The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c13.s1: A. Early Stone Age
The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c13.s1
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Contents
- c13.s1.t1 The Peninsular Hand Axe Industry — 60 parts
A. Early Stone Age
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As already pointed out, the two areas which have been systematically studied are the Potwar region of Pakistan and the region around Madras. They have an additional advantage since they show certain significant variations in physical conditions and typology suggesting a sequence. As these two areas belong to two different technical traditions in their tools, it is advisable to accept the terminology suggested by De Terra and Oswald Menghin and call them the "Sohan" and "Madras" or "Peninsular" facies of the Early Stone Age in India.
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Potwar region—The Sohan Industry
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It is well known that during the Pleistocene period, the era of man, there were series of fluctuations resulting in the alternation of cold and dry conditions. In the higher altitudes of the world, these changes manifested themselves in the occurrence of rivers of ice or glaciers during the cold periods, and the intervening dry periods were called Inter-glacial periods in contrast to the Glacial. In India, the Himalayas supported large Glaciers during that period. The Yale-Cambridge expedition continued the earlier work on the Himalayan glaciers by Indian and foreign geologists and they succeeded in correlating the human cultures with those of the Ice Age.
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The glaciers, flow with a tremendous weight or mass and can grind and carry large masses of rock and other debris on their sides and at the tip of the tongue. This debris constitutes moraines, which survive the glacier and provide evidence of former glaciations. Outside these glacial areas and particularly in the foot-hills called 'Peri-glacial zones', the rivers which drain the uplands are also affected by these changes. During the glacial periods, a large amount of debris was brought down, but there was not sufficient water in the rivers to carry them. Hence all this additional load was deposited by the rivers in their upper courses. During the Inter-glacial periods, however, the additional water released by the melting of the ice increased the velocity of the rivers, which cut through their previous deposits leaving a portion of their former beds on the flanks, which survive as terraces. This process of building and cutting, technically called 'aggradation' and 'erosion' respectively, can be noticed by a study of the river valleys. Since the man and his contemporary animals met at this life-giving rendezvous viz. the river, the rivers tell the story of the man who lived on its banks. Since the rivers are very sensitive to the climatic changes, which directly influence the volume of water in the bed, the rivers throw light on their environment too.
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With this introduction we pass on to the study of the river Sohan, a tributary of the river Indus in the Potwar region (Fig. 12). It has preserved five terraces showing its history and fortunately human tools have been found in association with them. The first terrace (400 feet) and the third (120 feet) can be directly linked with the moraines of the II and III Glacial periods, making its chronology and stratigraphy certain. The human tools have been found in all the four top terraces. De Terra and Paterson have divided the stone tools into three main groups. The earliest called 'Pre-Sohan or Soan' is found in the huge boulder beds or Conglomerate belonging to the II Glaciation. After a critical evaluation of the African pebble industries including the Kafuan, K. P. Oakley has recently questioned the propriety of accepting some of these as tools. He has suggested the possibility of accidental removal of large Clacton-like flakes by nature.¹ Even about the Sohan, it is necessary for one to be very wary about the nature of these tools.² According to the authors of the report, the tools consist of large flakes struck off the cores without any elaborate preparations and can be compared to the 'Clactonian industry'. Very little attempt is made to retouch or sharpen the edges by further flaking.
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¹ OAKLEY, K. P. "Tools Makyth Man" *Antiquity* No. 124. December 1957. p. 203.
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² During a recent visit to the Banganga by the writer in the company of a party organized by the Department of Archaeology, be experienced this difficulty. A simple flaking leading to a uni-facial chopper can sometimes be made accidentally. A rigid criterion is necessary for these studies.
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1-18. Stone tools. 1. Pre-Soan flake; 2-9 Early Soan; 10-18 Late Soan.
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Fig. 12. Type section of the river Soan with the associated human industries. 1. Pre-Soan flake; 2-9 Early Soan; 10-18 Late Soan.
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The next group, called the *Early Sohan*, belonging to the II Inter-glacial period, consists of a series of choppers and other scraping tools made on flat truncated pebbles. On the basis of the physical condition of the tools they have been sub-divided into three groups 'a', 'b' and 'c'.³ But the most interesting evidence is the intrusion of the typical hand axes and the increase in the number of flakes and the appearance of the technique of elaborate preparation on the core before the tool is struck off from it, ( called the 'Levallois' after the type site near Paris ). These again have been sub-divided into 'a' and 'b'. To summarize the picture, we can quote the authors, "the presence of large number of pebble tools and cores made on small pebbles is one of the most outstanding features of the Punjab......in the Soan pebble tools there can be traced a development towards smaller and more finely made types. The Soan flake industries, too, provide an excellent example of the evolution of a flake culture in a small area. In the early stages the flakes are crude......In the late Soan, alongside the simple forms, there are other flakes, showing a development in technique, with much more regular primary flaking and often with facetted platforms, denoting careful preparation of the core in a manner reminiscent of the Levalloisian".⁴
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³ DE TERRA and PATERSON. op. cit., p. 311-12.
