Paper short abstract:

Present study reports a discovery of two new Pleistocene archaeological sites at Galudih in east Singbhum and critically analyses the archaeological and geomorphological findings to reconstruct the cultural succession in human evolution in eastern part of India.

Paper long abstract:

This article is based on surface and partly on excavated findings discovered at Galudih - Mahulia (GLD: site 1) and Chandrarekha (CRH: site 2) in Jharkhand State of India in very rich stratigraphic sections studied. This stratigraphic succession reveals a true picture about the relationship between geomorphology & typo-technology of artifacts, and the order of succession shows climatic fluctuations during Middle to Late Pleistocene.

The two sites are located in a natural geographical setting and have yielded different types of tools made on different rock raw material, mainly quartzite pebbles, but quartz, mica, quartzite and basalt as well. We can note a change in the nature and pattern of the soil with stratigraphic variations due to the erosional activities of the Subarnarekha River.. Primary laterite was present on the hill tops and due to erosion; it is converted into secondary laterite. A succession of dry and wet periods during the Pleistocene can be recognized from the sequence of deposits. Step-like formations are observed throughout and stratigraphy shows layers of calcified bed, kankar, hard sandy soil and lateritic soil from bottom to top. The findings prove that there was continuity in tool industry from chopper-biface to flake to flake-blade industry, followed by a rich microlithic industry. The evolving tool types and different techniques used by the Pleistocene ancestors during the prehistory indicates continuous intellectual development and human evolution in this part of eastern India.

RATNA BHATTACHARYA: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Bangabasi College, Kolkata -700009, India.