The Indian Subcontinent and ‘Out of Africa I’

Abstract

The last few decades of paleoanthropological research has raised important issues about the rate and chrono-geographical extent of early hominin dispersals from Africa into Eurasia. Owing to its geographic position, the Indian subcontinent has a pivotal role to play in addressing such issues. This ecologically diverse landmass critically lies between the three sources of the oldest Homo fossils in the Old World and a southern route of expansion from Africa to Southeast Asia, through this region, has often been inferred. Claims of Plio-Pleistocene Oldowan assemblages have been made since the 1960s and come from the Narmada Valley in central India and from the Siwalik Hills in northern Pakistan and northern India. This paper critically reviews each of these claims and broadly discusses associated Plio-Pleistocene environments and geographic routes of entry. A large majority of these reported occurrences represents unsubstantiated claims and require further scientific verification through additional evidence. Tentative scenarios for the current absence of paleoanthropological evidence older than the Middle Pleistocene are also briefly discussed. This current lack of Oldowan assemblages, however, does not reflect an unquestionable absence of hominin occupation in the region. Ecologically conducive environments in the form of open grasslands, a seasonal monsoon regime, diverse fauna and eco-habitats (i.e., diverse hunting/scavenging opportunities), and an abundance of water and stone resources suggest the possible earlier presence of hominins in South Asia. Obviously, much more field research is required to test and confirm their early presence/absence in this geographically important region of the Old World.