An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c14.s8.t2.18

v1.c14.s8.t2.18

More recent work on the miliolites [9.7] of the Saurashtra area carried out by Marathe *et al.*, 1976, has established at least two major transgressions approximately belonging respectively to 120000 and 30000 years which gave rise to the formation of two types of miliolites designated as M₁ and M₂. Underlying the M₁ and in the fluvial deposits are found Lower Palaeolithic Acheulian tools [4.2]. This possibly is the earliest date (late Middle Pleistocene or early Upper Pleistocene) of the Acheulian culture in the peninsular area. M₁ overlies the Lower Palaeolithic tools and is itself covered by another fluvial deposit which yields Middle Palaeolithic tools and is subsequently capped by M₂. The question of the genesis of miliolite is equally important. Although two divergent views—aeolian or marine—have been expressed the detailed work in the valleys of the Hiran and Shingoda has shown that at least in parts of s. Saurashtra the miliolites occurring up to 75 m above sea level are of fluviomarine origin and thus provide clear-cut evidence of the changing relationship between land and sea during the Quaternary even though the precise glacio-eustatic chronology in the world framework is not possible at this stage.