ELEMENTS OF

PREHISTORY

2/.llamiR*
Former professor-Head,
Depament of Physical Anthropalogy and
prehistoric Archaeology
First Edition 1987
Second Edition 2024

O V. Rami Reddy
All rights reserved.

Price: 'C 880.00 (%180)

ISBN 81-7099-013-0

Published by V. Indira, # 10-20,Sri Saikrishna Nilayam,

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 Prehistory or prehistoric anthropology is an i m p o ~ a n t
sub-fieid of anthropology that deals with the dark period of Man
when no written records were available. The subject made its
oficial beginning in the middle ofthe 19th century, and the study
of this branch of science is accomplished with the help OF large
number of natural, physiral and other sciences.
For a proper understanding of the subject, it is necessary
to go into the principles of the subject as such for which no
published works are available at one place. In order t o hlfillthis
task and to simplify the technical nature of the subject as also to
have it within the reach ofamateurs, professionals, laymen and
those interested in competing for different central and state
services examinations, the present attempt has been made.
The first chapter on introduction deals with the nature
and scope of the subject, culture and cultural periods, histay of
development, nlethods of study covering survey or surface
explaration, excavation, analyses, interpretation and report
writing and finally the relationship of r h e subject with other
sciences has been examined, followed by a brief account on the
archaeological traditions and terminology.In the second chapter,
the environment of the prehistoric times mainly covering the
Pleistocene epoch and its chief features have been included. In
the third chapter, the methods of relative and absolute dating
and their relevance have been discussed at g e a t length. The
fourth chpter 0t-1the stone tool technology and fypology deals
with different methods employed by man during palaeolithic.
mesoljthic and nedithic times, followed by a systematic account
differen[ *per of tools of different culNral periods almost all
well-illustrated.
 CONTENTS

Preface vii
List ofFigui-rs xi

List of Tables xiii

1 Prehistory as Science of Humanity
A. Nature and Smpc
3.Culture and Cultural Periods
C. History of Development
D.Methods of Study
E. Relationship with other Sciences
F.ArchaeoIogical Traditions
G.T c r m i n o l a ~
2 Pleistocene and its Features
A. What is Pleistocene?
13. Plio-Pleistocene Boundary
C. Pleistocene-~oloceneBoundary
D.Pleistocene smtigraphy-Afrjca and India
E. Evidences of Pleistocene
3 Methods of Dating
A. Importance
B. Relative Methods of Dating
C.Absolute Methods of at in^ or chronometric Dating
4 Stone Tool Technology and Typolorn
A. Importance
B. Raw Materials
103
C. Stone Tool Techniques of Palaeolithio and Mesolithic
Periods
D. Technique of Grinding of Neolithic Period
E. Types ~f Tools and their Functions
i. Lower palaeolithic period
ii.Middle palaeolithic period
iii. Upper palaeolithic period
iv*Mesolithic period
v. Neolithic period
Bibliography
 PREFACE

Prehistory is not a subject of luxury as is believed by

amateurs and sycophants alike. It is a growing science of rather
importance with specific objectives and goals, the main
Purpose of these being to enquire inta how, when and where
'11lan' originated, and what was the course and tempo of his
development in varying ecological situations until the time when
Writing was known. It is very dificult to achieve the task of
reWt?,tructing this "dark period" of Man for which no written
records are available. The story of this era of humanity is entirely
woven from the prod"& of human behaviour that occur jn the
o f material remains on this planet the recovery, analyses
and interpretation of which involve a number of archaeological
and non-archaeologica] methods and techniques as is the case
with any scientific discipline.
The proper understanding of these fundamental aspeds
is but a necessary prerequisite for the judicious and objedve
appreciation of the o t h e ~ i s incomprehensible
e human cultures
Of me bygone days. There are published work on these backgmund
not at one but in a scattered form and luminous
sizeand in a highly technicaljargon which can not be satisfactorily
grasped by the student beginners in the slrbjen of an~ropology
and other relafed disciplines at the undergaduate and pmf-
graduate levels, In view of fie introdudon of the subject at h e
various state and cenbd sefice examinations, if became all the
more necessary to have a work on these elemenbry a S P m to
meet the requirerllcnb of the candidates It hardly needs any
mention that the professionals, laymen and arnateun also fin* the
account useh] to the study of lluman cultUres in the
Pursuance of their varied interest5 besides gene*ll~
[hem from their ehnocenaicljmitatians abouttllenjselves+
 I
I
It is to answer these objectives that the present work has
1
been attempted with the fond hope of expecting it to cater t o
their needs. 1 will be greatly benefited if the readers take the
trouble of offering their valuable suggestions/criticisms on any
aspects presented in the hook.

-V. Rami Reddy

 SECOND ED JTlON

This edition on the ELEMENTS OF PREHISTORY is attempted

with appropriate nrodifications in its plan and organization to
Suit the varied reqoirements and interest of the readers of the
and non-academic world. As an experienced and
teacher-cum-researcher,I call upon all my colleagues
and friends to put in all their efforts and energies to impart
training to the students on the basics both in the laboratory and
field, keeping in view the relevance of the science of humanity as
a field science like other natural sciences. This is no doubt a
challenging task for us but it is worth-experiotenting from the
Point of health of the discipline in this competitive world From
the angle of ib survival as .a subject of relevance and
development. .
I humbly place my services at the disposal of all the
members of the community of anthropology and promise to
attend to all their queries and doubts that may arise from time to
t h e . I am deeply indeb&d to one and all for promoting my all-
time interest in the science of humaniV.
Sri Venka of Smart Centre has spent s l e @ ~ l s s in
extending his goodwill and *holehearted supporrin bringingOut
the book to the pmscnt &ape without which it would have
a dream!

-V,Rami Reddy
 LIST OF FIGURES

1. Suggested Reconstructions of River Terraces in

Peninsular lndia
11. Suggested Reconstructions of River Terraces in
Peninsular lndia

111. Dendrochronalagy or Tree ~ i n AnaIysis

g

IV. Techniques of Stone Age Tools

V. Techniques of Blade Production and ~ e t o u c h

VI. Tool Types of Lower Palaeolithic Period

VII. Tool Types of Lower Palaeoljthic Periad

V111. Tool Types of Middle Palaeolithic Period

IX. Tool Types of ~esolithicPeriod

X. Neolithic Tool Types

Xi. Neolithic Tool Types

XII. Methods ofHafing o f t o ~ l ~ ~ s a~~con5tructions

me
 LIST OF TABLES

1. Stages of Pleistocene Epoch 45

2. Sequence of Climatic Fluctuations During the Great 59

Ice Age in Kashmir

3. Pleistocene chronology in Europe, Africa and 53-54

America
 ONE
INTRODUCTlON
A. NATURE AND SCOPE
The term "prehistory" has been in scientific use for
almost about two centuries. It is defined as the subject that
deals with the story of man and everything that concerns
him from the dim remote moment when he first emerged
from his animal ancestry and became an erect-walking
bipedalist until the time when the writing was known as
revealed by written records finally leading to historical
times. The term was first proposed in 1851 by Daniel
Wj~sonin his The Archaeology and Prehistoric Annals of
Scotland though Tournal used it as early as 1833. Sir john
Lubbock freely used it in his Prehistoric Timesin 1865. Over
a hundred years ago the prehistorians at their First
International Congress acknowledged the Fact that
prehistory is a useful subfield of anthropology as the
success of interpretation of the data of the former depends
heavily on tile basic theoretical fralnework provided by the
latter,

But the term is a misnomer and gives the impression

as if it is the continuation of history whereas in fact it is
concerned wit11 the study af anonymous people unlike the
conventional biographical history in which is ingrained the
"Great Man" concept. The basic units of prehistory therefore
consist of social gmups, societier, social pafierns and
problems, political economic, and demographic and cultural
changes as also racial and linguistic changes. The social
units OF prehistoly are organisations relationships, ecology.
patterned behaviour and history of human groups. It is
2 Elements of Prdlistory

interested in racing the total record of humanity with equal

attention. It traces trends rather than events and reveals
how the basic cultural processes shaped man from the
beginning. Under the domain of prehistory one can study
the inter-relationships of man and different human societies
with the natural environment over long periods of time. It
accounts for the effects of the different cultural Factors on
human biology. Broadly speaking, prehistory is the
anrhrapology-social, cultural, physical, linguistic-af the
preliterate human communities lived between h e time
when the Pleistocene epoch set in about: four to five million
years ago as shown by the todate human biocultural and
other types of evidence till the time when the writing was
known about 5000 years ago.
Prehistory is thus not only an integral part of
anthropology but it can rightly be called as PreI~istorir:
Anthropology, or Palaeo-anthropology which embraces the
study of not only the bodily remains of extinct communities
but also the products of their behaviour bath together
revealing the nature, variation and change as also human
bio-cultural evolution in space and time. It has therefore a
wider connotation than what Gordon Childe (1956a : 93
meant by it about six decades ago.
Prehistory, which is concerned with the study of rhe
dark period of man,is often compared with the night, while
protohistory is compared with the early morning or dawn
when writing was known but not perfectly. History is
compared with the day when the writing was very well
known. it is thus clear that in the absence of written records
it becomes difficult to identify the prehistoric cultures. They
are mostly dependent on the material objects only based on
 Introduction

which t h e framework For the study of the cultures can be

broadly worked out.

The beginning students want to know the relevance

of the prehistoric human experience in order to understand
the cultural processes, human behaviour and human
evolution. It i s a known fact that the present is the product
of the past and it is the study of the latter concerning the
long history of man that helps us in understanding the
f ~ m e rTruly
. speaking, human history embraces the whole
Story of the biological, cultural and behavioural development
Of man from the time he ceased to be a non-human primate
and made the f rst moves in the direction of humanity. The
Present man is the product of evolutionary processes and
similarly culture is the outcome of the cultural processes
Operating through time in constant interaction with
environmenb] and biological factors. The cultural and
biological evolution of man is an integrated process which
cannot be split.
Culture i s understandable through its backround
and its development as revealed by human histow.
Invention and diffusion are the two basic processes by
which culture operates through t i m c These processes are
still in operation today. The study of human history through
these factors is called culture history or cultural evolution.
During the long course of evolution, man bmught about
remarkable changes jn his emlogical niche to suit his rieeds
through his bio-cul~uralcapabilities which phenomenon
according to some workers is h o ~ asn culmral
In brief, prehistory aims a t recovering as much as
possible ahout the histoy of preliterate societies. I[ is a
4 Elements 01Prehistory

social study concerned not with the individuals or with the

relations of individuals to one another and to society in
general but with the societies and the interrelationship
between them and the natural world. Prehistory is not
historical in the sense that it deals with time as a main
dimension. It enables the understanding of the economic
aspect of man. I t creates a sense of awareness and is of
great educational value and helps in lifting people out of the
limitations of their own time and place. I t creates interest in
geography in the sense of the awareness of place as it
involves the investigation af the existing as well as the
former conditions of climate. topography, soil, vegetation
and animal liFe all of which can be reconstructed with the
help of ge~logicaland other related sciences. It: calls for an
understanding of the complex relations between human
societies and physical environments. It is strongly
&ssociatedwith the element of aesthetic appreciation as its
primary dependence is an the artifacts and non-artifacts
and their interpretation in terms of cultural development.
The study of prehistory helps people of all societies to come
closer to each other as heirs of all ages and develops
universal brotherhood.
As shown earlier, prehistory mainly aims Lo
reconstruct the life ways of the past human societies with the
help of their material remains in the form of tools and
weapons, pottery and other non-artifactual evidences as well
as the non-material elements such as the social or other
aspects of the dead cultures inferred. It is thus anthropology
of the dead communities. In the process of reconstruction<
the prehistorian accounts for all kinds of changes in the
material world due to human action. These changes in the
 materid world are nothing but the expressions of the
thoughts and the purposes of the past human communities.
In the words of V.G. Childe (1956b : 1) a record of this kind
of the "Eossilisedresults of human behaviour" on the
basis ofwhich artempts are made to trace and reconstruct as
much as possible abour that behaviour.
The surviving results of the past human behaviour
recorded in the material world occur in the farm of two
The first category being the largest of the two
things which have been produced ur mudified by
deliberate human action. These things consist of artifacts
which have been made by man. They include tools,
ornaments, warks of art, etc. The objects modified
by man may include charcoal or bones split for marrow and
on, These constitute portable objects. The non-portable
include structures of Features such as houses or
buildings, refuse pits, hearths, graves, etc. The second
"tegory of evidence includes such phenomena which result
due to human agency though man is not responsible for
making or for altering &em. They mrnprise changes in the
natural environment like deforestation, exterminatjon of
certain animal species or introduction of others, natural
objects removed from their habitat by man and utilised
according to c u ] ~ r a ]norms; bunes of gdm@ animals in
refuse or sea shells traded over long distances for aesthetic
or prestige reasons; h e position and relationship of things
due to deliberate action; the position of a corpse in a grave;
thc relative size of houses in settlements; the relationship of
man's activity to fhe natural environment no
alteration was involved; the particular location of a
Settlement; the use of a Cave for shelter. etc.
 In spite of the above listed items of the past human
behaviour, there are a number of gaps and handicaps with
which the subject is affected. One of them is the
incompleteness of the record due to which the picture
gleaned horn it is one-sided. All organic materials perish.
Only the imperishable things like stone tools survive and
constitute the main item of the evidence. The second
handicap involves the professional scientist himself whose
proficiency in the skills, techniques available to him,
preconceptions and scholarly environment around him, if
inadequate, Lead to poor presentation of the results of the
study. This human factor is incomplete relatively and is also
variable. Therefore, it is important that the scientist should
also know to ask the right question while studying the
materials. The third handicap relates to degree of
preservation of the marerial remains which varies with
time, region and cultures. Besides, there is evidence of
the Present from which the past can be inferred. Though the
lines of evidence of these three branches of science are
independent, the conclusians of reconstruction converge
and strengthen its validity to a considerable extent.
B. CULTURE AND CULTURAL PERIODS

