History is an account of events that have happened in the past. It is about the real people and the real things. It does not deal with mere ideas and ideals or what should have been. On the other hand, it is a study of what has been.
History refers to that period of human evolution for which written records are available. Such writings are found on rocks, pillars, copper plates and more recently paper.
Stone Age
The primitive human beings were nomads. They kept moving from one place to another in search of food from the environment. They moved in groups to ensure safety from wild animals, for social security and for companionship. They also started making tools with stones.
In each stage human beings used stones as implements which were better than the earlier ones. This helped them to progress to a better and safer life.
(i) Old Stone Age - Paleolithic Age (500,000 B.C. to 10,000 B.C.)
During the old stone age, human beings lived in the foothills of the mountains preferably near a river. Rivers provided them with drinking water as well as food in the form of animals that came there to quench their thirst. They could find caves for shelter on the foothills. To cover and protect their bodies from heat and cold, these primitive humans wore bark from the trees and the skin of animals, which they dried under the sun.
(ii) Middle Stone Age - Mesolithic Age (10,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C.)
Humans during the Mesolithic age discovered the use of fire. They found that fire frightened the animals and so could provide them safety if kept burning near the caves. It also provided light during the night. Even the food became softer and tastier when cooked on fire. It also warmed up the cold caves by providing heat.
The tools found in this period were called Microliths. They were sharper and more effective. Bones of animals were also used to make tools and weapons like borers, scrapers, arrows, hooks, arrowheads and hammers.
(iii) New Stone Age - Neolithic Age (8,000 B.C. to 4,000 B.C.)
In the beginning, human beings were mere hunters and food gatherers. It took them hundreds of thousands of years before they could become food producers. This was the beginning of the Neolithic Age. Humans could grow their own food and they no longer depended on the uncertainty of hunting or searching and gathering more food.
This was the beginning of agriculture. It led to a settled life for humans for now they had a regular source of abundant food. They built huts for themselves which were probably protected by a wall. Now they had a regular place to live which soon took the form of a village.
Around the same time the early humans realized that they could keep some animals with them. They had learnt to domesticate animals like dog, goats, cattle and sheep for various uses especially for meat and milk. They used wool and skin from animals for clothing.
Another important discovery of this period was the wheel. Wheel was used for drawing water from the well in the form of pulley; for spinning of thread and making clothes in the form of spinning wheel or the charkha; to make pottery in the form of the potter’s wheel. The greatest use of the wheel was in the cart for transportation. This enabled human beings to carry themselves and their goods from one place to another.
The Stone Age was followed by the Metal Ages - Copper, Bronze and Iron.
Chalcolithic Age
Discovery of metal led to human civilisation becoming highly evolved. Copper was the first metal used by human beings. the cultures based on use of both copper and stone are called Chalcolithic Cultures.
In this age people began to use copper for making implements. Implements of this age have been found at Brahmagiri in Mysore, Nawab Toli near Narmada River as well as in the Chhota Nagpur Plateau.
Bronze Age
Copper was mixed with other metals like zinc, tin and lead to produce bronze. The tools made of metal proved to be much more effective than the earlier stone implements.
Town based civilisations came in the Bronze Age. The art of writing was developed during the Bronze Age Civilisations.
An alloy of copper and tin i.e. bronze which replaced stone, wood and bones to some extent for making weapons and implements. Town based civilization came up for first time in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China.
1. Mesopotamia Civilisation
Mesopotamia was the land lying between two rivers, Tigris and Euphrates, which lie in modern day Iraq. These rivers were often in flood and in this process they deposited a lot of silt which made the land around them very fertile. This resulted in increased food production.
- River valley: Between Tigris and Euphrates
- Modern city: Iraq
- Script and language: Cuneiform
- Religion: Worshipped sky Sun, Moon
2. Egyptian Civilisation
Another civilisation arose in Egypt, along the River Nile, which made the land very fertile. The Egyptian kings were called Pharaohs. The Pharaohs built the great monuments of the ancient world - the Pyramids. Since the Egyptians believed in afterlife, they preserved the dead bodies. These were called mummies.
- River valley: Nile
- Modern city: Egypt
- Script and language: Hieroglyphics
- Religion: Temples dedicated to particular Gods in each town
3. Chinese Civilisation
The Chinese civilisation grew up in the Hwang Ho valley in North China. The first rulers known were the Shangs (1523 BC to 1122 BC), who built China’s first cities. The Shang dynasty was overthrown by the Zhous, who built strong forts and walled towns to defend themselves from invaders. It was during the later phase of the Zhou rule that iron was introduced, thus ending the Bronze Age in China.
- River valley: Hwang Ho
- Modern city: North China
- Script and language: Common Chinese language
- Religion: Worshipped number of deities, ancestors nature and spirits
4. Indus Valley Civilisation (India)
This ancient civilisation was discovered when archaeologists began excavating the sites connected with it in the 1920s. The first sites to be excavated were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The Indus Valley Civilisation was known for its town planning, crafts and culture.
- River valley: Indus
- Modern city: Harappa (West Punjab), Sindh, Gujarat, Rajasthan
- Script and language: Harappan script (Not deciphered yet)
- Religion: Mother Goddess, lingam worship
Iron Age
Iron Age began about 3000 years ago when it came to be produced on a large scale and its use became common. It was much cheaper and stronger than copper and bronze. So, the use of iron tools and implements enabled our forefathers to clear forests and to reclaim lands for the extension of cultivation. Agricultural production thus increased considerably. This brought radical changes in the social and economic life of the people.
Significant contributions were made in various fields such as polity, philosophy, art, architecture and sculpture by the Greeks, Romans, Persians and Indians.
The discovery of iron was a very important landmark in human civilization. It helped in making tools that were more lasting and durable. Later, other materials came to be used. People learned to make alloys, which are made up of two or more metals in fixed ratios. Brass is an example of an alloy. Then, we learnt how to make steel by adding carbon to Iron.
1. Greek Civilisation
Greek Civilisation flourished in Greece more than 2000 years ago. There arose many independent city-states, which developed a remarkable system of government. Each city was enclosed by a wall for protection. Inside the city, there was a fort called Acropolis which was situated on a hill top. Among the Greek city-states, the most famous were Athens and Sparta.
2. Roman Civilisation
In 510 BC, the Romans set up a Republic on the city of Rome which is on river Tiber in Central Italy. By 200 BC, Rome became the leading power of Italy. It was able to defeat rivals like Carthage for the control of the Mediterranean world.
In the early Roman society, there were three classes of people - the patricians (aristocrats), the plebeians (commoners) and the slaves. Roman economy was based on slave labor. Rich Romans owned slaves.
By 395 AD, the huge Roman Empire was divided into two halves for better governance. The Eastern part with capital at Byzantium survived even after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the face of barbarian invasion in 476 AD. Emperor Constance gave Byzantium a new name - Constantinople.
3. Persian Civilisation
Persia (Modern Iran) was inhabited by the Aryan communities. One branch of them, known as the Medes, settled in the western part of the country. Another branch occupied the southern and eastern parts and was called the Persians.
One of the Persian kings, Cyrus, united the Persians in 550 BC. He built a powerful army and successfully conquered Babylon, Assyria and Asia Minor. Darius I was the greatest emperor of Persia.
4. India (Vedic Age)
The Vedic Age marks a new phase in ancient Indian History which began with the arrival of the Aryans in India around 1500 BC. It lasted for almost a thousand years, in the course of which a number of economic, social, political and religious developments took place. The Vedic Age is accordingly divided into two periods of about equal duration - Early Vedic Period and Later Vedic Period.