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B. B. Lal has made a detailed study of the terrace structure of the river Beas and its tributary, Banganga.⁴ The latter also has five terraces with the tools found in the first four terraces. The studies of Olaf Prufer⁵ and Y. D. Sharma⁶ also conform the general typological and technological features of this Peri-glacial industry.
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⁴ LAL, B. B., "Palaeoliths from the Banganga and Beas valleys, Punjab." *Ancient India*, No. 12. New Delhi. 1956 pp. 58-92.
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⁵ MOVUIS, HALLAM, L. "Palaeolithic archaeology in Southern Asia, exclusive of India", *Journal of World History*, Unesco, Paris. Vol. II. No. 2, p. 263.
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⁶ *Indian Archaeology*, 1954-55.
The Peninsular Hand Axe Industry
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By contrast, the Early Stone Age industries of the Peninsular India ( geological sense ) show a different technological tradition. Instead of the pebble chopping tools, these are characterized by the presence of large quantities of hand axes and cleavers made on cores and flakes. The ideal region, where a typological evolution of this series can be studied is the Madras area, investigated by Paterson and Krishnaswamy.
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The problems of tropical India are of a different character from the Glacial and Peri-glacial zones. It is generally believed, that, in the tropical areas, there were fluctuations of wet and dry conditions, depending respectively on more or less precipitation. There is no unanimity of opinion between the various scientists about the relation of these wet or Pluvials and dry or Inter-pluvials with the Glacial and Inter-glacial periods. But one school of thought believes pluvials to be the secondary effects of, or simultaneous to, glacial periods. But in India, whatever be the relation between the Glacial and Pluvial periods, there is a substantial body of evidence of periods with more and less precipitation all over the country. Cammiade, Burkitt and Richards¹ were the pioneers in these studies and they demonstrated a succession of wet and dry periods on the east coast of India in the Godavary and Krishna basins. Here the evidence was based on the formation and redeposition of laterite, a soft rock with a concentration of iron and allumina.
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¹ RICHARDS, F. J. ; CAMMIADE, L. A. ; and BURKITT, M. C. with notes by S. W. WOOLDRIDGE and P. LAKE. "Climatic Changes in South-east Asia during the Early Paleolithic times", Geological Magazine, LXIX, 1932. pp. 193-205.
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The conditions necessary for the formation of this rock are : tropical heat, rain and thick vegetation, alternating wet and dry seasons ( each of several months duration ), imperfectly drained elevated level or gently sloping surface, and a subsoil that will retain moisture for long periods. Since these conditions do not exist on the east coast today, a hypothesis of three former wet or pluvial periods separated by dry periods was put forward on the basis of their investigation of a number of sites. As we will see a little later, these periods were correlated with human industries.
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The next important study was that of Prof. F. E. Zeuner who carried out investigations in the river valleys of Sabarmati, Mahi, Orsang and Narbada in Gujarat² and Godavary in Maharashtra and Burhobalang in Orissa and Rihand and Balia nadi in the Singrauli basin. His latest opinion may be stated as follows :
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² ZEUNER, F. E., Stone Age and Pleistocene Chronology in Gujarat. Poona, 1950.
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In the 1300 kilometre long and 400 kilometre broad strip of India between the 20° and 24° parallels, a relatively dry climate was dominant in the younger pleistocene which is represented in the gravel deposits of these rivers. Two of these cycles can be distinguished and they are separated by a phase of formation of dry wood-soils ( humus ), which would not have needed a damper climate than the one that exists in those regions. The first dry cycle begins with a coarser gravel than the second, which perhaps points to a greater fluviatile action of the rivers. In the western parts of this belt (Gujarat), there are traces of wind activity and it becomes less as we go to the east and south-east. To the north-west of Gujarat, there is the great Indian desert which encloses parts of Rajputana and southern Punjab. Climatologically this is the dry area of the eastern end of the Sahara strip and the geological observations show now, that in the later Pleistocene, this dry area at least must have stretched twice as far to the south and east.¹
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¹ ZEUNER, F. E., "Das Problem der Pluvialzeiten" Geologischen Rundschau. Bd. 41, 1953, Stuttigart. This account is based on a rough translation of this paper in German.