Eversince man acquired erect stance and bipedalism,

his hands with the perfectly opposable thumb which
became free and manupulative muld be used far the
successful preparation of artifacts of different types by
different techniques from stone, bone, antler, wood, etc. It
was the coordinated action between the brain and the
hands that Early Man could produce a regular pattern in the
Baking of the tools as distinct from those produced by the
forces of nature which entitled him to be recognised as 'the
 O"Y tool-makerJ and separates him fmm the non-human
primates, particularly the great apes This tool-making
caPaci$ is otherwise known as 'culture', which gives the
of 'human' to the biological animal of Man and
Provides him a unique place in the animal kingdom in view
~f his capabilities not only to create culture but to retain as
also to transmit the same from generation to generation.
Thus culture became a stabilised human trait basic to
humanity. It is within the realm of culture that survival can
be erlsured lor the human societies from the prehistoric to
the modern times, which can contribute to its dynamism
through the processes and mechanisms of evolution.

In the context of prehistoric societies it is not only

difficult to visualise the ideal form of culture but also hard
to reajise its rounded picture in view of the absence of the
people. This culture which can be reconstruded only from
tangible evidence is nothing but the technological or
material culture [also called realiq culture), the pmdscb of
lvhich often occur in fragmentary farm mainly as stone mols
Or implements from which one can judge the prehistoric
technological skills only. But the in~nglbleaspem of
these societies constituting the value culture and sofial
culture as known fmm the different social institutionsJ
customs and religious beliefs miserably elude
remains though studies of these in combination
with the assodated finds and physical enlironment may
shed some 1jght an wherewithal~of these

Based on a e study of the strali&Taphica[order of

occurrence, lyporcchnology 2nd functions of the Sfone mols
together with their shape, size and raw materials, the stone
under three broad divisions:
age ultures can be
8 Elements of Prehistory

Palaeolithic Period (including the subdivisions of Lower1

Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Periods), Mesolithic period
and Neolithic Period. With the appearance of the evidence
of metals like copper, bronze and imn besides stone t~olsj
there occurred remarkable changes in the lifeways of the
people augmenting for recognition of further categories of
cultural periods such as Chalcolithic Period, Bronze Age and
Iron Age. This is an ideal scheme of framework for the study
of prehistoric cultures. The divisions are not water-tight
compartments as they are so discerned for the sake of
convenience and indicate the continuous development of
the cultures in space and time.
Man remained palaeolithic for over three nlillion
years throughout the Pleistocene epoch, the terminal phase
of the Quaternary era, when the climatic conditions
characterised by intense cold and glaciers were highly
unfavourable for human existence. The survival of the
human race under these conditions is really commendable
and can be unquestionably attributable to man's cultural
capabilities. The vast body of palaeontological remains -
-
cranial and post-cranial of different age groups found in
Africa, Asia and Europe in association with the cultural
material remains has been subjected t o detailed studies
which revealed four broad stages of evolution: Australopi-
thecine Stage associated with the Lower Palawlithic pebble
tool culture, Pithecanthropine Stage associated with the
Lower Palaeolithic hand-axe-cleaver tradition, Neanderthal
Stag@associated with the Middle Palawlirhic cultures, and
finally Stage of Modern Man with gracile physical
features as the contemporary populations, associated with
the Upper Palaeolithic Cultures respectively.
 After the disappearance of the Pleistocene epoch, the
glacial conditions also disappeared and Holocene began with
climatic conditions when the Mesolithic
made their appearance with superior
technology and a relatively complex way of life unlike that
Of their predecessors. Therefore Man did not lead
mesolithic way of life for long and started making efforts to
lead settled way of life chrmcterised by sedentary
domestication of animals, agriculture,
manufacture of pottery, etc., which finally led to * e
emergence of civilization, a]] finally assimilating into the
h i ~ l o g y . n dc,,ibre of contemporary human poplllations all
the world over.
C.HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT
The development of prehistory as a scientific subject
can be Conceived to have occurred in three stages. The
earliest stage goes to a time before Christ when naturalists.
philosopherr and priests advanced theories regarding the
origin and creation of earth as well as all organisms
including man. The next stage was marked by the work of
amateurs, followed by h e final stage when attempts were
made by scientific investigations bringing to light human
cultural remains.
Among the fiftb to fourth cenhlry B.C. Greak
Philosophers, the names of Anaximander, Empedodes,
Demo~ritusand Aristotle stand out prominendy for their
theses which state h a t the inorganic evolution occurred
first creating earth, followed by the organic evolution
resulting in the creation of various organisms. The last to be
Created was man. Though Anaxirnander was the first to
contemplate on the theory of evolution. Empedocles was
mainly responsible for the theory itself, He held that
permanent changes in animals have occurred due the action
of the nature and those organisms which could not change
became extinct. Dernocritus applied this theory to all
organisms. Aristotle thought that the internal changes on
the lines OF progress occurred in the organisms. Besides
these arm-chair thinkers, there were some other reek
scholars like Hesoid, arid Lucretius who contemplated on
the life activities of the prehistoric people. The first scholar
in his Works and Days djscussed the techniques of
manufacture of copper tools before the use of iron was
known to man. Lucretius in his De Rerum Natura stated that
the prehistoric man first used his nails and teeth and then
made and used tools of stone and wood before the
knowledge of metals like copper and iron was not known ta
him. Though these beginning theories and ideas about man
laid foundation for the later works, there was a lull for
several centuries.
Right from the Middle ages ti1 the 19th centuW,
there was difference of opinion about the origin OF man
between the religious bosses and scientists whose thinking
was based on reasoning. The evolutionary theory advanced
by the natural scientists was never acceptable t o those who
believed in the theory of special creation. The latter theory
gained momentum due to the efforts of a Spanish lesuit
priest, Father Suarez (1548-16171,according to whom
earth was formed in six days with the appearance of
materia prima on the first day, planb on the third day,
animals on the fifth and sixth days, and man on the sixth
day respectively. Woman was created from man's rib. This
 theory remained current till about the 19th century.
Another Biblical thinker, lames Usher (1581-1656).
Archbishop of Armagh, said that earth was created by God
in the year 4004 B.C., while john Liglltfoot, Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Cambridge, asserted in 1642 that man
was created on 23 October 4004 B.C. In 1802 William Paley
in his Natural Theology held that God created man only
6000 years ago. . . All these theories of special creation
supported by the authorities of the Christianity were in
great propagation in those days. These in a way led to the
birth of disciplines like biology, geology and anthro~olog~.

The theory of organic evolution proposed by the

Pre-Darwinian naturalists has not only received recognition
and support from the Middle age philosophers like Bacon,
Descartes, Leibnik, Kant among others of the 16th to 18th
centuries but also strenshened by the works of such
stalwarts as Linnaeus, Buffon, Eramus Darwin, Lamarck,
Charles Darwin and Thomas Henry Huldey of the 18th to 19th
centuries discrediting the theories of special creation still
prevalent in those days, Ofall these workers, Charles Darwin,
whose name is synonymous with the "tlleoryofevolution"like
the name of Einstein with "Relativitf', converted the scientific
and intellectual words to acceptance of the fact of evolution
which "he enunciated on 1st July 1858 f'rUm a synthesis of his
continuous observations, experiments, and accurnu~ationof
facts by correspondence with other naturalists. His ''On the
Origin of Specia by Means of Natuml Selection" is still a
masterpiece! F o ~ n a t e l ythis was the time when the stone
tool as also geological and palaeontological evidences were
discovered showing that man is the pmduct of evoluti~nand
existed before writing was unknown.
 Elements ofPrehistW

Another curious theory known as the Theory 'f

I
II
I
Cot~snophismwas propounded by a French geologist
Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), who thought that the I

organisms created in a particular period by the forces of

God became extinct due to natural calamities like floods,
deluges, etc. In the succeeding period various new
organisms different from the earlier ones were created
again by Cad. These were the "models of creation" in the
opinion of Cuvier. Cuvier's theory received support from a
number of his followers including some English geologists
of his time like Reverend W.B. Conybeare, Adam ~edgwich
and William Buckland. Influenced by the biblical theory of
"Deluge", geologists of those days simply believed that the
various rock formations on the earth were due to
catastrophies. The only geologist who did not believe in the
theory of catastrophism was Charles Lye11 (1797-18753.His
Principles of Geology published in three volumes between
1830 and 1833 came out with what is known as "Theory of
Uniformitarianism" according t o which the rocks have been
formed in a similar way all over the world and that the
forces which produced the geological formations of the past
operate as those of today. This work has thus led to the
downfall of the "Theoryof Geological Catastraphismu.
During this stage which witnessed confrontation
between religious beliefs and scientific investigations about
the human origins, evidence of human remains associated
with chipped !dint implements, now recognised as artifam,
and extinct fossil animal remains came to light from the
river valleys, caves, etc. People of those days used to
consider them as thunderbolts, fairy arrows, or as elf shots
fallen from the sky for which the ancient Greeks gave the
 name "ceraunia". That these were man-made flintimplements
was however recognised in the closing stages of the 16th
century by one Michael Mercati supported later by Sir
WiJliam Dugdale, Dr. Robert Plot, de la Payrere, and Chades
Ljrttelton besides the naturalist, Buffon. Further confirmation
for these as tools came from a number of 17th and 18th
century workers like Aldrovandus, Hassus, A.D. Jussieu,
Jesuit Lafitau and Mahudel who found similarities between
these ancient specimens and those produced by the
contemporary tribal people. One by a name Eccard
excavated a number of ancient graves in 1750 in Germany
and proposed a sequence of prehistoric stages. A magistrate
by name Goguet in his work, The Origin of Laws [1758],
gave a sequence of cultural periods: Stone Age, Copper Age,
Bronze Age and lron Age. At the same time excavations
were conducted at a number of cave sites in France.
England, Germany, Belgium, etc, which yielded the human
fossil remains, bone and stone tools along with fossil
s elephant, hyena, bear, etc. These finds have been
r ~ m a i n of
carefully studied according to the laws of geological
stratigraphy of scientists like Tournal, Dumas and Marcel of
France; John Frere and Father 1. MecEner~of England)
Schmerling of Belgium and a host of others and interpreted
the antiqui$ of man. In spite of these imporbntdiscov@ries
heated discussions were golng on about the antiquity of
man till the mid-19th century.
It was in 1836 that the history of prehistoric
researches and antiquity of man have taken an interesting
turn, when the French Customs Officer, Boucher dc Perthes
discovered in the Somme valley, durlng his survey, fossil
bones of the extinct animals along with the stone tools-all
again creating a sort of commation and confusion in the I
scientific circles. The classic site of Abbeville and iK
surroundings in the Somme valley were visited in 1858-59
1
by no less scientists than the English palaeontologist ugh
Falconer, geologist Joseph Prestwich, and archaeologist
John Evans who confirmed the findings of Boucher de
Perthes. This important work together with Charles
Darwin's The Origin of Species added considerable strength
to science and scientific outlook.

