Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation - Social Science Class 9 In English

Chapter 4. Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation

Chapter Review

This chapter traces the long journey of human beings from the earliest human ancestors to the emergence of agriculture, settled communities, writing, cities, and early civilisations. It explains how archaeologists reconstruct the lives of people who lived before written records and how technological and environmental changes gradually transformed human societies. The chapter also examines the emergence and major features of the Sindhu–Sarasvatī, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Chinese civilisations. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

1. Early Human History

Early human history refers to the very long period of human existence before the invention and widespread use of writing. More than 99 per cent of human history belongs to this period. Since written records were not available, archaeologists mainly depend on material remains such as tools, fossils, bones, pottery, cave paintings, and other artefacts to reconstruct the lives of early humans.

The invention of writing changed the way human history could be reconstructed. After writing developed, both archaeological evidence and written documents became important sources. Written records could provide information about names, events, social life, political systems, economic activities, and cultural practices.

2. Why Study Early Human History?

The study of early human history helps us understand the biological and cultural evolution of humankind and the relationship between human societies, climate, and the environment.

Biological evolution refers to the gradual physical and genetic changes through which early human ancestors evolved into modern human beings, or Homo sapiens.

Cultural evolution refers to the development of human ways of living, tools, techniques, technologies, food practices, settlements, and social organisation as people adapted to their surroundings.

During the Quaternary Period, changing climatic and environmental conditions encouraged humans to develop new methods of obtaining food and using natural resources.

3. Early Human Migration

The earliest human ancestors evolved and lived in Africa. Humans gradually migrated from Africa to other parts of the world.

Homo erectus was among the earliest hominins to move out of Africa. Their stone tools, including handaxes and cleavers, have been found in different parts of Asia and Europe.

Another major migration from Africa was associated with early Homo sapiens. Modern humans eventually spread across different regions of the Earth.

The movement of early humans was closely connected with their ability to adapt to different environments and make use of available natural resources.

4. Who Were Our Human Ancestors?

Different kinds of human ancestors existed during early human history. The term hominins includes modern humans and our early human-like ancestors.

One of the important developments in human evolution was the ability to make and use tools. The earliest stone tools date back to millions of years ago. Tool-making is an important feature of early human behaviour because tools functioned as extensions of the human body and helped people perform tasks that could not be performed easily with their hands alone.

Important early human groups discussed in the chapter include:

• Homo habilis – associated with Africa and early stone tools such as choppers.
• Homo erectus – associated with handaxes and cleavers and early migration out of Africa.
• Homo neanderthalensis – lived in Europe and Southwest Asia and used Middle Palaeolithic tools.
• Homo sapiens – modern humans and the only human species living today.

5. Archaeology and Evidence of the Past

Archaeology plays a major role in understanding early human history. Archaeologists excavate ancient sites and study the objects and remains left behind by humans.

Important archaeological evidence includes:

• Stone tools
• Animal and human bones
• Fossils
• Pottery
• Beads and ornaments
• Cave and rock paintings
• Buildings and settlement remains
• Other artefacts

Archaeologists also recreate and experiment with ancient tools. By making and using similar tools, they can understand how early humans may have produced and used them.

A fossil is a preserved remain, trace, or impression of plants, animals, or humans from the distant past. Fossils are formed when remains become buried under layers of earth and gradually turn into stone over thousands or millions of years.

6. The Major Stages of Early Human History

Early human history is divided into different periods largely on the basis of technological development, changes in tools, agriculture, settlement patterns, and human lifestyles.

Palaeolithic – Old Stone Age: People mainly followed a hunting-and-gathering lifestyle and used simple stone tools.

Mesolithic: This was a transitional period between hunting-gathering and agriculture. People used small stone tools called microliths and made greater use of aquatic resources.

Neolithic – New Stone Age: Humans shifted towards agriculture, domesticated animals, developed polished stone tools, made pottery, and established settled village communities.

Chalcolithic – Copper and Stone Age: People began using copper along with stone tools. Early metallurgy and farming communities developed.

Bronze Age: Bronze was produced by mixing copper and tin. Trade expanded and towns and early civilisations developed.

Iron Age: Iron metallurgy became widespread, leading to stronger tools and weapons and the development of more advanced societies.

7. Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherers

The Palaeolithic period is also called the Old Stone Age. The word palaeo means “old” and lithic means “stone”.

In the Indian subcontinent, some of the oldest human settlements date back to about two million years ago. Important sites include Attirampakkam in Tamil Nadu and Isampur in Karnataka.

Early Palaeolithic tools included handaxes, cleavers, choppers, and scrapers. These tools were used for activities such as cutting meat, digging tubers, scraping animal skins, and extracting marrow from bones.

