Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

ARCHAEOLOGY

Palaeolithic is assigned to the Middle Pleistocene and the Mesolithic to the Early Holocene period.

Date The alluvial deposits of the Belan river containing burins, scrapers and backed blades and the deposits of the Scoti in Mirzapur District also bearing Upper Palaeolithic tools are dated 19715 ± 340 B.P. by 14C method. Factory sites and rock shelters of the Kaimur Range yield Upper Palaeolithic tools. Bhanse on the Kan in Tapti valley, Salvadgi in Karnataka and Khan- divli near Bombay are noted for the blade-burin indus- try. Mesolithic Culture The microlith-using culture unassociated with pottery and preceding the farming-based villages is designated as Mesolithic culture in India. The physi- cal remains of man and animals of this period are better preserved than in the earlier periods as the landscape has not been disturbed. Tilwara (Dt. Banner), *Bagor (Dt. Bhilwara) in Rajasthan, Langhnaj (Dt. Mehasana) in Gujarat, Lekhania (Dt. Mirzapur) in Uttar Pradesh, Bhimbhetka (Dt. Raisen) in Madhya Pradesh, Birbhanpur (Dt. Burdwan) in West Bengal, and Sanganakallu (Dt. Bellary) in Kar- nataka are some of the Mesolithic sites excavated in India. The artistic achievements of the Mesolithic folk are better preserved in the rock-shelters of the Vindhya, Satpura and Kainur Hills of Central India. For instance the rOck paintings of Bhimbhetka and Itar

Fig : 4 - Upper Palaeolithic tools from Soharpur Doab. 1 -3, blades with straight edge; 4-5, blades with transverse edge; 6, blade with lateral-cum-transverse edge; 7, notched blade; 8, lateral-cum- notched blade; 9, transverse-cum-notched blade; 10-12, backed blades; 13, nosed edged tool.

namely, flake-blade, blade-tool and blade-and-burin. The backed blades, points, burins, scrapers etc of the blade-tool group are found at Bariyari and on the Belan (Dt. Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh, at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh, at Nevasa and Inamgaon in Maharashtra, at Salvadgi in Karnataka, near Budh Pushkar lake (Dt. Ajmer) in Rajasthan and Betamcharla (Dt. Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh. At Mucchila in Chintamani Gavi near Betmacherla bone tools and a stone blade were found in excava- tion. Bone blanks made of elongated strips of long bone of animal were finished into tools by chipping or flaking. Palaeoclimate It is necessary to know what the climate was like when the Upper Palaeolithic industry flourished. The sediment analysis of Belan river deposit shows that the climate was not as arid as in the later Holocene Period. At Patne in Maharashtra also the sedi- ments indicate a wetter climate. The faunal deposits of Kurnool comprise mammalian species such as the Rhinoceros Karnutiensis , Beselaphus tragocameleus (nilgai), Gazella gazella (chinkara), Antelope Carvicapra (black buck), Cervus unicolar (sambar), Axis axis (chital), Traguhus of meminna (mouse deer) etc The faunal remains associated with the incipient blade industry of the Ghod valley at Inamgaon yielded Equus namadicus (horse), Bos sp (ox), Hexaprotodon palaeindicus (Hippopotamus), Bubalus (Buffalo) and cervus sp (sambar). This fauna suggested a forested environ- ment with swamps and pools. The Upper Palaeolithic succeeded the Middle Palaeolithic and preceded the Mesolithic. The Middle

Pahar throw light on the pre-occupation of Mesolithic people with hunting. During the wet phase between 10,000 and 5,000 years B.P. the fresh water lakes of Sambhar and Didwana attracted them. In semi-arid conditions the occupation of the sand dunes of Langhnaj might have been seasonal. The small lakes around dunes supplied water. The Mesolithic people occupied the river banks of Damodar, Krishna and Tungabhadra as well as the sea coast of Tinnevelly in the South. Some lived in the rock-shelters of Hulim- avu near Bangalore. That the Mesolithic man used plant foods is suggested by the stone querns and rubbers used for grinding corn. Rudimentary agricultural operation is also indicated by the discoid stones of Bagor and Bhimbhetaka which served as weights of wooden dig- ging sticks. The main subsistence of the Mesolithic man was the animal. Evidence of hunting, food gathering and stock breeding comes from Tilwara, Bagor and Adamgarh. The elephant was killed at Sarai Nahar Rai and porcupine was hunted in Adamgarh. Though the Mesolithic camps were seasonal, the thick habitational depos- its in Bagor and Bhimbhetaka suggest frequent occupation. Occa- sionally the potholes at the four corners of the floor of burnt clay nodules in Sarai Nahar suggest rudimentary structures, while the alignment of stones in the rock-shelters of Bhimbhetaka indicates a circular hut. As regards the disposal of the dead extended burial in east-west orientation is reported from Sarai Nahar. In Bhimbhetaka the grave offerings included pieces of antler, bone ornaments and ochre. Offering of food to the dead is suggested by the presence of clay pots in the later phase burials at Bagor.