Both scientific investigations as well as works of

amateur archaoelogists, called dilenttunti in those dayS)
were going on side by side. The amateur workers were
mainly interested in the collection of art objects from the
ruins. Some of the important personalities belonging to this
category were Thomas Howard, The Earl of Arundel, Duke
of Buckingham, King Charles 1, and John Tradescant. Due
the combined efforts of some of those interested in the
human history and development, and in the collection of art
objects, The Sociefp oJAntiquaries oflandon was established
in 1751.The interest in the collection of afi objects as also
the excavation ofhundreds of ancient barrows and the study
of the recovered finds by persons like Reverend James
Douglas, William Cunnington, Sir Richard Colt Hoare and
others have paved the way for the establishment:and rise of
prehistory as a subject of great relevance.
Further development in the history of prehistory has
taken place when CJ. Thornsen, the first Curator of the
National Musem of Denmark in 1836 developed the concept
of three ages first conceived by Vedel-Sirnonsen in 1813,
and classified his collections in the museum into three
technological stages namely, Stone Age, Bronze Age and
 Iron Age. Later on he carried aut excavations in the Danish
bags and Swiss lake dwellings which provided stratigraphical
proof For the technological stages discerned by him. These
significant contributions earned to Thomsen the title of the
Father of European Prehistory. This was fallowed by the
use of the term "prehistory" for the first time by Daniel
Wilson in 1051 in his book entitled The Archaeology and
Prehistoric Annuls of Scotland and later by Sir John Lubbock
and others.

The initial work of Boucher de Perthes in the Somme

valley stimulated a number of other workers in the field, who
found stone tools at a number of other sitcs in Western
Europe. The tools from some of these sites were ground
unlike the chipped ones from the Somme valley. As a result,
two stages have been recognised in the stone age: [I) Old
Stone Age and (2) New Stone Age, which have been described
as Palaeolithic and Neolithic by Sir john Lubbock in 1865 in
his book PrehisMric Times. Jacques de Morgan refined this
classification further by recognising a new category of tools in
the chipped implement group itself, which he described by the
term "Mesolithic"and placed between the first stage, earlier
recognised as Palaeolithic and Neolithic, Subsequent
researches in various countries of the world yielded new
evidences necessibting further division of the Pdaeolithic
Period into Lower, Middle and Upper Pafaeolirhic Periods
followed by Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods.
D.METHODS OF STUDY
To achieve the aims and objects of the study and to
draw a meaningful picture of the different aspects of the life
and culture of the past communities, the prehistoric
anthropologist generally employs the following archaeological
and non-archaeological methods.
The different methods employed to recover the
material remains left by the human societies and their
analysis and interpretation consist of (1) survey or surface
exploration, (21 excavation, (3) analyses, (43 interpretation
and report writing.
1.Survey or Surface Exploration
This is the first step in the discovery of sites which is
undertaken keeping in view the aims and objectives of the
problem of study and the hypothesis t o be tested. This
involves the geographical area and the nature of the surveY
in accordance with the type of data one wants which may
range from imparting practical field training t o beginning
students in the subject, specific issues of the problem to be
tackled to regional studies Iimited to smaller geographical
areas, and to have a glimpse into the life and culture as also
antiquity of the people of a nation.
Systematic search for sites is accomplished by
exploration of the selected area of study by foot and careful
observation of the surface of the terrain in question*
supplemented by other methods like jeep or horse, acrid
photography, electrical prospectian, etc. However, it has to
be admitted that the surveys on foot or a combination of
aerial survey and surface examination will yield good
results. During the survey the investigator apart from
collecting the representative types of artifacts and
non-artifactual remains, if any, will plot the site on me map
of the area showing its correct position and also record his
ob*@mationsin the diary maintained for the purpose. For
 convenience, the information can also be recorded on a
previously designed proforma containing such aspects as
the geographical location of the site, includirlg the
availability o f the map for the area, type of the site,
situation, water, condition, nearest road if any, suitability
for excavation, information of the land-owner if it is located
in a private land, photos of artifacts etc., description of the
site, area, depth, height, vegetation, soil of the site as well as
that of the surrounding ground, information on previous
exploration of the site as also publication, if any, and all
other details pertaining to the site.
TO test and judge the contents of the site, ihcluding
the structural features, proton magnetometer and electrical
devices are employed to know the archaeological features
such as peaks and valleys as also their magnetic intensiy
and different intensities of electrical resistance of the
archaeolagical structures respectively. To test the depth of
the cultural debris, the soil compactness and to predict the
presence of objects of bone, stone, and metal, a simple
device of a probe made of a rod of spring steel with a
ball-bearing welded to its tip is driven into the ground. A
large wooden mallet is used to thump the ground from the
sound of which one can tell the nature of the underlying
fahrer in the To know the nature of the site, its
visible feabres are all mapped or plotred with help ofa
compass and a drawing board.
The artifactual and nonartifacmal objech collected
from the surface of h e site will not only help in evaluating
the nature and age of its culture in comparison to other
sites in 'he area of study bur also its contents. It is possible
that one and the same site may represent remains of more
than one culture from which it is convenient to assess the
sequence of different cultures in a particular geographical
area. There are a number of factors operating from the
variation in the surface finds such as antiquity, soi'
chemistry, climate, vegetation, earlier exploration and so
on. These apply to open sites, caves, rock shelters, river
valleys, etc. Surface indications of a site are governed by a
number of natural and cultural variables and therefore they
can be taken as on!y a rough guide of the site but never be a
mirror image of its contents. To overcome these difficulties
and limitations, special sampling techniques such as the One
which involves the collection of all types of materials from
the surface of the sire, random sampling technique by which
the cultural materials are picked up from the grid squares
made on the surface of the site and by making trial
excavations by which one can find not only stratigraphic
proof for the surface indications bur. &o to augment for the
surface remains as also to assess the sujtability of the sire
for larger excavations. Finally the contents of the surface
should be cleaned and registered with each objed bearing
the serial number and a three letter abbreviation of the
name of the site, or any other method convenient to the
However, this has to be followed uniformly for
all the sites discovered in a geographical area,
2.Excavation
Excavation of a site is undertaken in order to answer
certain specific questions although it is generally helpful to
work out the stratigraphic sequence of cultures lor a
particular area besides confirming the surface finds. It is not
possible nor is it advisable to excavate all the sites
discovered by surface exploration. A site is selected for
 excavation taking the various Factors such as its
archeological richness, undisturbed nature, nearness to the
road, time, money, sources of equipment, permission
besides the staff including the labourers. The excavation
can extend depending on the nature of the problem for
more than one season, Abave all, the excavator should have
professional competence and experience as also knowledge
of previous excavations before he himself undertakes one.
The main aim of the excavation is to discern the
sequence of cultures and to draw a picture of the life of the
people with the help ofdifferent types of material, evidence
recnveced from the excavations. The area selected for
digging, the techniques employed and the type of
excavation depend on the availability of resources and the
objectives.
Before the excavation proper is carried out, trial or
test pits are taken to assess the potentid of the site
regarding the occupation depths in different places, the
Sequence of levels and the location of particular features.
These mainly h d p us in judging whether a large excavation
is necessary and useful or not. These pits thus provide
much better information than surface indications, but in
any case they cannot be representative of the site. The
number of test pits may range from one to Inore than one.
They may be taken in a rectangular fashion or as squares In
larger sites, step trenches are taken beginning from the top
level of the sire and continued upto the base in order to
establish thc depth of the cultural debris.
There are two different kinds of excavation depending
on the size of the area to be dug: horizontal excavation and
vertical excavation. In the horizontal excavation, the surface
of the site is excavated in such a way that the area is cur.
,
II

down by thin layers. This type of excavation is applied to

explore larger area and conducted on a large scale to
expose details of the building structures as completel~as
possible. In such excavations control pits are also taken to
preserve the stratigraphy which may be missed otherwise.
Even in this type of excavation, some part of the site should
be left untouched for future excavators. In vertical
excavations, trenches of different sizes are cut into the
cultural deposit The digging is done from stratigraphic
level to Watigraphic level until the original surface is
touched. Far reconstruction of sequence of cultural deposits
and to Preserve stratigraphy, control pits are dug. In the
excavation of burials and tombs, cave sites and
rock-shelters, etc., the excavation techniques vary and of a
special kind.
The next aspect of the excavation concerns the
stratigraphy itself, The three elements of space, time, and
culture which constitute the context and basic to the
description and interpretation of prehistoric cultures are
dependent on the stratigraphy. Generally the principle of
stratipaphy holds that the lowest layer is the oldest and the
topmost layer is the youngest in the context of the repeated
association of objects and their relative ages. The
importance of stratigraphy lies in the fact of its proper
decipherment and analysis on which depends the quality of
interpretation of results. But in practical situations, it is
quite difficult to do the job satisfactorily although!
pmfessional experience to a considerable extent resolves
the problem. Thus for an objective reconstruction of culture
 history in terms of space and time the excavator musr: take
utmost care to underline the importance of stratigraphy.
The proof of and testimony to excavations and
excavated sites lie in the preparation and preservation of
records. Apart from mapping all excavated sites, a plan of
the site before and during excavations has to be prepared
with thc help of compass, tape, and hand Ievcl as also with
surveying equipment. Such a plan will include the basic
details of the site and its relation to roads, streams, towns,
etc., as well as specific details showing the contours and the
excavated areas. The other features which need accurate
recording are walls, past-hales, floors, hearths, placement
of certain important artifacts in relation to associated finds,
burials, etc-all within the excavation. An accurate drawing
of the stratigraphic section has also to be made during the
course of the excavation itself and confirm by correlation
after compleljon of excavation with the actual section
before leaving h e field area. Needless to say that the
excavator shoujd make useful notes on various aspects of
the excavation from the beginning till the end of the
excavation.
~ l a n and
The a---
- -
s drawings of various aspeds have to be
supplemented by plrotography, which form an essential part
of recarding, During h e course of the excavation the different
kinds antiquities recovered from the excawtion have to be
Properly cleaned, registered and put in the Paper or cloth bags
and stored in a convenientplace in the field camp.
Along dh h e excavation, it is necessaly for the
excavator for proper preservation of different W ~ e sof objecfs
encountered in various states of presemation. There are
 1
various techniques of preservation of the objects in the field
!
and their restoration in the laboratory (Plenderleith, 19563.
No scientific excavation is successfuI wjthour the
association of both supervisory and technical staff although
labour is often not a problem. In the opinion of wheeler
[1956), any excavation should have staff, besides the
excavator and his immediate deputee, ranging from
supervisors for different areas of excavation, a trained
foreman, a small find recorder, a pottery-assistant, a
photographer, a surveyor, a chemise t o a draftsman. The
specialists in physical and natural sciences should also be
associated with the excavation in accordance with the
nature of the sire. To ensure a proper and fruitful
excavation, a team of appropriately good is a
reasonable necessity.
3. Analyses
This involves the classification and description of
artifactual, non-artifactual and other kinds of data.
Classification into meaningful categories is made with regard
to animal bones, tools, houses as also sites on Ihe basis
which comparisons can be made and chronologies and
cultural relationships can be established. Classification is the
key to ~ Y P O ~ ~Typological
W. classification is made of stonel
bonea or metal tools based on the presumed functions#
cornpalison with similar tools used by living communities of
the same socio-economic level particularly the contemporafl
Vibesl and experimentation. ApaR ham fhese functional
there are what are called ''convenient types"recognised
according to the convenience of the investigator and not based
on any rational criteria (Hole and Heizer, 1965).
 Introduction
23

Since the artifacts have been artificially produced by

the human beings in the distant past, it is always good to
identify the ideal with which the makers wanted to produce
the tools. This can be done by visual observatinn of the
whole range of artifacts in an assemblage. These cuitural
Qpes can also be made with the help of cluster attribute
analysis using such attributes as size, shape, colour,
material, etc., of the artifact: under consideration and
extending such analysis to the whole lot of the artifacts.
This helps in recopising particular pattern which the tool
makers preferred. In the words of Hole and Heizer 119651,
"statistical treatment is invaluable in the simultaneous
handling of l ~ ~ a variables."
ny