With time, stone tools became smaller and more specialised. Scrapers, borers, points, blades, and microblades were developed. Humans also developed the bow and arrow and began hunting smaller animals.

Early Homo sapiens also produced symbolic and artistic expressions. They painted caves and rock shelters, decorated their bodies, and made beads from stone, bone, and shell.

8. Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers

About 12,000 years ago, the Earth's climate became warmer. Forests and grasslands expanded into areas that had previously been covered by ice.

The changing environment provided new resources such as small game animals, fish, and edible wild grains. Humans developed microlithic tools, which were especially useful for hunting and gathering.

Fishing became an important part of the subsistence economy. People occupied caves and rock shelters, and art continued to develop.

Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh is an important archaeological site containing numerous painted rock shelters associated with Mesolithic and earlier human occupation.

9. The Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution represents the gradual transition from hunting and gathering to food production.

Humans began to domesticate selected plants and animals. Through cultivation and animal husbandry, they brought food production under greater human control.

Neolithic farmers developed tools for producing and processing food. They also developed pottery and used different raw materials and resources.

The establishment of permanent village settlements was an important consequence of this transition. Agriculture and settled life eventually provided foundations for the development of towns and urban societies.

The transition to agriculture did not happen at the same time everywhere. Different regions adopted cultivation, animal domestication, pottery, and settled life at different periods.

10. Neolithic Period in the Indian Subcontinent

The beginning of agriculture varied from region to region in the Indian subcontinent.

Mehrgarh, situated on the Bolan River in present-day Pakistan, is identified in the chapter as the oldest Neolithic site in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. It dates back to about 7000 BCE.

The people of Mehrgarh built handmade sun-dried brick houses and granaries. They cultivated wheat and barley and raised sheep, goats, and Indian cattle, particularly the zebu.

They also produced ornaments using materials such as lapis lazuli, carnelian, and shells. Copper objects were later produced, marking an important transition towards the metal age.

By about 2500 BCE, most parts of the Indian subcontinent had Neolithic agricultural communities. Cattle, sheep, and goat herding and the cultivation of cereals, millets, and pulses were important features of their way of life.

11. From Neolithic Communities to the Sindhu–Sarasvatī Civilisation

The development of agriculture, copper technology, craft production, and economic integration gradually contributed to the emergence of the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation.

Early settlements developed in the Indus and Ghaggar–Sarasvatī regions. The use of copper tools increased productivity. Pottery developed diverse regional styles, while crafts such as copper working, shell working, and the production of semi-precious stone beads became increasingly important.

Some Early Harappan traditions gradually became standard features of the mature Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation. These included pottery traditions, beads, shell bangles, terracotta objects, copper working, settlement walls, seals, and early forms of writing.

12. Harappan Agriculture, Trade and Technology

The Harappans were not only farmers. They were also skilled craftspeople, traders, and producers of pottery, beads, shell objects, and copper artefacts.

The Early Harappans used standard systems of weights and measurements. Cubical stone weights found at several sites indicate the importance of standardisation in economic and interregional trade.

At Kalibangan, evidence of ploughed fields shows horizontal and vertical furrows, suggesting a system of double-crop cultivation.

Technological development and economic integration during the Early Harappan period contributed to the emergence of urban centres.

13. Bronze Age Civilisations Outside India

The chapter discusses three major Bronze Age civilisations that were contemporary with the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation:

• Mesopotamian civilisation – associated with the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
• Egyptian civilisation – associated with the Nile River.
• Chinese civilisation – associated particularly with the Huang He basin.

These civilisations, along with the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation, developed in fertile river plains. Rivers supported agriculture, settlement, transport, and economic activities.

The geographical proximity of Mesopotamia and the Indus and Ghaggar–Sarasvatī regions encouraged contact and trade between them. The chapter notes that there is much less tangible evidence for direct contact between the Egyptian or Chinese civilisations and the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation.

14. Mesopotamian Civilisation

The word Mesopotamia means “land in between”. It refers to the region drained by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in West Asia.

The region included fertile areas suitable for agriculture. The arrival of copper tools around 4500 BCE helped improve agriculture, crafts, and trade.

Large settlements gradually developed into city-states. The major Mesopotamian city-based civilisations discussed in the chapter are:

• Sumerian
• Akkadian
• Assyrian
• Babylonian

The Sumerians developed irrigation systems using dams and canals and used mud bricks and burnt bricks in construction.

They built large temple structures called ziggurats. Temples were important centres of religious, social, and economic activities.

15. The Beginning of Writing

The Sumerians began writing around 3200 BCE. Their writing system is known as cuneiform.

Cuneiform was written by pressing a wedge-shaped stylus into soft clay tablets. The tablets recorded economic transactions, agricultural activities, craft production, laws, myths, hymns, educational material, and other aspects of Mesopotamian life.

