BharatNotes Why this chapter matters for UPSC: Prehistory is where GS1 art and culture begins. This chapter introduces the hunter-gatherers, their stone tools, the use of fire and the rock paintings of central India, and gives the vocabulary (Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, microliths, factory and habitation sites) that Prelims tests. Mains has asked directly about the Mesolithic rock art of India. In the rationalised 2023-24 edition this chapter and the next are merged as Chapter 2, "From Hunting–Gathering to Growing Food"; the merge was already in the 2020 printing.
Contemporary hook: Attirampakkam in Tamil Nadu keeps changing the timeline of human presence in India. A 2011 paper in Science (Pappu et al.) dated its Acheulian hand-axe levels to about 1.1 to 1.5 million years ago, and a 2018 paper in Nature (Akhilesh et al.) dated Middle Palaeolithic tools there to about 385,000 to 172,000 years ago, arguing that this "reframes Out of Africa models". Who made the 2018 tools is not known, because no human fossils were found with them.
🧠 First Principles — Read This First
People have lived in the subcontinent for about two million years. NCERT calls the earliest of them hunter-gatherers, after the way they got food: they hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, and gathered fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks and eggs. In a tropical land with an immense variety of plants, gathering was an extremely important way of getting food. None of this was easy: it needed alertness, knowledge of which plants are edible and which poisonous, and knowledge of the seasons when fruits ripen.
They moved from place to place, for at least four reasons. Staying in one place would exhaust its plants and animals; the animals they hunted moved in search of prey or grass; different plants fruit in different seasons; and seasonal rivers and lakes dried up, so people had to go in search of water. They may also have travelled to meet friends and relatives, always on foot.
We know about them from what they left behind. They made tools of stone, wood and bone, but stone tools have survived best. The tools were used to cut meat and bone, scrape bark and hides, chop fruit, roots and firewood, dig for roots and stitch clothes of animal skin; some were fixed to handles of bone or wood to make spears and arrows. Ash in the Kurnool caves shows that people knew the use of fire. Around 12,000 years ago the climate turned warmer, grasslands spread, grass-eating animals multiplied and wild grains grew naturally, which set the stage for herding and farming.
Why UPSC cares: Prelims asks about sites (Bhimbetka, Hunsgi, Kurnool), tool types and periods; Mains asks what prehistoric art tells us about the people who made it.
PART 1 — Quick Reference
Stone Age Periods (NCERT dates)
NCERT gives these periods in years ago, not BCE. 12,000 years ago is roughly 10,000 BCE.
| Period | NCERT dates | Tools | Way of life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age; Greek palaeo = old, lithos = stone) | 2 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago; divided into Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic; covers 99% of human history | Stone tools such as hand axes and choppers | Hunter-gatherers |
| Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) | About 12,000 to about 10,000 years ago | Microliths: tiny tools, probably stuck on to handles of bone or wood to make saws and sickles; older tools stayed in use | Hunter-gatherers in a warmer climate; grasslands spread |
| Neolithic (New Stone Age) | From about 10,000 years ago | Polished stone tools | Farming and herding begin (the next chapter) |
| Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone Age) | Earliest evidence about 6,000 years ago (NCERT Class XII timeline); dates vary by region | Copper used alongside stone | Farming villages |
Places in This Chapter
| Site | Present-day state | What NCERT says |
|---|---|---|
| Bhimbetka | Madhya Pradesh | Rock shelters used as habitation sites; close to the Narmada valley |
| Hunsgi | Karnataka | Early Palaeolithic sites, some habitation-cum-factory sites; most tools made of locally available limestone |
| Kurnool caves | Andhra Pradesh | Traces of ash, so people knew the use of fire |
| Patne | Maharashtra | Large quantities of ostrich egg shells, some engraved, some made into beads; ostriches lived in India in the Palaeolithic |
| Attirampakkam (beyond NCERT) | Tamil Nadu | Acheulian tools dated to about 1.1–1.5 million years ago (Science, 2011) and Middle Palaeolithic tools to about 385,000–172,000 years ago (Nature, 2018) |
Bhimbetka — Key Facts
| Feature | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Vindhya hills, Madhya Pradesh, 45 km south of Bhopal | NCERT Class XI, An Introduction to Indian Art |
