An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s3.1

v1.c9.s3.1

The recognition of the Middle Palaeolithic (from time to time called Series II, Nevasian and Middle Stone Gujarat, and isolatedly in n. Kerala, Meghalaya, Punjab and Kashmir. The culture thus seems to have covered practically the whole country, excluding perhaps the s. part of Tamil Nadu and the deltaic regions of the Krishna and GODAVARI rivers. Several Middle Palaeolithic sites have also been reported from Pakistan, the most important of these being the Sanghao and Parkho-darra caves near Peshawar. There are several river valleys in Maharashtra, Andhra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh where assemblages of this culture occur in deposits sandwiched between those yielding Lower Palaeolithic [4.2] and Upper Palaeolithic/Mesolithic [4.4, 5] artefacts. Similar evidence is available in the excavation in the rock-shelters at BHIMBETKA. Moreover we now have ¹⁴C dates that place the culture in the Late Pleistocene, thus justifying its being called Middle Palaeolithic.