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Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out excavations at two prominent sites of Chalcolithic affiliations in Central India (Eran, district Sagar and at Tewar, district Jabalpur) in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Key Points
Chalcolithic Culture:
- The end of the Neolithic period saw the use of metals. Several cultures were based on the use of copper and stone implements.
- Such a culture is called the Chalcolithic (Chalco = Copper and Lithic = Stone)
- The Chalcolithic cultures followed the Bronze Age Harappa culture.
- It spanned around2500 BC to 700 BC.
- Salient Features: The Chalcolithic culture of a region was defined according to certain salient features like copper artifacts, beads of semi-precious stones, stone tools, and terracotta figurines.
- Characteristics:
- Rural Settlements: The people were mostly rural and lived near hills and rivers and they survive hunting, fishing, and farming.
First Metal Age of India: Since this was the first metal age, copper and its alloy bronze which melted at low temperature were used for the manufacture of various objects during this period.
Art and Craft: The specialty of the Chalcolithic culture was wheel-made pottery mostly of red and orange color.
- Different types of pottery were used but Black-and-Red pottery among them was quite common.
- The Ochre-Coloured Pottery (OCP)was also in use.