Neolithic Age

• This is the period of radical change in human life; The word ‘Neolithic’ is derived from the words ‘neos’ (new) and ‘lithos’ (stone). The book Man Makes Himself by Gordon Childe refers to two important changes in the Neolithic Age that transformed human life.
• The change in human interaction with his surroundings is the reason for these changes. Humans started new ways of living during the Neolithic period. They are: Domestication of animals & Beginning of agriculture

Let us see the factors that led humans to begin agriculture and domestication of animals.

• Population growth
• An increase in the number of human settlements
• Complex social organisation
• Shortage of food products
• Change in technology
• Polished tools helped humans to cultivate the land. They helped them in tilling the soil and cutting down trees. This marked the beginning of great changes in human life.
• Agriculture and domestication of animals ensured the steady availability of food products. As a result, permanent settlements and agrarian villages came into existence. The storage of grains became possible with the introduction of pottery and the use of bricks made of clay. When the surplus production in agriculture became possible, a section of society became free from agrarian activities. They began to engage in other occupations such as pottery making, weaving, etc. Thus, the society came to include different occupational groups. This resulted in significant changes in the social formation. The basis of the progress humans have achieved today can be seen in the changes during the Neolithic age. With reference to these changes, Gordon Childe, a renowned archeologist, named this period 'Neolithic Revolution'.
• Jarmo in the Kurdish Hills of Iraq - Robert J Bridewood led the archeological excavations in Jarmo in the Kurdish Hills (modern Iraq). The people of Jarmo cultivated barley and two varieties of wheat.
• There were clear indications that they domesticated goat and some other animals. Their dwellings were small huts. They made figures of animals and humans with clay. Among the human figures they made the most prominent was that of a pregnant woman.
• Mehrgarh: The Neolithic Site in the Indian Subcontinent Archaeologists consider that Mehrgarh (now in Pakistan) was a site in ancient India, where the important features of Neolithic Age, like domestication of animals and plants began first. This region is called 'the bread basket of Baluchistan.'