The next part of analysis is description of artifacts

without which the classification can never be complete. The
different types of description consist of verbal descriptions
done with a drawing or photograph to represent the artifact
types, statistical descriptions made by tabulating the data
or the descriptions of attribute combinations of artifacts
including listing of artifacts and calculation of
frequencies,and symbolic descriptions in which besides the
dimensions of the al-tifacts, the desijp elements and their
Combinations are defined and described by a formal
language of symbols. On the whole there is no u n i ~ r s a l l ~
accepted system of description for' Proper comparison of
the data.
Besides [he above analysis, the prehistoric
anthropologist depends fbr his interpretations of tw+fXm
cultures on the technical analysis of po"'Yj metal and
stone, weaving, soil, analpis of plants and animals.
chemical residues and the sites themselves. These are made
with the help of the experts from different fields of natural I

and physical sciences. Such analysis would help in

recognising the methods of manufacture of the artifacts and
also their chemical composition, if any, in order to
understand the trade contacts between different areas as
also to throw light on the expertise of the people. The study
of plant and animal remains helps in assessing the nature of
the diet, climate, chronology, etc. during the prehistoric
times while the physical condition of the sites may throw
light on the duration of the occupation by t h e people as well
as the underlying factors for the formation of the sitas.
In the analysis OF pottery, the binocular and
petrographic microscopes are used to assess the minera1
composition of the tempering material used in the pogery
while spectographic analysis and differential thermal
analysis are used for knowing the chemical camposition of
potsherds. The details of manufacture of metal artifacts are
made by photomicro examination of samples of the artifact5
besides spectrographic and petrographic analysis or fabric
analysis. Analysis of fibres helps us to know &e plants or
animals domesticated by the people and identification of
dyes tells about the trade, if any, while the Qpe of weaving
may throw light on the technical skill of the people. soi1
analysis helps us in dating the sites, environments, and the
m a ~ n e rof the f~t'mationof the deposits. This is done by
pedologists- Faunal and floral remains are smdied by
zoologists and botanists and these help in the identification
of s p e c k environment and relative date of the site.
 1% - ,.."..-,, ...
. q.,.
"*'
h T-r rr
4. Interpretation and Report Writing

