Question

Answer the following question in detail.

Write in detail about the ‘first farmers’ and beginning of agriculture in India.

Answer 1

1. Archaeological sites of Neolithic villages have been discovered, proving that well-settled villages existed in the Indian subcontinent as early as 8000 B.C.E.
2. Historian scholars generally agree that the Harappan cities evolved from these early villages.
3. The farmers in these villages mainly grew barley, while wheat was grown on a smaller scale.
4. The farmers in these villages were the 'first farmers' of the Indian Sub-continent. They lived in mud houses and domesticated cattle and goat-sheep.
5. The transition from hunter-gatherer's life to the beginning of cultivation spans through 10000–870000 B.C.E. 
6. The beginning of cultivation is also the beginning of the Neolithic age. The period also marked the domestication and cultivation of animals.
7. While wheat and flax seeds were grown, barley was the main crop in this period.
8. Modified composite tools like fishing harpoons, spears, and arrows were made. Blades known as microliths and tools like sickle and scythe were used for harvesting cereals and fruits.