The Sumerians also developed important technologies and systems, including the wheeled cart, sailboat, mathematical calculations, and a number system based on 60. The concepts associated with 60-minute hours, 60-second minutes, and 360-degree circles are linked in the chapter to this numerical system.

16. Egyptian Civilisation

Egyptian civilisation developed along the Nile River. The river provided water and fertile land, supporting agriculture and the growth of settlements.

Egypt developed a centralised civilisation with a strong administrative and social structure. The chapter discusses the organisation of Egyptian society, agriculture, writing, religion, architecture, crafts, and trade.

The Egyptians developed hieroglyphic writing. Their writing provides information about Egyptian political, social, religious, and cultural life.

Egyptian architecture included monumental structures, temples, tombs, and pyramids. Their achievements demonstrate advanced knowledge of construction, organisation, and craftsmanship.

17. Chinese Civilisation

The Chinese civilisation developed along river systems, particularly the Huang He. Agriculture and the management of natural resources supported the growth of settlements and political societies.

The Chinese Bronze Age saw the development of metallurgy, agriculture, crafts, social organisation, and political institutions.

The Chinese developed a distinctive logographic writing system in which characters represented words or concepts.

Chinese artisans were skilled in working with materials such as bronze and jade. The chapter also discusses the development of social hierarchy and political organisation.

The Great Wall of China developed over a very long period. Initial walls were built from about 680 BCE by the Zhou and other dynasties as protection against raids by nomadic groups. These walls were later connected and expanded, with construction, repair, and expansion continuing for centuries.

Silk was known in China from the Neolithic period and became an important craft during the Bronze Age. Later, during the Han period, silk became a major item of external trade and the route through which it was traded came to be known as the Silk Route.

18. Common Features of Early Civilisations

Although the major Bronze Age civilisations developed independently in different regions, they shared several broad features.

• They developed in fertile river plains.
• Agriculture provided an important economic foundation.
• Increasing agricultural production supported population growth.
• Urban settlements and cities developed.
• Craft production and trade expanded.
• Administrative and social systems became more organised.
• Writing systems developed in several civilisations.
• Monumental architecture and specialised craftsmanship emerged.
• Social hierarchies became increasingly visible.

19. Importance of Rivers

Rivers played an important role in the emergence of early civilisations. They provided water for agriculture and supported fertile agricultural land. Rivers could also provide routes for transportation, communication, and trade.

However, rivers could also create challenges. Floods could destroy crops, settlements, buildings, and infrastructure. Therefore, early societies had to develop methods of water management, irrigation, drainage, and flood control.

20. Development from Early Humans to Civilisation

The overall development described in the chapter can be understood as a gradual process:

Early humans → Tool-making → Hunting and gathering → Improved tools and technology → Agriculture → Domestication of animals → Permanent settlements → Pottery and crafts → Copper and bronze technology → Trade → Towns and cities → Writing → Administration and social organisation → Early civilisations.

Thus, the emergence of civilisation was not a sudden event. It was the result of long-term biological, technological, environmental, economic, and social changes.

Key Terms to Remember

• Hominin: A group including modern humans and their early human-like ancestors.
• Homo erectus: An upright or bipedal early human ancestor.
• Fossil: Preserved remains, traces, or impressions of organisms from the distant past.
• Artefact: An object made or modified by humans.
• Palaeolithic: Old Stone Age.
• Mesolithic: A transitional period between hunting-gathering and agriculture.
• Neolithic: New Stone Age, associated with agriculture and settled life.
• Chalcolithic: Copper and Stone Age.
• Bronze Age: Period associated with bronze metallurgy and the growth of early urban civilisations.
• City-State: A sovereign state centred around a city and controlling surrounding territory.
• Cuneiform: Wedge-shaped writing developed by the Sumerians.
• Ziggurat: A stepped, pyramid-shaped temple structure of Mesopotamia.

Chapter in Brief

Early human history covers the vast period before the invention of writing and is reconstructed mainly through archaeological evidence. Humans evolved in Africa and gradually migrated to different parts of the world. During the Palaeolithic period, they lived mainly as hunter-gatherers and developed stone tools. During the Mesolithic period, microlithic tools and greater use of aquatic resources became important.

The Neolithic Revolution brought a major change as humans began agriculture and domesticated plants and animals. Permanent settlements, pottery, and new technologies developed. The Chalcolithic period introduced the use of copper along with stone tools, while the Bronze Age witnessed the growth of cities, trade, writing, administration, and complex social organisation.

The Sindhu–Sarasvatī, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Chinese civilisations developed in fertile river regions. Each developed distinctive systems of agriculture, technology, writing, administration, architecture, crafts, and trade. Together, these developments laid important foundations for later human societies and civilisations.