6 History
The Early Farmers
Learning Goals:
- Neolithic Age
- Beginning of Farming
- Invention of Wheel
Neolithic Age: The last phase of the Stone Age is called the Neolithic Age. This phase began about 10,000 years ago. This phase marks a significant change in the life of humans because this is the period when man began farming.
Tools of the Neolithic Age: The tools of the Neolithic Age were much smaller and more refined. Stone was given better shape and some tools were fitted with handles, e.g. spears, axe, sickles, arrows, etc.
| Archaeological Proofs of Farming |
|---|
| Sites | Grains and bones |
|---|
| Mehrgarh (present day Pakistan) | Wheat, barley, sheep, goat, cattle |
| Koldihwa (Uttar Pradesh) | Rice, fragmentary animal bones |
| Mahagara (Uttar Pradesh) | Rice, cattle (hoof marks on clay surface) |
| Gufkral (Kashmir) | Wheat and lentil |
| Burzahom (Kashmir) | Wheat and lentil, dog, cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo |
| Chirand (Bihar) | Wheat, green gram, barley, buffalo, ox |
| Hallur (Andhra Pradesh) | Millet, cattle, sheep, goat, pig |
| Paiyampalli (Andhra Pradesh) | Black gram, millet, cattle, sheep, pig |
Beginning of Agriculture
The beginning of farming was the most revolutionary development in the human history. This marked the beginning of progress towards a settled life.
Historians guess that farming was first discovered by women. This was possible because women had to live at a place for a longer duration during pregnancy and raising children. While staying at a place for a long duration; women and children may have observed that seeds develop into plants. They may have learnt growing plants after that observation.