Choosing tools
To cut a mango you pick a knife, to hammer a nail you pick a hammer. You choose the tool that fits the job. Early humans also chose tools from what lay around them.
We choose a tool (हत्यार) by the demand of the task, using four factors; of ancient tools, mostly stone tools survive.
Rule 1: Four factors — Four factors decide our choice: availability of resources, minimum time and energy, maximum efficiency, and skill from practice. Chimpanzees use stones to break nuts and sticks to take ants from ant-hills.
In the figure : In the figure the task decides the tool we choose.
- Easy : Easy: A knife cuts fruit.
- Medium : Medium: A chimpanzee uses a stick for ants.
- Exam-type : Exam: Name the four factors.
Rule 2: Why only stone survives — Humans used bones, stones, twigs and sticks, and through observation, experiment and imagination learnt to sharpen and shape them. Of tools made thousands of years ago, only stone tools are found today. Bone tools are rare, and tools of twigs and sticks are not found because they decompose easily. Homo habilis made tools of other materials too.
- Easy : Easy: Wood rots; stone lasts.
- Medium : Medium: So our picture of ancient tools is mostly of stone.
- Exam-type : Exam: Why are wooden tools not found?
Four factors choose a tool. Only stone tools survive.
Thinking early people used only stone. They used wood and bone too, but those decayed.
Memory clue: "दगड टिकतो, लाकूड कुजते".
Spot the difference
| Material | Found today? |
|---|---|
| Stone | Yes |
| Bone | Rarely |
| Wood, twigs | No, decayed |
Practice questions
- 1What decides the choice of a tool?
- 2Name two factors.
- 3What do chimpanzees use to break nuts?
- 4Which ancient tools survive?
- 5Why do wooden tools not survive?
- 6How did humans learn to sharpen tools?
- 7Which tool would you pick to dig soil: stick or leaf?
- 8A tool that saves time and energy is chosen. Which factor is this?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1The task and four factors.
- 2Availability of resources and efficiency.
- 3Stones.
- 4Stone tools.
- 5They decompose.
- 6By observation, experiment and imagination.
- 7Stick.
- 8Minimum time and energy.
The three periods of the Stone Age and the first tools
A child names his three bags "old", "middle" and "new" after when he bought them. Scientists name the Stone Age in three periods in the same way.
The Stone Age (पाषाणयुग) has three periods: Old (Palaeolithic), Middle (Mesolithic) and New (Neolithic).
Rule 1: Three periods — The period from which mainly stone tools are found is the Stone Age. By the shape and type of tools it has three periods: Old Stone Age or Palaeolithic ('palaeo' old, 'lithos' stone), Middle Stone Age or Mesolithic ('meso' middle) and New Stone Age or Neolithic ('neo' new).
In the figure : In the figure the Stone Age has three periods: old, middle and new.
- Easy : Easy: Old comes first.
- Medium : Medium: Meso means middle.
- Exam-type : Exam: Give the Greek meaning of Neolithic.
Rule 2: First tools — Homo habilis and Homo erectus used the percussion technique (आघात पद्धत): they struck one large pebble against another to get stone flakes. The first tools were crude choppers (चॉपर) with one sharp edge, used only to break nuts or bones; Homo habilis had not yet learnt to hunt. Flakes were used to scrape meat from hide, chop meat and sharpen wooden sticks.
In the figure : In the figure the first tools were made by striking one stone against another.
- Easy : Easy: A chopper has one sharp edge.
- Medium : Medium: Striking two pebbles gives flakes.
- Exam-type : Exam: Homo habilis could not yet hunt.
Stone Age: Old (Palaeolithic), Middle (Mesolithic), New (Neolithic). First tools: choppers by percussion.
Thinking the first tools were sharp spears. They were crude choppers.
Memory clue: "पुरा-जुने, मेसो-मधले, निओ-नवे".
