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chapter 7 lIfe Of eaRlY maN

Around two million years ago, when people did not know the art of growing food, making
tools, domesticating animals and they were neither aware about the use of fire, they
used to live a life of nomads. Nomads are people who move from one place to another in
search of food, shelter or suitable climate. They moved from place to place for hunting
wild animals, birds and gathering fruits, nuts, roots, seeds and leaves. Because of their
lifestyle, they were called hunters and food gatherers.

These hunters and food gatherers had to move from place to place for the following reasons :
• They ate wild fruits and roots of plants, so they led a wandering life in search of
places from where they could procure their food easily.

• Many plants and trees bear fruits in a particular season. So, they moved seasonally in
search of food.
• Animals move from place to place—either in search of
smaller prey or in search of grass and leaves. That is why
those who hunted them had to follow their movements.

• People, animals and plants need water to survive; people
living on river banks would have had to go in search of
water during the dry seasons as some rivers are seasonal Early Man
while other perennial. From this we can understand that the early man was a hunter, nomadic
and food gatherer and he was not a producer of food as he did not know how to produce.

In India, a large number of stone age tools have been found buried in a cave in Ratnagiri on the coast
of Maharashtra. This cave seems to be the first evidence of a cave shelter by early man in India. The
tools seem to be around ninety thousand years old.
The Stone Age : The pre-historic age is also known as the stone age because stone was
mostly used in every activity. Early men used stones to cut fruits and roots and also used

to hunt animals for their meat. Stones were even used for chopping trees to clear forests.
Later the wood of these trees was used as firewood. Thus, early humans were entirely
dependent on stones for their living. The stone age is divided into four phases:
1. Palaeolithic Age or Old Stone Age
2. Mesolithic Age or Midde Stone Age
3. Neolithic Age or New Stone Age

4. Chalcolithic Age or Copper Age
1. Palaeolithic Age : The ‘Palaeolithic’ term has been derived from two Greek words, ‘Palaeo’
meaning ‘Old’ and ‘lithos’ meaning ‘stone’. This period extends from 2 million years ago to
about 12000 years ago. This period is called the Old Stone Age because men at that time used

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