Isolated remains of Homo erectus in Hathnora in the Narmada Valley in Central India indicate that India might have been inhabited since at least the Middle Pleistocene era, somewhere between 200,000 to 500,000 years ago. Though most traces of the out of Africa migration along the shores of the Indian Ocean seem to have been lost. Due to flooding in the post-Ice Age period, recent finds in TamilNadu (at c. 75,000 years ago, before and after the explosion of the Toba vulcano) indicate the presence of the first anatomically modern humans in the area. The Mesolithic period in the Indian subcontinent covered a timespan of around 25,000 years, starting around 30,000 years ago. More extensive settlement of the subcontinent occurred after the end of the last Ice Age, or approximately 12,000 years ago. The first confirmed permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago in the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka in modern Madhya Pradesh, India. Early Neolithic culture in South Asia is represented by the Mehrgarh findings (7000 BCE onwards) in present day Balochistan, Pakistan. Traces of a Neolithic culture have been found submerged in the Gulf of Khambat in India, radiocarbon dated to 7500 BCE. Late Neolithic cultures sprang up in the Indus Valley region between 6000 and 2000 BCE and in southern India between 2800 and 1200 BCE.

The region of the subcontinent that is now the country of Pakistan has been inhabited continuously for at least two million years. The ancient history of the region includes some of South Asia's oldest settlements and some of its major civilizations.

The earliest archaeological site in South Asia is the palaeolithic hominid site in the Soan River valley. Village life began with the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh, while the first urban civilization of the region was the Indus Valley Civilization, with major sites at Mohenjo Daro, Lothal and Harappa.

The region of the subcontinent that is now the country of Pakistan has been inhabited continuously for at least two million years. The ancient history of the region includes some of South Asia's oldest settlements and some of its major civilizations.

The earliest archaeological site in South Asia is the palaeolithic hominid site in the Soan River valley. Village life began with the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh,] while the first urban civilization of the region was the Indus Valley Civilization, with major sites at Mohenjo Daro, Lothal and Harappa.