Prehistory and Protohistory in India and Pakistan c6.s13: Malwa

Prehistory and Protohistory in India and Pakistan c6.s13

Language: English

c6.s13.t1 Chambal Basin — 8 parts
c6.s13.t2 Tools — 2 parts

Malwa

c6.s13.1

North of the Narmada and east of Gujarat are Malwa and Rajputana where little prehistoric work was done hitherto. There was only a stray notice of a tool from Bundi in Rajputana and none at all from Malwa. But there was no reason that palaeoliths should not be found in these regions.

c6.s13.2

Geographically south-eastern Rajputana is not much different from Northern Gujarat. Eastwards it abuts on the Malwa plateau. This though largely formed by the basaltic lava has earlier geological formations as well, which all go to make up the peculiar physiographic features of this region. Western Rajputana is mostly a desert and the river beds are completely filled with sand, which hide all earlier deposits, if any. In North-eastern Rajputana, however, the climate is a little dry than in the west, and it is also geographically different, so that earlier deposits are exposed.

c6.s13.3

So when students trained in prehistoric research began to explore the region a number of palaeolithic and other sites on several rivers have been brought to light.

Chambal Basin

c6.s13.t1.1

In Malwa the river Chambal and its tributaries, particularly the Sivna has been carefully surveyed by Dr. A. P. KHATRI and the results are ready for publication.¹²³ The most important sites are the two localities, Ramghat and Smashan Ghat at Mandsaur and Nahargarh on the Sivna. The stratigraphy is comparatively simple.

c6.s13.t1.2

¹²³ KHATRI, A. P., Stone Age Cultures of Malwa, Ph.D. thesis in Archaeology, University of Poona and the Deccan College Library, 1958.

c6.s13.t1.3

1. Basal trap rock
2. Cemented pebble gravel
3. Yellowish silt
4. Fine well-cemented gravel.

c6.s13.t1.4

MAP OF MALWA SHOWING PREHISTORIC SITES

c6.s13.t1.5

MAP OF MALWA SHOWING PREHISTORIC SITES

c6.s13.t1.6

[Figure: INDEX RAILWAY LINE METALLED ROAD PALAEOLITHIC SERIES I SITE PALAEOLITHIC SERIES II SITE MICROLITHIC SITE CHALCOLITHIC SITE SCALE MILES]

c6.s13.t1.7

Fig. 23.

c6.s13.t1.8

The section at Nahargadh is complicated, but this is due to local causes only; essentially it is not different from the one at Mandsaur.

Tools

c6.s13.t2.1

The cemented gravel has yielded very large flakes with prominent bulbs of trap as well as Abbevillio-Acheulian hand-axes. Other collections include a large percentage of hand-axes (144), cleavers (90), scrapers (10), cores with w-shaped jagged edge (34), flakes (93) but no pebble tools. A majority of tools are made on haematite quartzite, which is not available in the river bed as river pebbles, but which has to be imported from some distance.

c6.s13.t2.2

The tools may be grouped into three stages typologically, stage III being the evolved Acheulian showing cylinder hammer technique. The absence of pebble tools is understandable, but the large flakes of trap with prominent bulbs lying right on the rock in situ prove the existence of the early Clactonian technique and recall similar flakes on the Narmada.