Prehistoric Background Of Rajasthani Culture

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This work, "Prehistoric Background of Rajasthani Culture" by V. N. Misra, delves into the deep past of Rajasthan, extending far beyond the well-documented medieval period of Rajput heroism or the rich artistic and architectural heritage. The author emphasizes that a comprehensive understanding of Rajasthan's past, and indeed India's, requires delving into prehistory – the period before written records. This is crucial because many fundamental aspects of our current material culture, technology, economic patterns, and even domestic practices have roots stretching back millennia into prehistory.

While sporadic prehistoric finds were made in Rajasthan earlier, the last two decades have seen significant systematic exploration and excavation by institutions like the Archaeological Survey of India, the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Rajasthan, and the Deccan College Research Institute. Despite this progress, much of the state remains unexplored, and planned excavations have been limited to a few key sites. Nevertheless, the existing work allows for a clear outline of Rajasthan's cultural history from the Stone Age to the dawn of recorded history.

The author divides Rajasthan's prehistory into six main periods for analysis:

1. Earliest Hunter-Gatherers: The Lower Palaeolithic
2. Advanced Hunter-Gatherers: The Middle Palaeolithic
3. Final Hunter-Gatherers: The Mesolithic
4. Beginnings of Settled Village Life: The Chalcolithic
5. Beginnings of Urban Life: The Indus Civilization
6. Expansion of Settled Village Life: Ushering in the Iron Age

Geographical Context: The geographical setting of Rajasthan is a crucial factor in understanding its cultures. The dominant feature is the Aravalli Range, dividing the state into the arid western Marwar and the more fertile eastern Mewar.

• Marwar: Characterized by flat plains, isolated hills, sand dunes, and limited perennial rivers (like the Luni). Evidence suggests rivers were more active and the climate wetter in the distant past.
• Mewar: An undulating, rocky plain with more rainfall and fertile land, supported by the perennial Chambal river and its tributaries. The southwestern part is hilly and forested.

Key Prehistoric Periods and Discoveries:

1. Lower Palaeolithic (Earliest Hunter-Gatherers):

   • Associated with the Acheulian culture, defined by stone tools.
   • Tool types include handaxes, cleavers, choppers, scrapers, and flakes, primarily made from quartzite.
   • Tools are found in bouldery and pebbly deposits, suggesting a climate with heavy rains and sufficient vegetation to support wildlife.
   • Early man likely lived along river banks, using river pebbles for tools used for hunting, butchering, and gathering. The use of fire is probable, based on comparative evidence.
   • Major concentrations of Acheulian tools are found around Chitor, in the river beds of Gambhiri, Berach, Wagan, Kadmali, and Banas. The western parts of the Aravallis and the Marwar plain were largely avoided, with Govindgarh near Ajmer being a notable exception for a western site.

2. Middle Palaeolithic (Advanced Hunter-Gatherers):

   • Followed the Lower Palaeolithic, marked by finer rocks like chert and flint and smaller tool sizes.
   • The Levalloisian technique (determining the final flake shape on the core before removal) became more prevalent, producing thin, sharp flakes.
   • Key tools include scrapers, points, and borers, indicating a greater reliance on wood for weapons and tools.
   • Handaxes were smaller and more refined.
   • In western Rajasthan (Luni basin), this culture shows a more evolved picture with more frequent Levallois technique, backed knives, and bifacial points.
   • Tool manufacturing sites are found near rock outcrops, particularly limestone outcrops near Sojat in Pali District.
   • While Upper Palaeolithic evidence is scarce in India and Rajasthan, blades were produced from Acheulian times and became more common in the Middle Palaeolithic, suggesting a potential for an independent Upper Palaeolithic culture with further exploration.