Following the field objectives, the systematically

recovered and identified, recorded and preserved a s also
restored prehistoric artifactual and non-artifactual
evidences such as artifacts, burials, shelters, etc. are
interpreted with special reference to different types of
cultural elements and their diffusion in time and space to
delineate the continuity and change in cultures and culture
areas to reconstruct the way of life of the people as based
on tool typo-technology, subsistence pattern, and economy,
social structure and political organisation, religious
patterns and spiritual beliefs and so on; to assess the
furictiol~alsignificance and contribution of material remains
to the culture with specific reference to their contribution
to meet the requirements of the people; to infer the
developmenta) stages in man's achievement and
Understand the significance of the foregone cultures to
those of the contemporary times. Commenting on "the
importance of interpretation, Wheeler, [I956 : 6 ) opines
thus : "Hawever elaborateiy deviced the archaeological
techniques and, howeverJ carefully they are carried out in
the field ar laboratory, they are useless unless they are
directed to specific ends of interpretation. The evidence of
archaeology only becomes evidence when viewed fhrough
interpretative eyer. . , . asking the right question 1s the
business of interpretation."
~~~t of the prehistoric man's evidence revolves
round the interpretation of the lire Ways ofthe people based
on subsistence pattern and economy. Prehistoric economy
is a multifaceted one ranging from hunting, fishing and food
farming, harvesting and preparation of food,
shelters built for living and the tools made and used to
practice of trade. It can be best understood from an I
examination of environment .and its potentialities such as
plants, animals, soil, weather and so on as these are of
fundamental importance to man's existence and c o n t i n ~ i v
as also survival,

The diet of prehistoric man is judged from animal

bones of different species butchered or killed and the
different weapons used for the purpose. They would also
throw light on the type of climate in which they lived. The
plant food is a rarely preserved but one can make out rhe
story from the charred plant remains, seeds, and pollen
from different situations such as fire places, pottery, and
clay from which the farming can be determined besides the
identification of different species of plants and also the
tools used for farming purposes. Both animal and plant
evidences can be best inferred from a comparison with the
contemporary knowledge of these as also by a reference to
their history in a particular area.
Linked with diet is the technology of different types
of tools, which reveal the methods of obtaining food but
also the technological level and cultural progress made by
fie people. To same extent technology can also throw light
on the contacts of man with his counterparts in other parts
ofthe nature.

Regarding the information on trade, we have

depend on the evidence of the items of exchange
different materials. Till the end of the Pleistocene epoch
there was no clear evidence of trade in the
Gmes. However, trade helps us in understanding h e rooa
 of migration of the people as well as the cultural elements.
It is very difficult to gauge the standards of exchange till
knowledge of specialisation was known.
Regarding shelters, we have no data till man started
Practising settled way of life though we have to look for
Such evidence at primary sites used by man as camps. As
and when the evidence of houses comes t o light, it- is
necessary to evaluate it with regard to the form, size, and
type as also the materials used in their construction. The
different sizes of the settlement and the underlying factors
from the stand point of the people have to be assessed
properly.
The different means of transport and travel, their
Purpose and the nature and extent of changes brought
about in the life and culture of the people have to be
evaluated,
Besides the typological classification of different
types of prehistoric objects we must know the functions to
which they were used to understand life activities nf the
people. This can be achieved by cumparison with similar
objects used by living communities particularly the non-
literate ones. Such a comparison known as ethnographic
analogy is one of&e latest development in the interpretation
of prehistoric mjmres, We should also assess the dif'fererent
stages through which the prehistoric object passed and the
position of artifads in the cultural deposit to understand
the context of their use. Thirdly, expelmimentsshould be
made in producing the artifacts t0 understand the
techniques of their production and also the ways ifl which
tiley were by the prehistoric communities, Fourthly.
me study of ethnagraphic accounts would help us in
inferring the use of the objects. The foregoing methods of
I
identification of tools would greatly help in eliminating the
objects produced by nature.
I
The next aspect af interpretation is the
society which consists of social organisation, demography,
prehistoric cultures, religion, specialisation, etc. This can be
largely reconstructed on the basis of analow with the
present day peoples of more or less similar socio-economic
level with the help of ethnographic accounts about them
apart from the use of imagination.
Interpretation of the evidence is fallowed by report
writing which varies from site reports to regional culture
histories to draw a generalised picture.
E. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER SCIENCES
Prehistory as a segment of anthropology is not only
related to the other segments of anthropology but also a
large number of non-anthmpological sciences
the natural and physical sciences. The nature and range of
subjects of fields related to prehistory depend upon the
nature and quantum of evidence recovered by different
appraaches.
Social-CulturalAnthropology
The prehistoric anthropologist employs archaeolo@ca'
techniques and digs up 'peoples and cultures'. He recovers
the material remains of different kinds of preliterate and
non-literate peoples, who had no real sense of history and
whose hismy is eventless and anonymous as distinct from
conventional history. To reconstruct the ways of life of the
 foregone communities from the products of their
behaviour, the prehistoric anthropologist has to look up to
the historically-oriented anrhmpologist or has to go
though his works. The non-material aspects of the
prehistoric culturcs which are to be inferred from the
material remains cannot be interpreted satisfactorily in
view of the absence of their producers. Therefore it is
essential to depend on the accounts of the behaviour of the
living communities. Thus the delineation of technological or
material culture, also known as reality culture, together
with value culture and social culture is done through
analogical role of social-cultural anthropology. It is in this
sense that prehistoric anthropology is related to
social-cultural an~ropologywhose theoretical framework
and e~nographic accounts of the non-literate communi~es
provide the necessary ~ ~ k w a sefiing l for the
reconstruction of preliterate societies of prehistoric times.

physical Anthropology or Eiological Anthropology

Biologically speaking, man is an animal but he is a

cultural animal, Though physical anthropology is primarily
concerned with the study of origins, variation and evolution
of man as based on the pa!aeontologicai remains, it cannot
be done successfu]]ywithout reference to his culture which
moulded his biology particularly in the beginning Stages of
the evolution. so the physical characteristics and the
mentality of the extinct people are studied by the physical
anthropalagist. The different aspects of study range from
physique, racial type, age, sex, medical history. nutrition.
pathology, et-, which can be used to interpret man's
relationships as well as behaviour to each other* to the
environment matendcvlture, and nofl-material
Natural Sciences
Since man lives in close relationship with the
environment he comes into contact with a variety of natural
phenomena such as the physical environment, the fauna
and flora and geographical conditions, This holds good
prehistoric times as well when man accomplished his life
activities and subsistence by collection, gathering and
hunting techniques. Settled way of life also brought human
societies closer to the animal and plant world when they
were domesticated and cultivated. The hunted Or
domesticated animal bones and bone fragments occur
association with the biocultural remains of man. To know
the different species, the kind of environment, the faod
habits of the people and t o understand their relation with
the present day forms, the animal remains have to be
systematically studied. Likewise, From the wood remains
and pollen one can infer the plant species as well as the
climatic conditions besides the peoples'
Paaerns. Prehistoric faunal and floral remains also help in
dating the geological deposits in which they occur for their
chmnological placement For a systematic study
and analysis as also to draw various inferences, the role 0f
palaeontologists Or z~ologistsand botanisa is of vital
importance.
Before launching a proper and planned investigation
of the prehistoric anthropology of a selected area or region,
it is quite important to stndy the past geography and
climate besides geology. We have a fairly good account
the present day climate and geography of the world. But
both these phenomena underwent drastic changes since the
time when "man the tool-maker" first appeared in the
 In troductio r?
31
beginning of Plejstocene epoch till to date all the wwld
over. Hence a thorough knowledge of these changes is a
matter of concern to pinpoint the different kinds of
Prehistoric sites and settlements which formed the abode of
human groups, and their movements in search of animal
and plant food. Such meaningful and objective assessment
of the climatic conditions of the past mainly through
geological deposits of different types and their impact on
the life activities of prehistoric communities particularly
with regard to their psycho-social development can be
achieved with the assistance and association of a competent
Professional climatologist.

Geology, the science of earth's crust, provides the

law of stratigraphy which as the foundation of our
knowledge of chronological order of facts with the position
and nature o f each stratum containing prehistoric remains
furnishes information as to the relative antiquity of the
finds as well as the strata. Further the interpretation of the
finds can be objectiveIy done only when one explains the
manner of the deposition of different layers. The
archeolo@cai strata formed by the effects of geological
Processes and mechanisms can help us in reconstructing
the environment in the past. As stone is the most
imperishable it has been extensively used in the
manuramre of tools and weapons by ~r@hisbofic
communities of different times. The knowledge of different
rock typepep in relatjon to different prehistoric cultures is
very essential in all prehistoric investigations. For all these
things it is necessary depend on the geol?eist apart fro*
these
the prehistorian possessing a fairly good idea
aspects.
 Pedology, the science of soils, is anather potential
field with which prehistory is related. The analysis of the I
soil i s not only used in dating but also to undersand the I

manner of the formation of deposits as well as about the

environment at the time of their formation. With the help of
the pedologist it is possible to know whether the deposits
were natural or man-made because it is these deposits, i f at
all artificial, contain remains of ancient people. ~ e d o l o g i s ~ ~
who are familiar with the soil chemistry can help US in
assessing correctness of the observed features such
post-holes, burial pits, etc. There are a number
geochronological techniques by which
materials found in geological context can be indirectly
dated. They consist of vanes of silt, beaches, terraces,
dunes, Pleistocene feature like moraines and loesses!
sediments, etc. In the case of plant and animal remains
dating is done using palaeobotanical and p a l a e o n t o l ~ g i c ~
methods like pollen analysis, tree-ring analysis, and sfudY
of bones themselves.
Physical Sciences

That the physical sciences such as physics and

chemisW are related ta prehistory can be realised when
the different physical-chemical methods of dating such as
radiocarbon mehod. potassium-argon method, thermo-
luminiscence, magnetic dating alpha and beta radioactiviw4
chemical analysis, patinatian, hydration, etc. are for
dating different materials recovered jn
contexts- For this purpose the prehistorian has - -
to depend
-

on the expertise and experience of scientists working in

these sciences. The dates, thus obtained, which may be
. -

absolute or relative are used in the interpretation of the

 recovered data to understand the tempo and spccd at
which the different prehistoric cultures progressed.

F. ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRADITIONS
Many a historically-oriented archaeologist incline to
consider prehistory as a branch of archaeology, and treat it
as a continuation of history although indeed it is not.
However, our main concern here is limited to understand
the role played by prehistory in the context of the so-called
archaeological traditions.
A careful examination of the published literature
shows that the perspectives and goals of the different
archaeological researches conducted in the Old World
including India and the "New Worldt' or the Americas are
not the same, In the Old World, archaeology came into
existence in the wake of renaissance. This type of
archaeology which is intimately linked with the art history
is called classical archaeology, its main contribution being
towards understanding about the ancient Creeks and
Romans in addition to the available accounts and textual
descriptions. Christopher Hawkes (1962) calls this kind of
archaeology a text-aided archaeology. In the beginning of
the 19th tenwry another kind of archaeology known as
prehistoric archaeology based on the three-period
sequence of stone, h-onze and iron came into practice. This
type of archaedogy which is nothing but a n t h r o ~ o l ois~
independent of written texts and traces the geological
antiquiy as cultural and biological evolution of man by
applying the of natural sci@nceSsuch as geo1og%
particularly palaeochronol~g~l~alaeontolog~l palaeo-
climatology, pa]aeobotany, etc. besides a n t h r ~ ~ o l oThis
g~.
is thus a text-free archaeological tradition and is mainly I
dealt with the preliterate and non-literate societies unlike
the text-aided dassical archaeology. It is a kind of
historiography in the sense that it hardly talks about the life of
the extinct human groups. Both these types of tradirions lack
anthropological approach in the interpretation of the data.
In the New World, on the other hand, the situation is
altogether different in view of the fact that New world
occupied by the European immigrants after America
discovered, while the original settlers were the American
Indians. These t w o groups of people cannot have me same
past. The American Indians who existed befare the white
I

Man arrived in the New World had no written hisforY

their own. Therefore in the eyes American scientists
these folk have become 'other peoples' and their cultures
have been h o w n as 'other cultures'. The enterprising
American anthropologish in the course of their studies of
Amerindians brought to light their customs, institution
languages, religious beliefs and practices, ell. This kind
s m d ~has been extended to reconsvuct the past history
the People known as the Amerindian history by using the
technique of "memory culmres" which, implies the
reconsauction of the past of the people based on the
recolteaons of the oldest living members of ~ m e r i n d i ~ ~
groups. This We of appmach has anthropological imprint
and becomes a part of ethnology. On the basis of their
reconshucted information, the anthropologist seeks to
gather additional information ar a kind of confirmation for
the recollections of the old informants in certain cases.
On the basis of this he visits the habitation sites and
if necessary digs the site for getting more information and
 Introduction 3s

extending the antiquity of the Amerindians deeper in time

till the prehistoric stage is reached. In course of such an
approach the anthropologist employs all possible
techniques like his Old World counterpart This type of
archaeology is called by Hawkes as text-free archaedogy
because it does not take the help of any texts but the
difference between this tradition and the text-free
prehistoric archaeological tradition of the Old World is that
in the former the scientist proceeds From the known to the
unknown @resent to past] whereas in the case of the latter
he carries out the investigation from the unknown to the
known [past to present). The New World anlhropologist
engages himself seriously in the construction of the
different aspects of the life and culture ofthe people, Jn the
words of WiJley and Phillips (19583, "A~chaeolog~ is
anthropoloa or it i s nothing" in America.

