Chapter 2: The Earliest Societies: Hunters and Gatherers
PSTET History (Paper II & III)
🎯 Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
Trace the chronological framework of the Paleolithic and Mesolithic Ages in India
Identify and classify stone tool technologies across different periods
Explain the subsistence patterns of hunter-gatherer societies
Analyze the significance of Bhimbetka cave paintings as a source of prehistoric life
Understand the beginnings of social organization and belief systems
🌍 2.1 Introduction: The Dawn of Human History
The story of humans in India begins hundreds of thousands of years ago, long before the first cities or written records. This vast period, covering more than 99% of human history, is known as Prehistory—the time before writing was invented .
💡 PSTET Special: The earliest societies were nomadic groups of hunter-gatherers who lived in constant movement, following animal herds and seasonal plant growth. Understanding their lives helps students appreciate the long journey of human civilization.
2.1.1 The Three-Age System
Archaeologists divide prehistoric times into three main ages based on tool-making technology:
| Age | Time Period in India | Key Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) | 600,000 – 10,000 BCE | Hunters and gatherers using crude stone tools |
| Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) | 9,000 – 4,000 BCE | Microliths, beginning of settled life, cave paintings |
| Neolithic (New Stone Age) | 7,000 – 5,500 BCE | Agriculture, polished stone tools, pottery |
🔍 Note: These dates are approximate and vary across different regions of India. The transitions were gradual, not sudden .
⛏️ 2.2 The Paleolithic Age: The Old Stone Age
The Paleolithic Age is the longest phase of human history, lasting from the appearance of the first tool-making humans until about 10,000 years ago. In India, this period is divided into three sub-stages based on tool technology and climate changes .
2.2.1 Lower Paleolithic Age (600,000 – 150,000 BCE)
This was the earliest phase when humans first arrived in the Indian subcontinent. The climate was generally humid with abundant rainfall and dense forests.
🔨 Tools and Technology
The Lower Paleolithic people used core tools—large implements made by chipping stones to create a working edge.
| Tool Type | Description | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Hand axes | Tear-shaped tools with a pointed end and rounded butt | Cutting wood, digging roots, butchering animals |
| Cleavers | Broad-edged tools with a straight cutting edge | Chopping wood and bone |
| Choppers | Crude tools with a sharpened edge on one side | Breaking bones, basic cutting |
🪨 Raw Materials: These tools were primarily made from quartzite, a hard, durable rock, which is why Lower Paleolithic cultures in India are often called the Sohanian or Madrasian traditions based on regional variations .
📍 Key Sites in India
| Site | Location | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Bori | Maharashtra | One of the earliest Paleolithic sites in India |
| Sohan Valley | Punjab (now Pakistan) | Type site for Sohanian culture |
| Didwana | Rajasthan | Extensive tool-making factory sites |
| Bhimbetka | Madhya Pradesh | Rock shelters with continuous occupation |
| Attirampakkam | Tamil Nadu | Deepest Paleolithic sequence in South India |
🏛️ PSTET Fact: The hand axes found at Attirampakkam near Chennai are among the oldest known tools in India, dating back over 1 million years .
2.2.2 Middle Paleolithic Age (150,000 – 35,000 BCE)
This period saw significant technological advancement. The climate began to fluctuate, with alternating wet and dry phases.
🔨 Tools and Technology
The key innovation was the development of flake tools—smaller, sharper implements made by striking flakes from a prepared stone core.
| Tool Type | Description | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Scrapers | Flakes with a worked edge | Cleaning animal hides, working wood |
| Points | Triangular flakes with sharp tips | Spear points, piercing |
| Borers | Flakes with a pointed projection | Making holes in leather or wood |
| Blades | Long, parallel-sided flakes | Cutting, slicing |
🧰 Innovation: Middle Paleolithic tools were smaller, lighter, and more specialized than the heavy hand axes of the earlier period .
📍 Key Sites in India
| Site | Location | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Narmada Valley | Madhya Pradesh | Hominin fossil remains found |
| Belan Valley | Uttar Pradesh | Complete sequence from Paleolithic to Neolithic |
| Tungabhadra Valley | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh | Rich assemblage of Middle Paleolithic tools |
2.2.3 Upper Paleolithic Age (35,000 – 10,000 BCE)
This period witnessed a technological revolution with the development of specialized blade tools. The climate became increasingly arid, forcing humans to adapt their subsistence strategies.
