An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s6.7

v1.c9.s6.7

(1) Neolithic regions: In India at the present moment, the existence of early farming communities, alternatively termed as Neolithic cultures (Thapar, 1974), has been established in five different geographical regions, to which may be added another one in Pakistan: (a) Pakistan defined in the context of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, covering Baluchistan, Swat and the contiguous areas of the upper Sind valley in Pakistan; (b) n.-w., covering Kashmir; (c) e., covering Assam, Chittagong and the sub-Himalayan regions, including Darjeeling; (d) the Chota Nagpur plateau with its peneplains in Dts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and W. Bengal; (e) mid-e. covering Dt Saran in Bihar; and (f) s., covering peninsular India. The present grouping of the Neolithic cultures is however as tentative and subject to revision as the one suggested more than ten years ago (Thapar, 1964).