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| Feature | Palaeolithic | Mesolithic | Neolithic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Cold; large areas covered by ice sheets | Warmer ; forests and grasslands expanded | — |
| Tools | Handaxes, cleavers, choppers, scrapers, borers, points, blades, microblades, burin | Microlithic (tiny stone) tools | Polished stone tools for food production and processing |
| Settlements | No permanent settlement; caves, rock shelters and open camps | Caves and rock shelters frequently occupied ; still not permanent | First village settlements - permanent, settled life |
| Art | Cave paintings, body pigments, beads, engraved bones and shells | Art flourished - painted rock shelters at Bhimbetka | Earthenware pottery in various shapes and sizes |
| Subsistence | Hunting and gathering; large animals | Fishing as the mainstay; small game animals, wild grains | Agriculture - domestication of plants and animals |
| Population | Small | First-ever population explosion | Growing; people living together in villages |
Prepare a table with three columns-Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic-and fill in their distinctive features: tools, settlements, art, and subsistence. The question asks for only four rows - tools, settlements, art and subsistence. The climate and population rows above are extra, for understanding.
The hallmark of the revolution was domestication - bringing select plants and animals under human control, and developing new breeds.
Wheat, barley, rice and millets are still our main food crops, and cattle, sheep, goats and pigs are still reared by farmers.
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Living permanently in one place
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West Asia
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Earthenware pottery, and tools for food production and processing
