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Chrono-contextual issues at open-air Pleistocene vertebrate fossil sites of central and peninsular India and implications for Indian paleoanthropology
Abstract
Pleistocene vertebrate fossils are prominently known from several regions across the Indian Subcontinent including the Siwalik Hills, the numerous river valleys across India and some cave sites. Unfortunately, most of this evidence is lacking a robust chronological framework and very few fossil specimens have been subjected to absolute dating methods. All of the known fossil evidence is found in diverse sedimentary contexts and these faunal assemblages have mostly been assigned broad or relative age brackets such as Early Pleistocene (i.e. the Pinjore Formation of the Upper Siwalik Subgroup) and Late Pleistocene (almost all the remaining fossil vertebrate fauna in the rest of the Subcontinent). This paper discusses contextual and chronological perspectives and associated interpretative issues of open-air Pleistocene faunal sites south of the Siwalik Hills, such as north-central and peninsular India. For instance, the virtual lack of Early and Middle Pleistocene fauna across most of India requires consideration and explanations beyond just the lack of absolute dates. A general review of the known data demonstrates a critical need for absolute dates for the various fauna as well as more rigorous field and lab methods for Indian palaeontology in general, and to avoid erroneous implications for Indian palaeoanthropology.
... The entire spectrum of Quaternary vertebrate fossil from the Indian subcontinent can be categorically divided into three distinct chronological groups: a) Early Pleistocene material, predominantly found in the Siwalik Hills of Pakistan, India, and Nepal; b) fossil assemblages found in several river valleys, typically attributed to the Late Pleistocene; and c) the Holocene fossils, sub-fossils, and unfossilised bones (Chauhan, 2023). Most of the recovered species belong to the orders Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, and Proboscidea. ...
... Carnivora, primates, small mammals, birds, while other vertebrates are notably absent in most sites (Jukar et al., 2021). Chauhan (2023) highlights the lack of identification and absolute dates for fauna within Middle Pleistocene contexts in the subcontinent, except for the Middle Pleistocene fauna from the Kurnool Caves, which shows their continuity to Late Pleistocene and modern times (Roberts et al., 2014). ...
The oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) ratios in bioapatite from dental tissues of fossil mammals are wellestablished proxies for climatic conditions and dietary patterns. In the present study, a total of 24 Late Pleistocene mammalian teeth belonging to Cervid, Bovid, Suid, Hippopotamid, Canid, Equid from Gopnath in Gujarat, ten separate localities from the Narmada Basin, and one in Son River Basin, India were analysed for δ13C and δ18O values to understand palaeoclimatic conditions and associated dietary habits between marine isotope stages (MIS) 5 and 3 as estimated from stratigraphic and archaeological record. The δ13C values in the samples of Gopnath, Narsinghpur and Doma range from 3.1 to 2.3 ‰, 3.2 to 1.3 ‰, and 2.0 ‰, respectively. The higher δ13C values in these specimens suggest a diet based predominantly on C4 plants. On the other hand, a relatively lower and large range of δ13C values from Nehlai ( 11.1 to 3.5 ‰) suggests a predominately C3 to mixed C3-C4 diet. The δ18O values in Gopnath, Nehlai, Narsinghpur and Doma are 4.1 to 3.1 ‰, 4.7 to 2.1 ‰, 4.0 to 1.9 ‰ and 5.8 ‰, respectively. The relatively lower δ18O value points towards humid climatic conditions and the relatively higher δ18O values suggest relatively arid climatic conditions. The regional contexts are dominated by Late Pleistocene geological records predominantly associated with Middle Palaeolithic evidence, and the preliminary isotope results indicate that contemporary hominin groups occupied warm and semi-humid environments. This study attempts to examine the Late Pleistocene environments and hominin adaptations across western, central, and north-central India on a comprehensive scale.