Spot the difference
| Period | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Palaeolithic | Old Stone Age |
| Mesolithic | Middle Stone Age |
| Neolithic | New Stone Age |
Practice questions
- 1Name the three periods of the Stone Age.
- 2What does 'lithos' mean?
- 3What is percussion?
- 4What is a chopper?
- 5What did flakes do?
- 6Who made the first tools?
- 7If a pebble gives 4 flakes, how many flakes from 5 pebbles?
- 8Why was a chopper only used for nuts and bones?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Old, Middle and New.
- 2Stone.
- 3Striking one stone against another.
- 4A crude tool with one sharp edge.
- 5Scrape, chop and sharpen sticks.
- 6Homo habilis and Homo erectus.
- 74 × 5 = 20.
- 8It was crude and they could not hunt yet.
Tools and culture of the Old Stone Age
A beginner draws a rough circle, but an expert draws it neatly because he first sees it in his mind. Homo erectus did the same with stone: he imagined the shape first.
The hand-axe (हस्तकुऱ्हाड) and cleaver (छिन्नी-कुऱ्हाड) of Homo erectus were proportionate and symmetrical.
Rule 1: Homo erectus — Homo erectus made proportionate, symmetrical hand-axes and cleavers, so he could visualise a tool in his mind before making it. He used antlers as hammers, made sharp scrapers and used different tools for different tasks. He could hunt deer, bison and rabbit.
In the figure : In the figure each kind of human made better tools than the one before.
- Easy : Easy: Hand-axes are symmetrical.
- Medium : Medium: Different tools for different tasks.
- Exam-type : Exam: Imagining a tool shows mental growth.
Rule 2: Neanderthals, Homo sapiens and India — The Neanderthal made smaller tools. Homo sapiens made long narrow blades and from them the knife, scraper, borer and chisel, using ivory and quartz. He built huts, lived in caves, celebrated festivals, made cave paintings and wore beads of shell, bone and animal teeth: the beginnings of human culture. In India, Old Stone Age tools are found from Kashmir to Tamil Nadu; at Hathnora on the Narmada a human skull and collar bone were found, and a child's skull near Puducherry. Maharashtra sites: Gangapur (Godavari) and Chirki-Nevasa (Pravara basin).
- Easy : Easy: Homo sapiens made cave paintings.
- Medium : Medium: Beads show a taste for decoration.
- Exam-type : Exam: Name two Maharashtra sites.
Old Stone Age: hand-axes → blades → culture. India: Hathnora, Gangapur, Chirki-Nevasa.
Thinking Neanderthal tools were bigger. They were smaller.
Memory clue: "कुऱ्हाड → पाते → कला".
Spot the difference
| Human | Tool or culture |
|---|---|
| Homo erectus | Hand-axe, cleaver |
| Neanderthal | Smaller tools |
| Homo sapiens | Blades, paintings, beads |
Practice questions
- 1What did Homo erectus make?
- 2What did he use as hammers?
- 3Which animals could he hunt?
- 4Name tools Homo sapiens made.
- 5What did sapiens paint?
- 6What was found at Hathnora?
- 7Name two Maharashtra sites.
- 8Which river is near Hathnora?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Hand-axes and cleavers.
- 2Antlers.
- 3Deer, bison, rabbit.
- 4Knife, scraper, borer, chisel.
- 5Cave paintings.
- 6A human skull and collar bone.
- 7Gangapur and Chirki-Nevasa.
- 8Narmada.
The Middle Stone Age
A nail-sized blade fixed in a handle is like a toothbrush bristle fixed in a brush: many tiny parts make a useful tool.
Microliths (सूक्ष्मास्मे) are tiny stone blades the size of a nail, made in the Middle Stone Age.
Rule 1: Life in the Middle Stone Age — The climate was getting warmer. Homo sapiens domesticated the dog, harvested wild foodgrains, ate plant foods, began to stay in one place for part of the year, and domesticated sheep and goats.
In the figure : In the figure tiny blades, the size of a nail, were fixed in bone or wood to make arrows and sickles.
