Chalcolithic Age in India

Ceramic Pottery of Malwa Culture

Chalcolithic age marks the emergence of copper along with stone tools. It is also known as the Eneolithic age because of the use of any kind of metal for first time. Technologically, it refers to pre-Harappan settlements, but in some part of India, it developed in parallel with Harappan age and in some part of India, even after the later Harappan period. Some of the major Chalcolithic sites are Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Banawali in Haryana, Kot Diji in Sindh.

Features of Chalcolithic Socities
1. They domesticated cows, sheep, goats, pigs and buffaloes. They hunted deer. Interestingly, they were not acquainted with horses. They domesticated animals for food and not for dairy products.
2. They cultivated wheat, rice, bajra, lentil, black gram, green gram, and grass pea.
3. They practiced slash and burn cultivation. Nowadays known as jhum. However, no plough were found at these sites.
4. They didn't know the art of mixing tin with copper.
5. They generally lived in mud houses, but there were signs of burnt bricks in Gilund. Their economy was agrarian.
6. They did not know how to write.
7. They were fond of ornaments and decoration. The Chalcolithic women wore ornaments of shell and bone. They carried finely worked combs in their hair.
8. They were expert coppersmiths and knew how to work with precious or semi-precious stones.
9. They knew spinning and weaving.
10. There were two types of pottery found belonging to this age: 1. Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) and 2. Black and Red Ware (BRW).
11. One can note the early signs of social inequalities, as chiefs lived in rectangular houses surrounded by more humble round huts.
12. They mostly buried their deceased inside their homes. The deceased were buried in north-south position in North India but in east-west position in South India. In eastern India, only a fraction of population buried their dead.
13. They venerated the Mother goddess, Pasupathi (lord Shiva) and worshiped the bull
14. Daimabad is the largest Chalcolithic site, known for large amount of bronze items.
15. First signs of town planning in Chalcolithic age are found in Imamgaon, a site in Western Maharashtra.


Important Chalcolithic culture sites along with their features

Ahar Culture
Period: 2800-1500 BC
Pottery ware: Black and Red Wares with linear and dotted designs in white.
Sites: Ahar, Balahal, Gilund. (Rajasthan)
Other Fact: It is also known as Banas culture. There are more than 90 sites are found associated with Ahar-Banas culture.

Kayatha Culture
Period: 2500-1700 BC
Pottery ware: Cholcolate coloured slipped ware
Site: region around Chambal and its tributaries

Malwa Culture
Period: 1900-1300 BC
Pottery ware: Red or orange, painted with geometric, floral, animal and other designs in black.
Site: Narmada and its tributaries, Navada toli, Eran, Nagada.
Other facts: Nagada is the chalcolithic site in Madhya Pradesh.

Savalda Culture
Period: 2300-2000 BC
Pottery ware: Sturdy ware with geometeric and naturalistic design
Site: Western Maharashtra

Jorwe Culture
Period: 1500-900 BC
Pottery ware: Red and orange, and painted with geometric patterns in black.
Site: Daimabad, Western Maharashtra

Prabhas and Rangpur are other two important chalcolithic culture sites. Their pottery exhibit influence of Harappan culture.