... Over the last thirty years there have been important advances in the understanding of the early human occupation of the Indian subcontinent, but still with significant questions about the age of the various industries and the hominins involved Dennell and Petraglia, 2012;Blinkhorn and Petraglia, 2017;Chauhan, 2020Chauhan, , 2023. With the growing number of early sites and hominin remains in China, dating back to over 2 Ma (Luo et al., 2020;Xing et al., 2021), there is renewed focus on south Asia, not just as an area for tracking populations and technologies from the West, but as a complex region that potentially also saw human dispersals from the East (Dennell and Petraglia, 2012;Boivin et al., 2013;Dennell, 2016Dennell, , 2018. ...
... The 'Reviews' section begins with the contribution of Chauhan (2022), which looks at the taphonomy and frequency of Pleistocene vertebrate fossils in the Indian Subcontinent. Here, they also talk about how older fossils could have been re-deposited in the younger contexts and can be found in various geological settings. ...
The present introduction to Quaternary Geoarchaeology of India discusses the historical background of the research carried out in India in the field of the Quaternary Period. It talks about the specific contributions made by scholars in the subject of geoarchaeology in the recent past. This special volume introduces the nineteen chapters in three sections, i.e. 1) Landscape geoarchaeology. (2) Applications in geoarchaeology and (3) Reviews, which have been contributed by various scholars working in earth sciences and geoarchaeology fields. This volume aimed to represent the recent advances in the field of Quaternary geoarchaeology in India, which is generally under-represented and is mainly restricted from reaching the scholarly audience globally.
Luminescence dating at the stratified prehistoric site of Attirampakkam, India, has shown that processes signifying the end of the Acheulian culture and the emergence of a Middle Palaeolithic culture occurred at 385 ± 64 thousand years ago (ka), much earlier than conventionally presumed for South Asia. The Middle Palaeolithic continued at Attirampakkam until 172 ± 41 ka. Chronologies of Middle Palaeolithic technologies in regions distant from Africa and Europe are crucial for testing theories about the origins and early evolution of these cultures, and for understanding their association with modern humans or archaic hominins, their links with preceding Acheulian cultures and the spread of Levallois lithic technologies. The geographic location of India and its rich Middle Palaeolithic record are ideally suited to addressing these issues, but progress has been limited by the paucity of excavated sites and hominin fossils as well as by geochronological constraints. At Attirampakkam, the gradual disuse of bifaces, the predominance of small tools, the appearance of distinctive and diverse Levallois flake and point strategies, and the blade component all highlight a notable shift away from the preceding Acheulian large-flake technologies. These findings document a process of substantial behavioural change that occurred in India at 385 ± 64 ka and establish its contemporaneity with similar processes recorded in Africa and Europe. This suggests complex interactions between local developments and ongoing global transformations. Together, these observations call for a re-evaluation of models that restrict the origins of Indian Middle Palaeolithic culture to the incidence of modern human dispersals after approximately 125 ka.
This paper presents the first Indo-French Prehistorical Mission in the Himalayan foothills, northwestern India, and introduces the results of the multidisciplinary research program “Siwaliks” under the patronage of Professor Yves Coppens, from the Collège de France and Académie des Sciences, France. This program is dedicated to the discovery of cut marks on mineralized bovid bones collected among vertebrate fossils in a fluviatile formation named “Quranwala zone” in the Chandigarh anticline, near the village Masol, and located just below the Gauss–Matuyama polarity reversal (2.58 Ma). Artefacts (simple choppers, flakes) have been collected in and on the colluviums. This important discovery questions the origins of the hominins which made the marks.
Locality 642 in the Pabbi Hills, Pakistan, is a large fossil accumulation dated to ca. 1.2-1.4 Mi-old. Investigations showed that it lay in an abandoned channel, and contained numerous bovids, followed by equids, rhinoceros and gazelle, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, and a small felid were the only carnivores in evidence. Although there had been some fluvial disturbance, carnivores (most likely Pachycrocuta brevirostris) were primarily responsible for the accumulation. Useful new data were also obtained on the taxonomy, age profiles and community structure of large mammals during the Upper Siwaliks.
