What were the primary tools used during the Upper Palaeolithic period?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Solution: The correct answer is Burins and scrapers.
Explanation:
☛ The Palaeolithic Age (Old Stone Age) in India is divided into three phases: Lower, Middle, and Upper Palaeolithic, based on stone tool technology and climate changes.
☛ The Upper Palaeolithic period (around 40,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE) is characterized by the use of blades, burins, and scrapers.
☛ A burin is a specialized chisel-like stone flake tool with a sharp edge, primarily used for engraving on bone, antler, wood, or soft stone.
☛ Scrapers were refined tools designed for dressing animal hides, scraping bark, and shaping wood.
☛ This era coincided with the advent of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) and an increase in tool refinement and artistic expression.
Extra Exam-Relevant Facts:
☛ Handaxes and cleavers: These are characteristic core tools of the Lower Palaeolithic period, associated with the Acheulean culture.
☛ Chopping tools: These are also early Lower Palaeolithic tools, widely associated with the Sohan culture in the Soan River valley (now in Pakistan).
☛ Patne (Maharashtra): A major Upper Palaeolithic site in India, famous for the discovery of engraved ostrich eggshell beads.
☛ Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh): Rock shelters showing continuous human habitation from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic period, with early rock art emerging during the Upper Palaeolithic.
☛ Renigunta (Andhra Pradesh): A prominent Upper Palaeolithic site known for an abundance of blade and burin industries.
Important One-Liners for Upcoming Exams:
☛ Who is regarded as the 'Father of Indian Prehistory'? → Robert Bruce Foote
☛ In which Indian state is the Upper Palaeolithic site 'Kurnool Caves' located? → Andhra Pradesh
☛ Which geological epoch corresponds with the entire Palaeolithic period? → Pleistocene epoch
☛ At which site was the first Palaeolithic tool in India discovered in 1863? → Pallavaram (Tamil Nadu)
☛ Which tool industry is predominantly associated with the Middle Palaeolithic period in India? → Flake tool industry (Nevasan culture)