An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c20.s1.t1: 15.1.1 Lower Pleistocene

An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c20.s1.t1

Language: English

15.1.1 Lower Pleistocene

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The Lower Pleistocene faunal evidence is as follows:

(a) Karewas of Kashmir: Though a great deal of work has been done on the palynology, palaeobotany and palaeoclimatology of the *karewas*, wide areas of these beds remained devoid of significant palaeontological information for a long time. Hora, 1937, reported fish remains, *Orienus* and *Schizothorax*, while de Terra and Paterson, 1939, referred to the occurrence of mammals, *Bos*, *Elephas*, *Equus*, *Cervus*, *Felis*, *Sus*, *Sivatherium* and *Rhinoceros* from various localities in the Karewas Subsequently the author in 1968, 1972, reported *Rhinoceros palaeindicus*, *Sivatherium giganteum*, *Equus sivalensis*, *Elephas hysudricus*, *Cervus* sp., *Bos* sp., *Sus* sp. and *Giraffa* sp. from some previously unknown localities. All the fossils collected so far leave no doubt that the base of the *karewas* starts with the Lower Pleistocene.

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(b) Siwaliks of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh (Pinjor Formation): Siwalik beds, one of the best known mammalian fossiliferous horizons in the world, have been a subject of research for a century and a half. Their studies have thrown considerable light on our knowledge of vertebrate fossils in general and the evolution of various animals in particular. The fauna of the Pinjor—*Equus sivalensis*, *Rhinoceros sivalensis*, *Rhinoceros palaeindicus*, *Chilotherium intermedium*, *Bubalus*, *Bos*, *Hemibos*, *Leptobos*, *Bison*, *Cervus*, *Camelus*, *Archidiskodon planifrons*, *Stegodon insignis-ganesa*, *Geoclemys sivalensis*, *Crocodylus biporcatus*, *Crocodylus palaeindicus*, *Gavialis browni*, etc.—are significant in that they show a mixture of the Old and New World elements and also indicate the probable routes of migration to and from the Indian subcontinent.

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Furthermore, in the Upper Siwalik Subgroup straddles the Plio-Pleistocene boundary [9.8.1]. The broad feature of the Lower Pleistocene fauna is the absence of certain groups which had become conspicuous in the Upper Pliocene times. Along with the disappearance of the archaic groups, the Plio-Pleistocene transition was contemporaneous with the emergence of progressive forms that have persisted to the present day or at least had a long history in the Pleistocene.

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For bibliography see below 15.1.4.