An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c20.s1.t3.6

v1.c20.s1.t3.6

(b) Mahanadi valley: A number of vertebrate fossils—*Bos* sp., *Bos namadicus*, *Cervus* sp., *Equus namadicus*—have for the first time been discovered in the upper Mahanadi valley (Joshi *et al.*, 1978), generally associated with Middle Palaeolithic tools. Though the faunal material is scanty, it helps in fixing the chronology of the Middle Palaeolithic [4.3] cultures. The presence of the fossils indicates that the valley was probably a vast savannah land with abundant vegetation and water which supported a variety of these ungulates. During the Upper Pleistocene the neighbouring forests must have provided a varied assemblage of wild animals. Even today the jackal, wolf, hare, *nilgai*, *chital*, antelope, deer, buffalo, bear, lion and leopard abound in the hilly and forested areas.