined flakes.
• Pressure flaking: precise removal for sharper edges.
• Hafting: combining stone tips with wood or bone handles.
📌 Diagram suggestion: A labeled sketch of handaxe, cleaver, scraper, and blade.
IV. Paleolithic Sites in the Indian Subcontinent
• Attirampakkam (Tamil Nadu) – early Acheulean tools (~1.5 mya).
• Nevasa (Maharashtra) – stratified Paleolithic sequence.
• Paisra (Bihar) – evidence of wooden hut structures.
• Didwana (Rajasthan) – dated ~400,000 years ago; desert settlement.
• Isampur (Karnataka) – stone quarry and tool workshop.
• Son River Valley -(Madhya Pradesh) – rich sequence of stone tools.
• Belan Valley (Uttar Pradesh) – Middle and Upper Paleolithic succession.
• Pakistan (Potwar Plateau, Sindh, Jhelum basin) – among the earliest South Asian sites.
📌 Map suggestion: Outline map of India with key Paleolithic sites marked.
V. Paleolithic Art and Expression
Definition: Art as a skill serving non-biological needs and enabling self-expression.
Types of Art:
• Cave Art: Found in shelters like Bhimbetka (M.P.), with abstract figures, animals, hunting
scenes, handprints.
• Home/Portable Art: Decorations on bones, stones, and ostrich eggshell beads (Patne,
Bhimbetka).
Functions of Art:
• Reflects planning in hunting (depictions of Big game like elephants, rhinos).
• Indicates social rituals, music, dance, and teaching.
• Suggests cognitive development and symbolic thought.
📌 Image suggestion: Bhimbetka rock paintings (geometric patterns or hunting scene).
VI. Social Organization and Lifestyle
Group structure: Small, nomadic bands (30–100 people).
Kinship-based society: No private property, no permanent leaders.
Division of labor:
• Women → foraging (fruits, roots, seeds).
• Men → hunting (especially in Middle/Upper Paleolithic).
Subsistence:
• Foraging more important than hunting in early stages.
• Coordinated group hunting emerges later.
• No food storage (storage appears only with Neolithic pottery).
Leisure time: Contrary to earlier assumptions, Paleolithic people enjoyed ample free time,
enabling cultural expressions like art, rituals, and social gatherings.
VII. Conclusion
The Paleolithic period demonstrates the gradual progression of human culture from simple
stone tools to symbolic art. It represents the foundation of human social life, technological
innovation, and creativity. The evidence from Indian sites such as Attirampakkam, Nevasa,
Paisra, and Bhimbetka situates the subcontinent as an important region for understanding
early human prehistory.
