GS I-History
Location:
Daojali Hading is a significant Neolithic archaeological site situated in Assam’s Dima Hasao district, within the Langting-Mupa Reserve Forest.
Age:
Recent surveys conducted by a multidisciplinary team have confirmed that this was a Neolithic settlement zone, dating back over 2,700 years.
Key Findings:
- Remnants of furnaces and iron slag, pointing to early metallurgical activities.
- Cord-marked pottery, grinding stones, mortars and pestles, and polished stone implements such as arrowheads, celts, and adzes.
Significance:
These discoveries suggest that Daojali Hading was more than just a site for tool production; it was a fully functioning settlement where people lived, cooked, crafted tools, and engaged in early metallurgy.
Neolithic Period in India
The Neolithic period in India spanned from roughly 7,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C., marking the final stage of the Stone Age after the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages.
Key Features of the Neolithic Age in India:
- Beginnings of settled agriculture and domestication of animals.
- Use of polished stone tools such as axes, celts, and chisels.
- Construction of dwellings made of mud, reeds, and occasionally mud bricks.
- Introduction of pottery, including grey ware, black burnished ware, and mat-impressed ware.
- Community living with shared land and tool ownership.
- Cultivation of wheat, barley, rice, cotton, horse gram, and ragi, alongside the domestication of cattle, goats, and sheep.
- Settlements typically near rivers and lakes, relying on hunting, fishing, and early farming.
Major Neolithic Sites in India:
| Region | Site | Key Features |
| North-Western India | Burzahom (Kashmir) | Pit dwellings, stone tools, animal domestication |
| Gufkral (Kashmir) | Early agriculture, handmade pottery | |
| North India | Chirand (Bihar) | Polished tools, fishing economy |
| North-East India | Daojali Hading (Assam) | Described above |
| South India | Utnur (Andhra Pradesh) | Large stone structures, farming tools |
| Pakistan (Indian Subcontinent) | Mehrgarh (Balochistan) | Earliest Neolithic site, settled farming, granaries |