Neolithic Sites in Bihar

The Neolithic Age (around 2500 BCE – 1500 BCE in Bihar) marked the beginning of agriculture, domestication of animals, and use of polished stone tools. In Bihar, several important Neolithic sites have been discovered, showing the gradual transition from hunting-gathering to settled life.

Key Features of Neolithic Culture in Bihar

• Agriculture: People practiced early farming, growing crops like rice and wheat.

• Domestication: Cattle, sheep, and goats were domesticated.

• Tools: Use of polished stone axes, celts, microliths, and bone tools.

• Pottery: Handmade grey and black ware pottery, sometimes decorated.

• Habitations: Evidence of mud houses with thatched roofs, indicating settled life.

• Burials: Some sites show evidence of burial practices, reflecting ritualistic life.

Important Neolithic Sites in Bihar

1. Chirand (Saran District)

   • Most important Neolithic site in Bihar.

   • Located on the banks of the Ganga River.

   • Evidence of rice cultivation, microliths, bone tools, and decorated pottery.

   • Also revealed human and animal figurines made of terracotta.

   • Indicates continuous habitation from Neolithic to Chalcolithic period.

2. Chechar (Vaishali District)

   • Discovered near the Ganga plain.

   • Evidence of stone tools, microliths, and handmade pottery.

   • Shows early agricultural activity.

3. Taradih (Gaya District)

   • Located near Bodh Gaya.

   • Excavations found polished stone tools, microliths, and handmade pottery.

   • Associated with rice husks in pottery, showing cultivation.

4. Majhgaon (Singhbhum, Bihar-Jharkhand region)

   • Evidence of stone axes and microlithic tools.

   • Suggests interaction between hunting-gathering and early farming communities.

5. Sohgaura (Gorakhpur region, Bihar-U.P. border)

   • Known for agricultural evidence and early settlement traces.

   • Important for understanding the spread of Neolithic culture in eastern India.

Significance of Neolithic Sites in Bihar

• Prove that Bihar was an important center of early agriculture in India.

• Chirand provides the earliest evidence of rice cultivation in the subcontinent.

• Show the transition from Stone Age to Chalcolithic cultures in the Gangetic plains.

• Reflect the growth of settled village life, food production, and early rituals.