| Size | About 800 rock shelters over 10 sq km; about 500 bear paintings | NCERT Class XI |
| Discovered | 1957–58, by archaeologist V.S. Wakankar | NCERT Class XI |
| Dating of the paintings | NCERT Class XI: seven periods, Period I Upper Palaeolithic, II Mesolithic (the largest number), III Chalcolithic, then four later periods. UNESCO: paintings "appear to date from the Mesolithic Period right through to the historical period" | NCERT Class XI; UNESCO |
| Colours | Many shades; white and red were favourites. Red from haematite (geru), green from a variety of chalcedony, white probably from limestone; ground rock mixed with water and perhaps animal fat, gum or resin | NCERT Class XI |
| UNESCO | "Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka", World Heritage Site, inscribed 2003; five clusters of natural rock shelters in the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains | whc.unesco.org/en/list/925 |
PART 2 — Concepts & Narrative
The Earliest People — Hunter-Gatherers
Hunter-gatherers: People who get their food by hunting wild animals, catching fish and birds, and gathering plant produce such as fruits, roots, nuts, seeds and leaves, without growing crops or keeping animals.
NCERT gives four reasons why hunter-gatherers moved:
- Staying long in one place would have used up its plant and animal resources.
- The animals they hunted moved, either after smaller prey or, like deer and wild cattle, in search of grass and leaves.
- Plants and trees bear fruit in different seasons.
- Many rivers and lakes are seasonal, so in the dry seasons (winter and summer) people had to go in search of water.
Choosing a Place to Live: Sites
Site: A place where the remains of things (tools, pots, buildings) made, used and left behind by people are found, on the surface, buried, or sometimes under water.
Habitation site: A place where people lived, such as the caves and rock shelters of the Vindhyas and the Deccan plateau, which gave shelter from rain, heat and wind.
Factory site: A place where good-quality stone was found and tools were made. It is recognised by blocks of stone, discarded imperfect tools and chips of waste stone.
Habitation-cum-factory site: A place where people both made tools and lived for longer spells.
Most sites on NCERT's map lie near sources of water such as rivers and lakes.
Making Stone Tools
NCERT describes two techniques:
- Stone on stone: the pebble to be shaped (the core) is held in one hand and struck with a hammer stone held in the other, until flakes come off and the required shape is reached.
- Pressure flaking: the core rests on a firm surface; the hammer stone strikes a piece of bone or stone placed on the core, to remove flakes that can be shaped into tools.
Later stone tools were microliths, tiny tools probably fixed to handles of bone or wood. Stone was not the only material: tools of wood and bone were made too, but stone survives best, so "Stone Age" describes what survives rather than everything people used.
Fire and a Changing Environment
Ash found in the Kurnool caves shows that people knew the use of fire, which could have been used as a source of light, to roast meat and to scare away animals.
Around 12,000 years ago the world's climate shifted to relatively warm conditions. Grasslands spread, and so did the animals that live on grass: deer, antelope, goat, sheep and cattle. Hunters who followed these animals learnt their food habits and breeding seasons, which probably led people to think about herding and rearing animals themselves. Fishing also became important. At the same time, grain-bearing grasses including wheat, barley and rice grew naturally in different parts of the subcontinent; men, women and children probably collected these grains and learnt where and when they grew, which may have led them to think about growing plants. That story continues in the next chapter.
Rock Paintings and What They Tell Us
NCERT notes that many caves where early people lived have paintings on the walls, the best examples being from Madhya Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh, showing wild animals drawn with great accuracy and skill. The NCERT Class XI art book adds the detail:
- Where: remains of rock paintings are found in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar, and at Lakhudiyar in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand. The richest are in the Vindhya ranges of Madhya Pradesh and their Kaimur extensions into Uttar Pradesh. On the granite rocks of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Neolithic and later people painted at sites such as Kupgallu, Piklihal and Tekkalkota.
- When discovered: the first discovery of rock paintings in India was made in 1867–68 by Archibold Carlleyle, twelve years before the discovery of Altamira in Spain.