New evidence is presented for the earliest occurrence of ostrich (Struthio sp.) in India during the Late Pleistocene along with a synthesis on the evidence for ostrich populations in the subcontinent. Direct dating of ostrich eggshell using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon methods on excavated samples from Katoati, Rajasthan, India is supported by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of associated sediments to demonstrate the arrival of ostrich in India before 60 thousand years ago (ka). In addition, the first stable isotope studies on ostrich eggshell from India have been conducted, yielding a new form of palaeoenvironmental proxy data for the Late Pleistocene. The geographic expansion of ostrich into India corresponds with the distribution of Sahel-like environments, bordering but not substantially colonising endemic Indian vegetation zones. The dispersal of ostrich into India marks a rare introduction of megafauna into the subcontinent during the Late Pleistocene, the longevity of which spans a period more than 40 ka. The timespan and range of this colonisation indicate the availability and exploitation of suitable habitats in India. The continental dispersal of ostrich into India during the Late Pleistocene offers useful insights into the debate surrounding the dispersal of modern humans, and contrasts with the hypothesized coastal movement of Homo sapiens into India.
Significance
Mammalian extinction during the past several hundred thousand years has been a major focus for evolutionary biologists, geologists, and archaeologists, often being linked to climate change and human overhunting. Until relatively recently, study has been largely restricted to the Americas, Europe, and Australasia. We present the oldest well-dated sequence of mammalian faunas for the Indian subcontinent, demonstrating continuity of 20 of 21 identified mammals from at least 100,000 y ago to the present. We suggest that, although local extirpations occurred, the majority of taxa survived or adapted to substantial ecological pressures in fragmented habitats. These results complement data from Africa and elsewhere that demonstrate the necessity of a nuanced ecological understanding of such extinctions in different areas of the world.
Large cutting tools have been known for a long time in South Asia and have always been considered to be related to the Acheulian. The character of the Indian Acheulian, however, has not been well described and its evolution is poorly known, as there are few sites which are dated. Advances in geochronology have yielded increasingly early dates from most parts of the world where Lower Palaeolithic occupation is documented. These techniques have been barely applied to the South Asian sites but it is highly significant that the dating attempts have provided Lower Pleistocene ages. In this paper the handful of sites for which some chronological data is available and are older than 600 ka are presented. Their assemblages are highly diversified, in composition, but their large cutting tools (especially cleavers but also handaxes) are mostly based on the production of large flakes. They compare well with the early Acheulian from other parts of the world.
South Asia is rich in Lower Paleolithic Acheulian sites. These have been attributed to the Middle Pleistocene on the basis of a small number of dates, with a few older but disputed age estimates. Here, we report new ages from the excavated site of Attirampakkam, where paleomagnetic measurements and direct (26)Al/(10)Be burial dating of stone artifacts now position the earliest Acheulian levels as no younger than 1.07 million years ago (Ma), with a pooled average age of 1.51 ± 0.07 Ma. These results reveal that, during the Early Pleistocene, India was already occupied by hominins fully conversant with an Acheulian technology including handaxes and cleavers among other artifacts. This implies that a spread of bifacial technologies across Asia occurred earlier than previously accepted.
The Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) eruption, which occurred in Indonesia 74,000 years ago, is one of Earth's largest known volcanic
events. The effect of the YTT eruption on existing populations of humans, and accordingly on the course of human evolution,
is debated. Here we associate the YTT with archaeological assemblages at Jwalapuram, in the Jurreru River valley of southern
India. Broad continuity of Middle Paleolithic technology across the YTT event suggests that hominins persisted regionally
across this major eruptive event.
The present paper is an announcement of first absolute age dating directly on fossilized bones and teeth of the Pleistocene mammalian fauna from the Manjra valley, District Latur, Maharashtra, India. The fossilized samples were measured using the AMS facility at Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, India. The results gave the time frame of 21,423 BP to 24,335 BP that correspond close to and the threshold of LGM and sheds important light on the palaeoecology of the area that supported diverse megafaunal species in the Upper Manjra valley. These calendar dates not only have wider significance in terms of first ever approximate chronological frame for the Pleistocene fauna in Peninsular India but also offer methodological innovations especially when the adequate bioapatite is absent in the fossilized bones and teeth from the fossil record.