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Similarly Dharani Sen has tried to build up a climatic sequence in Orissa.² Thus though detailed investigations including studies in tropical soils is a great and urgent desideratum, there seems to be no doubt about the existence of these climatic cycles.
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² SEN, DHARANI, "Lower Palaeolithic Culture-complex and Chronology in India", Proceedings of the Indian Science Congress, Hyderabad, 1954, Vol. I.
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Now to go back to the human cultures of this period, we should begin with the type area viz., Madras. The site of Vadamadurai, in the suburbs of Madras, yields the earliest relics of man in a boulder conglomerate. Krishnaswamy and Paterson have correlated it with the boulder conglomerate of the II Glacial period and the Mid Pleistocene fossil beds of Narbada.³ This problem of Pleistocene correlation will have to await very detailed study of palaeontology and stratigraphy in India. As already pointed out Peri-glacial siwalik chronology cannot be applied blindly and let it be recorded that this correlation, for the present is based in typology. Even in the Narbada, the difficulties of correlation were felt by De Terra and this will be discussed further. If their assumption is correct, it would bring out the striking difference between the Sohan and the Peninsular cultures. While the former has the large Pre-Sohan flakes, the latter has an early series of hand axes comparable to the Abbevellian or Chellean of Europe and Africa. These are made on pebbles and they show large flake scars with zig-zag edges. On the basis of the physical condition of the tools, the Vadamadurai group can be sub-divided into three types:⁴ (a) Early, crude hand axes with a deep whitish crust and the tools generally retain a large portion of the pebble surface; (b) Lateritised specimens of a more advanced type and finer flaking, and (c) Non-lateritised with more advanced and neater forms of hand axes and ovates. Cleaver was found only in the last group, and that too a single specimen.
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³ KRISHNASWAMY, V. D. K., "Pre-history in India", Ancient India, No. 3.
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⁴ DE TERRA & PATERSON, op. cit.
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This evidence was carried further by the terraces of the river Attirampakkam, also in the suburbs of Madras. Here in the gravels of the II terrace were found tools of the C-group from Vadamadurai with a few derived specimens belonging to 'a' and 'b' groups. The material from Attirampakkam shows a great general evolution of the hand-axe culture into very neat forms corresponding to the Middle and Upper Acheul of Europe, with a large number of cleavers. Finally from the loam we have an evolved flake industry showing evidence of prepared-platforms and much primary flaking on the surface suggesting a ‘Levallois’ technique.¹ (Fig. 13).
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¹ KRISHNASWAMI, V. D. K., op. cit.
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Fig. 13. Typical tools of the ‘Madras’ or the Peninsular hand-axe cultures from the Mahi Valley, the Madras area, the Singrauli basin and the Malaprabha valley.
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Similar evidence of an Early Stone Age industry was found in the Krishna and Godavary basins and these have been related to the climatic phases based on the formation of laterite and its redeposition. Typologically the series I and II correspond to those of Vadamadurai and Attirampakkam respectively.²
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² CAMMIADE & BURKITT, op. cit.
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In the middle reaches of Narbada, in the Hoshangabad—Narsinghpur area, rich fossileferous localities were re-examined by De Terra for correlation with Stone industries.³ In the light of the remarks of Prof. Zeuner quoted above, we see again two dry periods or periods of aggradation with a break and a third minor phase. De Terra located three groups called by him: the Lower, Upper, and the Black soil, consisting of basal gravels or sands capped by clay and silt. The lower group yielded typical peninsular Abbevillo-Acheulean hand axes with a few Early Soan tools. The Upper group yielded developed hand axe industry with a Late Soan flake industry. The third group will be discussed later.
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³ DE TERRA and PATERSON, op. cit.
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In the winters of 1952-53 and 1957-58, the writer in the company of Dr. H. D. Sankalia carried out further studies of the Narbada in the Maheshvar region about 200 miles downstream from Hoshangabad.⁴ The three lower terraces confined to the present bed of the river, were studied. Actually the Narbada has preserved two more terraces, visible in the foot-hills and the ancient streams with a transverse drainage. One such stream terrace was noticed to be implementiferous, but there was no time to do the measurements of the terrace levels and construct a transverse profile of the Narbada basin. But the existence of five terraces is certain. The details of the three younger terraces are given below. The main sequence may be stated as follows (Fig. 14):
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⁴ We are very much obliged to Messrs S. C. Malik, J. J. Kapasi and G. C. Mahapatro for the help rendered in this survey.
