• Copper was the first metal to be used by man for making tools. Gradually several cultures developed in Indian subcontinent which were based on the use of stone and copper tools. They also used bronze, a mixture of copper and tin, for this purpose. This phase in history is known as the Chalcolithic chalco-Copper; lithic-Stone) period.

Features of Chalcolithic Age

• Polychrome painted pottery is a key distinguishing feature of the Chalcolithic period. “Fenestrated pottery,” pots with holes cut into the walls, was discovered in Chalcolithic sites.
• Farmers traditionally produced domestic animals such as sheep, cattle, and pigs, supplementing their food with hunting and fishing.
• Fruit trees (such as fig and olive) and milk and byproducts were significant.
• Chalcolithic farmers built their houses out of stone or mudbrick. A chain building is a type of design that consists of a row of rectangular houses joined by common party walls on the short ends.
• Burials ranged from single interments to jar burials to small box-shaped above-ground ossuaries and even rock-cut tombs.
• Knives, axes, fishing hooks, chisels, pins, and rods were all made from metals such as copper and its alloys.

The identification of Chalcolithic cultures based on their geographic location include:

Ahar Culture

• The Ahar culture –also known as the Banas culture, is derived from the name of the valley in which most of the sites of this culture are located is one of the earliest Chalcolithic cultures of India.

Agriculture and domestication

• The evidence of rice has been noticed at Ahar in the form of impressions on potsherds. The other crops cultivated during this period were wheat, barley, milletbajra and jawar. 
• Faunal remains of domesticated species like cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, pig, dog and fowl have been recovered from excavations. 
• The wild animals hunted were sambhar, nilgai, chital, blackbuck and wild boar. The evidence suggests mixed economy of cultivation and hunting gathering.

Social Organization:

• The presence of specialised classes of craftsmen can be found. The evidence of fortification at Balathal implies that there may have been destructive conflicts.

Kayatha Culture

• This Chalcolithic culture was named after the type site Kayatha, in Ujjain dist., Madhya Pradesh.

Features of Kayatha Culture

• People lived in small huts with well-rammed floors and wattle and daub walls supporting a thatched roof. 
• A mixed economy was practiced as seen from evidence on subsistence farming, stock raising and hunting-fishing. 
• Barley and wheat were grown. 
• Domesticated animals included cattle and sheep/goat. Also, horse remains have been found from the Chalcolithic level at Kayatha.

Malwa Culture

• The Malwa culture is the most predominant chalcolithic culture of central India, with a wide distribution of sites almost all over Malwa region. It can be traced out at Maheshwar, on river Narmada.
• The Sites are mostly found on the banks of the tributaries.
• A sort of two level settlement pattern existed, consisting of a large number of small villages and a few large villages.
• At Inamgaon houses of the Malwa period have been identified, which were large rectangular structures with a low partition wall in the middle. Inside the room were low mudwalls with large fire pits and pit silos meant for storage. 
• Circular pit dwellings also existed at Inamgaon.
• Houses contained many rooms, well-rammed floors, and thatched roofs.  
• Pottery kinds discovered included Malwa ware, cream slipware, and red/gray ware.
• Discovered copper tools, a specialist blade business, and semiprecious stone bead necklaces.

Jorwe Culture

• The Jorwe culture is the most important and characteristic chalcolithic culture of Maharashtra, extending almost all over the present state, excepting the coastal strip on the west and Vidarbha in the north east. 
• The culture is named after the type site of Jorwe in Ahmadnagar district, Gujrat.  
• In regions, such as, Prakash in the Tapi valley, Daimabad in the Pravara Godavari valley and Inamgaon in the Bhima valley large centres of this culture were found.
• The Early Jorwe houses were rectangular in plan while the Late Jorwe houses were circular.
• A variety of crops were grown, and the Jorwe farmers have also been credited for practicing crop rotation.
• The principal crops were barley, wheat, jowar, rice, ragi, green pea, grass pea, lentil, and green and black gram.
• Many child burials were found in urns laid in pits. In case of adults, the portion below the ankles was chopped off in Inamgaon and Daimabad.