Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation

Early Writing Systems

1.The period before the invention of writing is understood mainly through archaeological evidence.

One of the earliest known writing systems belonged to the Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation, also called the Indus Valley Civilisation or the Harappan Civilisation.

2. Writings and engravings found on seals and pottery show that the Harappans used a pictographic script. However, this script has not yet been deciphered. Therefore, we still cannot understand the Harappan script, which is also called Sindhu lipi.

2.Other early writing systems included the cuneiform script of the Sumerians in Mesopotamia and the hieroglyphic script of ancient Egypt.

3.These writing systems flourished around the same time as the Harappan Civilisation. Unlike the Harappan script, they have been deciphered. Therefore, they mark the beginning of the historical period, about 5,000 years ago.

4.From about 400 BCE, the Brahmi script was used in parts of Southern India and the Ganga Valley (Northern India). It was later widely used in the inscription by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. It was also used by the contemporary Iron Age people across Southern India.

The Invention of Writing: Before and After

The invention of writing brought a major change in the study of history. The table below shows the differences between the period before and after the invention of writing:

Basis of Comparison	Before the Invention of Writing	After the Invention of Writing
Period of Human History	Covers more than 99% of human history from about 3 million years ago to 5000 years ago.	Covers less than 1% of human history (the last 5,000 years, including the present).
Main Sources of Information	Tools, implements and other material objects (artefacts) are the main sources of information.	Material remains and written records are used to understand the lives of people and society.
Information About People	Difficult to know people’s thoughts, ideas and beliefs.	Written records provide information about people, events and social, political and cultural life.
Measurement of Time	The dating of events and cultures is only approximate.	The dating of events becomes more accurate because written records mention specific dates of events such as coronations and wars.

Importance of Studying Early Human History

The study of early human history helps us understand how humans biologically and culturally evolved and adapted to changes in climate and the environment.

Biological Evolution

1.Biological evolution means the gradual physical and genetic changes in humans over time.

2.Our earliest ancestors were called australopithecines (australis means Southern and pithecus means primates). Over time, they evolved into modern human beings called Homo sapiens.

Cultural Evolution

1.Cultural evolution explains how humans adapted to their surroundings during the Quaternary Period (the last 2.6 million years, including the present).

2.Humans developed tools, techniques and other forms of technology to survive changing climatic and environmental conditions.

3.Human life gradually changed from hunting and gathering to agriculture and food production. The production of surplus food and material goods laid the foundation for the growth of civilisation.

Early Human Migration

1.It is generally believed that the earliest human ancestors evolved and lived in Africa. They began to move out of Africa about 2 million years ago. Homo erectus, an early human ancestor, was the first hominin to leave Africa.

2.They used stone tools, such as hand axes and cleavers. These tools have been found in Asia and Europe, showing that they spread from Africa between 2 million and 0.5 million years ago.

3.Another major migration out of Africa took place about 125,000 years ago. This migration was linked to the early Homo sapiens (modern humans).

4.Homo sapiens evolved in Africa about 300,000 years ago. Today, modern humans are found all over the world.

Evidence of Our Human Ancestors

1.Archaeologists explore early human sites to learn about our ancestors. They discover tools, bones and other objects left behind by early humans.

2.Each discovery helps them understand how people lived long ago.

3.To understand these discoveries better, archaeologists also make and use similar tools. This helps them learn how early humans made, used and depended on these tools in their daily lives.

Our Human Ancestors

1.The earliest human settlements were found in Africa, Asia and Europe. Together, these regions are known as the Old World. During this period, different kinds of human ancestors lived together.

2.About 2.6 million years ago, one group of these ancestors made the earliest stone tools. This marked the beginning of human behaviour, as animals do not have the cognitive ability to make such tools. Therefore, human beings came to be known as hominins or tool makers.

3.The tools they made are called extra-corporal limbs because they acted as extensions of the human body, helping people perform tasks that could not be done with their hands alone.

4.Humans made these tools, used them and discarded them when they became worn out. Over time, the discarded tools were buried in the upper layers of the Earth and were later discovered by archaeologists.

4.Similarly, the remains of some early human ancestors were buried deep underground and gradually turned into fossils over thousands or even millions of years.

5.The discovery of tools and fossils provides important evidence that helps archaeologists reconstruct human history and understand how our ancestors lived. These discoveries show that Homo habilis (“handy man”) lived in Africa, especially in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and Kenya. Their successors, Homo erectus, invented hand axes and cleavers.

6.Homo erectus were among the first human ancestors to migrate out of Africa and gradually spread into Europe and Asia. Although all human ancestors were tool makers, Homo sapiens developed more complex technologies.

