7 results for “permanent settlements”
The Neolithic phase brought a major transformation in human life as communities increasingly cultivated crops, domesticated animals and lived in more settled habitations. Archaeological sites across the subcontinent reveal that this change occurred differently in different regions.
Cattle and pastoralism were highly important in the Rigvedic economy, although agriculture was already known. During the Later Vedic period, agriculture became increasingly central, permanent settlements expanded, iron use grew and production became more diversified.
The first cities of the Indian subcontinent did not appear suddenly. Over thousands of years, hunting and gathering, farming, settled villages, craft production and growing trade networks gradually created the conditions for Harappan urbanization.
Rigvedic and Later Vedic society were two phases of the same broad tradition, but major changes occurred in geography, economy, political organization, social hierarchy and religion. Early Vedic society was more pastoral and kin-based, while Later Vedic society became more agricultural, territorial and socially stratified.
During the Later Vedic period, the centre of Vedic culture expanded eastward into the Ganga-Yamuna region. Agriculture, iron use, territorial political units, stronger kingship, elaborate sacrifices and clearer social differentiation became increasingly important.
Mehrgarh is one of the most important early farming sites of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. Its archaeological remains reveal the gradual development of cultivation, animal domestication, village life, craft production and long-distance exchange.
The Palaeolithic Age was the earliest and longest phase of human prehistory in the Indian subcontinent. Stone tools and archaeological sites reveal how hunting-gathering communities adapted to changing environments.
