The Neolithic period began in India during 7000-4000 B.C. It was during this period that the inhabitants developed the craft of building homesteads using sun-baked mud bricks, and began to live as a village community. The beginning of agriculture was also during this period. But hunting continued to be their principal livelihood. The most important Indian site of the
Neolithic period is Mehrgarh from where cooking utensils in stone and weapons in bone and stone were excavated. Evidence has been obtained that during the second phase of the Mehrgarh community (5000-4000 B.C.) cultivation of wheat and barley was in vogue. By about 3000 B.C., Neolithic cultures have come up in
Kashmir and
Karnataka.