The use of rhis approach is increasingly realised in

the Old World as can be seen in the shift of emphasis from
the mere collection of stone tool assemblages to infer the
life ways of the people responsible for the material remains.
Attention is mainly focussed on locating 'primary' or 'living'
sites that are likeely to yield human remains in undisturbed
state; on employing refined excavation techniques that
would enable the recovery of evidence of specific culhlral
occupations that would afford locational analysis'; and on
the complete recovery oforganic samples as far as possible
such as pollen and animal bones by using the floatatjon
analysis. Multidjsciplinar~ approach calls for such a
research activity.
 I
G. TERMINOLOGY
Prehistory has a special kind of terminol%Y. The I

most important terms used are explained as under:

Artvacr : It is an object of any kind which has been
artificially produced by man. It is the smallest cultural unit
of prehistorian. Egs. :blades, houses, art, language, etc.
Industy : It includes a11 artifacts of the same
discovered at a particular site, ~ g s: a chipped sfone
industry, a bone tool industry, a ceramic industry, and so On'
Assemblage :This comprises all the industries found
a t one site taken together.

Culture :This constitutes a number of assemblages

same kind found at a number of sites. ~gs, : palaeolithiC
culture, neolithic culture, etc.
Tradition : It refers to a particular segment of one
and the same cultural period. Egs. : pebble tool tra&iofi
hand-axecleaver tradition, Aurignacian hadidan, solutrean
tradition.
P h s e : I t represents a cultural-chronological sub-
period of a period.
Period : It contains more than one phase and
represents a larger unit in terms of antiquiw and cultural
components.
Site :I t is a place of different sizes where artifacts are
found. Sites can be further divided into different types
based on artifacts bund as palaeoli thic, neoli thic, etf by
location as cave site or lake site ; by the type of activity as
 kill site, ar camp site ;by habitation as permanent, seasonal;
by context as stratified, surface, etc.
Core : It is starting material of usually stone from
which flakes are removed,Egs. :blade core, falke core, etc.
Flake : It represents a part of the core with a flake
surface with or without bulb of percussion and a platform.
Based on the location of the strikjng platform, the flakes are
called side flakes, end flakes and indeterminate flakes.
Chips : These are shapeless waste flakes resulted
during the working ofcores or artifacts. They are small and
irregular in shape and bear no marks of use nor of retouch.
P/at/orrn :This is a point at the end or side of a flake
where the blow is given while removing it from the core.
The platform is called faceted platform when it is prepared
by removing small chips and unfaceted platform when no
previous preparation is made for the purpose.
Blade : It is a thin flake with longer parallel sides. All
flakes are not blades but all blades are flakes.
Bulb of percussion : It is a small, circular, raised
Projection on the undersurface of a Rake near &heplace of
the striking platform. It is known as 'semicone' of
percussion when it results due to only part of penetration of
the blow given at periphery Negative bulb of percussion or
conchoidal flake surface is the hollow surface on the core
which results due to h e removal of flake from core and its
counterpart on the flake is called 'positive h ! b of
 A. WHAT 1s PLEISTOCENE?
For the sake of convenience, the long period of tine
through which the world has passed has been divided into a
number of major divisions or eras of life such as the
Archaeozoic (Archaean], Palaeozoic (Primay], Mesozoic
[Secondary), and Cenozoic pertiary and Quaternary] each
with a number of epochs, We are not concerned with the first
t f m e major divisions at all except for the various rock
formations of the Mesozoic era which formed the raw
materials for the stone age man who made his appearance in
the be@nning of the Pleistocene epoch. The Tem'ary period
has further undergone divisions such as Pataeocene, Eocene,
Oligocene, [Vlioce~leand Pliocene, each with a number af
~ ~ b - d jwith ~ i ~also
~ j which ~ are not ~0Ucernedat the
~ we
moment though these are important in the consideration of
various pr&uman stages of man the evidences of which have
been found in these deposits. The Quaternary era which i s
the last of h e eras of life on earth has two epochs, namely,
Pleistocene and Holocene (or Recent),
As man has originated in the Pleistocene period it
can be aptly said that prehistory also began in the same
Period. The environment ofthe Pfeistocene epoch is closely
related to [he c u l ~ r aequipment
l and way of life ofman. As
such, it is not easy m understand any human culture
Without the environment This is not to Say
that endmnment determines the culture aummatical$ but
it has to be admitted [flat R influences the latter in varying
degrees. Man's bio-culrural e v ~ l ~ t j ocannot
n be understood
without the knowledge of his climate. This climate is that' f
the Pleistocene which according to the present estimates
began about four to five million years back and continued
upto 8,300 B.C. when the Holocene epoch began and
continues till today.
Pleistocene, which is the age of man, is a term
Creek origin (meaning Pleistos=most ; ~oinos=new)First
used by Charles Lyell(1797-1875), a geologist in 1839. The
beginning of this epoch was marked by drastic &hangesin
the climate. The homogeneous warm dimatic conditions
characteristic of the Pre-Plesitocene epochs were no
seen in the Pleistocene epoch which was marked bY the
Arctic ice region, a temperate Europe, the warm Africa, eft‘
It was during this epoch that the climatic changes From cold
to warm conditions and vice versa were noticed due to
which it is also described as the Great Ice Age. During this
period the mountain tops in the located
temperate zones were occupied by ice sheets which have
to the surrounding areas in fie form of .glacJ
as a result of which the land masses presented
depressions and high levels,
Before considering the main features of the
Pleistocene period, it is perhaps interesting and usebl 'O
understand two important aspects, namely, pliocene-
Pleistoceneboundary and Pleistocene-Holiceneboundary-
B. PLlO-P LEISTOCENE BOUNDARY
This is one of the conceptual problems faced bY the
Wehistoric anthropologists besides the problems of dating'
It i s important know the border line where Pliocene ends
and Pleistocene begins.
 Pleistocene and its Features
41

Till recently it has been thought that the Pleistocene

epoch was one million years old and that the first glaciafion
Occurred immediately afker the epoch began, regarding
which there was no general agreement and thus led to
Confusion. In this process deposits of similar age had been
described by some workers as those of Upper Pliocene, while
some others have assigned them to Lower Pleistocene.

I t was in 1912 that Kaug defined Pleistocene as that

epoch which yielded the evidence of the mammals of one or
more of the genera, Efephas, Equus, or Bus. This suggestion
was supported and recommended for adoption by the
International Geological Congress held in London in 1948. A
faunal assemblage of this kind is generally identified as
Villafranchian, which is recognised as a period o f time
began about 3.5 million years ago. This term was used
Qriginally in Europe for the rocks laid down on the land
[rather than in the sea) after that time and before the large
scale continental gladations. As a consequence of this
change in the limit of the Pleistocene, the interpretations
that put the evidence of man in the Upper Pleistocene had
to be revised and placed in the Lower Pleistocene period. It
is now accepted that the total duration of the
Pleistocene divisions is more than three times of what was
put forth earlierpThe Villafranchian Sfage of the Pleistocene
according m me present thinking indudes the Pre-Cunz
(nnnau) glaciation
C. ~LE~sTOCENE-HOLOCENEBQUNMRY
There is no agreement regarding the time *hen the
Pleistocene came m an end and when the Holocene made
beginning. According some scholars the
epoch ends with the final retreat of glaciations and with the 1

I
comparable disappearance of Pluvials in tropical areas. But
workers who consider fossil fauna opined that the advent
domestication should be taken as the mark to
Pleistocene. According to this school of thought t h e
beginning of Holocene is put to 5.000 B.C- whereas
according Lo the earlier school of thought the pleistocene
terminates around 10,000B.c.
Today majority of the scholars accept the event of
"
climatic changes to define the end of Pleistocene. It is a'so
problem to identify Pleistocene successfully in diverse
geographical regions because the evidence for the end f the
glaciation cannot be obtained in each and evely swati tied
deposit nor is it possible to encounter the tool - of
mjmre-bearing deposits presening samples of villafranchian
fauna with them. Therefore, a number of indirect factors have
'0 be taken into consideration in fie interpretation and
Objedve judgment of the in situ cultural evidence which
lead erron in the calculation o f ~age.
e
D*PLEISTOCENESTRATIGWHY-AFRICA AND !NDlA
On the basis of the stratigraphical arrangement *f
in the Alps mountains, four main advances of
glaciations have been recognised by two scientists, A. 'f enck
and E. Bruckner. These four ice ages called GiinZJ M indel~
RissI and Wiirm have been widely adapted as the ice ages f '
the Pleistocene epoch and have been intervened by three
periods of normal conditions called G ( i n z - ~ i p ~ ~ l
Interglacial Period. Mindel-Riss Interglacial period, and
Riss-Wfirm Inkrglacial Period. The glacial periods indicate
 Pleistocene and its Feahlrcts
43

cold climate, while interglacial periods show warm climatic

conditions. This does not simply mean that these periods
were characterised by only cold and warm conditions
respectivejy because some scientists feel that even during
the glacial period warm climatic conditions used to prevail,
This view is supported by the evidence of a warm- climate
animal called hippopotamus which lived in Europe.
According to G.C. Simpson, the Antarctic climate in one of
the ice ages was 4°C more than that of the present day,
whereas during the same ice age in different parts of the
World the climate was warmer. But majority of the
scientists believed that the temperature in ail seasons,
particularly in summer, was low and t h a t is why the ice age
with intense cold begins.

During the ice ages, the ice an the mountain tops

located in the polar regions and temperate zones spread
very rapidly. In the North pole regions it used to be as much
thick as 3,000meters. In North and South America, the ice
sheets occupied almost half of the continent and covered
the whole of the present Canada. In Europe, the ice
Precipitated on the hill-tops o f Scandinavia has spread till
che cities of London, Berlin and Warsaw. Even in the Asia
Minor, evidence has been found m show that lhe icesheets
Spread to ~ ~ t , Olyrnpus
~ n t in Armenia and to Mount
Lebanon and Mount Herma1 af Palestine and Syria. But the
climate in mese areas seemed to be warmer as shown by
rhe fossil remains of such animal species as HyraX CemuS,
durno, Panthgm pordow, Cmcuto, etc. There is evidence
show that the mountains of Pamirs, Hindukush. Karakoram
and Himalayas were also covered by ice sheets*
 In Africa, the ice spread was far less than in other
areas. Here the tops of mountains like Mount IceflYal
Kilimanjaro, etc. were covered by ice-sheets in the past.
There is no clear-cut and convincing evidence in
support of the four ice ages for determining the age of
Pleistocene epoch in various parts of the world. Even
Northern Europe there was no evidence of Giinz faund4
However, the geologist C. Gagel in 1913 on the basis of
weathering horizons as evidence of interglacials and On
their fossil evidence in Northern Europe ( ~ o r t hand West
Germany, Britain and Scandinavia) and in Denmark, Polan d
and Russia, established three major glacials and m0
interglacials as shown below :

Weichsel Glacial = Wurm Glacial

Warthe
Glacials = Riss Glacial
Salee
Holstein
Interglacial = Mindet-Riss ~nter~lacial

As indicated earlier, it was widely believed

Pleistocene began during the CGnz period and the re-^^^'
Villifranchian Strata were believed to have belonged t D
Donau Period. But an the basis of the evidence of polIefl
pains Southern Alps, it has been felt that the climate
Was cold and hence the Donau period can be counted a s the
beginning of the Pleistocene epoch, As SU&, there are said
 Pleistocene and its Features
45

to be five glacials and four interglacials. The period between

h n a u and Giinz glacials was supposed to be warm and so it
was an interglacial period as shown by the fossil evidence
OF an ape species called Mocacaf70rintina found in Holland.
Till recently when the Villafranchian was considered
as the stage of the Pliocene, the Pleistocene has been
divided into Lower Plejstacene, Middlc Pleistocene and
Upper Pleistocene. But with the inclusion of the
ViIlafranchian stage in t h e Pleistocene epoch and as a result
of absolute dating methods, four main stages have been
recognised in the Pleistocene period. They are Basal
Pleistocene, Lower plebtocene, Middle Pleistocene and
Upper Pieistocene the beginning dates of which are shown
in the following Table.

Table I: Stages of Pleistocene Epoch

Time in
Epoch Stage years Defore
Present
8,300 -+
200 B.C.
Wiirm Glacial Upper Pleistocene 90,000?
Riss-Wiirm 500
lntergtacial
R i u glacial Middle Pleistocene 3,00,000t
Mindel-Riss 25,000
1nterglacial
Mindel Glacial Lower Pleistocene 10,08000t
Gunz-Mindel 1,50,00D
 According to the new dating techniques, the Pliocene
epoch which began 13 rn + 2 rn years earlier to Pleistocene I
continued till the Villahanchian stage. The Basal Pleistocene
beginning from 2.75 t .75 m years continued till I m 5 .I5
m years when Giinz-Mindel Interglacial Period of Lower
Pleistocene began which was equated with the crornerian
stage. This continued upto the end of Mindel Glacial period*
The Middle Pleistocene beginning in the ~indel-Riss
Interglacial Period about 0.3 + 25.000 years back continued
till the end of the Riss period, say, from 0.12 m t 5,000
years till 90,000 & 500 years. After this, the last interglacial
period began in the Upper Pleistocene Period by 90,000 2
500 years and continued upto 8,300.cZ00B.C. when the
Holocene Period began,
Although the Pleistocene epoch is usually considered
as the Ice Age, the ice sheets in that age have occupied less
than 1/3 of the earth. When the gladation was at its
maximum the ice sheets covered about 17 million square
miles of the earth's surface while at present they occupied
about 6 million square miles. Further, during the whole of
the time period of Pleistocene epoch only 1/8 glaciers
precipitated.

The palaeo-dimatological studies proved that the

maritime dimate was mainly responsible for orthe formation
of ice sheets. During their formation, maximum predpatatiop
Occumed in the climate. The water sheets on cad
evaporated and precipitated in the form of ice in the
mountain peak of polar regions. The reasons for such a
maximum precipitation were planetary motion, volcanic it^
high temperature, stronger air circulation and, therefore)
 Pleistocene and its Features 47

greater vapora at ion from the sea, etc., according to the

geologists. Further, there was widespread submergence of
land areas due to the influence of earth's forces. Considering
these points some scientists think that the climate dur~ngthe
Pleistocene was warmer except in the glacial periods and
even the percentage of humidity was more than now.
Pleistocene Stratigraphy in Africa and India

I f the Pleistocene epoch was Ice Age in one sense, it

was a rainy season (pluvial] in another sense. During the
glacial times there was intense spread of ice sheets and cold
in temperate zones whereas in tropical zones like Africa
there were heavy rains as indicated by the evidence ofriver
terraces, On the basis of the study of these terraces and the
Widencesfound in them, four pluvials and three inter~luvials
have been recognised as under:
Kageran Pluvial

Kamasian Piuvial

Kanjeran Pluvial

Though there are differences of opinion as

Whether the pluvials and interpluvials can be correlated to
Lhe gJacia]s and interglacial$ the palaeo-climatologicaI
studies of pollen grains, rocks and their geology from
Algeria, South Tunisia, South S a b r a and Angola in Africa
showed that there were heavy rains which were the feature
of the last glacial period.

As in Africa, in India we don't have evidence of heavy

rains but the studies of stratigraphical arrangements of the
river terraces enabled the recognition of four Wet periods
and three Dry Periods with the exception of the ~ i r n a l a Y ~ ~
region. In the Himalayan region where conditions were
identical with those of the Alps the dimatic cycle was also
similar tQ that of the Alpine region which enables US to
establish fairly accurate correlation between those areas.
In India the upland valley of Kashmir situated
approximately 5,000 feet above sea level was a lake during
the Pleistocene Period. Its remnants still p e ~ i s as
t the lIa1
and the Wular lakes into which the river Jhelum now