Understanding global patterns of late Quaternary megafaunal extinction is impeded by geographic variation in data quality and quantity. The magnitude, timing and drivers of megafaunal extinctions remain poorly understood for India, a region with a strong history of palaeontological research. We review available data for all putative extinct Indian megafaunal taxa with direct or indirect reported evidence of potential survival into the global “megafaunal extinction window” (from ∼50,000 years onwards). Assessment of late Quaternary megafaunal species richness is confused by multiple levels of taxonomic uncertainty, including the relationship of named Late Pleistocene taxa to extant taxa, and nomenclatural confusion over correct species names. There is sufficient evidence to recognise up to four genuine global megafaunal species-level extinctions in India during the Late Pleistocene: two proboscideans (Palaeoloxodon namadicus, Stegodon sp.), a hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon sp.), and possibly a horse (Equus namadicus). A fifth extinct megafaunal species, the Indian aurochs Bos [primigenius] namadicus, definitely persisted into the Holocene. Other Indian late Quaternary megafaunal species (Rhinoceros spp., Bubalus palaeindicus, Sus “palaeindicus”, Crocodylus palaeindicus) are likely to be synonyms of extant species. Reconstructing regional extinction dynamics is further impeded by chronological uncertainty; however, attempts to obtain new dates for vertebrate samples from six late Quaternary sites in five regions were unsuccessful. Accurate understanding of the dynamics of megafaunal extinctions in India will require robust taxonomic, chronological and palaeoecological data, and we encourage further investigation of the region’s rich late Quaternary record.
Over the last 50,000 years, a majority of megafauna went extinct globally. Only two regions, Africa, and tropical Asia retain megafaunal communities today. Their persistence in Africa has been attributed to co-evolution with hominins, but faunal dynamics are largely understudied in South Asia. Focusing on the Indian Subcontinent and using a novel dataset compiled from the published literature, we report an extremely size biased, but low magnitude extinction during the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene—approximately 30,000 years after the arrival of Homo sapiens in the region. We document four mammalian extinctions—Palaeoloxodon namadicus, Stegodon namadicus, Hexaprotodon sp., and Equus namadicus; the extirpation of ostriches (Struthio camelus); and a pseudo-extinction of Indian aurochs (Bos namadicus). The per-capita extinction rate is comparable to eastern and southern Africa, but much lower than elsewhere. Given the long history of hominins in the Indian Subcontinent, and similar extinction patterns to those seen in Africa, we provide the first independent test of the co-evolution hypothesis, and further, suggest that robust population networks and climatic refugia may have allowed for the persistence of megafauna in this region.
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 25 km 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.
This paper reviews the progress in palaeontology from its classical beginnings to the emergence of the New Palaeontology which encompasses areas like taxonomic and descriptive studies, evolution, provenance, biochronology, ecology, etc. Emphasis is laid on these new branches like the various dating methods, taphonomy, dental histology and microvertebrates. Recent developments in molecular palaeontology, population dynamics and palaeopathology have been briefly discussed. -Authors
This paper reviews the studies that are available on form, processes and sedimentation characteristics of Indian rivers. The effect of seasonal hydrology and flood prevalence is also assessed in the light of channel forms and sedimentation. -Author
Additional remains of small mammals (rodents—Hystrix sp., Bandicota cf. bengalensis, Millardia cf. kathleenae, cf. Rattus rattus; Lagomorph—Lepus sp.) reptiles (Python sp. and serpentes indet., Varanus sp.), amphibian (cf. Bufo melanostictus) and aves (cf. Gallus gallus) are reported from deposits spanning the last ∼20,000yrs BP of Muchchatla Chintamanu Gavi (MCG). In the Late Pleistocene, the area around the Kurnool Caves had a very diverse fauna indicating the presence of wooded grassland, gallery forest and a well-watered landscape. In contrast, today the area is an arid shrubland and only a fraction of the Late Pleistocene vertebrate fauna has survived. The disappearance of several vertebrate taxa was probably due to a very arid phase of the Last Glacial Maxima (LGM). Excessive hunting by prehistoric man largely in Holocene time could have caused the demise of the mammals such as Rhinoceros, Equus, Bubalus, Bos, Boselephas, Antilope and Gazella.