🔨 Tools and Technology
| Tool Type | Description | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Blades | Long, parallel-sided flakes (8-10 cm long) | Versatile cutting tools |
| Burins | Chisel-like tools with a sharp point | Engraving bone and antler |
| Blunted blades | Blades with a deliberately blunted back | Safe handling, composite tools |
| Penknives | Curved blades | Fine cutting work |
💎 Technological Advancement: Excavations at Patne in Maharashtra revealed three developmental stages of Upper Paleolithic technology, showing continuous innovation .
🦴 Bone Tools
A recent groundbreaking study found that ancient humans used bone tools 1.5 million years ago, nearly a million years earlier than previously believed. This challenges the idea that toolmaking was unique to the genus Homo and suggests earlier hominins also possessed this capability .
The Kurnool caves in Andhra Pradesh have yielded evidence of bone tools from the Upper Paleolithic period, including awls and points made from animal bones .
📍 Key Sites in India
| Site | Location | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Bhimbetka | Madhya Pradesh | Rock shelters with Upper Paleolithic occupation |
| Patne | Maharashtra | Three-phase technological sequence |
| Kurnool Caves | Andhra Pradesh | Bone tools, evidence of symbolic behavior |
| Baghor I | Madhya Pradesh | Possible Mother Goddess worship site |
🪨 2.3 The Mesolithic Age: A Time of Transition (9,000 – 4,000 BCE)
The Mesolithic period marks a crucial bridge between the hunting-gathering Paleolithic and the farming Neolithic. The term "Mesolithic" comes from Greek words mesos (middle) and lithos (stone) .
2.3.1 Climate and Environmental Changes
At the end of the last Ice Age (around 10,000 years ago), the climate became warmer and more stable. This led to:
Melting of glaciers and rising sea levels
Changes in flora and fauna
Expansion of grasslands
Development of modern weather patterns
2.3.2 The Microlithic Revolution
The most distinctive feature of the Mesolithic Age was the development of microliths—tiny stone tools, typically 1-5 cm in length .
| Microlith Type | Shape | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Crescents/Lunates | Half-moon shaped | Arrow tips |
| Triangles | Triangular shape | Spear barbs |
| Trapezes | Four-sided | Harpoon teeth |
| Bladelets | Tiny blades | Cutting tools |
| Points | Tiny pointed tools | Awls, drills |
🛠️ Composite Tools: The Great Innovation
The real genius of microlithic technology was the creation of composite tools—implements made by combining multiple microliths with wooden or bone handles .
🔍 Advantage: Composite tools were easier to repair (replace broken microliths), more efficient, and allowed for greater specialization in hunting and gathering activities.
2.3.3 Hunting Strategies
The development of microlith-tipped arrows and spears revolutionized hunting. For the first time, humans could kill game from a distance, making hunting safer and more successful .
Common prey animals included:
Deer (spotted deer, barasingha)
Wild boar
Wild cattle (gaur)
Rhinoceros
Elephants
Small game (rabbits, birds)
🎯 PSTET Fact: Recent excavations in Jwalapuram (Kurnool region) revealed a continuous microlithic tradition dated between 35,000 and 10,000 years ago, showing that this technology developed gradually over a long period .
2.3.4 Fishing and Gathering
Mesolithic people exploited all ecological zones—hills, plains, river valleys, and coastal areas .
| Resource | Methods | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Fish | Harpoons, nets, traps | Microlithic harpoon barbs |
| Mollusks | Hand gathering | Shell middens (waste heaps) |
| Wild plants | Digging sticks, harvesting | Grinding stones, sickle blades |
| Honey | Climbing, smoke | Cave paintings |
| Roots and tubers | Digging | Digging sticks depicted in art |
2.3.5 Mesolithic Sites in India
| Site | Location | Key Findings |
|---|---|---|
| Bagor | Rajasthan | One of the largest Mesolithic sites, continuous occupation |
| Adamgarh | Madhya Pradesh | Microliths, animal domestication evidence |
| Bhimbetka | Madhya Pradesh | Richest collection of Mesolithic paintings |
| Sarai Nahar Rai | Uttar Pradesh | Human burials with grave goods |
| Langhnaj | Gujarat | Microliths, human skeletons, dog burial |
| South of Krishna River | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu | Numerous Mesolithic settlements |
📍 Special Site - Bagor, Rajasthan: Located on the river Kothari, Bagor has the largest Mesolithic cemetery in India with over 100 human burials. The site was occupied for nearly 5,000 years, showing the transition from hunting-gathering to pastoralism .
