Pre-history & proto-history
Pre-history & proto-history · Stone Age sites
7 min read · Updated 2026-05-25
What is the Indian Stone Age?
The Indian Stone Age is the prehistoric span from about 25 lakh years Before Present to roughly 1000 BCE, divided into Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic phases. Its landmark sites are Attirampakkam, whose tools date to about 3,85,000 BP, Hathnora, which yielded India's only hominid skull, the Bhimbetka rock shelters, and Mehrgarh, where farming began around 7000 BCE.
The story
It is 1957. Indian archaeologist V S Wakankar is on a train from Bhopal to Itarsi when, gazing out, he spots curious rock outcrops near Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh. Curiosity pulls him back. He returns to find over 750 rock shelters sheltering Mesolithic to early-historic paintings — charging bison, hunting parties, riders on horses — humanity's continuous artistic record from ~30,000 years BP.
In 2003 Bhimbetka becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A year later, Subhashis Das documents megaliths in Jharkhand. In 2018, Attirampakkam (Tamil Nadu) stone tools are dated to ~3,85,000 years BP by ASI + Sharma Centre for Heritage Education — pushing back the Indian Middle Palaeolithic by 150,000 years.
India's prehistory is the opening chapter of every UPSC Ancient History question — and yet candidates routinely under-prepare it because the dates feel intimidating.
Why this matters for UPSC
For UPSC:
- Prelims: Stone Age periodisation (Lower/Middle/Upper Palaeolithic + Mesolithic + Neolithic + Chalcolithic); site names — Bhimbetka, Hathnora, Attirampakkam, Mehrgarh, Burzahom, Brahmagiri, Daojali Hading; Madrasian + Sohanian tool industries.
- Mains GS-I: Continuity of artistic tradition; transition from food gathering to food production.
- Interview: Rarely tested; could come up on Bhimbetka or recent ASI findings.