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Asian Paleoanthropology pp 113–128Cite as

Core-and-Flake Assemblages of Central and Peninsular India

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Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

As in most regions of the Old World, Lower Paleolithic assemblages in the Indian subcontinent have been traditionally divided into biface (Acheulean) or non-biface (core-and-flake) categories. Non-biface or Mode 1 assemblages have been reported from throughout the region, including the sub-Himalayan region or the Siwalik Hills as well as from various other eco-zones of India. This evidence has important implications for the understanding of diverse ecological and functional adaptations by South Asian hominin populations throughout the Pleistocene. This record comprises stratified and surface occurrences that include cores, core-tools, flakes and flake-tools, irregular bifacial knapping but a conspicuous absence of classic Acheulean bifaces and early Middle Paleolithic (diminutive) handaxes. Virtually all of these non-Acheulean assemblages currently remain undated, although a few occurrences in the Narmada Basin may date to the Mid-Pleistocene. From general geological observations and comparative typology, however, most appear to be comparatively younger in relative age and often mixed with different technological industries in surface contexts. This paper provides a broad regional perspective of these core-and-flake assemblages known from north-central and peninsular India.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The utilization of the Mode system was first proposed by Clark (1968, 1977). These modes were based on the manner in which the basic flake-core relationship occurred and are considered to be reflective of raw material availability, functional differentiation, and manifestations of hominin technological strategies (Foley and Lahr 2003). Mode 1 is represented by pre- or non-Acheulian lithic technologies (Lower Paleolithic); Mode 2 includes Acheulian or biface technology (Lower Paleolithic); Mode 3 comprises Middle Paleolithic flake-based technologies; Mode 4 is represented by Upper Paleolithic blade technology; and Mode 5 is generally characterized by Mesolithic or Late Stone Age assemblages.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Christopher Norton, David Braun, and Jack Harris for the invitation to participate in the AAPA symposium in Philadelphia (2007), and for providing the opportunity to contribute to this volume. I am very grateful to Chris, David and Eric Delson for their patience and understanding during the preparation and revision of this manuscript. A part of the work discussed and related to the Soanian evidence and the Narmada Valley evidence was respectively funded by the Australian Research Council, the National Geographic Society, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and the Fulbright Scholar Program. Comments, suggestions and key insights by the editors and the three reviewers, including Shanti Pappu, helped improve and refine the manuscript significantly, including both specific statements and general observations. I am thankful to Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick for their support of my research in India and for the postdoctoral research position at the Stone Age Institute & CRAFT Research Center, without which this research would not be possible.

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    Parth R. Chauhan

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    Christopher J. Norton

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    David R. Braun

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Chauhan, P.R. (2011). Core-and-Flake Assemblages of Central and Peninsular India. In: Norton, C., Braun, D. (eds) Asian Paleoanthropology. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9094-2_9

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