CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD

The term Chalcolithic means “copper” and “stone” or Copper Age; it is also known as the Aeneolithic period.

In India, the Chalcolithic period was around 2000 BC to 700 BC.
The culture was mainly seen in the Pre-Harappan phase but extended to the Post-Harappan phase in many places.
The people were mostly rural and lived near hills and rivers.

Characteristics of this Culture inclue the followings:

Pottery

Polychrome painted pottery was identifying characteristic of the Chalcolithic period.
Ceramic forms (fenestrated pottery) found on Chalcolithic sites include where there were pots with openings cut into the walls.

Domestication of Animals

Farmers raised domestic animals like sheep-goats, cattle, and pigs, supplemented by hunting and fishing.
Milk and milk by-products were also important at that time.

Agriculture

The major crops cultivated were bajra, jowar, barley, wheat, lentil, ragi millets, green and black gram.
Traces of rice cultivation are also found, even their food included fish alongwith rice.
Eastern India produced rice and Western India produced barley.

Houses and Burial Styles

Houses built by Chalcolithic farmers were constructed of stone or mudbrick.
One characteristic pattern is a chain building, a row of rectangular houses connected to one another.
Burials varied widely from group to group, from single interments to jar burials to small box-shaped even rock-cut tombs.

Tools and Weapons

Metals such as copper and its alloys were used to make knives, axes, fishing hooks, chisels, pins, and rods.

Art and Craft

The people of this Age were expert copper smiths, ivory carvers, lime makers, and terracotta artisans.
Ornaments were made from semiprecious stones and beads such as agate, jasper and carnelian.
People had knowledge of spinning and weaving as cotton and silk thread were found.

Chalcolithic Cultures on Basis of Their Geographical Location

Ahar Culture

The Ahar culture, also known as the Banas culture.
Major excavated sites are Ahar, Balathal, Gilund, Ojiyana in Rajasthan.
Ahar culture had a rich ceramic tradition consisting of Red ware, Black and Red ware, and Grey ware.
Shapes include dishes, dish on stands, and globular.
Radio carbon dating suggest a time period of 2025 BC-1270 BC for the Chalcolithic Phase.

Kayatha Culture

Predominant chalcolithic culture of central India, with distribution of sites in Malwa region
Radiocarbon dates place culture in 1900-1400 BC
Sites mostly found on the banks of the rivers and tributaries.
Subsistence based farming of wheat, barley, jawar, rice, legumes, oilseeds, and fruits
Material culture includes Malwa ware, painted patterns in dark brown, also other ceramic types
Religious beliefs confirmed from evidence like terracotta female and bull figurines
Decline of the Malwa culture placed around 1400 BC, coinciding with that of Ahar culture

Jorwe Culture

Most important characteristic of chalcolithic culture of Maharashtra
Named after site of Jorwe in Ahmadnagar district, Gujarat
Discovered in 1950
Large centers found in Prakash in the Tapi valley, Daimabad in the Pravara-Godavari valley, and Inamgaon in the Bhima valley
Early Jorwe houses – rectangular, while late Jorwe ones circular
Many Jorwe sites are classified as villages.
Subsistence dry-farming with stock-raising and hunting and fishing as primary activities
Crops grown include barley, wheat, jowar, rice, ragi, green pea, grass pea, lentil, and green and black gram
Mode of disposal of the dead involved child burials in urns laid in pits and chopping off portion below ankles in adult burials
Many settlements deserted at end of 2nd millennium BC for climatic deterioration

Named after a ceramic type which is extremely rolled and fragile with a wash of red ochre which is easily washed off
Led a sedentary existence, similar to many early farming communities of this period
Domesticated animals like cattle and evidence of cultivated crops like rice and barley provide information on their subsistence practices
Found in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh
Chronological span ranges from 2600 to 900 BC

Painted Grew Ware Culture

Painted Grey Ware is a fine, smooth, even-colored grey pottery with a thin fabric.
It was made out of high-quality clay, and forming a small percentage of the total pottery assemblage.
PGW culture dates from 1100-500 BCE, with a wide geographical distribution.
Apart from the plains, it has been found in hilly regions such as Kumaon and Garhwal.
Structural remains at PGW levels consist mainly of mud huts.
Unbaked and baked bricks were found at Hastinapura, whereas Jakhera represents a proto-urban stage of this culture.
The PGW sites indicate a subsistence base that included cultivation of rice, wheat, and barley, alongwith animal husbandry.