of the Historical Period The hunter and gatherers using microlithic tools continued to live in the later period, even after the development of Neolithic, Iron Age and historical periods. Perhaps they became part of the marginalised communities, when the people who lived in the cities acquired more wealth. Some of the people who live in the forests even today in some remote areas and also in the Andaman region could be considered as those people who prefer to live by hunting and gathering. Many such groups lived in the 19th and 20th century, as recorded in the Edgar Thurston’s Castes and Tribes of Southern India .
Describing them as primitive is incorrect. They should be considered as people who preferred to live by hunting and gathering. When the Indus Civilisation was in its peak, Tamil Nadu had microlithic hunter-gatherers. The Andhra– Karnataka region had the agro-pastoralists of the Neolithic period.
Characteristics of the Mesolithic Cultures The Mesolithic people lived in semi- permanent and temporary settlements. They occupied caves and open grounds. Economy Hunting wild animals and gathering plant food and fishing were people’s main occupation during this age. Agriculture was not practised in the early stages.
At the end of the Mesolithic period, humans domesticated animals and paved the way for the Neolithic way of life. The rock paintings of Central India depict hunting, trapping, fishing and plant food collection. The faunal evidence from this period shows that people belonging to this period hunted cattle, gaur, buffalo, barasingha , porcupines, sambar , chital, gazelle, hog deer, nilgai , jackal, turtle, fish, wild hare, lizard fox and monitor lizard. Bones of rhinoceros and elephant have also been found.
They used spears, bow and arrow and traps. The paintings of Bhimbetka show that various animals were hunted and for this men and women went together. The people used fire and perhaps roasted food. Domestic animal bones of cattle, sheep, goats, pig and dog have been found at Kanewal, Loteshwar and Ratanpur, and from Adamgarh and Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh sites.
Camel bones have been found from Kanewal. Camps and Houses