CDS History · Ancient India
Stone Age and Chalcolithic Cultures
How historians study the distant past, the tools and sites of the Old, Middle and New Stone Ages, and the copper-using farming cultures of Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Why this matters
Twelve questions, all from 2020 onward and ten of them from 2023 or later, so this is one of the newest favourites in the paper. Most ask where a site is or what a tool word means, which a short table answers.
Concept 1 of 4: Studying the past and Palaeolithic tools
Before writing, the only record of people is what they left behind: stone tools, bones, pits and paintings. Historians sort the Stone Age into periods by the kind of tool and the way it was made, but no region followed exactly the same path.
Definition
- The Stone Age is split into the Palaeolithic (Old), Mesolithic (Middle) and Neolithic (New) periods, told apart by the type and technology of the stone tools.
- Tools varied from region to region, and the periods did not unfold in one neat line across the whole subcontinent.
- The Levallois technique is a Middle Palaeolithic method: a core is shaped first so that a flake of a planned size and shape can be struck off it.
- A blade is a flake tool more than twice as long as it is wide.
- Isampur in Gulbarga district of Karnataka was a Palaeolithic tool factory beside a small seasonal stream, the Kamta Halla.
- An anthropologist studies human societies and cultures from the oldest times to the present. An archaeologist works from material remains, a palaeontologist from fossils and a geologist from rocks.
- Alexander Cunningham, the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, identified the site of ancient Taxila using the accounts of Chinese pilgrims.
| Term or name | What it is |
|---|---|
| Levallois technique | A Middle Palaeolithic way of making flake tools from a prepared coreQ CDS 2023 (II): it has nothing to do with Harappan pottery. |
| Blade | A flake tool more than twice as long as it is wideQ |
| Isampur | Palaeolithic tool factory in Gulbarga district, Karnataka, beside the Kamta Halla stream |
| Anthropology | The study of human societies and cultures from the oldest times to the presentQ |
| Alexander Cunningham | First Director-General of the Archaeological Survey; identified TaxilaQ |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2020 · CDS (I) 2020 — General Knowledge · Q75Moderate
Example 1 · Ancient India · Stone Age and Chalcolithic Cultures
Consider the following statements about Stone Age in India :
1. Different periods are identified on the basis of the type and technology of stone tools.
2. There are no regional variations in the type and technology of tools in different periods.
3. Stone Age cultures of different periods evolved uniformly in a neat unilinear fashion all over the subcontinent.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Levallois is a stone-tool method, not pottery
The Levallois technique is a Middle Palaeolithic way of striking flakes from a prepared core. An option linking it to Harappan pottery is wrong.
Cunningham found Taxila, Marshall dug it
Alexander Cunningham identified the site of Taxila. John Marshall excavated it much later, so he is the wrong answer to who identified it.
Concept 2 of 4: Mesolithic sites and rock art
In the Middle Stone Age people made tiny stone tools called microliths and began to keep animals. They also painted the walls of rock shelters, and some of those shelters were found in surprising ways.
Definition
- The Mesolithic is the age of microliths: very small stone tools, often set into wood or bone handles.
- Bagor on the Kothari river in Bhilwara district, Rajasthan is one of the best documented Mesolithic sites, with early evidence of keeping animals.
- Adamgarh (Madhya Pradesh) and Birbhanpur (West Bengal) are other Mesolithic microlith sites.
- The first rock paintings in India were reported at Sohagighat in the Kaimur hills of Uttar Pradesh by Archibald Carlleyle in the 1860s.
- Bhimbetka, near Bhopal, was found by V.S. Wakankar, who saw the rocks from a train between Bhopal and Itarsi and got off to explore.
- The Vikramkhol cave, an inscribed rock shelter, is in Jharsuguda district of Odisha.
| Site | Where | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Bagor | Bhilwara district, Rajasthan | A long Mesolithic record; early keeping of animals |
| Adamgarh | Madhya Pradesh | Mesolithic microliths |
| Birbhanpur | West Bengal | Mesolithic microliths |
| Bhimbetka | Near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | Painted rock shelters, found by V.S. Wakankar |
| Sohagighat | Kaimur hills, Uttar Pradesh | First rock paintings reported in India, by Archibald Carlleyle |
| Vikramkhol | Jharsuguda district, Odisha | An inscribed rock shelterQ |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (I) 2026 — General Knowledge · Q53Moderate
Example 2 · Ancient India · Stone Age and Chalcolithic Cultures
The Mesolithic site of Bagor is one of the most well-documented sites. It is located in :
Carlleyle, not Burns, at Sohagighat
The first rock paintings in India were reported at Sohagighat by Archibald Carlleyle. An option giving the credit to another explorer is wrong.
Bagor is in Rajasthan
Bagor is in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan. Bhimbetka and Adamgarh are the Madhya Pradesh sites, so do not move Bagor there with them.
Concept 3 of 4: Neolithic sites
In the New Stone Age people polished their stone tools, farmed, herded cattle and lived in villages. Each region adapted to its own climate: pits against the Kashmir cold, cattle pens in the dry south.
Definition
- Neolithic tools were ground and polished, and people farmed and herded in settled villages.
- Burzahom and Gufkral in the Kashmir valley had pit dwellings dug into the ground against the cold. At Burzahom dogs were buried with their owners.
- The southern Neolithic is known for ash mounds, heaps of burnt cattle dung at old cattle pens. Utnur in Telangana is the best known.
- Piklihal, Maski and Tekkalakota in Karnataka are other southern Neolithic sites.
