-: Questions :-

Q1. Which was the first metal used by man?
Answer: The first metal used by man was copper.

Q2. Name the tool that was made from the main stone?
Answer: The tool prepared by the removal of flakes from a lump of stone (the core) is called a core tool.

Q3. Name the first tool used by man.
Answer: The earliest tools in human history are considered to be the Pebble tools, which include choppers (unifacially prepared) and chopping tools (bifacially prepared).

Q4. From which cultural period was the handaxe used?
Answer: The handaxe was a typical tool of the Lower Palaeolithic culture. Handaxe culture seems to have continued up to the Middle Palaeolithic phase.

Q5. Grinding and polishing technique was used in which cultural period?
Answer: The grinding and polishing technique was primarily used during the Neolithic period.

Q6. Microliths belong to which cultural period?
Answer: Microliths belong to the Mesolithic period.

Q7. What are the divisions of prehistory?
Answer: Prehistory is basically divided into two periods are stone age metal age. The Stone Age is further divided into Palaeolithic (Lower, Middle, Upper), Mesolithic, and Neolithic.

Q8. From which cultural period bone needle were prepared?
Answer: Bone tools, including the needle, were part of the distinct bone tool industry developed during the Upper Palaeolithic period. Bone needles were specifically mentioned in the Solutrean Tradition of Upper Palaeolithic.

Q9. Who invented Mousterian culture?
Answer: The Mousterian Culture was found associated with the Neanderthal man, who is considered the creator of this culture.

Q10. Who used the term Neolithic revolution?
Answer: The archaeologist V. Gordon Childe used the concept of ‘Neolithic Revolution’ to represent the major shift in life from hunting-gathering to farming during the Neolithic period.

Q11. What is the core tool?
Answer: A core tool is a tool prepared in the early stage of human cultural development by removing certain flakes from a river pebble or a selected lump of stone, known as the core. Only a few flakes were removed to prepare a cutting edge, while most of the original surface (cortex) remained. Core tools are generally massive in size.

Q12. Name two tools belonging to Mousterian culture.
Answer: Two common tools belonging to the Mousterian culture are scrapers and points (the triangular-shaped point is the type fossil).

Q13. What are microliths? How are they used?
Answer: Microliths are tools made of very small stone blades, with “micro” meaning tiny. They were developed using the fluting technique during the Mesolithic period. Typologically, microliths are categorized into geometric forms, such as triangles, trapezes, and semi-lunates, and non-geometric forms, like points and scrapers.

They were made functional as composite tools by affixing them to a handle or shaft, allowing them to be used as hunting, cutting, or scraping implements.

Q14. What do you mean by Palaeolithic tools?
Answer: Palaeolithic tools are those stone implements that dominate the archaeological sites recovered from the Palaeolithic period, which is the longest period in the Stone Age. They represent the initial stages of tool-making in human history. They vary from rudimentary pebble and hand axes to more specialized blade tools.

Q15. What are the raw materials used to prepare different types of tools during the Palaeolithic period?
Answer: The main raw material used throughout the Palaeolithic period was stone. Other materials utilized were:

1. Stone types: Flint, obsidian, jasper, chert, chalcedony, agate, quartzite, dolerite, fossil wood, etc.
2. Organic materials (especially Upper Palaeolithic): Bone, horn, ivory, and antler.

Q16. Name few Neolithic tools.
Answer: Some important Neolithic tools are: Axe (Celt), Adze (Celt), Chisel, Sickle, Hoes, Hammer axe.

Q17. Name some important tools of the Palaeolithic period.
Answer: Some important tools of the Palaeolithic period are –

1. Lower Palaeolithic: Chopper, Chopping Tool, Hand Axe, Cleaver.
2. Middle Palaeolithic: Scrapers, Points, Borers, Knives.
3. Upper Palaeolithic: Knife blades, Graver (Burin), Laurel Leaf Point, Willow Leaf Point.
4. Bone Tools (Upper Palaeolithic): Harpoon, needle, lance point, baton-de-commandment.

Q18. Write briefly on Middle Palaeolithic culture of Europe.
Answer: The Middle Palaeolithic period in Europe began in the Riss (third glacial) phase of the Upper Pleistocene epoch and continued until the Wurm (fourth glacial) phase. The remains were first discovered at the cave site of Le Moustier in France, giving the name Mousterian Culture. It was associated with the Neanderthal man. This period is characterized by flake tools with hand axes almost absent. Common tools included scrapers, points, and borers. People occupied caves and rock shelters, practiced hunting, used fire, and were the first to bury their dead.