- Upper Palaeolithic paintings at Bhimbetka: linear figures in green and dark red of huge animals such as bison, elephants, tigers, rhinos and boars, with stick-like humans.
- Mesolithic paintings (the largest number): smaller, with hunting scenes predominating; people hunt in groups with barbed spears, pointed sticks, bows and arrows, traps and snares. Animals are painted naturalistically, humans in a stylised way. Community dances, gathering fruit or honey, and women grinding food also appear, along with hand prints and finger-tip dots.
- Why paint? Some paintings are in shelters where people lived; others are in places that do not seem to have been living spaces, which may have had religious importance. NCERT's Class VI "Elsewhere" box on cave paintings in France suggests ceremonial occasions or rituals by hunters before a hunt. Nobody knows for certain.
UPSC: Bhimbetka is the most-asked prehistoric site. Know: Madhya Pradesh (not Maharashtra, where Ajanta is); discovered 1957–58 by V.S. Wakankar; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003; about 800 shelters, 500 painted (NCERT Class XI). On dating, the two official sources differ: NCERT Class XI places the earliest paintings in the Upper Palaeolithic, while UNESCO's description says Mesolithic onwards. Quote both in an answer and name the basis.
Who Did What?
NCERT is careful here: we do not really know whether women hunted or men made stone tools, whether women painted or men gathered fruit. Both men and women may have done many tasks together; some tasks may have been done only by women and others only by men; and practice may have differed across the subcontinent. This is a useful model of how to write about evidence that is silent.
A Closer Look: Hunsgi and Patne
- Hunsgi (Karnataka): a number of early Palaeolithic sites. Some, with a large number of tools for all sorts of activities, were probably habitation-cum-factory sites; smaller sites show only tool-making. Some sites were close to springs. Most tools were made of locally available limestone.
- Patne (Maharashtra): ostriches lived in India in the Palaeolithic period. Large quantities of ostrich egg shells were found here; designs were engraved on some pieces, and beads were made from them.
PART 3 — UPSC Integration
How We Know About Prehistoric People
| Evidence | What it reveals |
|---|---|
| Stone tools and waste chips | Technology, activities, and where tools were made (factory sites) |
| Animal bones and ostrich egg shells | Diet, hunting, the animals of the time, ornaments |
| Plant remains (grains, seeds) | Diet, the environment, the move towards farming |
| Ash and hearths | Use of fire |
| Rock paintings | Animals, hunting methods, dances, daily life, possible beliefs |
| Scientific dating (radiocarbon, luminescence, cosmogenic burial dating) | Absolute dates; the 2011 Attirampakkam dates came from burial dating of the stone artefacts themselves |
How Old Is Human Presence in India?
- NCERT: people lived in the subcontinent as early as two million years ago.
- Attirampakkam, Tamil Nadu: Acheulian (hand-axe and cleaver) levels dated to about 1.1–1.5 million years ago (Pappu et al., Science 331, 2011). Ravi Korisettar's e-PG Pathshala module gives Attirampakkam "an absolute date of 1.5 Myr" and the Isampur site in the Hunsgi valley 1.2 Myr.
- Middle Palaeolithic at Attirampakkam: about 385,000–172,000 years ago (Akhilesh et al., Nature 554, 2018). The makers are unknown.
- Hunter-gatherers today: NCERT's first chapter notes that most people living in the Andaman Islands still get their own food by fishing, hunting and collecting forest produce.
[Additional] 2a. Robert Bruce Foote and the First Palaeolithic Find
On 30 May 1863, R.B. Foote of the Geological Survey of India found a hand-axe in the lateritic gravel at Pallavaram, near Madras (Chennai). This was the first discovery of a Palaeolithic tool in India, and Foote "has been rightly regarded as the Father of Indian prehistory" (Korisettar and Kunneriath, e-PG Pathshala, "Lower Palaeolithic Culture"). A museum near the Neolithic site of Sanganakallu in Ballari, Karnataka, is named after him.
Prelims traps: Foote worked for the Geological Survey of India, not the Archaeological Survey. Bhimbetka was discovered by V.S. Wakankar (1957–58), not by Foote. The first rock paintings in India were found by Archibold Carlleyle (1867–68).