3. Mesolithic (Final Hunter-Gatherers):

   • Characterized by a distinct tendency towards smaller and lighter tools, known as microliths.
   • These tools, made on narrow blades or bladelets, were often geometric in shape (crescents, triangles) and were hafted onto bone or wood to create composite tools like arrows, knives, and sickles.
   • The bow and arrow were likely in use, offering a more efficient hunting method.
   • Rajasthan has yielded exceptionally rich Mesolithic evidence.
   • Bagor (Mewar): A significant site on the Kothari river, occupied for nearly five millennia from c. 4,500 B.C. onwards. People lived on paved floors, built circular huts, and produced thousands of microliths. Their economy was a blend of hunting, fishing, stock-raising, and gathering. They buried their dead within the settlement. Bagor represents the first people in Rajasthan to achieve economic stability leading to a settled life, with a settlement area of about 6,000 sq. meters.
   • Tilwara (Marwar): Another important Mesolithic site on the Luni river. The settlement was smaller and of shorter duration than Bagor, dating later (c. 500 B.C. to early centuries A.D.). They also used microliths, and at a later stage, pottery and stone/glass beads. The survival of this culture here is attributed to the arid, unfavorable conditions for agriculture, allowing hunter-gatherers to persist.

4. Chalcolithic (Beginnings of Settled Village Life):

   • The earliest beginnings of full-fledged agriculture and settled village life are found in Mewar and the Ghaggar basin.
   • Bagor (Middle Levels): Shows the introduction of new material traits like copper/bronze tools, pottery, and stone beads. Burial practices changed (flexed position, east-west orientation). Metal tools and pottery indicate increased prosperity and stability.
   • Ahar Culture (Mewar): Flourished around 2,000 B.C. in the Banas river valley. Ahar and Gilund are the excavated sites. The Aharians were among the earliest rice cultivators in India. They lived in substantial houses, smelted copper, and had advanced copper technology, largely dispensing with stone tools (hence described as Copper Age culture). They practiced spinning and weaving. Their pottery included Red ware, Black-and-Red ware, and Grey ware, with some showing affinities to the Harappan culture.
   • Ghaggar Basin (North Rajasthan): Early agricultural settlements are known along the Ghaggar (Hakra) river.
   • Kalibangan (Pre-Harappan): A site with an older, pre-Harappan culture preceding the Indus Civilization. These people built mud-brick walls for protection, used chert blades and copper tools, and had bullock carts. Evidence of furrow marks suggests agriculture. Their pottery shows similarities with pre-Harappan sites in Balochistan, suggesting a migration from the Baluchi hills. This culture endured from around 2,300 B.C. to 2,100 B.C.

5. Indus Civilization (Beginnings of Urban Life):

   • The Harappan settlement at Kalibangan followed the pre-Harappan phase. The Harappans introduced an urban settlement with a citadel and a lower town, similar to Mohenjodaro and Harappa.
   • The settlement featured massive mud-brick walls, organized city planning with streets, and houses made of mud-bricks with burnt bricks used for drains and wells.
   • The Harappan pottery is typical of the culture, with a red-slipped surface and black pigment decoration.
   • Their economy was based on agriculture and stock-raising.
   • Material culture included chert blades, personal ornaments, copper/bronze tools, terra-cotta figurines, and seals.
   • Burial practices included extended inhumation, pot burial, and rectangular burial.
   • Kalibangan was one of about 25 Harappan settlements in the Saraswati and Drishadvati valleys. The decline of Harappan culture here is possibly linked to changes in river courses.

6. Expansion of Settled Village Life (Beginnings of Iron Age):

   • The full spread of agricultural life was enabled by the introduction of iron tools, which were more plentiful and cheaper than copper.
   • This transition is linked to the Painted Grey ware culture, appearing around the beginning of the first millennium B.C.
   • In Rajasthan, Painted Grey ware is found in the Saraswati valley and the northeastern region.
   • Sites like Noh and Bairat are mentioned, where Painted Grey ware is found associated with Black-and-Red ware and evidence of iron tools (axes, spear-heads, arrowheads).
   • The Painted Grey ware was succeeded by the Northern Black Polished ware around 500 B.C., marking the advent of coinage and the rise of the first post-Harappan urban settlements, leading into the historical period.
   • By the beginning of the Christian era, settled agricultural life based on iron technology was established across most of Rajasthan, laying the foundation for later historical achievements.

In conclusion, Misra's work underscores that the cultural tapestry of Rajasthan is woven from threads stretching back to the earliest stages of human existence. The long, arduous journey from hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural communities, facilitated by technological advancements like the use of copper and iron, laid the essential groundwork for the complex civilizations and achievements that followed. The book serves as a vital bridge between the unwritten prehistoric past and the documented historical periods of Rajasthan.