The late Quaternary alluvial history of the Son is very similar to that of the Nile, the Amazon and the Murray—Murrumbridgee. During the terminal Pleistocene cros-bedded sands were laid down as bedload by a highly seasonal, low-sinuosity stream. Early Holocene deposition of horizontally stratified silts and clays is the suspended load of regular overbank flooding by a less seasonal, more sinuous stream. The upward-fining sequence of the late Quaternary Son coincides with a global change in climate in the intertropical zone, from cold and dry in the terminal Pleistocene (⩽25,000 B.P.) to warm and wet in the Early Holocene.
Preliminary taphonomical studies carried out on a Pleistocene faunal assemblages from the Central Narmada Valley, Madhya Pradesh, India reveals that the assemblage has undergone hydrodynamic sorting resulting in the transportation of the fossils. Also there has been a delayed burial of the bones. Field sedimentological evidence supports the occurrence of the assemblage in channel deposits under the influence of moderate currents.
Single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating was applied to Late Quaternary sediments at two sites in the Middle Son Valley, Madhya Pradesh, India. Designated Bamburi 1 and Patpara, these sites contain Late Acheulean stone tool assemblages, which we associate with non-modern hominins. Age determinations of 140–120 ka place the formation of these sites at around the Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6–5 transition, placing them among the youngest Acheulean sites in the world. We present here the geochronology and sedimentological setting of these sites, and consider potential implications of Late Pleistocene archaic habitation in north-central India for the initial dispersal of modern humans across South Asia.
The Indian subcontinent represents a rich source of diverse paleoanthropological data in the form of pollen assemblages, various isotopic records, vertebrate and invertebrate fossil assemblages, and prehistoric stone tools in a range of palaeoecological contexts. Most of the Quaternary fossil evidence, including hominin specimens, comes from the fluvial sediments of the Narmada and other similar rivers. Although abundant and well-preserved vertebrate fossil assemblages are known from the Siwalik Hills and Karewa deposits in the north, similar evidence is less well-known from peninsular India and Sri Lanka to the south. With the exception of two occurrences in Gujarat and Bihar, there is an almost complete absence of Neogene fossil evidence older than the Middle Pleistocene in peninsular India and late Middle Pleistocene in Sri Lanka. The richest non-fluvial sources of vertebrate fossils are represented by the Kurnool cave-complex in southern India and numerous cave and open-air deposits in Sri Lanka, the majority of which are Upper Pleistocene age. This unique faunal record of peninsular India and Sri Lanka probably played a critical role in influencing the dispersal, settlement, and subsistence behaviors of Pleistocene hominins. This paper summarizes the known Pleistocene megafauna fossil occurrences from peninsular India and Sri Lanka and includes key lithic associations with these assemblages.
In open-air sites, diagenetic alteration makes teeth difficult to analyze with electron spin resonance (ESR). Despite strong diagenetic alteration, three ungulate teeth from Pleistocene fluvial sediment in the open-air Paleolithic site at Attirampakkam, Tamil Nadu, India, were analyzed using standard and isochron ESR. Diagenetic alteration features in two teeth indicated rapid submergence in quiet saline to hypersaline water, following a short subaerial exposure, while the third remained constantly buried under reducing conditions. Geochemical signatures and ESR data all indicate that the teeth experienced at least three independent U uptake events during diagenesis, including two that occurred long after burial.
