An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19.s1.2

v1.c19.s1.2

However exploration has been extensive and has covered almost the entire country. It is therefore possible to form some idea of the settlement pattern of the Stone Age peoples. Also the quantity and quality of evidence are richer for the Holocene period [9.8.4] than for the Pleistocene [9.8.2]. The reason for this is simple. The Holocene landscape has not been seriously affected by processes like fluvial and aeolian aggradation and degradation, with the result that the sites are better preserved. Also as the time period involved is short and recent the preservation of organic material—mainly faunal remains—is better. We have therefore a better picture of the Mesolithic [4.5] settlement pattern than of the Palaeolithic [4.2-4]. During the Palaeolithic surprisingly, the evidence is far more plentiful for the Lower Palaeolithic [4.2] than for the Middle [4.3] and Upper Palaeolithic [4.4]. Unless specified the statements made below apply to all phases of the Palaeolithic.