What are the Main Features of the Chalcolithic Age?
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 9th, 2023
The Features of the Chalcolithic Age are the presence of painted pottery, burying the dead in a particular direction, and the recovery of bronze and copper tools. Between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age is a period known as the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age. It is believed to have started in the late fourth to early third millennia BC, depending on the region, and ended with the start of the Bronze Age proper.
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Features of Chalcolithic Age
The Chalcolithic describes the period between 2500 BC – 2200 BC. The Chalcolithic period is the transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. The culture based on the use of copper and stone was labeled Chalcolithic, which means the stone-copper phase. In India, it lasted from around 2000 BC to 700 BC.
- Copper was mainly used in metalworking technology.
- It was discovered that by adding tin to copper, bronze could be made, which is a harder and stronger metal alloy.
- Along with using copper and stone, these people also used low-grade bronze to make tools and weapons.
- The earliest Indus Civilization site, Bhirrana, has yielded copper bracelets and arrowheads.
- The Chalcolithic culture corresponds to farming settlements like the Banas culture, which produced pottery with a red, white, and black pattern between 2000 and 1600 BC.
- Ceramics with a brown pattern were painted during the Kayastha culture (2450–1700 BC).
- Malwa culture: decorated pottery with patterns in red or black between 1900 and 1400 BC.
- Jorwe culture: matte-finished pottery with a black-and-red pattern from 1500 to 900 BC.
- It was primarily found in southern and eastern India, western Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and southeast Rajasthan.
Summary:
What are the Main Features of the Chalcolithic Age?
The presence of painted pottery, the practice of interring the dead in a specific direction, and the discovery of bronze and copper tools are the main characteristics of the Chalcolithic Age. The Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, is a time span between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age.
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