An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c21.s15.14

v1.c21.s15.14

As in the Mesolithic industries, the technology of this industry is based on the mass production of blades from prismatic cores. These blanks are then fashioned into regular tool types by retouching. With regard to the detachment of blades from fluted cores, this industry evidences the employment of a novel process not known to the Mesolithic people but known to the Harappans [4.9] i.e., the crested-ridge technique. This technique has been studied in detail by Subbarao, 1955. According to him the preparation on the core of a wavy ridge by means of alternate flaking is essential for the production of blades on a mass scale. A flake bearing such a wavy or zigzag longitudinal ridge on the dorsal surface is called a crested ridge flake. It is detached from the core prior to the commencement of the removal of true blades. It has been stated that the function of these crested ridge flakes was to guide (by way of controlling the length and breadth and also the parallelism of margins) the ‘run-off’ of blades from the core. Subbarao has traced the origins of this specialized technique to w. Asia.