[Additional] 2b. PVTGs and PM-JANMAN — Hunter-Gatherer Communities Today
Some communities in India still depend on hunting and gathering. The government groups the most vulnerable Scheduled Tribe communities as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The Ministry of Tribal Affairs describes their features as "dependency on hunting, gathering for food, having a pre-agriculture level of technology, zero or negative growth of population, economic backwardness and extremely low level of literacy" (PIB factsheet, 29-Nov-2023).
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| PVTG | A sub-category of Scheduled Tribes. There are 75 PVTGs (Ministry of Tribal Affairs state-wise list, 9-Jul-2024). Odisha has the most (13). |
| PVTGs of Andaman and Nicobar | Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, Shompen (MoTA list). The Nicobarese are a Scheduled Tribe but not a PVTG. |
| PM-JANMAN | Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan. Announced by the Prime Minister on Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, 15 November 2023, at Khunti, Jharkhand; approved by the Union Cabinet on 29 November 2023. Outlay about Rs 24,000 crore (Centre Rs 15,336 crore, States Rs 8,768 crore) for 2023-24 to 2025-26. 11 interventions through 9 Ministries. |
| Coverage at launch | Over 28 lakh PVTG population in 7.12 lakh households, 22,544 villages and habitations, 220 districts, 18 States and the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (PIB, 29-Nov-2023) |
[Additional] PM-JANMAN progress (as on 31-Dec-2025, Rajya Sabha Starred Q. 130, 11-Feb-2026):
| Intervention (Ministry) | Mission target 2023-26 | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Pucca houses (Rural Development) | 4.90 lakh houses | 4,73,939 sanctioned; 2,50,374 completed |
| Connecting roads (Rural Development) | 8,000 km | 7,316.62 km sanctioned; 1,196 km completed |
| Mobile Medical Units (Health) | 1,000 (750 enough to cover all) | 750 operational |
| Piped water (Jal Shakti) | 19,375 villages | 18,693 sanctioned; 8,199 fully saturated |
| Anganwadi centres (WCD) | 2,500 | 2,251 operational |
| Hostels (Education) | 500 | 500 sanctioned; 8 completed |
| Electrification (Power) | 1,45,083 households | 1,34,995 electrified |
| Mobile towers (Communications) | 4,543 habitations | 3,006 covered |
| Multipurpose centres (Tribal Affairs) | 1,000 | 375 completed |
| Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (Tribal Affairs) | 500 | 539 sanctioned; 450 started business |
Reading the table: sanctions are close to target in most rows, completion lags (half the houses, about 15% of roads, under 2% of hostels by December 2025, three months before the mission period ended). That gap between sanction and completion is the Mains point.
UPSC synthesis: 75 PVTGs; Odisha has the most (13); five in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; PM-JANMAN announced 15-Nov-2023 at Khunti, 11 interventions, 9 Ministries, outlay about Rs 24,000 crore. Prelims trap: the Nicobarese are not a PVTG.
Exam Strategy
Prelims traps:
- Bhimbetka is in Madhya Pradesh; Ajanta is in Maharashtra.
- Bhimbetka was discovered by V.S. Wakankar in 1957–58; the first rock paintings in India were found by Archibold Carlleyle in 1867–68.
- Microliths = Mesolithic; polished tools = Neolithic; hand axes and cleavers = Palaeolithic.
- Hunsgi = Karnataka, limestone tools; Kurnool caves = Andhra Pradesh, ash; Patne = Maharashtra, ostrich egg shells.
- NCERT dates are in "years ago": the Mesolithic is 12,000–10,000 years ago, not 12,000–10,000 BCE.
Mains connections:
- Rock art as a source for prehistoric life and as early aesthetic achievement (asked in GS1 2015).
- How the end of the Ice Age (about 12,000 years ago) set the stage for herding and farming.
- Hunter-gatherer communities today: PVTGs, PM-JANMAN, and the gap between sanction and delivery.
Practice Questions
Practice (UPSC-pattern, not past papers). The real UPSC question on this chapter is listed in the PYQ box above.