- Chirand in Bihar is a Neolithic site known for its bone tools.
| Site | Region | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Burzahom | Kashmir valley | Pit dwellings; dogs buried with their owners |
| Gufkral | Kashmir valley | Pit dwellings |
| Utnur | Telangana | Ash mounds of the southern NeolithicQ CDS 2026 (I): Utnur was the Neolithic site; Bhimbetka, Adamgarh and Birbhanpur were the other options. |
| Piklihal, Maski, Tekkalakota | Karnataka | Southern Neolithic villages |
| Chirand | Bihar | Neolithic bone tools |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (I) 2026 — General Knowledge · Q54Moderate
Example 3 · Ancient India · Stone Age and Chalcolithic Cultures
Extensive pit-dwellings have been identified at the two Neolithic sites of :
Pit houses belong to Kashmir
The deep pit dwellings were at Burzahom and Gufkral in the Kashmir valley. Southern sites such as Utnur are known for ash mounds, not pit houses.
Bhimbetka is not a Neolithic answer
Bhimbetka is famous for Palaeolithic and Mesolithic rock shelters, and Adamgarh and Birbhanpur are Mesolithic. When CDS asks for a Neolithic site, look for Burzahom, Utnur or Chirand.
Concept 4 of 4: Chalcolithic cultures
Chalcolithic means copper and stone: farming villages that used a little copper beside their stone tools. CDS asks two of them, one in Rajasthan and one in Maharashtra, and wants you to know their rivers.
Definition
- Chalcolithic cultures used copper along with stone tools, and lived by settled farming.
- The Ahar or Banas culture of south-east Rajasthan lies along the Banas and its tributary the Berach, around Udaipur. It worked copper and made black-and-red pottery.
- The Jorwe culture covers almost all of Maharashtra except the coastal Konkan. Its core zone was the Pravara and Godavari valleys.
- Large Jorwe sites such as Daimabad and Inamgaon show settled farming, not shifting cultivation.
| Culture | Region | Key fact |
|---|---|---|
| Ahar or Banas | Banas and Berach valleys, south-east Rajasthan | Copper working; black-and-red pottery |
| Jorwe | Almost all of Maharashtra except the Konkan coast | Core in the Pravara and Godavari valleys; sites Daimabad and InamgaonQ CDS 2024 (I): the large Jorwe sites show settled farming, not shifting agriculture. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (I) 2026 — General Knowledge · Q55Moderate
Example 4 · Ancient India · Stone Age and Chalcolithic Cultures
The Chalcolithic Ahar Culture has been identified in which of the following river systems ?
Ahar is Rajasthan, Jorwe is Maharashtra
The Ahar culture lies on the Banas and Berach in Rajasthan. The Krishna and Tungabhadra valleys belong to the southern Neolithic, not to Ahar.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (4)
Studying the past and Palaeolithic tools5 rows
| Term or name | What it is |
|---|---|
| Levallois technique | A Middle Palaeolithic way of making flake tools from a prepared coreQ CDS 2023 (II): it has nothing to do with Harappan pottery. |
| Blade | A flake tool more than twice as long as it is wideQ |
| Isampur | Palaeolithic tool factory in Gulbarga district, Karnataka, beside the Kamta Halla stream |
| Anthropology | The study of human societies and cultures from the oldest times to the presentQ |
| Alexander Cunningham | First Director-General of the Archaeological Survey; identified TaxilaQ |
Mesolithic sites and rock art6 rows
| Site | Where | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Bagor | Bhilwara district, Rajasthan | A long Mesolithic record; early keeping of animals |
| Adamgarh | Madhya Pradesh | Mesolithic microliths |
| Birbhanpur | West Bengal | Mesolithic microliths |
| Bhimbetka | Near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | Painted rock shelters, found by V.S. Wakankar |
| Sohagighat | Kaimur hills, Uttar Pradesh | First rock paintings reported in India, by Archibald Carlleyle |
| Vikramkhol | Jharsuguda district, Odisha | An inscribed rock shelterQ |
Neolithic sites5 rows
| Site | Region | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Burzahom | Kashmir valley | Pit dwellings; dogs buried with their owners |
| Gufkral | Kashmir valley | Pit dwellings |
| Utnur | Telangana | Ash mounds of the southern NeolithicQ CDS 2026 (I): Utnur was the Neolithic site; Bhimbetka, Adamgarh and Birbhanpur were the other options. |
| Piklihal, Maski, Tekkalakota | Karnataka | Southern Neolithic villages |
| Chirand | Bihar | Neolithic bone tools |
Chalcolithic cultures2 rows
| Culture | Region | Key fact |
|---|---|---|
| Ahar or Banas | Banas and Berach valleys, south-east Rajasthan | Copper working; black-and-red pottery |
| Jorwe | Almost all of Maharashtra except the Konkan coast | Core in the Pravara and Godavari valleys; sites Daimabad and InamgaonQ CDS 2024 (I): the large Jorwe sites show settled farming, not shifting agriculture. |
Watch out for (7)
- Levallois is a stone-tool method, not pottery→ Studying the past and Palaeolithic tools
- Cunningham found Taxila, Marshall dug it→ Studying the past and Palaeolithic tools
- Carlleyle, not Burns, at Sohagighat→ Mesolithic sites and rock art
- Bagor is in Rajasthan→ Mesolithic sites and rock art
- Pit houses belong to Kashmir→ Neolithic sites
- Bhimbetka is not a Neolithic answer→ Neolithic sites
- Ahar is Rajasthan, Jorwe is Maharashtra→ Chalcolithic cultures
Test yourself on Ancient India
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.