India in Prehistoric Times

The Indian sub-continent is, like East Africa, a region known for its grassland environment, where, several millennia ago, early hominids are believed to have lived. India abounds in Neolithic sites, known for the new kind of stone weaponry and tools and, important for human civilization, the sure beginnings of agriculture, animal domestication, and dairy farming. Among the larger Neolithic sites were the Indus-Saraswati valleys in Punjab, the lower Indus in Sind, and the middle reaches of the Jumna-Ganges rivers. Among the most notable new sites on the Indus and the Saraswati rivers are Dholavira in Kutch, in northwestern Gujarat. The earliest period shows the beginnings of agriculture, notably in barley and wheat, and domestication of animals such as water buffalo, cattle, sheep, and goats. Among the most distinguishing features of the urban Harappan Civilization was its city planning. Divided into two parts, most of the cities had a citadel and a lower town, including a granary.