🎨 2.4 Art and Culture: The Cave Paintings of Bhimbetka
The most spectacular legacy of India's earliest societies is the rock art found at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh. Discovered in 1957 by archaeologist V.S. Wakankar, this UNESCO World Heritage Site contains over 700 rock shelters, of which more than 400 have paintings .
2.4.1 Location and Setting
Bhimbetka is located about 45 km southeast of Bhopal in the foothills of the Vindhyan mountains. The site spreads over 10 km in length and about 3 km in width, with sandstone rock formations creating natural shelters .
2.4.2 Chronology of Paintings
The paintings span a vast period—from the Upper Paleolithic through the Medieval period. They have been classified into three broad cultural periods with nine phases :
| Period | Phases | Date | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Paleolithic | I | c. 40,000-10,000 BCE | Earliest green/red outlines, large animal figures |
| Mesolithic | II-V | c. 8000-5000 BCE | Maximum paintings, daily life scenes, hunting |
| Chalcolithic | VI | c. 3500-2500 BCE | Pottery designs, interaction with farming cultures |
| Historic | VII-IX | c. 1000 BCE-500 CE | Battle scenes, religious symbols, script |
2.4.3 Techniques and Materials
Early humans developed sophisticated techniques for creating these paintings :
🖌️ Brushes and Tools
Chewed twigs - frayed ends created brush-like tips
Fingers - for broad outlines and filling
Bird feathers - for fine lines
Animal hair - tied to sticks for brushes
🎨 Pigments and Colors
| Color | Source | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Hematite (iron oxide) | Crushed and mixed with water |
| Green | Copper compounds | Rare, used in earliest phases |
| White | Lime, kaolin, bird droppings | Mixed with plant sap |
| Yellow | Limonite | Burnt to produce orange/brown |
| Brown | Manganese | Natural pigment |
| Black | Charcoal, manganese dioxide | Burnt wood or mineral |
🔬 Technique: Colors were always used in wet form—mixed with water, plant sap, or animal fat. They were never applied in dry powder form .
2.4.4 Major Themes in Bhimbetka Art
🦁 Animal Depictions
Animals dominate the Mesolithic paintings, reflecting their central role in hunter-gatherer life:
| Animal | Frequency | Depiction Style |
|---|---|---|
| Bison | Common | Naturalistic, detailed |
| Deer (chital, barasingha) | Very common | Herds, hunting scenes |
| Wild boar | Common | Charging, aggressive poses |
| Elephant | Frequent | Large size, herds |
| Rhinoceros | Present | Thick-skinned appearance |
| Tiger | Less common | Stripes, hunting scenes |
| Snake | Occasional | Sacred or fearful depictions |
🏹 Hunting Scenes
The most dynamic paintings show hunting expeditions:
"Zoo Rock Shelter qualifies as the most densely painted rock shelter with paintings spanning from the Mesolithic to the Medieval. The paintings here include those of a Mesolithic boar painted in dark red, animals like: elephant, rhinoceros, boar, barasingha, spotted deer, cattle and snake."
👥 Human Figures
Human depictions provide insights into Mesolithic society:
Hunters with bows and arrows, sometimes wearing headgear
Women gathering food, digging rats from holes
Dancers in group scenes, possibly rituals
Children depicted playing
Communal activities like honey collection
🎭 Ritual and Ceremony
Some paintings suggest religious or ceremonial activities:
"The Boar Rock, which is the last among the rock shelters accessible for tourists, has a depiction of a mythical boar with horns that is many more times larger than the human being chased by it."
