An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s6.15

v1.c9.s6.15

There is yet another set of sites where the use of pottery has been attested in an evolving sequence of Mesolithic industries [4.5] from a non-geometric one, both without pottery, to a geometric microlith series through a geometric one, with pottery. The sites are located in different geographical areas: LEKHAHIA, MORHANA PAHAR and BAGHAI KHOR in the Kaimur range, where a complete sequence of the industries was revealed (Sharma, 1964); ADAMGARH (Joshi, 1966) and PACHMARHI (Hunter, 1935) in the Mahadeo hills; LANGHNAJ (Sankalia, 1965) on the fossil sand-dunes in the Sabarmati valley; and BAGOR (Misra, 1973) in Rajasthan, where deposits of the non-geometric microliths were not encountered. At LANGHNAJ, which was an open-air settlement, besides a ground-stone industry, represented by mace-heads (or digging stick weights), ringstones, small-sized wedge-shaped sandstone pieces (querns?) and axes dentalium shell beads [10.1] were also found. Pottery has also been reported along with microliths at Marve (Todd, 1950) near KANDIVLI and JALAHALLI (Gordon, 1950, 1958) near Bangalore, but its stratigraphic association is not clearly established at either of these sites. At YERANGAL near Kandivli ground stone mace-heads were also found along with microliths. A solitary fragment of red pottery has also been reported from SAWYERPURAM embedded in the red loam along with some flakes and cores of chert and quartz (Foote, 1916). The use of pottery (and of ground stone tools in the case of LANGHNAJ) does not appear to have brought about any change in the basic economy of these communities which continued to remain largely in a hunting-gathering stage. The distinction between geometric and non-geometric as also between pottery and non-pottery microliths has not been properly developed and is at present not a firm basis for recognizing a transition from the food-gathering to food-producing economy. At a factory site pottery, though in use, may not be found.