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Man had a settled life and learned to domesticate animals. Dog, donkey, cattle, sheep and
horse were domesticated. Man started settling down in villages. He regarded Earth as his
mother and worshipped her. The Neolithic man believed in life after death. The dead were
buried along with the objects that they used in their life like beads, pots, tools etc. It was
believed that they might need them in another life.
Chalcolithic Age : Man’s lifestyle changed significantly after he learnt to use metals. While
baking clay pots in hot furnaces, man discovered that metal is produced when the ore
present in clay melts. Copper was the first metal to be used by man. The period during
which man used both copper and stone tools is called the ‘Chalcolithic Age’ or Copper Age.
‘Chalco’ means copper. It marked the transition from the Stone Age to the age of metals.
Many tools like axes and knives were made out of copper. As time passed, men started mixing
copper with other metals to make stronger tools. Chhota Nagpur and Gangetic plains are
the sites, where the remains of Chalcolithic Age were found. The Chalcolithic people used
different types of pottery of which black and red pottery was most popular. They generally
lived in thatched houses. They venerated the mother goddess and worshipped the bull.
Now I Know :
Around two million years ago people were Nomads.
The early man belonged to the prehistoric period. This period is also called the Stone Age.
Stone Age is divided into four phases. Palaeolithic Age, Mesolithic Age, Neolithic Age and Chalcolithic Age.
In Palaeolithic Age, man used crude and unpolished stone tools.
During the Mesolithic Age, man learned to make smaller, sharper and more efficient tools called ‘Microliths’.
Man’s life changed in the Neolithic Age due to major achievements like the beginning of agriculture, the invention
of the wheel and the making of pottery.
Copper was the first metal discovered by early man in the Chalcolithic age.
(Assessment of Learning Outcome)
A. Tick () the correct option :
1. Which was the era before Neolithic period?
(a) Microliths (b) Mesolithic period
(c) Palaeolithic period (d) Bronze period
2. Which kind of tools were used widely in ancient times?
(a) Tools made of stone (b) Tools made of wood
(c) Tools made of bronze (d) Tools made of steel
3. Where did hunter-gatherers live?
(a) Near forested area (b) Near sources of water
(c) Places where stones were easily available (d) None of these
Social Studies-6 39
