In an earlier section we have considered the evidence of, and the still limited number of dates from, the early or pre-middle Pleistocene context of palaeoliths in the subcontinent. There is a greater availability of dates from the middle Pleistocene context and later, although these are restricted to a handful of regions: the north-west, parts of western Rajasthan, Gujarat, Malwa and the middle Son valley in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and parts of Karnataka, Andhra and Uttar Pradesh. Even within these areas there is a remarkable uneven distribution of dates period-wise, the radiocarbon dates of the middle and upper palaeolithic being far more frequent than the dates available for the lower palaeolithic which fall beyond the 50,000 BP range of the radiocarbon method. The non-radiocarbon dates for the middle and upper palaeolithic too are rare.
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TABLE II.15 |
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North-west: In the extreme north-west there is a series of dates (C-14) available for the Sanghao cave sequence which dates from the upper palaeolithic. About 15 consistent dates show an even spread between 41,825 ± 4,120 BC and 20,660 ± 360 BC, with only one sample showing a calibrated single standard version of 12,088 BC. At the sites of Jalalpur and Dina in the Potwar plateauthe date of the lower palaeolithic has been dated 600,000–400,000 BP (palaeomagnetic stratigraphy) whereas a minimum date of 45,000 BP has been estimated for the upper palaeolithic at site 55 of Riwat in the same region. |
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Western Rajasthan: Only one stratigraphic profile (named 16 R) at Didwana has yielded all the dates from the region: the lower palaeolithic—more than 390,000 BP (Uranium/Thorium series method); the middle palaeolithic—144,000 BP, 1,50,000 BP (Thermoluminiscent dates of the quartz grains from the relevant level); the upper palaeolithic—26,210 ± 2200/1700 BP (C-14). |
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Saurashtra (Gujarat): Dates come from the Hiran valley stratigraphic profile: the lower palaeolithic—roughly between 190,000 and 69,000 BP (Uranium–Thorium series method dates of the miliolite deposit which overlies the Acheulian level); the middle palaeolithic—56,800 BP (U-Th series date of the second miliolite deposit overlying the gravel-bearing middle palaeolithic industry). |
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Madhya Pradesh: The Son valley: the lower palaeolithic—more than 103,800 ± 19,800 BP (TL date of the loess deposit overlying the level with Acheulian tools; the upper palaeolithic—C-14 dates are either from the geological deposit of Baghor Formation or from the upper palaeolithic site of Baghor I, and focused between 10,000 and 12,000 BP. The Narmada and Chambal systems: quite a few C-14 dates have been obtained from the upper palaeolithic levels of this region, the earliest being those done on ostrich egg shell pieces from Chandrasal in the Chambal system (36,550 ± 600 bp and 38,900 ± 750 bp), Nagda in the same system (more than 31,000 BP), and Mehtakheri (Madhya Pradesh, but the precise area unpublished), one sample (ostrich egg shell) from which is more man 41,900 BP and a second sample (freshwater shells) from the same site is 30,680 ± 1040–920 BP. |
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Maharashtra: The lower palaeolithic at Nevasa (the Pravara valley) has been estimated to be more than 350.000 BP (Uranium–Thorium series). The earliest dates for the upper palaeolithic of the region are 27,000–25,000 BP but the bracket comes down to c. 13,000 BP and slightly later. |
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Karnataka: At Yedurwadi in the upper Krishna valley the lower palaeolithic is earlier than 350,000 BP. Teggihalli in the Hunsgi–Baichbal section has two lower palaeolithic dates (more than 350,000 BP and 287,731 + 27,269/−18,186 BP, both Uranium-Thorium series) whereas Sadab in the same area gives another Uranium-Thorium series date, 290,405 + 20,999/−18,186 BP. |
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Andhra: Only upper palaeolithic dates are available from the Kurnool caves—two obtained by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) method and one by TL. The ESR dates are 16,686 BP and 19,224 BP. The TL date is 17,390 BP ± 10 per cent variation. |
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Uttar Pradesh: Only upper palaeolithic dates (C-14) are available from the Belan valley, the earliest point around 25,000 BP and the last one around 9,000 BC. |
In the context of the wide distribution of palaeolithic sites and related stratigraphic profiles in the subcontinent, the preceding tabulation of the major palaeolithic dates is unlikely to appear impressive, but when one considers that this is by and large the result of recent and ongoing research, it is an impressive move forward. The lower palaeolithic in India is now firmly ensconced in the middle Pleistocene, and as we have noted, in the early Pleistocene as well, at least in the Potwar plateau and the Siwaliks. Sheila Mishra, in fact, notes that the lower palaeolithic dates which have been listed from Didwana, Yedurwadi and Nevasa and at least one date from the Baichbal sites are beyond the limits of Uranium–Thorium series method, i.e. the method which has been applied in these cases. This means that their chronological range in these cases is earlier. Moreover, as Anupama Kshirsagar has shown, the fluorine/phosphate ratio in the fossils found at Nevasa, Hunsgi and Yedurwadi can be dated to the middle Pleistocene, thus matching the absolute dates provided by the Uranium–Thorium series method.