Overview of Key Human Species:

Species	Key Characteristics & Tool Technology
Homo habilis	Lived in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and Kenya, 2–6 million years ago; made chopper stone tools.
Homo erectus	Lived in the Eastern African Rift Valley, 2 million years ago; made handaxes and cleavers.
Homo neanderthalensis	Lived in Europe and Southwest Asia till about 40,000 years ago; made Middle Palaeolithic flake tools.
Homo sapiens	Living humans; modern human species living today on earth.

Periods of Early Human History

Early human history is divided into different periods based on technological developments, such as the use of tools, the beginning of agriculture and changes in human lifestyle and settlement patterns. The main periods are:

Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) ➜ Mesolithic ➜ Neolithic (New Stone Age) ➜ Chalcolithic (Copper & Stone Age) ➜ Bronze Age ➜ Iron Age

Palaeolithic Hunter–Gatherers (Old Stone Age)

The Stone Age is divided into three stages: Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic and Neolithic.
The word Palaeo means ‘old’ and lithic means ‘stone’. Therefore, the Palaeolithic Period is also called the Old Stone Age.

Early Human Settlements in Palaeolithic Age

In the Indian subcontinent, the oldest human settlement dates back to about 2 million years ago.
Attirampakkam in Tamil Nadu is dated to about 1.5–1.7 million years ago and Isampur in Karnataka is dated to about 1.2 million years ago. At these sites, animal fossils and large cutting tools such as hand axes and cleavers have been found.
Other tools, such as stone scrapers and choppers, made of quartzite and limestone, have also been discovered.
Early humans used stone tools to chop animal meat, dig out tubers, scrape animal skin and break animal bones to extract protein-rich marrow.

Development of Hunting and Gathering

Hunting and gathering gradually became more advanced with the use of smaller stone tools. The main types of tools included scrapers, borers and points.
These tools made hunting more efficient by allowing the use of projectiles with sharp points. Later, humans invented the bow and arrow.
They also made parallel-sided blades and microblades from glassy-textured rocks, which were very sharp when freshly made. Humans also hunted small game animals.

Cultural Developments

Humans developed symbolic communication. They decorated the walls of caves and rock shelters with paintings. They also used pigments to decorate their bodies.
They were the first to make beads from stone, bone and shell. They also used a special stone tool called a burin (engraver) to engrave symbolic designs on bones and shells, such as ostrich eggs.
Microblades were fixed into handles to make them easier to use.
These developments are associated with Homo sapiens, our immediate ancestors. They gradually spread across the world, including Australia and the Americas, between 70,000 and 12,000 years ago.

Mesolithic Hunter–Gatherers

The Mesolithic Period was a time of important changes in climate, human life and technology.
Around 12,000 years ago, the Earth’s climate became warmer, causing major changes in the environment. Forests and grasslands expanded into areas that were previously covered by ice sheets.
The new environment provided a wider variety of resources, including small game animals, fish and edible wild grains. This contributed to one of the earliest major increases in the human population.
People used a variety of microlithic tools to collect marine and freshwater food and fishing became the mainstay of their subsistence economy.
Art flourished during this period and people frequently lived in caves and rock shelters.
The Bhimbetka World Heritage Site in Madhya Pradesh contains hundreds of painted rock shelters, showing evidence of Mesolithic and earlier human occupation.

The Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution marked the gradual change from a hunting and gathering way of life to food production through agriculture and animal domestication.

Beginning of the Neolithic Revolution

As hunter-gatherers became familiar with seasons and different food resources, they gradually adopted a food-producing way of life. This change is known as the Neolithic Revolution.
Its main feature was the domestication of selected plants and animals, bringing them under human control through cultivation and animal husbandry and new breeds of plants and animals were also developed varieties.
Unlike hunter-gatherers, who made tools for obtaining food, Neolithic farmers made tools for food production and food processing. They also made earthenware pottery in different shapes and sizes.
They used a variety of raw materials and resources. They established the first village settlements, which laid the foundation for the Urban Revolution.

Neolithic Developments Across Different Regions

Region	Major Domesticated Crop	Sequence of Neolithic Developments
West Asia	Wheat and Barley	Sedentism ➔ Livestock domestication ➔ Cultivation ➔ Agricultural landscape ➔ Pottery
West Africa	Pearl Millet	Pottery ➔ Livestock domestication ➔ Cultivation ➔ Agricultural landscape ➔ Sedentism
India	Millets	Pottery ➔ Cultivation ➔ Livestock domestication ➔ Sedentism ➔ Agricultural landscape
Ganga Plains (India)	Rice	Pottery ➔ Cultivation ➔ Sedentism ➔ Livestock domestication ➔ Agricultural landscape
North China	Millets	Pottery ➔ Cultivation ➔ Livestock domestication ➔ Sedentism ➔ Agricultural landscape
South China (Yangtze)	Rice	Pottery ➔ Cultivation ➔ Sedentism ➔ Livestock domestication ➔ Agricultural landscape

The transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture did not take place everywhere at the same time. It occurred at different periods in different regions of the world.

