How old is our civilisation?
As per today's research and findings Indian civilisation is amongst the oldest one. We passed through several stages of civilisation, Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic.
The Paleolithic civilisations developed in Pleistocene period which means the ice age. They were nomads, migrating to places where food and water was easily available. On the basis of their stone tools and change in climate, the Paleolithic Civilisation is divided into three parts Early or Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic.
The Mesolithic civilisations occurred post ice age during the transitional period between Paleolithic and Neolithic. The climate became warm and dry, changing the flora and fauna resulting in venturing new territories.
The Neolithic Civilisation learnt to produce food of its own unlike the earlier Civilisations who used to be nomads. It marks the beginning of village settlements. Their tools were fine, sharp and polished. The art of making pottery on wheels was also learnt.
The Chalcolithic Civilisation used tools made of copper and stone. They were contemporary of Indus valley civilisation. They worshipped mother goddess and male gods, buried their dead and believed in rituals and life after death. From the excavations and findings of this civilisation they did not know the art of making bronze and tin which the Indus valley civilisation did. Indus valley civilisation had their own script and knew the art of writing. They were far more advanced than the Chalcolithic civilisation.
It has always been propagated that the Indus Civilisation was the start of urban civilisation in India. It spread over a large part of the Indian subcontinent between 3000 BC to 1750 BC. They were technologically advanced than the other cultures in India. When the site was excavated by John Marshall he gave a date of 3000 BC. But the recent findings and discovery in Rajasthan suggest that the Indus civilisation began much earlier than what was believed. Artifacts found in Rajasthan provided radiometric dates from 7500 BC to 6200 BC.
The Indus civilisation is also called Harappan civilisation because this civilisation was first discovered in 1921 at Harappa, situated in west Punjab, now Pakistan. The Indus Civilization is divided into the pre-Harappan, mature Harappan and late Harappan periods. But some of the artifacts discovered in Rajasthan include relatively advanced pottery which until now was believed to be possible in late Harappan period. These recent archaeological findings prove the Indus River Valley civilization is up to 2,000 years older than previously believed.
The Indus civilisations vanished suddenly as it is believed to be. Many causes have been suggested for their sudden disappearance, floods, famine, mass scale confrontation. But there are no conclusive evidence to adopt a theory for their disappearance.
