The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c13.s3.1

c13.s3.1

The last two phases of the stone age in India are the "Late Stone Age" and the "Neolithic". Though we have substantial evidence from the Central Deccan about the separation of these phases of Indian stone age, there has been a good deal of confusion, due to the indiscriminate nature of the collections lying in the various museums in India and abroad. Only in recent years, evidence is forthcoming to differentiate the earlier Geometric Microlithic Industry (Late Stone Age) from the Neolithic or Polished Stone Industry and the fine Chalcolithic blade industry or the "ribbon flake" as it has been called. An order is appearing at least in Western India and Central Deccan, but we should make a fresh study as typology seems to have done the maximum harm to this phase. An attempt to probe into these problems was made by Col. Gordon,¹ but the recent evidence takes us much further. There is definite evidence of differential distribution in space (Fig. 20), and in some of the areas even of time. But the former calls for an explanation. A situation similar to that of Africa can certainly be recalled, owing to the environmental diversity within the country. Just as we have the genuine Pre-Neolithic Capsian and also the later "Beduin" microlithic industries in the drier parts of North Africa and South Arabia, we can postulate a widespread microlithic industry in India replaced or succeeded by either the Neolithic or the Chalcolithic in more favourable environments. The geographic factors enumerated already go a great deal in explaining some of these diversities.