From Gathering to Growing Foods

These were provided with the steps. This may have been constructed to get protection from the cold temperatures.

Cookhearths have been found both outside and inside the houses in Burzahom which implies that people used to cook food according to weather.

Animals provided variety of food to the hunter gatherers. They provided milk, fish and meat to them. Moreover, they breed naturally and add to their number without much effort in comparison to plants; therefore, they are considered as 'store of food' for them.

The area is known as Sarai Nahar Rai. This site provides the earliest evidence of rice production and consumption in India.

Daojali Hading is located in Tripura. Here unique discovery of tools made from fossil wood have been made by the archaeologists. Fossil wood is the metamorphosed form of wood. The physical properties of the wood undergo change due to the high temperature and high pressure.

Neolithic age began around 12000 years ago. The human civilisation experienced tremendous changes during this period. The stone implements used by the people were small but sharper and were polished properly. Herding and cultivation began in this age and man had started living settled life.

Bolan pass is situated in the Sulaiman Range of Himalayas. It connects the Indian subcontinent with Iran. This pass was used by traders and the invaders to reach India.

With the change in the climate, the plants and animals used for food also witnessed some changes. Men, women and children observed several things related to plants, such as, places where edible plants were found, how seeds broke off stalks, fell on the ground and new plants sprouted from them. Perhaps they started protecting the plants from birds and animals so that they could grow and the seeds could ripen. In this way, people became farmers.

There was a gradual change in the lifestyle of the early man. In many areas both men and women continued hunting and gathering food. While in some areas people took to farming and herding gradually, over several thousand years. Besides, in some cases people tried to combine these activities, doing different things during different seasons.

People started using pots for cooking food. Grains like rice, wheat and lentils were cooked by them. These pots were sometimes decorated also.

Group of farmers and herders lived together in small settlements or villages. Groups of such families formed a tribe. Most of the families in the tribe were related to one another. Members of the tribe followed occupations such as hunting, gathering, farming, herding and fishing.

Different plants grow in different conditions. For example, rice requires more water than wheat and barley. So it is grown in areas where plenty of water is available.

The early villages came into being through following process :

1. With the knowledge of agriculture - small groups of families made their dwellings near their fields and started living together,gradually these settlements developed into villages.
2. The villages were generally found near the rivers and lakes and were built on high ground to keep them safe from floods.
3. For security from wild beasts a mud wall or thick hedge was built all around.
4. The community living made life easier, safer and happier.

1. A Man who wanders from place to place in search of food & shelter and has nofixed home to stay.
2. stone age- The earliest period of human culture when the man used stone tools.
3. Anthropologists- The people who study the science of human race

Man learnt to produce fire by rubbing two pieces of stone. That discovery was an accidental invention. He started to use fire for cooking food, for light and heat, and to scare the wild animals.

Agriculture brought about important changes. Man gave up his nomadic life and settled down at one place in selected areas. He could grow his own food. He no longer was a wanderer or gatherer and settled down in one place. Man put forward the first step towards development.

The process in which people grow plants and look after animals is called Domestication. It was a gradual process that took place in many parts of the world about 12,000 years ago. Some of the earliest plants to be grown were wheat and barley. The earliest domesticated animals being dog, sheep and goat. The animals provided not only milk or meat but could also be used to draw the plough and other purposes i.e. dogs for security of houses and to help in hunting etc.

The Stone Age man lived in hilly areas by the side of rivers or a lake. In the beginning he took shelter in the caves, rock shelters and later in mud - huts. He lived by the side of lake or river to quench his thirst and for food i.e. animal and fish.

The literature in the books which gives us important information about the past is called the literary source. Vedas, Upanishads, Smritis, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Sangam literature throw light on the political, social, economic and religious conditions of early India.

We know about the past through certain clues known as sources. The sources that are used to study the past are coins, inscriptions, manuscripts, pottery, toys, jewellery etc.

The Neolithic tools were polished to give a fine cutting edge.

A burial is an arrangement made by people for their relatives and friends. When people die generally respect is paid to them. Dead people are looked after perhaps in the belief that there is some form of life after death. Several burial sites have been found at Mehrgarh. In one instance, the dead person was buried with goats, which were probably meant to serve as food in the next world.

The members of a tribe follow occupations such as hunting, gathering, farming, herding and fishing. Women do most of the agricultural work like preparing the ground, sowing seeds, looking after the growing plants and harvesting grain.Children often look after plants, driving away animals and birds that might eat them. The cleaning of animals and milking, is done by both men and women.Both women and men make pots, baskets, tools and huts. They also take part in singing, dancing and decorating their huts.

The climatic change in the environment after the Ice Age brought about a change in plants and animals. Dietary patterns of human beings also began to change with time. Humans observed the behaviour of plants – the way seeds broke off the stalk, fell on the ground and new plants sprouted from them. They also started to protect the edible plants from plants and animals.Humans began to tame animals by leaving food for them near their shelter. Dogs were the first animals to be tamed. Humans also protected them from being attacked by other wild animals. Thus, a symbiotic relationship was shared between plants, animals and humans.

In Neolithic period climatic conditions became favourable and habitable. The areas became warmer so there could be seen dense forests. Now due to warmth in the climate, ice covered dry areas became open grassland.

In Neolithic period:

• They preferred living in groups.
• They enjoyed dance, music, painting and decorating their huts.
• They had their own gods & goddesses.
• They never discriminated between rich & poor
• They believed that all natural resources belonged to everybody.