Socio-Economic and Religious Landscape of Prehistoric Andhra Pradesh
1. What Were the Socio-Economic Conditions During Prehistory? Prehistoric Andhra Pradesh , like other regions of India, marks the early phase of human development that preceded written records. This era is largely understood through archaeological excavations, fossil records, and various stone tools discovered at different sites across the region. The socio-economic conditions during this period were shaped by a combination of hunting-gathering practices, the discovery of agriculture, and the gradual evolution of settled communities. The Paleolithic period , which dates from around 2 million years ago, saw early humans in Andhra Pradesh primarily engage in hunting and gathering. These people relied on wild animals and plants for sustenance. Evidence of their existence is found in the form of crude stone tools and animal bones at sites like the Bhimbetka caves, though many of these early communities lived in temporary shelters, migrating according to seasonal changes. By the Mesolithic ...