Prelims:
The Bhimbetka rock shelters are located in:
(a) Madhya Pradesh
(b) Maharashtra
(c) Rajasthan
(d) ChhattisgarhWhich of the following is the correct chronological sequence?
(a) Palaeolithic → Mesolithic → Neolithic → Chalcolithic
(b) Mesolithic → Palaeolithic → Neolithic → Chalcolithic
(c) Palaeolithic → Neolithic → Mesolithic → Chalcolithic
(d) Neolithic → Palaeolithic → Mesolithic → ChalcolithicMehrgarh, one of the earliest farming settlements in the subcontinent, is located in present-day:
(a) Gujarat
(b) Rajasthan
(c) Pakistan (Balochistan)
(d) Jammu and KashmirThe rock shelters of Bhimbetka were discovered in 1957–58 by:
(a) Robert Bruce Foote
(b) Alexander Cunningham
(c) V.S. Wakankar
(d) John MarshallWhich one of the following communities of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is NOT a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group?
(a) Onge
(b) Shompen
(c) Nicobarese
(d) Jarawa
Mains:
- What do the rock paintings of central India tell us about the life of prehistoric people? Discuss with reference to Bhimbetka. (GS1, 10 marks)
📦 Revision Capsule
Hard Facts
- People in the subcontinent from about 2 million years ago; hunter-gatherers who moved for food, following animals, seasonal fruit and water
- Palaeolithic 2 million to 12,000 years ago; Mesolithic 12,000–10,000 years ago (microliths); Neolithic from 10,000 years ago
- Kurnool caves = ash (fire); Hunsgi = limestone tools; Patne = ostrich egg shells
- Bhimbetka: Madhya Pradesh, about 800 shelters, Wakankar 1957–58, UNESCO 2003
- Climate warmed about 12,000 years ago: grasslands, grass-eating animals, wild wheat, barley and rice
Core Concepts
- Factory, habitation and habitation-cum-factory sites
- Two tool-making techniques: stone on stone, pressure flaking
- Rock art as evidence of animals, hunting and community life
- "Who did what" is unknown; NCERT gives possibilities, not answers
Confused Pairs
- Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh, prehistoric rock shelters) vs Ajanta (Maharashtra, Buddhist painted caves)
- Foote (first Palaeolithic tool, Pallavaram, 1863) vs Wakankar (Bhimbetka, 1957–58) vs Carlleyle (first rock paintings, 1867–68)
- Microliths (Mesolithic) vs polished tools (Neolithic)
PYQ Pattern
- Mains GS1 2015 asked for a critical evaluation of Mesolithic rock art (worded as "rock-cut architecture" in the question; see the PYQ box). Prelims tests sites, periods and tool types.
Sources
Sources
- NCERT, Our Pasts – I (Class VI), ch. 2, 2018-19 reprint, and ch. 1 (Andaman Islanders): 2019 copy; Rationalised 2023-24 edition, ch. 2: 2023-24 copy.
- NCERT, An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class XI), ch. 1 "Prehistoric Rock Paintings", Reprint 2025-26: book archive.
- NCERT, Themes in Indian History, Part I (Class XII), ch. 1, Timeline 1 (Chalcolithic), Reprint 2026-27: book archive.
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, "Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka" (property 925): whc.unesco.org.
- S. Pappu et al., "Early Pleistocene Presence of Acheulian Hominins in South India", Science 331 (2011), 1596–1599: doi.org.
- Kumar Akhilesh et al., "Early Middle Palaeolithic culture in India around 385–172 ka reframes Out of Africa models", Nature 554 (2018), 97–101: doi.org.
- Ravi Korisettar and Madhavi Kunneriath, "Lower Palaeolithic Culture", e-PG Pathshala (INFLIBNET): ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in.
- PIB factsheet, PM JANMAN, 29-Nov-2023: static.pib.gov.in.
- Rajya Sabha Starred Question 130, 11-Feb-2026, annex on PM-JANMAN progress as on 31-Dec-2025: static.pib.gov.in.
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs, State/UT-wise list of PVTGs, 9-Jul-2024: tribal.nic.in.
