History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c10.s2.6

v1.c10.s2.6

Microliths predominate (up to 80% of the finished tools) all the Mesolithic industries of India, be it of ‘Early’ or ‘Advanced’ stage. Geometric forms particularly triangle, became more popular during Mesolithic times (Jayaswal, in Press). All the other remaining techno-typological features remained almost unaltered. It has also been shown by this author that microlithic technology continued to persist for a very long period in Central India. Undisrupted continuation of this technology is evident in the hills of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, even up to the Historical period (Jayaswal, In press). In this case, microliths existed as parallel technological trait with Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Iron Age cultures. It was observed that though there is a gradual decrease of frequency of microliths from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic periods, there is a sudden fall in the proportion of microliths during the early Historical period (Iron Age).