Notes: The First Farmers & Herders | Social Studies & Pedagogy Paper 2 for CTET & TET Exams - CTET & State TET PDF Download

A new era in history began with the new stone age. After many years of living a nomadic life, the man started to live a settled life about 10,000 years ago.

The features, tools and significance of the earliest  society are discussed below. 

They are as follow : 

• Remains of hand axe and chopping tools and bones  of Homoerectus have been found from Narmada  valley. 
• Blade, scrapper and cave paintings have been  found from Bhimbetka.
• Development of technique to make microliths,  crescent shape tools and settled life began.
• Development of polished tools and weaving,  cooking, domestication and pottery making  started.

The Beginning of Food Produce

• Men observed several things as the climate of the world changed, areas, where edible plants grew, were found, humans started watching how seeds broke off stalks, fell on the ground, and how new plants sprang from them.
• Men began to look after plants and protect them from birds and animals so that they can grow and mature seeds.
• Cereal and barley were among the first crops to grow.
• After this sickle holding men became food producers or farmers.
• Farming changed people's lives. They began to lead a settled life.

Men as Herders

• People started herding animals and then taming animals by leaving food around their shelters for them.
• Animals such as dogs, pony, pig, goat, donkey, sheep, etc. started to be tamed and domesticated by humans.
• The dog was the first animal to be tamed by humans.
• Animals were an excellent asset for humans as they provided milk, food and even took back burdens. These animals were also shielded from attacks by other wildlife.

First farmers and herders

• Archaeologists found evidence of early farmers and herders from the sites of Burzahom, Daojali Hading, Koldihwa, Mehrgarh and many more.
• The remains of burnt grains were recovered from these sites, and the bones of various animals were found.

Tool Finding

• Stone tools from many sites have been found.
• Many of them differ from Palaeolithic tools and are therefore known as Neolithic tools.
• Weapons polished to provide a fine cutting edge, and mortars and pestles used to grind grain, and other plant products are also discovered.

Human beings as Wheel Inventors

• The revolution came with the invention of the wheel.
• The wheel changed the life of man.
• It was faster to travel and carry heavy objects from one place to another.

Significance of Pottery

• Man learned to make handmade, fire-baked clay pottery.
• The Potter's wheel helped them to make different kinds of pots which served different purposes due to their shapes and sizes.
• There were also various types of earthen pots that were painted and used to store things.
• This was the beginning of the use of containers to cook food, especially grains such as rice, wheat, and lentils, which have now become an essential part of the diet.

How do we come to know about farmers and herders?

• Archaeologists found early farmers ' life traces.
• Traces of peasants and herders could be identified by traces of pottery, pit houses, tools, paintings, and everyday life.
• Traces have been found in Mehrgarh, Burzahom, North-East India, etc.

The Chalcolithic Age

• Men began to use copper around 6000 years ago.
• Copper tools were better than stone tools.
• It was also called the Stone Age of Copper.
• This marked a significant shift from stone to metals.

Mehrgarh (Pakistan)

The Mehrgarh North-West

• The Indian subcontinent's earliest known civilisation was in Mehrgarh (now Pakistan).
• It was here that the animals were first tamed and raised around 7,000 BC.
• Mehrgarh was probably the place where humans started to grow barley and wheat and rear sheep and goat.
• It's one of the earliest towns the world knows about.
• Charred grains and animal bones have been found here.
• Remains of rectangular and square houses were found from this site. Each house had four or more compartments, most of which could have been used for storage.
• Many burial sites were found in Mehrgarh. The dead person was buried with goats that were supposed to serve as meat in the next world.

The North-East

• Evidence of early settlements in Manipur, Tripura, Garo Hills was found.
• Daojali Hading was one of the most famous Neolithic sites in Assam. Traces of polished stone tools, ceramics, and cooking items were found on this site.

Pottery from Daojali Hading

• Jadeite was also discovered, a rock that may have been imported from China.
• Tools made of fossil wood (former wood hardened into stone) and pottery were also found here.