The Earliest Societies { CBSE Class - 6th History }

                                       The Earliest Societies

Man by nature is a social animal. He cannot live alone. Even when he wandered in search of food and shelter he lived in groups. It was the beginning of the earliest societies. A group generally consisted of a few men and women and children who stayed together, because it was safer to live in groups rather than to wander about all alone.

We can mainly divided into earliest societies in three stages :---

1.The Palaeolithic Period

This period extends roughly from 2 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago. The period of the evolution of man when he started living together with his fellow beings, attained the art of speaking and started making tools from stone for his use is called the Palaeolithic Period. This period covers about 99% of human history. He started his search for food by hunting animals and gathering fruits. Primitive man was only a little better than wild animals. The early men, the so-called hunter-gatherers, were always on the move and did not stay at one place for longer.

They did not know how to produce their food. Early men were nomads and wanderers who were always on the move in search of food and water. Such men lived about two million years ago. Man by nature is weaker than animals so they moved in small groups because it was safer to belong to a group rather than move alone. They used sharp stones which they had shaped into knives, axeheads, choppers, etc. to kill animals, to remove their skins, to fell trees, to dig the earth and to shape wood and stone. As these tools and weapons were made of stone; so the period, when these people lived on earth, is known as ‘the Stone Age’.
Watch this video of me for more information: ---
https://youtu.be/Up8Id1w2jt8

2. The Mesolithic Period

This period started about 12,000 years ago till about 10,000 years ago and saw many environmental changes. During this period man started making highly developed tools. Use of bones and ivory was in vogue and various kinds of tools were made. During this period he learnt the art of growing his food. This was, however, the beginning of agriculture.

3. The Neolithic Period

He changed his habits from food-gathering to food-producing. He gave up the nomadic life and took to a settled life. He improved his stone tools into fine, sharpedged and polished weapons. He began to domesticate animals for his food instead of hunting them. This period started about 10,000 years ago.

                                                    Discovery of Fire

It was probably at the end of the Old Stone Age that the Primitive Man discovered fire. This ‘fire’ brought a great change in his life. Burning of fire could be used to keep him warm in the cold season, to get light in his cave and to scare away the wild animals at night.

                                                 Art of the Early Man        

   Man lived in caves in the early stages of his development. He started drawing figures on walls and ceilings of the caves.There are depictions of running wild bisons, bears, horses, stags and herds of other animals in beautiful designs.

Thank you all for reading this, please follow my blog. Courtesy of Goyal Publications in Material Selection.