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| Period | Meaning of name | Material used | Main feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palaeolithic | Old Stone Age | Stone | Hunting-gathering; simple stone tools |
| Mesolithic | Middle Stone Age | Stone | Microlithic (tiny stone) tools; transitional phase |
| Neolithic | New Stone Age | Stone | Agriculture and settled life; domestication; polished stone tools |
| Chalcolithic | Copper and Stone Age | Copper + stone | Early metallurgy - extraction and shaping of metal |
| Bronze Age | — | Bronze (copper + tin) | Trade, towns and early civilisations expand |
| Iron Age | — | Iron | Iron smelting; stronger tools and weapons; advanced societies |
Worth remembering
The periods reflect changes in tools, farming, lifestyle and settlement - not the material alone. One thread runs through them: stone, copper, bronze, iron.
1. What does
lithic
mean?
Show answer
Stone
2. Which period used copper along with stone?
Show answer
The Chalcolithic
3. What is bronze made of?
Show answer
Copper mixed with tin
The order of the periods never changes, but the dates differ from region to region . For the Indian subcontinent:
When
Period
7000 BCE
Neolithic
4500 BCE
Chalcolithic
3300 BCE
Bronze Age
