An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c34.292

v2.c34.292

The upper Godavari valley is dominated by step-like erosional surfaces over varieties of basalts at 1000, 800, 650 and 500 m above mean sea level. The drainage pattern is dendritic and the streams flowing over plateaux are moderately meandering and confined to shallow box-shaped valleys. The Quaternary [9.8] alluvium rests unconformably over basaltic rocks of the Cretaceous-Eocene Age and occur in the form of two cut-and-fill types of terraces developed on the banks of the Godavari. The top surface of the older fill (Older alluvium) occurs 15 to 20 m above the modern bed level of the Godavari. The younger fill (Younger Alluvium) is inset into the older fill and occurs 5 to 10 m above the modern bed. The total depth of the Older Alluvium is about 40 m and extends a few km laterally on either banks. Occurrence of thick alluvial deposits right in the source region shows that the Godavari valley ex- perienced a ubiquitous aggradation in response to mild climatic changes of the late Pleistocene [9.8.2]. The pre-aggradational history of the valley is represented by strong incision (15 to 20 m below the modern bed level) in hard rock basalts as a result of tectonic movements of the early Quaternary. Remnant patches of thin (2 to 3 m) bouldery cobbly gravels resting on bed-rock basalts at an elevation of about 15 to 20 m above the present channel around **PAITHAN** represent the earliest deposi- tional phase of the Godavari. These high-level gravels of the early Quaternary age served as a rich source of raw material for the Middle Palaeolithic [4.3] man around Paithan.