Mahagara
Topic: Prehistory: Human Origins and Stone Age Cultures · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Mahagara is a Neolithic site in the Belan valley, in the Prayagraj (Allahabad) region of Uttar Pradesh. Neolithic means the "new stone" age, when people farmed and kept animals. People at Mahagara lived in circular huts and made cord-impressed pottery, which means pots marked with a pressed rope pattern. The site matters because it shows settled village life with farming and herding in the Vindhyan part of the Ganga valley.
Example
At Mahagara (Belan valley, Uttar Pradesh), archaeologists found a cattle pen surrounded by huts. They also found bones of domesticated cattle, sheep and goat, and evidence of rice.
Don't confuse with
- Mehrgarh: the names sound alike, but Mehrgarh is on the Bolan River in present-day Pakistan. It is the subcontinent's oldest Neolithic village (c. 7000 BCE), and its people grew wheat and barley.