FARMERS AND HERDERS OF ANCIENT TIMES

FARMERS AND HERDERS IN INDIA

The period from around 8000 to 4000 BCE is known as the Neolithic Age. During this period, humans changed from hunters and gatherers to farmers and herders.

Around 8000 BC, the ice which had covered large parts of the Earth during the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages started to melt. The warmer climate encouraged the spread of plants and animals to previously cold regions. People learnt to grow crops of grains, and vegetables. This resulted in the development of agriculture. People also started taming animals as they realized how useful they were.

Neolithic settlements have been found in several regions of South Asia. Among the excavated sites, the main ones are at Mehrgarh in Pakistan, Burzahom in Kashmir, Daojali Hading and Sarutaru in Assam,Chirand in Bihar, Kuchai in Odisha, Daimabad and Inamgaon in Maharashtra, Brahmagiri in Karnataka, Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh and Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu.

AGRICULTURE

After centuries of practicing food gathering, humans learnt to plant their own crops and plan their harvests. They learnt to select the best quality seeds. Wheat, barley, millet and pulses were cultivated. Humans learnt to plough the land before planting seeds. Ploughing broke up the hard soil and cut a straight line in the ground in which the framer could sow the seeds. Due to these improvements in agricultural practices, there was an explosion in agriculture output.

This agricultural revolution brought about many changes and improvements in the way people lived. More food could now be produced than was required for the people. This led to methods of saving for the future. Food could be stored till the next harvest. After each crop was harvested, the fields were cleared for the next season by burning the fields. Ash mounds as well as habitation sites have been discovered in Brahmagiri and Hallur in Karnataka and Paiyamapalli in Tamil Nadu.

DOMESTICATION AND HERDING OF ANIMALS

During the Neolithic period, humans started domesticating animals. Remains of animal bones and shelters found at Neolithic sites tell us what kinds of animals were domesticated. Bones of sheep and goats have been excavated at Tekkalakota in Karnataka, and in settlements to the south of the river Godavari. The farmers of Piklihal, in Karnataka, were cattle herders. They set up cow pens and also collected dung. With the domestication of animals like oxen, pigs, and sheep, there was a regular supply of meat. Gats also gave milk. Some of the animals like horses, oxen and bulls could be used to plough the land.

Thus, Neolithic humans became herders. Herding is the management of domesticated animals. The animals domesticated by the humans needed to be fed and kept safe. The animals often needed to be moved from place to place in search of flesh pasture or grass.

SETTLEMENTS

Settled community living was another result of agriculture. Settled life would also have needed a leader and someone to maintain law and order. This period probably saw the beginning of division of labour. Some people would have made tools, some would have taken the animals for grazing, and some would have been involved in agriculture. The population increased rapidly because large quantities of food were available, and the agricultural revolution provided the means for a secure life in the future.

Neolithic people buried their dead. Objects used by the dead persons, like tools, weapons and pottery, were buried with them. In many parts of South India, burial places have been marked with huge rectangular blocks of stone. They are called megaliths (‘mega’ means ‘large’ in Greek).

As the needs of agriculture demanded settlement in one place, people constructed huts of dried grass and mud as shelter. Huts were huddled together as if in a colony. Most settlements were on the slopes of hills or in rock shelters near rivers and streams.

The homes of Neolithic framers were much larger and sturdier than the skin –covered huts of their Mesolithic ancestors. Some of them were built of spilt logs. Walls were sometimes woven from smaller branches.  Some people even started living in brick houses. The earliest Neolithic settlements are in the valleys of Iran and Iraq, and in Israel and Palestine.

TOOLS

With farming as an activity growing in importance, there was a demand for better and more effective tools. Sickles and reaping knives were developed to harvest crops. Heavy tools were used for digging and leveling the land. Grinding stones were invented for processing cereals and other plant food. Stone axes were used to cut down trees and mattocks to break up the soil. Stone was ground and polished into sharper and more refined implements. The wooden plough was invented during this period.

POTTERY

Pots were needed for storing excess grain and milk and water. During the Neolithic Age, humans learnt to make vessels of clay and bake the on fire. Pots were also used for cooking and eating. Neolithic pottery in northern India was black-grey ware, with a matt (not shiny) finish.

INVENTION OF THE AXLE

One of the greatest inventions of the Neolithic humans was the wheel with an axle. An axle is a shaft on which the wheel rotates. The invention of the axle allowed the wheel to turn freely. It had various uses.

The potter’s wheel was used to work clay to make better pots.

Heavy objects could be transported on wheels.

It improved transport and quickened the pace of development.

Possibly, the wheel was used to spin cotton thread which could then be woven into cloth.

The oldest surviving wheel has been found in Mesopotamia in Iraq. It is believed to be over 5000 years old.

RELIGION

Not much is known about the religion of the early humans. They must have been awed by nature and its mysteries. Probably, nature was worshipped in different forms. The cave paintings of Old Stone Age hunters may have had a magical or religious significance. Several statues and figurines of mother goddesses have been found at Neolithic sites, suggesting the prevalence of goddess-worship. Over a period of time the dead and their worship assumed importance.

ORNAMENTS

People made ornaments of conch shells, lapis lazuli and turquoise beads. Remains of necklaces, bracelets and earrings have been found from Neolithic sites.