Introduction

What will we study in this chapter?

Who are early humans?

What is civilisation?

When did civilisation begin?

Example of a civilisation found in India

Did early humans know how to write? When did writing start?

Then how did people communicate before writing?

If they did not write, how do we know anything about them?

What is a script? Is a script the same as a language?

Why does the invention of writing divide history into two parts?

Why is the period before writing so much longer?

Why is dating of the pre-writing period only approximate?

What do we know about the Harappan script?

Why has the Harappan script not been deciphered?

Which other early scripts existed at the same time?

What would change if the Harappan script were deciphered tomorrow?

What is the Brahmi script?

How do BCE dates work?

Why Should We Study Early Human History?

What is biological evolution?

What is cultural evolution?

What is the difference between biological and cultural evolution?

When did this cultural evolution take place?

How did the human way of life change during this period?

Where did our earliest ancestors evolve?

What are hominins?

Who was the first to move out of Africa?

When did they move out of Africa?

How do we know that Homo erectus spread out of Africa?

Who moved out in the second wave?

Why did early humans leave Africa to migrate to other regions?

How do we know about our ancestors?

Who Were Our Human Ancestors?

Who were our early ancestors?

When and where did they live?

What changes do we see in the skulls of these ancestors?

What kind of tools did they make?

If all of them made tools, what was special about Homo sapiens?

Why were these early ancestors called hominins?

Why are these tools called extra-corporal limbs?

Summary table of early ancestors

What is this period when early ancestors lived called?

Which areas are called the Old World, and why?

How do we come to know about these early ancestors?

Periods in Early Human History

What were the different periods in human history?

What was the Palaeolithic period?

What was the Mesolithic period?

What was the Neolithic period?

What was the Chalcolithic period?

What was the Bronze Age?

What was the Iron Age?

Which of these are Stone Ages, and which are Metal Ages?

On what basis is human history divided into these periods?

What does this classification tell us about human progress?

Why is the shift to farming called a revolution and not a simple change?

Summary table of the different periods

Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherers

What is the Stone Age? Why is it called so?

What are the three stages of the Stone Age?

Who were the Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers?

Where have human settlements of the Palaeolithic Age been found? How old are they?

What has been found at these sites?

What were these tools used for?

What progress was made during the Palaeolithic Age in tool preparation?

Did Palaeolithic people make art?

Who were these later developments associated with?

How did people live in the Palaeolithic period?

Comparison Table

Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers

What is the Mesolithic Age?

What was the period of the Mesolithic Age?

What change happened during this period?

How did this affect the people?

What was the mainstay of the subsistence economy during the Mesolithic period?

Who were the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers?

What tools did they use?

Where did they live?

Did art continue in this period?

Comparison Table

The Neolithic Revolution You are here

What is the Neolithic Age?

What is the Neolithic Revolution?

What was the hallmark of this revolution?

How were Neolithic tools different from hunter-gatherer tools?

What else did Neolithic people make?

What was the biggest result of the Neolithic Revolution?

What are the signs that a group of people had become farmers?

How did a crop slowly come under human control?

Did farming begin everywhere at the same time?

In which order did different regions of the world start farming?

Which animals were domesticated?

What kind of houses and objects did these early farmers use?

Are any of these still used in present times?

Summary - how farming spread across the world

Did life become easier or more challenging after humans started farming?

One day in the life of a Neolithic farmer

Comparison Table

Neolithic Period in Indian Subcontinent

Did farming begin at the same time everywhere in India?

Which is the oldest Neolithic site in the Indian subcontinent?

Important points about the life of Mehrgarh people

How did Mehrgarh move into the metal age?

Which other Neolithic site should we know?

How far had the Neolithic way of life spread by 2500 BCE?

Summary of Neolithic sites in India

Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation

What is the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation? Why is it called so?

What are the other names of this civilisation?

How did the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation begin?

What are the three stages of the Harappan civilisation?

The whole Harappan story on one timeline

Why does the Chalcolithic period come before the Bronze Age in the sequence shown here?

How did copper change life in these villages?

What is the Early Harappan stage?

Important points about the Early Harappan period

How old are the earliest of these sites?

What does the ploughed field at Kalibangan tell us?

Did the Harappans have a system of weights and measures?

What if the Harappans had not followed a standard system of weights?

What finally led to the rise of Harappan cities?

Bronze Age Civilisations Outside India

What did we already study about the Harappan civilisation?

Which were the four early world civilisations?

Why were rivers important in the growth of early civilisations?

Which civilisations were in close contact with each other?

Which civilisations had little contact with the Harappans?

Important points - the four river-plain civilisations

Mesopotamian Civilisation

What is Mesopotamia? What does the name mean?

Which four city-based civilisations flourished in Mesopotamia?

What is the Fertile Crescent?

When did farming and metal come to Mesopotamia?

How did cities become city-states?

Which countries constitute West Asia today?

Who were the Sumerians, and what were they the first to do?

What is a ziggurat, and why was it the centre of the city?

How did ordinary people live in Sumerian cities?

What did the Sumerians invent?

Are Indian temples similar to Sumerian temples?

What were the Early Harappans doing at the same time?

What is cuneiform?

When did writing begin in Mesopotamia?

How was cuneiform written, and by whom?

What do the cuneiform tablets tell us?

Which is one of the earliest stories ever written?

Why do we know more about Mesopotamia than about the Harappans?

Who were the Akkadians?

Who did the Akkadians trade with, and what did they trade?

Who were the Assyrians?

Who were the Babylonians?

What was the Code of Hammurabi, and why was it important?

Important points about the four Mesopotamian city-states

How did the Babylonians decline?

Egyptian Civilisation

What is the Egyptian civilisation?

Which were the three kingdoms of Egypt?

How do we know so much about ancient Egypt?

What is papyrus?

What did the Egyptian libraries hold?

How was the Egyptian script deciphered?

What was the Egyptian calendar like?

Why is there a scale with a heart on one side and a feather on the other?

How did the Egyptian civilisation grow?

Why did the Egyptians call their land Kemet?

Which were the important places in Egypt?

How did irrigation lead to government in Egypt?

Why is the northern part called Lower Egypt and the southern part Upper Egypt?

Who were the Pharaohs?

How did the pyramids come about?

Why were the pyramids built?

What is mummification?

What was the social hierarchy of Egypt?

How did Egyptian society compare with Mesopotamia?

What do the daily objects tell us about Egyptian fashion?

How did the Egyptians spend their leisure time?

What role did festivals play in Egyptian life?

Important points about the Egyptian civilisation

What rights did Egyptian women have?

The Chinese Civilisation

What is the Chinese civilisation?

How did China move from villages to cities?

How is Chinese history organised?

When did the Iron Age begin in China?

Where does the name 'China' come from?

How do we know what we know about China?

What are oracles?

What kind of script did the Chinese use?

Do Chinese characters look like what they mean?

What crafts were unique to the Chinese civilisation?

Why was jade so important to the Chinese?

What was the Great Wall of China?

What could have been the other reasons for building the Great Wall?

What was the Silk Route?

How was India connected with the Silk Route?

What was Chinese society like?

How were rulers and officials chosen in China?

What kind of money did China have?

Important points about the Chinese civilisation

What did all four Bronze Age civilisations have in common?