An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c28.23

v2.c28.23

The topmost deposit on the hill is the black clay. It is a massive deposit without any partings or layers produced by water action. In mineral contents and chemical composition it is the same Black Cotton Soil [9.1] occurring on the Narmada terrace surrounding the hill. This clay is the horizon of Mesolithic (Microlithic) industries and yields quantities of microliths and waste material. In one trench the finished tools were about 5000 and the waste material weighed approximately 250 kg. The tools are made on siliceous minerals like chert, chalcedony, jasper, agate, etc., pebbles and chunks of which must have been obtained from the adjoining river bed as no geological formation on the hill contains these minerals. In the tools the most predominant are points and blades (point-and-blade industry) and also include borers, awls, scrapers, burins, triangles, trapezes and cores. A detailed analysis of tools obtained from successive levels from a deposit nearly 1 to 3 m thick clearly indicates that the earlier microliths belong to the Mesolithic stage and the later ones show Neolithic-Chalcolithic [4.6.14] affinities. This is also borne out by associated objects like pottery, animal bones and stone objects like mace-heads. A thin deposit occurring at the top at places yields iron objects and beads; a coin of the historical period has also been found.