The Stone Age

The emergence of the Bronze Age culture in the Indus Valley began with the Mehrgarh community, which was the earliest stage of agriculture in the Subcontinent.

The Paleolithic Era

In Hath Nora (Narmada Valley, Central India) isolated remains of Homo erectus were found, dated by archaeologies anywhere between 200,000 to 500,000 years ago. These fossils, often considered earliest human remains in South Asia, are proof that India has been inhabited at least since the Middle Pleistocene Era.

The Mesolithic Era

Starting around 30,000 years ago, the Mesolithic Period in the subcontinent had a time span of 25,000 years.

Cave paintings of animals and humans activity (hunting, gathering and fishing) and even early forms of religious activities were found from Sri Lanka to the caves of Hindu Kush, in the far north.

The Neolithic Era

In the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (modern Madhya Pradesh) were found the first permanent settlements which were dated up to 9,000 years ago.

In early Neolithic, the culture in India was best represented by the Mehrgarh community found today in Baluchistan, Pakistan. The community was mostly pastoral, living in mud houses, tending goats and farms.

Recently, in 2002, new traces of a Neolithic culture were discovered submerged in the Gulf of Khambat, many of them dated to 7,500 BC.

*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "History of India".