The Stone Age

10,000 BC – 8,000 BC

Step 1: The chapter gives specific date ranges for each period. Step 2: Palaeolithic Age = 2,000,000 BC – 10,000 BC. Step 3: Mesolithic Age = 10,000 BC – 8,000 BC. Step 4: Neolithic Age = 8,000 BC – 4,000 BC. Step 5: Chalcolithic Age = 4,000 BC – 2,000 BC. The question asks about Mesolithic, so 10,000 BC – 8,000 BC is correct.

Microliths

Step 1: During the Mesolithic Age, tool-making improved significantly. Step 2: People began making much smaller stone tools compared to the large tools of the Palaeolithic Age. Step 3: These small stone tools are called microliths. Step 4: Microliths were attached to handles of bone or wood to make weapons like spears, arrows, and saws. Step 5: Hand axes belong to the Palaeolithic Age, polished tools to Neolithic Age, and copper implements to the Chalcolithic Age.

Bagor

Step 1: The chapter lists important Mesolithic sites and their locations. Step 2: Bhimbetka and Pachmarhi are in Madhya Pradesh. Step 3: Damdama is in Uttar Pradesh. Step 4: Bagor is the Mesolithic site located in Rajasthan. Step 5: Students must carefully match each site to the correct state to answer this question correctly.

Wheat and barley

Step 1: The Neolithic Age is known as the age of farming. Step 2: The chapter specifically mentions the earliest crops cultivated. Step 3: These were wheat and barley. Step 4: Cotton was used in this age but for weaving cloth, not as a food crop mentioned as the earliest. Step 5: Rice and maize are not mentioned as the earliest crops in the chapter. So the correct answer is wheat and barley.