Neolithic Period in the Indian Subcontinent

In the Indian subcontinent, agriculture began at different times in different regions. The oldest Neolithic site is Mehrgarh, located on the Bolan River in present-day Pakistan. It is also the earliest agricultural village, dating back to about 7000 BCE.
The people of Mehrgarh built handmade sun-dried brick houses and granaries. They also buried their dead in graves.
They made a variety of ornaments from semi-precious stones, such as lapis lazuli, carnelian and shells.
They cultivated wheat and barley and raised sheep, goats and Indian cattle, especially the zebu (humped bull).
The people of Mehrgarh were the first to make copper objects. Around 4000 BCE, they entered the Metal Age, marking the beginning of the Chalcolithic period. This laid the foundation for the Bronze Age Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation around 3500 BCE.
Around 2500 BCE, most of the Indian subcontinent was occupied by Neolithic agricultural communities. Their way of life included cattle, sheep and goat herding, along with the cultivation of cereals, millets and pulses.
In some parts of the country, these communities also interacted with contemporary Chalcolithic cultures.

Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation

The Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation developed gradually from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures.

Beginning of the Civilisation

The Neolithic way of life began around 7000 BCE at Mehrgarh in the foothills of Baluchistan. It gradually spread to the middle and upper Indus Valley and further East.
Around 4500 BCE, some settlements learned to extract copper from its ores. These became the earliest Chalcolithic sites in the Indian subcontinent and marked the beginning of the Bronze Age.

Development of the Early Harappan Phase

Radiocarbon dates suggest that the Pre-Harappan phase at sites such as Bhirrana and Kunal, located in the dried Sarasvati river belt, began between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE.
Over time, many regional traditions developed into the standard features of the Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation around 2500 BCE. Since these sites show cultural continuity, this stage is known as the Early Harappan Phase.
These developments eventually led to the emergence of the Early Harappan Civilisation around 2600 BCE.
The use of copper tools in the fertile alluvial plains of the Indus and Ghaggar–Sarasvati basins increased agricultural productivity. This brought greater prosperity to these communities.
During this period, pottery was produced on a large scale, showing different regional styles. Regional differences in pottery and craft production became more noticeable at the early Chalcolithic sites of Baluchistan and the Indus and Ghaggar–Sarasvati basins from around 4000 BCE onwards.
There was continuity in pottery traditions, semi-precious stone beads, shell bangles, terracotta objects and copper working.
New developments also appeared, such as the construction of perimeter walls, the use of seals and the early beginnings of the Harappan script.

Arts and Crafts

The Harappans were not only farmers but also skilled craftsmen. Pottery was one of their major crafts and played an important role in their economy.
Pottery found in different regions shows different shapes of vessels and painted designs. Other important crafts included copper work, shell work and the making of semi-precious stone beads.
Evidence of Early Harappan bead-making has been found at Harappa (Pakistan), Kunal (Haryana) and Datrana (Gujarat).
Early Harappan people made extensive use of graffiti on pottery. They also used seals with geometric designs and simple animal motifs, which have been found at Harappa, Rehman Dheri and Kunal. These are considered the earliest forms of the Harappan script and the inscribed seals of the Mature Harappan Civilisation.

Growth of Urban Centres

The technological advancements and economic integration during the Early Harappan Period led to the emergence of the urban centres of the Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation.
The Early Harappans also ploughed their fields. Evidence from Kalibangan shows horizontal and vertical furrows, indicating double-crop cultivation, similar to the Rabi and Kharif crops grown even today.
The Harappans followed standard systems of weights and measurements, reflecting their advanced planning and organisation.
Their well-planned settlements and efficient interregional trade show the effective use of these standard systems. They used a binary multiple system (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.) for smaller weights and multiples of ten for larger weights.
Cubical stone weights used by the Harappans have been found at several archaeological sites.

Bronze Age Civilisations Outside India

The three major Bronze Age civilisations outside India were the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Chinese civilisations. These civilisations existed during the same period as the Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation. The four earliest civilisations of the world developed in river valleys:
The Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation developed along the Sindhu (Indus) and Sarasvati rivers.
The Mesopotamian Civilisation developed along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in West Asia.
The Egyptian Civilisation developed along the Nile River.
The Chinese Civilisation developed in the Huang He (Yellow River) basin in Northern China.
Mesopotamia was geographically closer to the Indus and Ghaggar–Sarasvati valleys. This closeness encouraged strong trade and cultural contacts between the Mesopotamian and Harappan civilisations.
However, there is little archaeological evidence of direct contact between the Egyptian or Chinese civilisations and the Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation.