This mythical boar (Shelter III F-19, also called Bull Rock) depicts a creature combining features of a boar, ox, and elephant—possibly representing a supernatural being or totemic animal .
2.4.5 Famous Rock Shelters at Bhimbetka
| Shelter | Name | Key Paintings |
|---|---|---|
| Auditorium Rock | Largest shelter | Cup-like depressions (100,000 years old), hunting scene at tunnel end |
| Zoo Rock | Most densely painted | Mesolithic boar, elephant, rhinoceros, barasingha, battle scenes |
| Boar Rock | Mythical creature | Giant horned boar chasing human, over 1.2 meters tall |
2.4.6 Why Were These Paintings Made?
Scholars suggest several purposes for the cave paintings :
Ritual/magical purposes - Hunting scenes may have been part of rituals to ensure successful hunts
Storytelling - Recording important events and communal memories
Instruction - Teaching young members about hunting techniques and animal behavior
Religious expression - Depictions of mythical beings suggest spiritual beliefs
Social bonding - Creating art may have been a communal activity
💡 Important Observation: The most densely painted caves allowed in more sunlight and were typically uninhabited, suggesting these paintings were not for decoration but had special ritual or ceremonial purposes .
👥 2.5 Social Organization of Hunter-Gatherers
2.5.1 Band Society
Hunter-gatherers lived in small groups called bands, typically consisting of 25-50 people related through kinship.
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Size | Small (25-50 people) |
| Kinship | Based on family relationships |
| Leadership | Informal, based on skill and experience |
| Decision-making | Consensus among adults |
| Division of labor | Based on age and gender |
2.5.2 Gender Roles
Evidence from archaeology and comparison with modern hunter-gatherers suggests:
| Role | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Primary activities | Hunting large game | Gathering plants, small game, fishing |
| Tool making | Stone tools, weapons | Baskets, digging sticks |
| Child care | Limited | Primary responsibility |
| Food contribution | 20-40% of calories | 60-80% of calories |
🌿 Important Note: Gathering provided the stable, reliable food base, while hunting was more unpredictable but provided protein and valuable materials (bones, hides).
2.5.3 Settlement Patterns
Hunter-gatherers were nomadic, moving seasonally to exploit different resources. Their settlement pattern included :
Base camps: Larger camps near water sources, occupied for weeks or months
Activity sites: Temporary camps for specific tasks (hunting, collecting)
Factory sites: Places where stone tools were made near raw material sources
🏕️ Research Insight: Ethnoarchaeological studies among the Gonds of Adilabad (Andhra Pradesh) suggest that prehistoric hunter-gatherers had:
2.5.4 Beginning of Belief Systems
The Mother Goddess at Baghor I
One of the most remarkable discoveries from the Upper Paleolithic is at Baghor I in Madhya Pradesh :
"The Late Paleolithic site of Baghor I on the Son river in Madhya Pradesh revealed in excavation a stone rubble platform on which a triangular-shaped stone block (15 cm high) with bright-coloured natural laminations was installed and probably worshipped as manifestation of Mai or Mother Goddess, exactly like what the Kols and other local groups still do."
This 10,000-year-old find suggests:
Continuity of religious traditions from prehistoric to modern times
Worship of female principle (Mother Goddess)
Sacred spaces created within settlements
Symbolic thinking and attribution of divine qualities to natural objects
Burial Practices
Evidence from Mesolithic sites shows the beginning of formal burial:
| Site | Burial Features |
|---|---|
| Sarai Nahar Rai | Extended burials, grave goods (tools, ornaments) |
| Bagor | Over 100 burials, some with dog burials |
| Langhnaj | Skeletons with microliths, possibly offerings |
🔄 2.6 Transition to Sedentary Life
The Mesolithic period saw the first steps toward settled life, which would fully develop in the Neolithic.
2.6.1 Evidence of Change
| Evidence | Implication |
|---|---|
| Cemeteries | Attachment to particular places |
| Grinding stones | Intensive plant processing |
| Sickle blades | Harvesting wild grains |
| Animal bones | Possible early domestication |
| Pottery | Storage of food |
2.6.2 The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition
At sites like Adamgarh (Madhya Pradesh), evidence suggests Mesolithic hunter-gatherers began:
Keeping domesticated animals (sheep, goats)
Staying longer in one place
Interacting with farming communities
Developing new technologies
🔄 PSTET Note: The transition was gradual, with hunting-gathering and small-scale cultivation coexisting for thousands of years before full agriculture developed.