- Easy : Easy: A microlith is tiny.
- Medium : Medium: Many microliths form a sickle.
- Exam-type : Exam: Arrows had a microlith tip.
Rule 2: Microlith tools and sites — Blades were removed from a fluted core; the tiny blades are microliths ('micro' very small). Arrows had a microlith tip; knives and sickles were made by fixing a row of microliths in a groove of bone or wood; fish-hooks were made of bone. Sites: Bagor (Rajasthan), Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh), Langhnaj (Gujarat) and Patane (Jalgaon district, Maharashtra).
- Easy : Easy: Bhimbetka is in Madhya Pradesh.
- Medium : Medium: A sickle with 8 microliths in a row.
- Exam-type : Exam: Patane is in Jalgaon district.
Middle Stone Age: warmer, dog, microliths, seasonal settling.
Thinking microliths were used alone as big knives. They were fixed in bone or wood.
Memory clue: "सूक्ष्म पाते + हाड/लाकूड = बाण, विळा".
Spot the difference
| Site | State |
|---|---|
| Bagor | Rajasthan |
| Bhimbetka | Madhya Pradesh |
| Langhnaj | Gujarat |
| Patane | Maharashtra |
Practice questions
- 1What are microliths?
- 2Which animal was domesticated first?
- 3What were arrows tipped with?
- 4What were fish-hooks made of?
- 5Name two Middle Stone Age sites.
- 6Which site is in Maharashtra?
- 7A sickle has 3 rows of 7 microliths. How many in all?
- 8Why were tiny blades better for arrows?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Tiny stone blades the size of a nail.
- 2The dog.
- 3A microlith.
- 4Bone.
- 5Bagor and Bhimbetka.
- 6Patane.
- 73 × 7 = 21.
- 8They are light, sharp and easy to replace.
The New Stone Age
A new school bag looks bright and smooth; an old one is rough. In the New Stone Age, for the first time, stone tools were rubbed till they looked bright and smooth.
In the New Stone Age stone tools were polished (घासून गुळगुळीत) and farming became the routine way of life.
Rule 1: Polished tools and farming — Stone tools were polished to a smooth, shiny finish for the first time; hence the name New Stone Age. Agriculture and animal husbandry became the routine way of life, and hunting became secondary.
In the figure : In the figure polished tools and farming mark the New Stone Age.
- Easy : Easy: Polished tools are smooth.
- Medium : Medium: A polished axe cuts wood better.
- Exam-type : Exam: Farming made hunting secondary.
Rule 2: Where we find it — Many New Stone Age sites are found along the Ganga river and in South India. Farming people settled near rivers, where soil is fertile and water is near.
- Easy : Easy: Sites lie along the Ganga.
- Medium : Medium: South India also has sites.
- Exam-type : Exam: Why near rivers?
Old: choppers, hand-axes. Middle: microliths. New: polished tools and farming.
Thinking all Stone Age tools were rough. New Stone Age tools were polished.
Memory clue: "नवे = गुळगुळीत + शेती".
Spot the difference
| Age | Key feature |
|---|---|
| Old | Choppers, hand-axes |
| Middle | Microliths |
| New | Polished tools, farming |
Practice questions
- 1Why is it called the New Stone Age?
- 2What became routine?
- 3What became secondary?
- 4Where are New Stone Age sites found?
- 5Name the tool of the Middle Stone Age.
- 6Name a tool of the Old Stone Age.
- 7Why do farmers choose river banks?
- 8Arrange in order: New, Old, Middle.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Tools were polished for the first time.
- 2Farming and animal husbandry.
- 3Hunting.
- 4Along the Ganga and in South India.
- 5Microlith.
- 6Hand-axe.
- 7Fertile soil and nearby water.
- 8Old, Middle, New.
Quick revision
- Old: choppers, hand-axes. Middle: microliths. New: polished tools and farming.
- Only stone tools survive; wood and bone decay.