Mesopotamian Civilisation

Among the four early river valley civilisations, the earliest city-based civilisation developed in Mesopotamia.
The word Mesopotamia means ‘the land in between’ and is the Greek name for the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in West Asia. Today, this region mainly includes Iraq and Kuwait, along with parts of Turkey and South-Western Iran.
The crescent-shaped foothills of the Zagros and Taurus Mountains, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea in the West to the Persian Gulf in the East, are called the Fertile Crescent because the land is highly suitable for agriculture.
Farming began in this region around 12,000 years before the present.
Around 4500 BCE, copper tools were introduced. The use of copper tools improved agriculture, craft production and trade. This helped farming spread across the fertile plains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
Gradually, several large cities developed into city-states with organised systems of government over the next 2,000 years.
From around 3500 BCE, the four major city-state civilisations that flourished in Mesopotamia were the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian civilisations.

The Sumerians

The Sumerian Civilisation was the earliest city-based civilisation in Mesopotamia. It developed at Ur and several other cities in Sumer (present-day Southern Iraq).
The Sumerians were the first to build dams and canals for irrigation. They were also the first to use mud bricks and burnt bricks to build houses, defensive walls and other structures.

Religion and Ziggurats of the Sumerians

The Sumerians worshipped many gods, whom they believed controlled natural forces such as floods and winds.
They built temples for their gods, which played an important role in people’s lives.
Each city had a grand temple called a ziggurat, dedicated to its chief god. The city usually developed around the ziggurat.
The ziggurat was a tower-like, stepped, pyramid-shaped temple with the main temple at the top. The top of the ziggurat was considered a holy place.
The surrounding area contained palaces and royal storehouses. Many Ziggurats were enclosed within temple complexes that also contained storehouses and administrative buildings.

Temple Administration and Society

Economic activities such as agriculture, trade and the transport of goods were controlled by the temple authority. Entry into the sacred temple was restricted to high priests and priestesses.
They were probably part of the ruling class, showing a clear social hierarchy in Mesopotamian society.
The cities were large settlements where kings lived in grand palaces, while ordinary people lived in small brick houses.
Most people were engaged in farming. Many people also practiced crafts such as metalworking, pottery and textile production. Merchants and traders also played an important role in the economy.
While the Sumerians developed canal irrigation, the Early Harappans in the foothills of Baluchistan and neighbouring regions also built check dams, called gabarbands, across small streams for irrigation.
A more advanced example of Harappan water management is found at Dholavira (Kachchh). Here, water from two nearby streams was diverted through dams and canals into a series of deep tanks for storage.
These interconnected tanks were built using stone and mud bricks and some were cut into the bedrock. The dockyard at Lothal, built entirely of burnt bricks, is another excellent example of Harappan water management and architectural skills.

The Beginning of Writing

The Sumerians were the first people to develop writing, around 3300 BCE. Their writing system is called cuneiform because it was written using wedge-shaped marks. The word cuneiform comes from the Latin word cuneus, meaning ‘wedge’.
The cuneiform writing system developed around the same time as the Harappan script. However, while cuneiform has been deciphered, the Harappan script has not yet been deciphered.
Scribes wrote on soft clay tablets by pressing a wedge-shaped stylus into the clay. Scribes held a high position in society, similar to priests and priestesses.
By 3000 BCE, cuneiform was widely used across Mesopotamia, even though different city-states spoke different languages.
Cuneiform tablets provide valuable information about Mesopotamian life and beliefs. They contain myths, epics, hymns, law codes and educational texts. They were also used to keep records of farming and craft activities, including the work of potters, seal cutters, shipbuilders, carpenters and farm workers.

Contributions of the Sumerians

The Sumerians invented the wheeled cart and the sailboat.
They used mathematical calculations for constructing buildings and measuring agricultural fields. Their number system was based on the number 60.
They introduced the concepts of the 60-minute hour, 60-second minute and the 360-degree circle.

The Akkadians

Around 2334 BCE, the Akkadians emerged as a new city-state centred at the city of Akkad in central Mesopotamia. Their rise reduced the power of the Sumerians.
The people of Akkad spoke the Akkadian language, which was different from Sumerian. However, both the Akkadians and Sumerians used the cuneiform script for writing.
Akkadian records describe the unification of different regions of Mesopotamia under a single ruler. This led to the establishment of the world’s first dynastic empire. This period also witnessed the development of creative literature.
The cuneiform tablets of the Akkadian king Sargon mention trade with the Eastern regions of Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha.
Meluhha is generally identified with the Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation, while Dilmun and Magan are present-day Bahrain and Oman.
The Akkadians traded semi-precious stone beads, ivory, timber, gold dust and probably copper with the Harappans.