An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c40.58

v2.c40.58

The Middle Palaeolithic tradition with its blades, blade flakes, points, scrapers, etc. seems to have continued even in the Mesolithic cultures. Like the Lower Palaeolithic tools Mesolithic microliths abounded in the valley. However surface collections revealed certain areas of concentration disclosing at the same time several typo-technological differences. For instance the industry noticed in the n.-e. part (Locality A) of the valley was in the main a non-geometric assemblage consisting of backed blades, crude lunates, scrapers, points, etc., whereas the site located close to the quartz reef Tallarallabodu yielded geometric tools like lunates, triangles, trapezes, etc., made on rock crystal. True blades were absent in them as in several other assemblages of the valley. In the excavations at Sites 45 A and 53 microliths came from a stratigraphical context and blade flakes seemed to have been part of such facies. Site 53 produced an industry dominated by geometric tools types with a high incidence of retouched implements, while that of Site 45 A was basically non-geometric in character with unretouched blades constituting a higher percentage. The tradition of Site 45 A appeared to be the precursor of a microlithic tradition associated with some Neolithic culture.