The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c11.18

c11.18

This nomenclature has the merit of being very simple and in view of certain stratigraphic and chronological complications, which will be explained at a later stage, it can be modified and adapted as our knowledge progresses. Besides, its similarity with the African need not deter us. After all, let it be recognized, that the Indian Middle Stone Age, in particular, has much closer affinities to the African, and similarly it is also a Levallois-derivative. Even in the Early and the Late, we have very significant divergences with those of Europe, inspite of the apparent affinities. For example, no industry exposed so far in India, can compare technologically with the Upper Acheulean of Europe in its perfection. Besides, in the ‘Lower Group’ of Narbada, with a so-called “Mid-pleistocene” (Upper Siwalik Fauna) we have an Acheulean industry. This anomaly was pointed out by De Terra himself.¹ Now with Pravara yielding ‘Bos Namadicus Falconer’² with a typical Middle Stone Age assembly, one wonders whether there is no need for a fresh examination of the Palaeontology of the Tropicals and we are justified in extending the Siwalik dating to Central and Southern India. These are not easy problems to solve, and need a good deal of further study and research. It is for this very reason, we have to devise a system that avoids probably misleading analogies in technique and chronology.