🌐 2.7 Interactions Between Hunter-Gatherers and Other Groups
Recent research emphasizes that hunter-gatherers did not live in isolation. They interacted with :
2.7.1 Types of Interaction
| Interaction | Evidence | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Trade | Non-local raw materials at sites | Exchange networks |
| Seasonal gatherings | Large temporary camps | Social networks, marriages |
| Information exchange | Similar tool styles across regions | Cultural connections |
| Conflict | Weapons, some skeletons with injuries | Territorial disputes |
2.7.2 Trade Networks
Evidence from sites like Mehrgarh (Balochistan) shows that trade networks extended to the Makran coast and Central Asia as early as the Neolithic period (c. 6500 BCE) .
Hunter-gatherers likely played a crucial role in these networks:
"Small-scale, localized interaction between nomadic hunter-gatherers or pastoralists and settled agriculturalists... may have constituted a primary means by which urban centers acquired widely dispersed raw materials essential to a variety of manufacturing goals."
📊 2.8 Comparative Timeline of Stone Age India
| Period | Dates (BCE) | Key Tools | Key Sites | Major Developments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Paleolithic | 600,000 – 150,000 | Hand axes, cleavers | Bori, Sohan Valley, Attirampakkam | First humans, core tools |
| Middle Paleolithic | 150,000 – 35,000 | Flake tools, scrapers | Narmada Valley, Belan Valley | Specialized tools, fire use |
| Upper Paleolithic | 35,000 – 10,000 | Blades, burins, bone tools | Bhimbetka, Patne, Kurnool | Art, symbolic behavior |
| Mesolithic | 9,000 – 4,000 | Microliths, composite tools | Bagor, Adamgarh, Bhimbetka | Cave paintings, burials, transition |
🧠 2.9 Key Terms Summary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Paleolithic | Old Stone Age; period of hunting and gathering with crude stone tools |
| Mesolithic | Middle Stone Age; period of microliths and transition to settled life |
| Microliths | Tiny stone tools (1-5 cm) used in composite implements |
| Composite tools | Tools made by combining microliths with wood/bone handles |
| Core tools | Tools made by chipping a stone core (hand axes, cleavers) |
| Flake tools | Tools made from flakes struck off a core |
| Blades | Long, parallel-sided flakes |
| Burins | Chisel-like engraving tools |
| Band | Small nomadic group of hunter-gatherers (25-50 people) |
| Nomadic | Moving from place to place in search of food |
| Ethnoarchaeology | Study of modern traditional societies to understand prehistoric life |
| Bhimbetka | UNESCO World Heritage site with prehistoric cave paintings |
| Hematite | Iron oxide mineral used to make red pigment |
| Midden | Ancient waste heap containing bones, shells, and artifacts |
✅ 2.10 Self-Assessment Questions
Multiple Choice Questions
The earliest stone tools in India belong to which period?
a) Mesolithic
b) Lower Paleolithic
c) Upper Paleolithic
d) NeolithicMicroliths are characteristic of which age?
a) Lower Paleolithic
b) Middle Paleolithic
c) Upper Paleolithic
d) MesolithicBhimbetka rock shelters are located in:
a) Rajasthan
b) Uttar Pradesh
c) Madhya Pradesh
d) MaharashtraWho discovered the Bhimbetka rock shelters?
a) Sir John Marshall
b) V.S. Wakankar
c) Alexander Cunningham
d) Daya Ram SahniComposite tools were made by:
a) Grinding stones together
b) Hafting microliths in wood or bone
c) Melting metal ores
d) Baking clay
Short Answer Questions
What are the three sub-divisions of the Paleolithic Age? Mention one key site for each.
How did microlithic technology improve hunting efficiency?
Describe the materials and techniques used for Bhimbetka cave paintings.
What is the significance of the Baghor I find?
Explain the difference between core tools and flake tools with examples.
