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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2014/Paper II/Prehistoric Archaeology
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2014 10 Marks Model Answer Available

Neolithic Cultures of North-East India — 2014 Paper II

Question · 2014 · Paper II · 10 Marks

Neolithic cultures of N-E India

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Describe the distinctive archaeological features and regional character of Neolithic cultures of Northeast India.
  • Structuring the Response: Mention major sites, characteristic tools and pottery, subsistence pattern and broader Southeast Asian affinities.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Daojali Hading, Sarutaru, shouldered celts, cord-impressed pottery, agriculture, shifting cultivation and regional interaction.

Model Answer

Introduction: The Neolithic cultures of Northeast India represent a distinctive regional tradition adapted to the humid, hilly and forested environment and showing affinities with neighbouring Southeast Asia.

Important sites include:

  • Daojali Hading in Assam;
  • Sarutaru near Guwahati;
  • sites in Meghalaya, Nagaland and adjoining regions.

Characteristic archaeological remains include:

  • polished stone axes and celts;
  • shouldered celts;
  • grinding stones;
  • cord-impressed and handmade pottery.

The shouldered stone tools and cord-marked pottery indicate technological similarities with Neolithic traditions of South and Southeast Asia.

Subsistence probably combined:

  • cultivation;
  • forest-resource collection;
  • hunting;
  • fishing.

The ecological setting encouraged relatively flexible cultivation systems, and the region is often associated with traditions related to shifting cultivation, though direct archaeological correlation must be made cautiously.

Thus:

Local ecological adaptation + External cultural contacts → Distinct Northeast Neolithic

Conclusion: Northeast Indian Neolithic cultures demonstrate that the Indian Neolithic was not uniform but consisted of multiple regional pathways to food production and settled life.

2026 Write a detailed note on the characteristic features, chronology, geographical distribution, tool types and lifeways of Magdalenian cultural tradition of Europe. 2026 What are the evidences available regarding crops and domesticated animals of Indus Valley Civilization? What are the views of the scholars regarding Indus script? 2026 Discuss with examples, how general comparative analogy has been used in ethnoarchaeological studies in India. 2026 Make a critical appraisal of the mesolithic culture of Ganga basin with reference to artifacts, faunal and human skeletal remains excavated from different sites.

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UPSC Anthropology Optional 2014 — Paper II

28 questions

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