discharges it5 waters. In this Pleistocene lake were
accumulated the well-known Karewa deposits
mainly of clayJ silt and gravel. The Karewas contained
their terraces and interbedded gravels and moraines the
record of climatic fluctuations and of earth movements
which upliked this region more than once during the
Pleistocene and brought about glaciation,

The dirnatic fluctuations during the Great Ice Age in

Kashmir are given in Table 2 as below.
 Table 2: Sequence otC1imatic Fluctuations Durjjng the Great Ice Age in Kashrnir. k

Deposits and Terraces Alpine a

Ciimatic Phases 23
Period In Kashmir Equivalents m
a
Neolithic and Megalithic Sites of 9
3
Burzaharn and Numar -.
Post-Glacial 2
Post-Pleistocene Terrace V Deposition 3
Protoneolithic Prepottery Stage m
of Sambur and Pampur 2
Terrace 1V Deposit I V Glacial w iirm 5
\ Ill Interglacial
Upper Pleistocene Terrace Ill Erosion I11 Interglacial [Riss-Wiirm')
Terrace I1 Deposit 111 Glacial Riss
I1 Interglacial
Terrace I: Upper Karewa Bed II lnterglacial (Mindel-Xiiss) -
Middle Pleistocene
Karewa Gravels 11 Glacial Mindel
l Interglacial
Lower b r e w Lake Beds I Interglacial [Giinz-M indal'j
Lower Pleistocene
Malshahibagh Conglomerate l Glacial Giinz
 Elenrents of Pi-ehistow

E. EVIDENCES OF PLEISTOCENE I

We shall now consider the different types of

evidence characteristic of the Great Ice Age such as
moraines and loesses, fauna, flora, terraces, sea levels, etc.
Moraines and Loesses
Moraines are the glacial features of the melting ice
which partly formed the basis for the bur-fold scheme of
the glacial periods of Penck and Briickner. They occur in
glacial as well as interglacial periods. They play significant
role in the occurrence of glacial action, migration of life
forms and also speak of altitude. As they are nearer to ice,
there is a remote possibility of their being associated with
1
human habitations.
However, during the glacial periods, the glaciers and
ice sheets laid down the moraines and tills or boulder clays#
the impact of which resulted in such conditions as intense
Frost and associated phenomena br beyond the glacial
zone. Such zones are called perigIaciaI zones in Europe
which for hundreds of kilometers are covered by of
sand termed loess deposits where the human habitation
could be possible.
Flint (19571 defines loess as "a sediment commonly
non-stratified and commonly unmnsolidated, composed
dominantly of silt-size particles, ordinarily with
day and sand and deposited primarily by the The
loesses that cover large portions of Southwest Russia, East
Europe and the Middle-Western United states have been
derived from moraines and other glacial debris, Loesses are
supposed have been deposited during .glacial
 Pieistocen e and its Featr~re~
53

while soils which are important in establishing Pleistocene

chronology developed in the loess during the warmer
phases when plants grew better. When such soils are
buried, a stratified sequence is built up as in Pleistocene
periods. A comparative study of thickness of the soil
deposirs can thus be made. The loess regions were grass
lands suitable for grazing animals like the bison and
mammoth, hunters of which left their remains in the camp
sites in the loesses, the soil horizons of which as important
markers of Pleistocene chronology can be studied.
Regarding the formation of these loesses there are
differenceof opinions among scholars. It is thought that the
climate was temporarily dry when they were formed during
the ice age. In such conditions the sand particles.from the
-surroundingsofthe rivers have been brought by the forces
of the wind and formed mounds. The fossil evidence of snail
slldls and mammals found in these loesses show that the
climate was cold, In thickness the loesses range from 30 to
100 meters and are noticeable in France, German): Russia
and Siberia. In North America the loess deposits occupy
Some thousands of kilometers spreading upm the Gulf of
Mexico. An exa,nination of the srratigraphy of these
deposits reveals the ice age to which they belong-
In France, for instance, the earliest loess deposits
Which yielded fossil remains of Villafranchian times have
been correlated with the Basal Pleistocene. In Europe,
Particularly in South and Central Europe, lness deposits
belonging different periods have been found. They are
known as alder Loess and Younger Losss. The Older Loess
depmits were dark yellow brown in colour and belong ~ C J
the Salee glacial (Riss), whereas upper portion
due to climatic changes became fossilised and is hence
called fossil soil. This is supposed to have formed after the
loess deposits stopped laying heaps of sand. Instead, in this
interval there was vegetational growth. Two t o three such
fossil soil layers showing short periods of climatic change
were noticed over the Older Loesses of Europe and these
were believed to have formed during the Eemian
interglacial period (Riss-Wurm). The loess deposits found
over this soil are known as Younger Loesses which are pale
grey yellow in colour. They belong to the Weichsel-Wurm
glacial period. Over this again there are fossil soil deposits
of two layers found in Central Europe, ~ ~ e ~ h ~ s l o v a k i a ~
Austria, etc. So during the ice ages the formation of ice
sheets was temporarily suspended to enable warm climate
to prevail. Such periods are described as Interst.adial
Periods. If fhe change horn the cold to warm is of
shorter duration than that of interstadial, then the
durations are described as Oscillations. ~ h in the ~ first
~ ,
three ice age periods there was a single interstadial pried
in each. while in the last ice age there were N O
interstadials and three oscillations,
Table 3 @elow] summarises the divisions of
Pleistocene in Europe, Africa, and Amefica together with
the chr~nologiesrecognised by Gagel and Zeuner.
Changes in Fauna

The ending of the Pliocene epoch and the beginning

of the Pleistocene epoch were marked by fie occurrence of
a marine foraminifera species called Hyoiineapolrica which
has been taken as a scale The evidence of this sea animal
in a marine section of Calabria a t a place Le
 d
n
Table 3: Pleistocene Chronology in Europe, Africa and America -
E
rn
a
3
North and n.
Amca RelaHvc
Centai Europr North Europe [LS.B. Leakey, North Amerl~a F.E.Zeuner 5
ch:hronologr
(a (C
1913)
(climatic ~hsscr) 19Sol 3
EBruckner,
1909)
- - Zone V I: Atlandc - - - 9,
E
HOMCEAE
Zone v ~oreal 5
Zone IV: Pre-Boreal
Late Wisconslan Last Glacial 3* Glacial Phesc
Warm Glaclal Welschsel G. Zone1 m 111 Paudorf Gamblian Intcrstadfal
UPPER Pluvlal Early Wisconslan (LCL]
1S.O. 8mrup l C QscHlation
PLEUSTOCENE
Amerifoort \S 2""Clacial Pharc.
tntersmd~al
Oscillntion
I' Glacial Plrasc
Drnian 1C knjcran- Sangamantan b s t Interglacial Secand Part of lG
Kiss-Winn Eemian IG Mlnar Cool Phase
GambIIan (LIGL)
Intedadal In part of 1G
lnt~rpluvial
Riss Gladsl Warthe Sake - Kanjeran Illlnaian Penulomatc 2nd Cladal Phase
Pluvial Glacial (PGL) lnterstadlal
Qadal OsciHatlon
1'1 Glacial Phase
 ~ o r t and
h
Central E m p e North Europe Afrlm Relatlvc
H~~~~~~ [LS.B, Leakey. North Arncrim F.E. Zcuncr
la
B.Bruckner,
Peachand (::if' (Ulmallc Pharcr)
9501
Chmnalow

--1909) -
Holsreln IG
-Icamesian-
kloxnian IG
I--

Yarrnouthian Pcnultiti~atv
-
Wit11 u n t vt'
Mlndle-Rlss
Inrergladal Kanjeran interglacial Severdl Coolcr
Interpluvlal (PIGL) Phases
LOWER Mlndel Glacial Elster G - Kamaslai~ Kansanlan Antipenultlmate 2nd Glacial Pliasc
PLEISTOCENE Pluvial Glacial [APGL) Intcrstadial
Oscillation
-
Ganz-Mindel
- -
No evidence Cromcrlan IG
--Aftonlan
- -
l a Glacial Phase
Icageran-
Antipci~ultlmate
Inhrgledal Kamasian Interglacial
(APIGL)
BASAL GJnz Glacial No evfdence Menepran G Kage ra11 Nebnskan Early Glaciation Znl' Glacial Phase
PLEISTOCENE Waalean 1G Pluvial IEGLl lntcrstadial
Eboronian G Osclllatlon

Donau-Ciinz
-
No evldence
---
-
-
-
-
-
l* Claclal Phase
-
Tlgllan IC
Interglacial
PE-Gflnr, Donau No evtdence P ~ ~ e t l g l lC
a~l - - - +
or Danube
Glacial
 Pkistocen e and its Fe'eatures
55
Castella in Italy indicates the Plio-Pleistocene boundary.
This Calabrian has been correlated with the mammalian
fauna of the Villafranchian stage. The animal species d the
Villafranchian age found on the Plio-Pleistocene boundary
are EIephas Meridionalif, Dicerorhirrus, ~~uscus Equus,
%nunis, Trogantheriumcuverii and Dicerorhinus megarhinus.
BY the Eister [Mindel) glacial time there were
two
new species called Dicrish Krichbergensis-merckii and a
woodland variety called D. hemit~echus.Afrer the Elster
glacial period a woolly rhinoceros species called
Go10ndont.a- richo or hi nus anriquituis appeared in Asia and
migrated to Europe as shown by the fossil evidence. During
the H ~ l s t e i n i ~interglacial
n (Mindel-Aiss interglacial or
Iloxnian) a deer species, Doma clactani~na in Britain
became extinct and in its place during the last interglacial
Period a fallow deer Dama dama appeared, BY the end of
the last interglacial the giant beaver, Trogantherium
b e e m e e x t i n a ~y his time the Musk ox also l ~ ~ a m e
extinct in Europe and reached cold climate. Ofher mimals
Which became extinct are cave bear and a giant deer called
@gacerosgigonteus.

The of h e VUlafrachian stage in North Africa

are Mastodon, Anancus oriris, 8 k p h ~ s fl!ic~n~vus,
s ~ ~ h /idycum, [ ~ Equu ~ ~nurnudic~~,
i ~ Lib'Cherhm
~
marusilrm, Mochojrodus (Saber-toofhed cats), Antelope,
Gazella, etc.
In India in Siwa]jk strata, animal fossil eddences
were found indicating plio-Pleistocene boundary. On the
basis of their nature and fossil evidence [he Siwajik
deposits are classified as ~ o w e r(Chinzl Zone). Middle
 I
(Nagari and Dhok-Pathan Zones) and Upper (Lower Tatrot
Zone) Siwaliks of Pliocene epoch. The animals of the Tatrot 1
Zone are Hippasion, Meq~copotarnusand proornphibm in
association with Arckidiskudonts, Camelus, Cervus, ~ernibos~
Sivatherium, Leptobos, etc.
By the time of the formation of Pinjore Zone of
VilIafrachian stage, Hipparion, Msrycopotarnus, ~roarnphibos
became extinct and Equus, Hypselephas, Rhinoceros, L7ubalus
species appeared. On the basis of the extinction of the
animal species by the end of Tatrot Zone and by the
appearance of new species in the Pinjore Zone of
Villafranchian age, the Plio-Pleistocene boundary in this
region has been recognised.
Changes in Plant Species
Macroscopic and Microscopic studies of the plant
remains found in lake sediments and bogs that In
accordance with the change in the Pleistocene climate,
changes occurred in plant species aIso. The evidence of such
deposits has been found on a large scale in ~ ~ ~ t h - w e s '
Europe. \
Plant species such as Taxus baccoh, ~ m ~ a n t a * ~ ,
Vitis vinlfera, Barsenia purpurjq and ~ ~ ljum j spoth
~ h ecjufl
grow in warll'ler climate and their
archaeological strata indicates the dimatein which they
'"
grew.
 Pleis~aceneand its Features
57

(Donau-~iinz interglacial), Eburonian Phase

WaaieanPhase (Interglacial) and Menopean Phase (ClacialJ,
the last three equated with the Alpine Giinz glacial period.
The Cromerlan stage has been correlated with fhe
Giinz-Mindel Interglacial period, whereas there is no
equivalent phase to the Mindel Glacial period. The Hoxnian
Stagecomparable to the Mindel-Riss Interglacial period has
four sub-stages : [I] Hippo phase characterised by the
of Pinus, Arternesiu, Nelianthernum, Plantago, Betulu,
etc.; 12) has a, b, c and d with the plants of Betula, Pinus,
Quercus,Alrnes Tilia, Azullu filicu/oides, U h u s corylus, etc.,
131with temperate dimate is similar to 2, and [4]a glacial
phase. There is no comparable floral stage to Riss glacial
Period, whereas the Riss-Wiirm Interglacial is correlated
with Eemian stage during which there were Oukforesb.
Hazel Hornbeom etc, plants. Basing an plant evidences
Wurm is divided into Early Wiirm with Amersfi~rLand
Brorup I* rmshdiols p e t u h , pubesce~s~Po p u l ~ s@emul~.
PinussylvesUus), main W3r-m charactensed by d ' weather
~
and one OsciUaQon,namely, paudorf interstadid Oscillau'on.
and Lare Wfirm three Zones, Or Sub-stages or
Z O ~ ~ ~I charaderised
- Z ~ ~ ~by (a) Oldest Drayasphase
and ~~~i~ flora, N Bol]ing Oscillation and temperare
plants, [) Older Drayas and Alpine5 ; Zvne I1 *IJerod
and

cold dimatjc
Zones IV "
&cillatjon and Pine, and Zone III with younger
V' are Pre-Borea'
Boreal and ~ d ~Tundra~ forests-
e ~ Haze' and
o& trem and oak and elm forests are all characten'sticof
Post-~leistocenestages,
Terraces (Figs. 1-11]
Terraces, which represent the life-history OF a river,
are former flood plains formed along streams due to the
changing regime of the river. These involve what are known
as periods of aggradation or deposition and degradation Qr
erosion. During the former period, the river will deposit silt
and gravel and build up its bed, while during the latter
period it will degrade or cut into its bed. A number of world
rivers present a succession of terraces which U S U ~ ~ ~ Y
contain the remains of animals and humans who
lived on the river banks during the formation of their
respective deposits. The study of these relics has an
important bearing on the chronology and m e climate of
early human cultures.
The river terraces which are the result of the
processes o f valley-silting and valley-erosion have been
formed due to changes in sea lev4 and changes in the
volume of the river or in the load i t has to carry.
The active erosion of a river occurs till the slope of its
bed or longitudinal profiles acquires a form known as curve
of equilibrium. This is nearly parabolt$ steep near the source
and flat towards the mouth, where the river meanders on its
flood plain. Erosion in the upsham and deposition in the
lower reaches by this stage become balanced and minima1.
The river is now said to be graded to base.level. The
base-level is the level of body of mter below which fie
erosion of a river cannot occur. ~ n change
y in fie base-~evel
affects the activity of a river. Thus the lowering of base-leve'
is about by erosion, while its nsjng is effected bY
deposition or aggradation ofia bed,
 Heistucene and its Features
61

I t was the Pleistocene epoch which witnessed the

glaciation in Europe, America, Asia and AFrica simultaneously.
The terraces which were formed in the lower reaches of the
were mainly due to the result of the oscilIation ofthe
Sea-level due to the periodic withdrawal of water horn the
Oceans as ice sheets grew on land. During the glacial period,
there was an active erosion of the river beds in response to
the lowered base-level of the sea which was in regression.
The erosion which starts at the mouth of a river works
upstream. The coming of interglacial period makes the
Sea-level rise again due to the melting of ice sheets and as
Such the rivers become sluggish, silt-up new channels and
build thick deposits on their valley floors. This Process is
known as aggmdauon. The changes in the sea-level though
not recorded immediately in the upper courses of the
rivers, each change goes up slowf~.
I t is Elear that alterations in the volume ofwater and
load due to climatic changes were the main
factors responsible for the erosion and aggradation in the
middle and upper portions of a number of European rivers
during Pleistocene times. It is also Clear [hat aggradation
was characteristic of intergladal times near the mouths of
the riven and degradation or erosion was charactelistic of
glacial stages.
Like the raised beaches, the higher river terraces are
mostly older than the lower ones. All the main terraces run
into ancient sea-levels and occur in tiers on the raised
beaches. A]] these reflect the rise or land masses &roughout
Quaternaly times, ~ h ~ as~ a grule h the stratified dep0siC
on a low terrace are younger than those on a higher one) a
low terrace may sometimes include portions of a deposit
laid down in a deep channel broadly contemporary with or
older than the deposits formed on the higher terrace.
River Terraces in India and Pleistocene Period
In India the Pleistocene is mainly characterised bY
the river terraces formed by the geornarphoIogical and
geofogical history of the river valIeys and the animal and
human fossils as also cuItural remains contained in them.
These occur in the form of three categories of deposits: (1)
The glacial, fluvio-glacial, fluvial, fluvio-lacustrine, and
aeolian deposits of the Kashmit-Punjab-Himachal ~ r a d e s h
region ; (2) the sub-recent alluvial deposits and the
semi-aeolian deposits of the Indo-Gangetic plain and
Peninsular India ; and (3) the marine and semi-marine
formations of the east and west coasts.
With the help of the first category of deposits De
Terra and Paterson in 1939 determined the age of the
Pleistocene epoch in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and also
the Sohan stone tool industry has been relatively dated. The
second category of deposits characteristic of river terraces
and containing the lower and middle palaeolithjc tools have
been thoroughly investigated. The jmplementiferous
deposits of the lower palaeolithic period occur as red or
mottled clay, detribl laterite, boulder pebble gravels, etC. in
a munber of areas of peninsular India. The boulder pebble
gravel deposits usually Covered by reddish brown silt in
some areas got eroded due to the river forces and remained
as river terraces. These deposits are together described by
the term "Older Alluvium'" which De Terra and patersOn
1939 inferred as of Middle Pleistocene, whereas Zeuner jn