Long Answer Questions
"Bhimbetka provides a continuous record of human artistic expression from the Paleolithic to the Medieval period." Elaborate with examples.
Discuss the technological developments from the Lower Paleolithic to the Mesolithic Age in India.
What do we know about the social organization of hunter-gatherer societies? How do archaeologists reconstruct this information?
Explain the significance of the Mesolithic Age as a period of transition in Indian prehistory.
📚 2.11 PSTET Practice Corner
Expected Questions for PSTET Examination
| Question Type | Sample Questions |
|---|---|
| Fact-based | Name any four Mesolithic sites in India. What are microliths? When was Bhimbetka discovered? |
| Conceptual | Distinguish between Paleolithic and Mesolithic cultures. Why is the Mesolithic called a transitional phase? |
| Application | If you find a hand axe at an excavation, which period would you assign it to? Why? |
| Analytical | "Cave paintings are important sources for understanding prehistoric life." Justify. |
Answer Key for MCQs:
b) Lower Paleolithic
d) Mesolithic
c) Madhya Pradesh
b) V.S. Wakankar
b) Hafting microliths in wood or bone
🎯 2.12 Teaching Tips for PSTET Aspirants
As a future teacher, here's how you can make this topic engaging for your students:
| Strategy | Activity Idea |
|---|---|
| 🪨 Tool Making Demo | Show pictures/videos of stone tool making; have students sort tool pictures by period |
| 🎨 Cave Art Activity | Students create their own "cave paintings" using natural colors (mud, charcoal) on paper |
| 🏹 Hunting Simulation | Role-play a hunting-gathering day - divide class into groups, assign tasks |
| 📅 Timeline Creation | Create a giant class timeline showing the relative length of Paleolithic vs. recorded history |
| 🗺️ Map Work | Locate all important prehistoric sites on a map of India |
| 🔍 Source Detective | Show pictures of Bhimbetka paintings and ask students to "read" what they reveal about prehistoric life |
📖 2.13 Chapter Summary
The Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) in India is divided into Lower, Middle, and Upper phases, each marked by advancements in tool technology .
Lower Paleolithic people used core tools (hand axes, cleavers) at sites like Bori and Sohan Valley.
Middle Paleolithic saw the development of flake tools (scrapers, points) at sites like Narmada Valley.
Upper Paleolithic introduced blade tools and bone tools, with evidence of symbolic behavior at sites like Baghor I .
The Mesolithic Age (c. 9,000-4,000 BCE) witnessed the microlithic revolution—tiny stone tools used in composite implements for more efficient hunting .
Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh contains over 700 rock shelters with paintings spanning 40,000 years, providing invaluable evidence of prehistoric life, art, and beliefs .
Paintings depict hunting scenes, animals, human figures, rituals, and mythical creatures, made with natural pigments using twigs, fingers, and feathers .
Hunter-gatherers lived in small bands of 25-50 people, with gender-based division of labor (hunting by men, gathering by women) .
Evidence of belief systems includes the Mother Goddess shrine at Baghor I (c. 10,000 BCE) and formal burials with grave goods .
The Mesolithic period marked the transition toward settled life, with evidence of cemeteries, grinding stones, and possible animal domestication.
🌟 2.14 Key Takeaways for PSTET
🏆 Remember: The earliest societies were not "primitive" in the sense of simple—they had sophisticated knowledge of their environment, advanced tool-making skills, artistic expression, social organization, and spiritual beliefs. Their story covers over 99% of human history in India.
Important Sites to Remember:
Bhimbetka (MP) - Cave paintings, all Stone Age periods
Bagor (Rajasthan) - Largest Mesolithic cemetery
Attirampakkam (Tamil Nadu) - Oldest Paleolithic tools in South India
Kurnool Caves (Andhra Pradesh) - Bone tools, microliths
Patne (Maharashtra) - Upper Paleolithic technological sequence
Baghor I (MP) - Mother Goddess shrine
Key Dates:
Lower Paleolithic: 600,000 – 150,000 BCE
Middle Paleolithic: 150,000 – 35,000 BCE
Upper Paleolithic: 35,000 – 10,000 BCE
Mesolithic: 9,000 – 4,000 BCE
