The first directly dated evidence for Palaeolithic occupation on the Indian coast at Sandhav, Kachchh

Abstract

South Asia has a rich Palaeolithic heritage, and chronological resolution for this record has substantially improved over the past decade as a result of focused, interdisciplinary research at a number of key sites. Expanding the spatial diversity of dated Palaeolithic sites in South Asia grows increasingly important to examine how patterns of change through time vary within and between the region's diverse habitats. Critically, alternate models of modern human dispersals into South Asia highlight the significance of either coastal or continental routes of dispersal, but currently no coastal Palaeolithic sites directly dating to the timeframe of human expansions are known. Our previous research in Kachchh was the first study to clearly identify the presence of Palaeolithic sites in Late Pleistocene landscapes in close proximity to the Indian Ocean coastline. Here, we present the first results of surface survey and test excavation at the site of Sandhav (Kachchh, India), approximately 25km from the modern shoreline. We characterise the geomorphology of the landscape, highlighting multiple phases of alluvial aggradation and post-depositional carbonate formation, associated with Palaeolithic artefacts. To date, excavations have tested the uppermost Pleistocene deposit, yielding a small collection of fresh Middle Palaeolithic artefacts associated with a luminescence age dating to the first half of MIS 5 (~114 ka), which provides a minimum age for Late Acheulean artefacts in underlying units. We discuss our findings in the context of debates surrounding the timing, lithic technologies, and ecologies associated with the expansions of modern humans into South Asia.

Constraining the chronology and ecology of Late Acheulean and Middle Palaeolithic occupations at the margins of the monsoon

“…Laboratory treatment followed standard procedures (e.g. 34 ) to isolate potassium rich feldspar grains for measurement. Elevated temperature post infrared infrared signals measured from very small aliquots (1 mm diameter) of sand-sized grains were used for equivalent dose measurement, and dose rates were derived from radionuclide concentrations determined via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.…”

“…Significant behavioural changes are observed across much of Africa and western Eurasia between 300 and 200 ka with the appearance of Middle Stone Age and Middle Palaeolithic assemblages 31 – 33 . Evidence across a range of sites and regions supports the appearance of Middle Palaeolithic technologies in South Asia considerably later, emerging from 114 ka onwards 34 – 38 , although recent studies from south-east India has been proposed as the earliest global evidence for Middle Palaeolithic technology ca. 385ka 39 .…”

Human Evolution in the Center of the Old World: An Updated Review of the South Asian Paleolithic

“…The changing toolkit also includes the introduction of different reduction strategies and the emergence of prepared cores, points and blade elements (Figures 8 and 9). In fact, Middle Paleolithic points, which are first evident at 385 Ka at Attirampakkam, continue to occur in younger (Late Pleistocene) contexts as well [34,36]. Late Pleistocene contexts and sites are more widespread but also remain inadequately dated.…”

“…Late Pleistocene contexts and sites are more widespread but also remain inadequately dated. Recent examples of new and previously-known sites that were dated for the first time include Attirampakkam in Tamil Nadu where the later Middle Paleolithic ends at 73 Ka [58], Dhaba in Madhya Pradesh ( [41,79]), the Middle Paleolithic site of Sandhav in Gujarat [36] and Fa-Hien Lena in Sri Lanka [62]; the Sri Lankan evidence has been reported as the oldest known bow-and-arrow technology outside Africa at 48 Ka, making it contemporary with the microliths at Dhaba (also 48 Ka) and Mehtakheri which is 45 Ka [45]. The primary reason for the increase in such dates is the growing application of refined or new luminescence techniques as well as radiocarbon methods.…”

“…Future surveys aimed at filling key geographic and stratigraphic contexts may gradually change this pattern. Over the last few decades, this technology has been increasingly thought to be associated with the initial arrival of Homo sapiens by various researchers, some of the most recent being the Jwalapuram evidence from southern India dated to ~77 [55], the Kataoti and Sandhav evidence from western India respectively dated to 95 Ka [34] and 114 Ka [36], and the Dhaba evidence in north-central India dated to between 79 Ka and 65 Ka [41].…”