This paper addresses the recent publication in this journal by Gaillard et al. (2010) who discuss several Early Acheulean occurrences from the Indian subcontinent in relation to their age, context and lithic assemblages. A critique of the associated data shows that their acquiescence of Acheulean occupation in the Indian Subcontinent as being older than the late Middle Pleistocene is based entirely on circumstantial and inconclusive evidence. Each of the sites discussed by them (Isampur, Bori, Morgaon, Chirki-Nevasa, Singi Talav, Atbarapur) have variably yielded limited contextual and chronometric data that is ambiguous, controversial or only preliminary at this stage. Although one or two occurrences may be as old as they claim, a more rigorous scientific approach is required to first address the problematic issues of stratigraphic interpretation, precise context and absolute age. The current temporal framework of the South Asian Paleolithic renders the earliest Acheulean assemblages simply as being older than ∼400 ka, due primarily to the limitations of the 230Th–234U dating method used earlier. Whilst it is probable that future dating attempts will extend the earliest South Asian Acheulean occupation up to the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary or even beyond, convincing geochronological support for such a scenario is currently lacking at all of the ‘typologically-earliest’ sites.
An 18.4 m excavated dune section in the Thar Desert of India with a chronology based on 12 TL ages and a basal age of ∼190 ka has preserved 12 cycles of dune accretion, soil formation, calcrete development, and subsequent erosion, together with the presence of stone artefacts ranging in age from Lower Palaeolithic to Mesolithic, coeval with more humid climatic interludes. Phases of soil development and carbonate precipitation were relatively wet and phases of dune accretion relatively dry, so that there were 12 significant moist intervals separated by 11 drier intervals during the past ∼190 ka. The calculated time interval between successive phases of dune sand accumulation ranged from 22.2 ka to 15.8 ka, with a mean of 19.0 ka. These values are consistent with a precessional influence on dune activity and on the associated onset of early monsoonal activity in this region. Carbon isotopes measured on organic matter within the sand profiles show consistent values close to −21.6 ± 1‰, pointing to deposition during a transitional climatic regime characterized by a change from open C3 grassland to C4 woodland or forest.
Results of a study to characterize electron spin resonance (ESR) signals from naturally occurring carbonates from Thar desert are reported. Three radiation induced signals at g=2.0071 (signal A, very weak), g=2.0012 (signal B) and g=2.0003 (signal C) with linewidths ranging from 0.5–2 G are seen. A broad signal (BL) with linewidth 7 G is also seen at 2.0038. Detailed ESR experiments involving (1) sensitivity of ESR signals to ionizing radiation, (2) intensity variation of ESR signals with microwave power at different temperatures, (3) analysis of acid insoluble residue to estimate the interference from ESR signals of silicate fraction, and (4) X-ray diffraction analysis (to study possible phase changes on heating), led to the choice of signal BL for dating. Experiments on acid insoluble residue revealed that signal C has a contribution from the E′1 centre of quartz and signal B is the parallel component (g∥) of the E′1 centre. Paleodose estimates based on signal BL are stratigraphically consistent.