Q19. What is handaxe? Show its different parts with a neat diagram.
Answer: A handaxe is a typical core tool of the Lower Palaeolithic culture. It has a pointed working end and a thick butt on the opposite side. Handaxes are bifacially worked, meaning they are shaped by flaking on both sides, and were used for cutting, digging, scraping, and thinning. Types of handaxes include pear-shaped, ovate, cordate, triangular, and lanceolate.

The working end is the pointed part used for cutting or digging, while the butt end is the thick part held by hand. The bifacial working refers to shaping the tool by flaking both surfaces to make it sharp and efficient.

Hand Axe

Q20. What are the salient features of Upper Palaeolithic culture?
Answer: The Upper Palaeolithic culture saw the appearance of Homo sapiens. Tools became complex and specialized with thin, elongated blade flakes. Techniques like pressure flaking were introduced. Art appeared in cave paintings and engravings. Raw materials included stone, bone, horn, ivory, and antler.

Q21. What is Neolithic revolution? What are the changes that occurred in human society in the Neolithic period?
Answer: The Neolithic Revolution, a term coined by V. Gordon Childe, marks the major transition of human society from hunting and gathering to farming, including the domestication of plants and animals. This shift transformed the way humans lived, worked, and organized their communities, leading to new technologies, settled life, and social changes.

Changes that occurred in the Neolithic period are :

1. Shift from a food-gathering economy to a production-based economy.
2. Establishment of settled habitations and village life.
3. Development of grinding and polishing techniques in tool-making.
4. Introduction of new tools such as axes, adzes, chisels, hoes, and sickles.
5. Emergence of pottery, weaving, and basketry.
6. Population growth, expansion of trade, and the emergence of religion.

Q22. Write the differences between core tool and flake tool.

Q23. Show the differences between Palaeolithic and Neolithic ways of life.

Q24. Write short note:

(a) Oldowan Culture
Answer: The Oldowan culture represents the earliest known stone tool industry. Discovered in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, the tools were mainly simple pebble tools made by chipping one side of a stone to create a sharp edge. Common tools include choppers, chopping tools, and flakes used for cutting and scraping. Dating to around 2.6 to 1.5 million years ago, it is associated with Homo habilis, the “handy man,” and laid the foundation for later industries like the Acheulian.

(b) Levalloisian Technique
Answer: The Levalloisian technique was a revolutionary stone tool-making method of the Middle Palaeolithic period. It involved a sophisticated flake-preparation technique where a stone core was shaped before striking flakes. The resulting flakes were uniform, sharp, and ready for use, including scrapers, points, and knives. This method demonstrated the growing intelligence and planning abilities of prehistoric humans. Its type site is Levallois, near Paris, France, mainly associated with Homo neanderthalensis.

(c) Mousterian Culture
Answer: The Mousterian culture, from the Middle Palaeolithic period, is named after Le Moustier in France and associated with Neanderthal man. Its tool industry, based on the Levalloisian technique, included scrapers, points, knives, and denticulates. Mousterian people lived in caves and rock shelters, hunted large animals, used fire, made clothes from animal skins, and were the first to bury their dead, reflecting social cooperation and emotional development.

(d) Azilian Culture
Answer: The Azilian culture was a transitional culture between the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods, discovered at Mas d’Azil, France. Its people were hunters, gatherers, and fishers who began domesticating dogs. Tools included microliths, burins, scrapers, and backed bladelets. They are also known for artistic expressions, such as painting abstract designs on pebbles with red and black pigments. This culture reflects adaptation to post-Ice Age environments and the start of a semi-sedentary lifestyle.

(e) Kitchen Midden
Answer: A Kitchen Midden (“kitchen waste heap”) refers to large shell mounds or refuse heaps found in Northern Europe, especially Denmark and the Baltic Sea. These contained shells, bones, pottery fragments, tools, and animal remains, showing the Mesolithic way of life. People were mainly fishers and hunters near seashores, using arrowheads, scrapers, and bone or stone picks. The presence of domesticated dogs and pottery fragments indicates a shift toward a more settled lifestyle.

(f) Campignian Culture
Answer: The Campignian culture was a late Mesolithic culture first identified in Belgium, named after its type site Campigny, France. It spread across northwestern Europe and represents the final phase before the Neolithic. People lived in pit dwellings and open-air settlements near rivers and lakes. Tools included Campignian axes, picks, scrapers, and arrowheads, along with coarse handmade pottery. Evidence of animal bones and charred remains shows they practiced hunting, fishing, and gathering, marking the transition to early farming communities.