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1. Sometime in the Mid-Pleistocene, the river Narbada cut its present bed through a rock trough. But there is no information about the lowest filling within this trough. Evidence of laterite as in the Hoshangabad—Narsinghpur area could not be verified. But at present, the river is exposing the lowest group of well-cemented conglomerates. This and the overlying silt has been described earlier as the lower group, representing one phase of aggradation. (Group I, Fig. 14)
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SECTION ACROSS THE RIVER NARBADA OPPOSITE SAHASRADHARA
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Fig. 14.
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2. After a break, which probably represents a reversion to wet conditions, another gravel was deposited on top of the lower clay. At places these clay beds have been badly tilted. But, as noted by De Terra also, no there is terrace level associated with this.
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3. The Upper group of gravel and clay (or at places only clay), rest on top of the weathered lower clays with a disconformity. This aggradation is very prominent. This top is very well-preserved as a terrace about 80 feet above the present water level. This is one of the best preserved terraces of the Narbada. (Group II, Fig. 14)
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4. The next phase is one of erosion. The river eroded down to the top of the gravel of the upper group and at places it has washed and resorted these gravels.
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5. The next phase of aggradation is characterized by the formation of fine gravel with a predominance of trap pebbles and pellets and the clay on top of it. Wherever it is preserved, the top of the clay constitutes the 2nd terrace, from the present water level, at about 40 feet. (Group III, Fig. 14)
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6. The last phase seems to be an erosion and the formation of the most recent terrace, may be the modern flood level. (Group IV, Fig. 14)
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It is very interesting to recall that this entire section is very well-preserved near Sahasradhara about 3 miles down stream from Maheshvar (Fig. 14). This section more or less confirms the one given by De Terra¹ in his Fig. 182. In this season's work a few tools were found in situ in the various gravels. But the material is not sufficient to make a distinct typological analysis. However, the most important fact noted is the association of the lower 40-feet terrace with the Middle Stone Age flake-blade-scraper industry, significance of which will be discussed in the next section.
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¹ DE TERRA and PATERSON, op. cit. p. 314.
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All along the East Coast of India, there were outcrops of laterite, and in the detrital or re-deposited laterites very large quantities of Early Stone Age tools had been found. One of the largest of such collections comes from Nellore and belongs to Rev. Manley. But no stratigraphic evidence is available and Dr. Aiyappan has given us a fine typological analysis.²
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² AIYAPPAN, A., The Manley Collection of Stone Age tools with topographical and other notes. Memoirs of the Archaeological survey of India. No. 68.
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A very interesting series of studies were started by N. K. Bose and D. Sen in the Mayurbhanj District of Orissa. They started with the tools found in the secondary-laterite pits near Kuliana.¹ Now they have succeeded in linking it with the sections of the Burhobalang river about 3 miles from Kuliana. Their latest study of geological and palaeontological evidence gives the following sequence based on the sections of the river at Mahulia, Mukramatia and Satputia and their earlier section of Kamarpalghat on the same river.
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¹ SEN, DHARANI and BOSE, N. K. *Excavations at Mayurbhanj*. Calcutta 1948.
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There is at places a secondary laterite with tools on top of the Baripada beds consisting of shales and lime stones. Overlying this is a conglomerate bed, which is in turn capped by clays and silts. According to them, there were crude pebble tools of the "African types in the lower part of the gravel". Taking the typical Abbeville-Acheulean tools of Kuliana beds they interpret as follows:
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1. "The extension of the Kuliana sequence of Palaeolithic implements has been established into the boulder conglomerate bed near Kamarapalghat lying within three miles of Kuliana with an earlier crude tool phase at the base."
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2. "The Age of the Baripada beds may be placed in the Lower Pleistocene instead of the Lower Miocene."²
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² SEN, BOSE and G. S. RAY. "Geological and Cultural evidence of Stone Age in Mayurbhanj" *Man in India*. 38. No. 1, Jan-March 1948.
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Thus this sequence, inspite of the interim character of their studies, shows a picture very much akin to the Vadamadurai-Attirampakkam sequence of the Madras area and requires watching.
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In the Malaprabha valley of Karnatak, detailed investigations were carried out by Dr. R. V. Joshi. Here the industry shows on the whole developed 'Acheulean' hand axes and cleavers, but there is no vertical division between the various types of crude and developed forms.³
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³ JOSHI, R. V., *Pleistocene Studies in the Malaprabha Basin*, Poona, 1955.
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In the Godavary, very important evidence was found by Dr. Sankalia near Nevasa. Here in the gravels of the river Pravara, he found a typical Abbeville-Acheulean hand axe and cleaver industry with *Bos Namadicus* of Mid-pleistocene age (?) and is comparable stratigraphically and typologically to Narbada sequence.
