An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s2.t5: 4.2.6 S. region
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s2.t5
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4.2.6 S. region
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Cultural remains of the Acheulian man are reported from Dts Nellore, Cuddapah and Chittoor of Andhra Pradesh and Dt Chingleput of Tamil Nadu. The Nellore group of sites, brought to light by Manley (Aiyappan, 1942), is sporadic in nature, and the implements are made on quartzite, bearing general Acheulian characters. The Cuddapah group is comparatively well-studied (Reddy, 1968). The sites in this region concentrate in the Pennar basin. The pebbly nature of the industry is striking, for not only is a good proportion of chopper-chopping tools present but even a considerable number of handaxes retain their pebble butt. The Acheulian manner of working occurs on the handaxes and cleavers. The associated flakes lack evolved techniques. The Chittoor group, which is not very far from the Cuddapah group, exhibits a different techno-typological trend (Murty, 1966). Implementiferous localities were discovered on the Rallavakalan, a tributary of the Subarnarekha. These assemblages are dominated by handaxes and cleavers of the Acheulian tradition. The Levallois element is well-represented in this group. Here too pebble tools occur in a good proportion. A typologically similar group of sites is known around AMRIDHAMANGALAM (Gupta and Dutta, 1961) and YIGAVARIPALEM (*IAR 1967-8*, p. 25) in the Araniar basin.
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Fig. 3. Abbevilian tools: 1, 2, proto-handaxe—Vadamadurai and Bariarpur: 3, 4, sub-triangular handaxe—Attirampakkam and Vadamadurai
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Dt Chingleput has the distinction of having yielded the first Palaeolithic implement in this subcontinent (Foote. 1916). The Kortalayar basin near Madras retains Pleistocene formation in the nature of four terraces, perhaps made by the river Pennar. On the earlier two terraces are situated VADAMADURAI and ATTIRAMPAKKAM localities. VADAMADURAI contains implements of the earlier phase, where Acheulian workmanship is comparatively crude in form. The Acheulian tool kit from ATTIRAMPAKKAM has evolved forms and advanced technological features. The other noteworthy localities of the area are POONDI and GUDIYAM which have revealed evidence for Acheulian habitation in the whole of the region (De Terra *et al.*, 1939; Kirshnaswami. 1947: *IAR 1963-4*, p. 17; *1965-6*, p. 24; *1967-8*, p. 25).
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Age) as a distinct cultural phase in the Stone Age of India is a fairly recent development, originating with its discovery and identification at NEVASA on the PRAVARA (Sankalia, 1956). In the exposed sections at this site a number of artefacts—scrapers, points and borers, all on flakes—made of siliceous materials like chert, chalcedony, agate and jasper were found in the middle or upper gravels (Gravel II), overlying or resting against a coarse gravel (Gravel I) with Acheulian artefacts [4.2] like cleavers and handaxes on trap or dolerite. Thus, raw material, typology and stratification establish a separate cultural status of the flake-tool assemblage. Sankalia provisionally called it Series II industry, the handaxe-cleaver assemblage from the earlier gravel forming Series I. This evidence facilitated a clearer understanding of the flake-tool assemblage found at NANDUR-MADHMESHWAR on the GODAVARI a decade earlier and gave a meaning to similar collections reported even earlier from the KANDIVLI region near Bombay, Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and n.-w. Punjab (the Late Sohan of De Terra, [4.2]).
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Aiyappan. A.. 1942, *Manley Collection of Stone Tools*, Mem. ASI, 68 De Terra, H . & Paterson. T.T., 1939, *Studies on the Ice Age in India & Associated Human Cultures*, Washington. Foote, R.B., 1916, *Foote Collection of Indian Prehistoric & Protohistoric Antiquities in the Government Museum, Madras: Notes on their Ages & Distribution*, Madras. Krishnaswami, V D., 1947, in *AI*, 3, pp 11-57. Murty, M.L.K., 1966. "Stone Age Cultures of Chittoor", unpublished thesis, Poona. Reddy, K.T., 1968, "Prehistory of Cuddapah", unpublished thesis, Poona. For sites see respective entries in vol II.—V. JAYASWAL
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Explorations during the last two decades have brought to light hundreds of sites in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and