The oldest known fossil hominin in southern Asia was recovered from Hathnora in the Narmada Basin, central India in the early 1980's. Its age and taxonomic affinities, however, have remained uncertain. Current estimates place its maximum age at >236ka, but not likely older than the early middle Pleistocene. The calvaria, however, could be considerably younger. We report recent fieldwork at Hathnora and associated Quaternary type-sections that has provided new geological and archaeological insights. The portion of the exposed 'Boulder Conglomerate' within the Surajkund Formation, which forms a relict terrace and has yielded the hominin fossils, contains reworked and stylistically mixed lithic artifacts and temporally mixed fauna. Three mammalian teeth stratigraphically associated with the hominin calvaria were dated by standard electron spin resonance (ESR). Assuming an early uranium uptake (EU) model for the teeth, two samples collected from the reworked surface deposit averaged 49+/-1ka (83+/-2ka, assuming linear uptake [LU]; 196+/-7ka assuming recent uptake [RU]). Another sample recovered from freshly exposed, crossbedded gravels averaged 93+/-5ka (EU), 162+/-8ka (LU) or 407+/-21ka (RU). While linear uptake models usually provide the most accurate ages for this environment and time range, the EU ages represent the minimum possible age for fossils in the deposit. Regardless, the fossils are clearly reworked and temporally mixed. Therefore, the current data constrains the minimum possible age for the calvaria to 49+/-1ka, although it could have been reworked and deposited into the Hathnora deposit any time after 160ka (given the LU uptake ages) or earlier (given the RU ages). At Hathnora, carbonaceous clay, bivalve shells, and a bovid tooth recovered from layers belonging to the overlying Baneta Formation have yielded (14)C ages of 35.66+/-2.54cal ky BP, 24.28+/-0.39cal ky BP, and 13.15+/-0.34ky BP, respectively. Additional surveys yielded numerous lithics and fossils on the surface and within the stratigraphic sequence. At the foot of the Vindhyan Hills 2km from the river, we recovered a typologically Early Acheulean assemblage comprised of asymmetrical bifaces, large cleavers with minimal working, trihedral picks, and flake tools in fresh condition. These tools may be the oldest Acheulean in the Narmada Valley. Several lithics recovered from the Dhansi Formation may represent the first unequivocal evidence for an early Pleistocene hominin presence in India. In situ invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, pollen, and spores indicate a warm, humid climate during the late middle Pleistocene. High uranium concentrations in the mammalian teeth indicate exposure to saline water, suggesting highly evaporative conditions in the past. Late Pleistocene sediment dated between 24.28+/-0.39cal ky BP and 13.15+/-340ky BP has yielded pollen and spores indicating cool, dry climatic conditions corresponding to Oxygen Isotope Stage 2 (OIS 2). An early Holocene palynological assemblage from the type locality at Baneta shows evidence for relatively dry conditions and a deciduous forest within the region. The Dhansi Formation provisionally replaces the Pilikarar Formation as the oldest Quaternary formation within the central Narmada Basin. The Baneta Formation, previously dated at 70ka to 128ka, correlates with the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Our results highlight the need for further Quaternary geological and paleoanthropological research within the Narmada Basin, especially because dam construction threatens these deposits.
Palaeontology of the Krishna Basin with special reference to Karnataka
- G L Badam
- Badam G.L.
Quaternary vertebrate paleontology in India: fifty years of research
- G L Badam
- Badam G.L.
A preliminary study of Pleistocene fossils from the Middle Son Valley, Madhya Pradesh
- G L Badam
- V D Misra
- J N Pal
- J N Pandey
- Badam G.L.
Some Observations on the Quatenary of Western Maharashtra (India)
- G Corvinus
- S N Rajaguru
- G G Mujumdar
- Corvinus G.
Prehistoric chronology and radiocarbon dating in India. Munshiram Manoharlal
- D P Agrawal
- S Kusumgar
- Agrawal D.P.
Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology
- G L Badam
- Badam G.L.
Pleistocene Fauna of India. Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute
- G L Badam
- Badam G.L.
First record of a fossil Hexaprotodon from the Ghod Valley, Mahrashtra
- G L Badam
- M D Kajale
- Badam G.L.
On the occurrence of Hexaprotodon palaeindicus from the Ghod Valley, Western India
- G L Badam
- M D Kajale
- Badam G.L.
A preliminary report on the terminal Pleistocene fauna of the Middle Son Valley
- R J Blumenschine
- U C Chattopadhyaya
- Blumenschine R.J.
Pebble tools from Nittur, Mysore State
- Z D Ansari
- Ansari Z.D.
Litho- and biostratigraphy of the Pleistocene formations of the Manjra Valley
- G L Badam
- Badam G.L.
the Stratigraphy and Geomorphology of the Pravara River System
- G Corvinus
- Corvinus G.
Fluorine dating of the Pleistocene vertebrate fossils from Manjara Valley, Maharashtra
- S V Joshi
- V Sathe
- Joshi S.V.
Quaternary Geology of Central India
- M P Tiwari
- Tiwari M.P.
Biostratigraphy of the Central Narmada Valley - a reappraisal
- G L Badam
- Badam G.L.