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In the Bombay area, Todd discovered a similar Early Stone Age assemblage, but this section is important as the previous one for the upper series belonging to the Middle Stone Age.⁵
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⁴ *Indian Archaeology*, 1954-55.
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⁵ TODD, K. R. U., *Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute*, 1939.
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In Gujarat, we have typical 'Abbeville-Acheul' hand axe industries belonging to the first wet period and the beginning of the first dry period as suggested by Prof. Zeuner. But here again there is no vertical division within the assemblage.¹
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¹ ZEUNER, F. E., 1950, op. cit.
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The same story is more or less repeated in the Balia nadi of the Singrauli basin.² More recently Deshpande, Rangnatharao and Sengupta have been collecting large quantities of typical Abbeville-Acheul tools with a good number of pebble choppers from the beds of Gambhira, Berach and Chambal in the Chitorgarh District of Rajasthan.³
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² KRISHNASWAMY & SUNDARARAJAN, "Lithic Industries of the Singrauli Basin", Ancient India No. 7, 1951.
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³ Indian Archaeology—A Review 1953-54; 1954-55.
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Dr. Seshadri has described a typical Early Stone Age industry from Kibbanahalli, Mysore.⁴ According to him it consists of rostrocarinates, Abbevillean and Middle and Late Acheul hand axes. In his more comprehensive work, he comments that the Mysore Paleolithic industries represent a culture comparable to Attirampakkam.⁵ But the most interesting feature is that "a variety of small flake tools go with heavy tools". In view of the absence of any stratigraphic evidence, it is not possible to assess their relation. Both these industries require further study.
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⁴ SESHADRI, M., "The Palaeolithic industry of Kibbanahalli", Artibus Asiae XVIII, Nos. 3 & 4, 1955, pp. 271-87.
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⁵ SESHADRI, M., "The Stone using cultures of Prehistoric and Proto-historic Mysore", London, 1956.
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Thus the broad outlines of the Early Stone Age in India are clear enough, though the details of exact chronology and stratigraphy await further investigations. At present the whole correlation of the Boulder Conglomerate of the II Glacial Potwar region and those of Narbada, with the Orissa and Madras boulder beds depends entirely on typology. We have already alluded to the need for a fresh evaluation of Pleistocene palaeontology of the Tropics, if we are to avoid some of the problems which Dr. Deraniyagala had to face with the palaeontology of the Ratanpura gravels of Ceylon. For example, it will be very interesting to quote here the problem of De Terra in the Narbada basin. Besides it will also high-light the problems of Palaeolithic chronology in India.
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"At first this stratigraphic pattern resembles that found in the Potwar region of North-west India, where the Boulder conglomerate, Potwar silt, and younger alluvium make for an equally distinct cycle. However, such superficial resemblance may lead to errors, for it must be remembered, that we can choose between correlating the Narbada stages either with the four "main zones" of the Punjab or with its sub-stages as recorded in the terraces. Should we attempt the former correlation, we would on Palaeontological grounds feel inclined to equate the "Boulder conglomerate zone" of the Upper Siwaliks series with the "Lower Narbada group".
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as had been suggested on previous occasions (De Terra and Teilhard, 1936). But the archaeological records argue strongly against such a correlation, because the "lowest group" contains heavily rolled Abbevillean and fresh Late Acheul hand axes, which in Punjab appear only connected with the stages younger than the Boulder Conglomerate (T1-T2) (italics mine). As it is very improbable that these industries appeared in both the regions at such different intervals, we are obliged to take the second alternative—namely to correlate our sequence with terrace deposits of the Punjab."
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This brings out the complexities of Indian Pre-history and much patience is needed. Similarly, we have to take into consideration the possibility of a slightly later date for the Central Indian and Peninsular industries. Should we not yet try to find out a reason for the uniform occurrence of anything from Abbevillean to a developed Acheul tools in the same beds, without any vertical division, as in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Narbada valley, East Coast and the Malaprabha valley? Recently the finding of *Bos Namadicus* Falconer in the Pravara basin, with Early as well as Middle Stone Age tools, also brings out the other anomalies in our chronology. Hence we should take the picture described in the earlier stages of this chapter as provisional and try to make intensive efforts to clarify the picture and remove the anomalies.
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Finally, large quantities of tools have been recovered, but the remains of man have, as yet, eluded us. It is not superfluous to repeat that a concerted effort of the archaeologist, geologist, the palaeontologist and the soil scientist is needed if we are to throw further light on this neglected phase of India's cultural history. Vague resemblances in technique and typology with those of Africa and Europe are unmistakable, but to define these relationships the desideratum is a greater effort at home and abroad. Sen has suggested a parallel development, but it is too early to say anything more.