Prehistory and Protohistory in India and Pakistan c5.s7.6

c5.s7.6

First the Three Age Theory of THOMSEN. When the prehistoric archaeology in India is divided or grouped into Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic, it is generally understood that man first knew the use of stone, but not of copper or iron. In this Stone Age, other perishable objects like bone²⁸ᵇ and wood might have been used, but as only stone has survived, it is called by the most prominent object or artifact of the period. According to the geological and artifactual evidence, this Stone Age is divided into (a) Early or Lower Palaeolithic and (b) Middle Palaeolithic,²⁹ leaving room for its final phase (c) Upper Palaeolithic when it is fully discovered and identified.