A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c8.5

c8.5

When did man begin to inhabit South India? The answer is suggested by the examination of fossil remains of fauna found along with primitive stone tools in the terraces of river valleys like the Godāvari and the Narmada, and of mountain ranges like the Siwaliks. The antiquity of human life in these regions goes back about 300,000 years; but for quite a long time man lived at what is known as the ‘Old Stone’ (Paleolithic) Stage, using only crude stone implements and able only to gather his food as he found it instead of growing it according to his needs. His tools were simple hand-axes and cleavers, Clactonian or Levalloisian flakes at first, but later blades and burins came into use. The Paleolithic industries of India can be grouped as follows: (1) the ‘Chopper’ industries of the North (Sohan); (2) the Abbevilleo-Acheulian hand-axes of the South (Madras); and (3) a mixture of both prevailing. This cannot, however, be a hard and fast rule, and the Singrauli basin near Mirzapur (U.P.), Deogarh in Jhansi district (U.P.) in the basin of the Betwa, Gujarat, and the Mayurbhanj region, have been found to furnish meeting points of the two tool traditions of Sohan and Madras.