Mesolithic Age (Hunters and Herders)

• Mesolithic Age (Hunters and Herders): Intermediate stage in Stone Age culture, part of the Holocene era (~10,000 years ago).
• Lifestyle: Primarily hunting, fishing, food gathering, and later animal domestication.
• Tools: Characterized by microliths (miniature stone tools), used for making composite tools, spearheads, arrowheads, and sickles.
• Pottery: Absent in most sites but found at Langhnaj (Gujarat) and Kaimur region (Mirzapur, UP).
• Agriculture: The last phase saw the beginning of plant cultivation.
• Rock Art:
  • Initiated during this era, first discovered at Sohagighat (Kaimur Hills, UP).
  • Over 150 Mesolithic rock art sites found, mainly in Central India (Bhimbetka Caves, Kharwar, Jaora, Kathotia (MP)).
  • Depictions of animals dominate; no snakes depicted in the paintings.
• Religious practices and division of labor inferred from burials and rock paintings.

Important Mesolithic Sites:

• Bagor (Rajasthan) on River Kothari: One of the largest and well-documented Mesolithic sites.
• Chhotanagpur Region and Central India: Early evidence of animal domestication at Adamgarh (MP) and Bagor.
• South of River Krishna (Tinnevelly, Tamil Nadu).
• Birbhanpur (West Bengal).
• Sarai Nahar Rai and Mahadaha (UP): Bone artifacts (arrowheads, bone ornaments) found at Mahadaha.