and Wainwright in 1961 based on their of the
 Pleistocene and its Features
63

ancient sea-level changes in Western India inclined to

them as Lower Pleistocene deposits. Sankalia in
1964 following his investigations in the Narrnada, Godavari,
Pravara, and Krishna river valleys puts the basal part of the
alluvium to Middle Pleistocene and its upper part to
Pleistocene. Rajaguru in 1969 taking cue from his
in the Deccan considered the physical characteristics
of the river terraces and related evidences and opined that
the older alluvium belongs to Upper Pleistocene. The older
alluvium particularly in the Narrnada and (hdavari rivers
Yielded animal fossij remains of such species as E k ~ h a s
n Q m ~ d i c u ~EIephas
, hysudricus, Stegodon insignis, B Q ~
flarnudi~~~, BubaIk bubaljs, Rhinoceros deccanisis, etc- along
with the lower palaeoliit.hic tools from fie basal part ofthe
alluvium and hence prehistorians puf them to
Pleistocene times.

The middle palaeolithic tools showing technological

advancement occur in the upper part of the older alluvium
and as such the middle palaeolithic culture is put to Upper
But the animal species associated with the
middle palaeolithjc cultures are the same as those of the
lower palaeo]irhic culture and showed no rnor~hologi~al
changes a t all, Moreover, the older alluvium of the Mula
river near Rahurj dam jn ~ ~ h a r a s h tyielded
ra fossil wood
Of Terminolio species which by radiocarbon mefiad has
been dared to 33,000 years B.C. ~irnilaralluvium in the
Codavari, Krishna and Chad riven yielded shells of more Or
less of the same date as lfle above. AS such, Rajaguru
expressed that fie whole deposit of older alluvium might
belong to tile Upper Pleistocene. However, similar data and
more dales from par@, of the country are needed for
putting the chronology of the lower palaeolithic period on
footing.
The river terraces formed by the alder al\uvium are
observable on either side of the present day rivers which
range in height from 9 to 30 meters. In the course of time a
second gravel layer became deposited over the reddish
brown silt. But in some areas, the boulder-pebble gravel
layer is directly overlain by the deposits af the second
gravel layer as the reddish brown silt overlying the former
has been washed away by the latter due to the forces of
river, while in other areas both the reddish brown silt and
second gravel layer in succession occur in tact. The second
gravel layer is characterised by the middle palaeolithic
tools. Over this layer a yellowish silt layer occurs. Such
deposits have been noticed in t h Middle ~ Narmada of
Narsinghpur district of M.P.; Tapati and Godavari in Dhulia,
arid Nasik districts of Maharashtra; Malaprabha in Bijapur
district 0f f i r n a ~ b Rallakalava,
; Bhavanasi and Gundlakama
river valleys in A.P. These deposits presenting similar
culture sequences of lower and middle palaeoli&ic cultures,
formed under almost similar environmental conditions
throughout the Peninsula.
The marine and semi-marine formations of the east
and west coasts comprising the third category of deposits
have also drawn the attention of scholars to a considerable
extent Banerjee of the Archaeological Survey of India, who
surveyed the east coast near Madras detected four marine
peneplains of 73,40,20and 13 meters height belonging to
Pleistocene times. The first peneplain of 73 meters height
has been assigned to Middle Pleistocene. The second
marine peneplain of 40 meters height yielded Acheulian
 Pleistocene urrd its Features
65

hand axe industry. The last two peneplains yielded

advanced Acheulian tools, and flake blades and blades
respectively. The investigator on the basis of relative ages
of similar deposits found in the area thinks that the
peneplains fol-n~eddue to the lowering of sea levels from
time to time. Similarly, on the west coast marine platforms
and beach rocks near Bombay, and the miliolite formations
on the Gujarat coast throw light on the sea level changes
during the Pleistocene epoch in this area.
Sea Levels
There are evidences to show the occurrence of sea
level changes during the Pleistocene epoch. During the
glacial periods the water From the sea evaporated and
precipitated in the form of ice a t higher leveis resulting in
reduced or lowerd sea level whereas during the interglacial
times the ice sheets melted and flew into rivers and sea
leading to the formation of raised sea levels. Thus changes
in the levels of seas occur due to the direct result of the
spread and contraction of the Pleistocene ice sheets. The
relationship between sea levels and glaciations is for
various reasons complex. Two main factors have been
found to be in operation : [I] eustatir: factor, causing
alternative withdrawal and release of water due to the
formation and melting of ice sheets that aRected all the
oceans and open reas of the world and (21 isosbtic factor,
that rhe fall and rise under the weight of the
ice which was restriaed to areas subjected to glaciation.

has been widely held that Sea level alteranons ur

eustatic movements are independent of movemenu of land
or isostatic movemen&. But had fiere not been
 movements of the land, the records of the
lowered sea levels would have been hardly available today
for observation. The land masses which were depressed
under the weight of the ice raised the level of land when the
ice retreated. Thus the isostatic action raised the land in
some places to greater heights above sea level as a result of
which traces of the old, once much lower shore lines are
visible. In areas unaffected by glaciations, the tectonic
movements irrespective of whether they were covered by
ice or not have exposed Pleistocene shore lines.
The alternate raising and the lowering of the sea
resulted in changes in the sea level of atleast 300 feet There
are evidences to show that in some interglacial periods the
sea levels were 200 meters higher than the present ones
while in the glacial times they were 150 meters less than
the present ones. The present heights above sea level of
fossil shore lines or raised beaches have been largely used
as a means of relative dating of deposits and human
activities associated with them though such attempts have
been reported to be difficult or unreliable in regions
affected by local uplifts or depression of the land due to
isostatic movements. However, the sea level fluctuations
left useful records for archaeological interpretations when
the archaeological materials are found in association with
data bIe geological phenomena.

The Pleistocene sea levels could be recognised on

the basis of ancient raised beaches and the fossil animal
remains found in them, A good deal of research on these
phenomena has been carried out in the Baltic and the
Mediterranean. In India the effects of lowering af sea level
and the consequent Falling of the river level as well have
 Pleistocene and its Features 67

been observed by Professors Zeuner and Wainwright at

Dabka on the Mahi and at Nikora on the Narmada. These
scholars found that during the winter months of November
to February the Himalayan rivers bring down much less
water, whereas in summer the sea level goes up and causes
floods due t o the melting of snow.
On the basis of the study of the ancient raised
beaches on the Mediterranean coast, seven ancient raisd
beaches ranging from an altitude of 200 meters to 3 meters
above present sea level have been observed. These stages
are known as Calabrian (comlated with Basal Pleistocene
or earlier] with an altitude of 200 meters above the present
sea level, Sicilian with an altitude of 99-100 meters,
Milazzian [correlared with the Gijnz-Mindel Interglacial)
with aan altitude of 55-60 meters, Tyrrhenian [correlated
with the Mindel-Riss Interglacial] with 28-30 meters
altitude, Monastrain I with an altitude of 18-20 meters,
Monastrain I1 with an altitude of 6-8 meters and
Epimonastrian with an altitude of 3 meters. The Monastrian
11 stage has been dated to above 80,000 Years with the help
of the uranium-thori~mabsolute method of dating. Ancient
raised beaches of this stage have also been noticed in North
Africa, South France, South England and East-North
~ ~There is~no convincing
~ evidence
i for~other beaches.
~ .
 .#
1

THREE C

METHODS OF DATING

A. IMPORTANCE

There are two ways of daring archaealagica1

marerials -directly by the associated finds and indire#Jy by
the techniques of geochronology when fie archaeological
materials are found in geological context. The main purpose
of the different methods ofdating is two-fold :cfironologiCal
arrangement of fossil and other evidences and identification
and reconstruction of evolutionary interrdationships and
bio-cultural history of early man. The prehistoric
anthropologist who is well rrersedwith the art ofexcavation
as well as with the cultural interpretation of the different
types of evidence cannot do justice to the study of the
different types of datable chemical, physical, geological or
biological materials. In the words of Robert F. H'eizer
(1953) "no one individual can hope t o be sufficiently expert
in such varied fields as nuclear physics, palaeobotany,
geology and palaeontology to make the studies so often
required for the temporal placement of an archaeological
find." Therefore there should be extensive collaboration
between a number of scientific fields it1 order to establish as
much and convincing chronolow as possible in the
reconstru&on of prehistoric cultures.

It is and important to date the Pleistocene

epoch, h e teminal segment of the geological past of the
Q~~~~~~~~ era, because the physical and cultural remains

of man have been largely found during this epoch which

consfifufes three-fourths of the ev~lutionarYstory ofnlan.
F~~~~~~it was during the beginning of this epoch that the
70 Elements of PI-ehistory

erect-walking bipedalist with capability of producing his

own culture first appeared on the face of the earth and
evolved until he became fully modern by the closing stages
of the epoch, and therefore it is necessary to date the epoch
to understand the levels of human cultures and the rates of
their evolution. The discovery of a number of new dating
methods and the refinement of many of them brought about
revolution in the interpretation of cultural processes
underscoring the behavioural dimensions of the prehistoric
communities in terms of time.
The two techniques of dating are direct or absolute,
when the associated find is dated directly and the date i5
expressed in actual years, and indirect or relative, where
the date of man's activity is determined with the help of
associated finds the date of which may be roughly known.
Unlike the absolute methods of dating by which the age o f a
given object can be known in actual number of years, the
relative methods of dating involve the placement of a
particular specimen or event in relation to ather evidences
or to some reference point within the temporal sequence.
BY these methods one can establish that something is older
or Younger than something else and makes it possible to
arrange a series of things in proper chronological order. But
it: is difficult to lmow the total time span involved in the
intervals between the things. In the words of Wheeler
.
(19561, the relative chronology is ". . the arrangement of
the products of non-historic societies into a time
relationship which may nor have any dates, but which has a
Sequence. .."
It is a Fact that the various methods of dating are
employed to test the reliability of each other. Most of the
 Methods of Dating
I 71
I dates are determined by observation or experiment in

I physical or natural sciences. The following are the most

commonly used dating methods.
1
B. Relative Methods of Dating
1. Chemical analyses of collagen, fluorine, uranium
and nitrogen contents ofbones.
2. Patination.
3. Rate of accumulation of cultural o r natural
deposits.
4. PaIaeontology: dating by using animal bone
remains.
5. Palynology or pollen analysis.

C. Absolute Methods of Dating or Chronometric Dating

1. C-14method.
2. Potassium-Argon method.
3. Therrno~urniniscentdating.
4. Archaeornagnetic dating.

5. Varve analysis.

6. Dendrochronolog~or tree ring dating.

B. REtATlVE METHODS OF DATING

1. Chemical Analysis of Collagen, Fluorine, Uranium

and Nitrogen ContenLs of Bones
This method of dating is mncerned with the
evaluation of jntracomponenl associations-
72 Elements of Prehistory

Collagen Analysis
Collagen is a substance that contains fats and
proteins present in the bones. In certain situations when
the bones lie buried in the soil in a particular fashion in
which there is least chance for the oxygen to enter into
them, and under the influence of certain micrsscapic
organisms, collagen for some thousands of years does not
disappear or degenerate. As the bones undergo fossilisation
they start losing their collagen content at a particular rate.
The rate of disintegration of collagen is directly
proportional to the rate of fossilisation of the bone. The
older the bone the lesser the collagen content, and the
younger the bone the more the collagen content is. In this
way the relative age of the given bone can be measured.

Far the extraction of collagen From the ancient bones

laboratory methods have been devised by Sinex and Faris in
1959.It has also been found that the collagen is suitable for
radiocarbon dating. K.P. Oakley who was able t o extract a
small amount of collagen from the Piltdown bones which
gave a date of 5005100 years far the mandible whereas for
the skull a date of 620 + 100 years was o b ~ i n e d .This
enabled the exposure of the forgery of the so called
Pilrdown Man to the scientific world. The Galley Hill
skeleton of Middle Pleistocene has been dated by C-14
method of collagen to 3310 5 100 years.
Fluorine, Uranium and Nitrogen Analyses

The analyses of fluorine, uranium and nitragen

contents of bones form the most important chemical
techniques. It is the quantitative difference In the amount of
these chemicals that would form the basis for the
 Methods of Drrting
73
determination of the relative age of the bones. It is well
known that the bones o f animals, wild or domesticated, are
usually found associated with those of man and hence these
dekerminations of h e chemical contents of bones would
help us in knowing whether they go to the same period of
time or not.

The fact is that the buried bones and teeth change in

chemical composition by absorbing small quantities of
fluorine and uranium from the ground water and soil, The
bones contain hydroxyapatite whereas flourine in the form
of soluble fluorides is less in underground water. Bones
when immersed in water fluorine ions remove hydroxyl
ions from hydroxyapatite and change into fluorapatite
which does not dissolve in water and so remains in bones.
This content of fluorine increases as the bone becomes
older. Bones got buried a t the same time contain the same
amount of fluorine, Thus the older the bone, the higher the
fluorine content: it contains. The amount of fluorine can be
determined by chemical analysis ar through the X-ray
crystallographic method.
The bones buried in soil containing uranium became
older as the content.of the latter goes up. I t occurs when
uranium ions remove calcium ions from hydroxyapatite
present in the bones and occupy that space. As uranium is
radioactive the beta radiations per million per minute that
are given off due to its radioactive decay, the uranium
content is measured. This method helped in proving that
the pjltdawn skull was a hoax and fake. The analysis of
nitrogen is based on the same principle as that of fluorine
and comp[imen& the latter. AS the bone becomes older the
nimsenmntent becomes less whereas in Younger bones
the nitragen content is more.
74. Elements off re his to^

Both fluorine and uranium contents increase with

age of the bone while nitrogen decreases in amount with
prolonged burial due to the disappearance of the collagen in
the bones.
There are a number of limitations in the appIication
of chemical analyses of bone to the practical situations.
These generally help to date bone specimens of one place or
site only, It is not possible to compare specimens from
different places as the chemistry of absorption of chemicals
by bone is not well understood. There is variation in the
rate of absorption of fluorine by bones, teeth and antlers.
The conditions of temperature and the humidity also affect
the chemical action. Lastly environments differ in
their chemical make up.

The goodness of the analysis of the bone lies in its

being useful in helping to establish stratigraphy or
association of one bone with another. Secondly there is no
method OF chemical analysis available far obtaining
absolute chronology.
There are other substances such as shells, animal
skin, etc. which can also he chemically analysed.
2. Patination

By this method also the intracomponent associations

of stone are evaluated.There is no precise definition for the
term 'patination' though it generally means chemical
alterations of rock surfaces exposed to atmospheric
conditions. The amount of patina on the stone is an index of
its age and is valuable for relative placement of the stone
artifact in the technological development. The chemical
 alterations of the stone are usually brought about by the
act-ionof iron oxides through time.

The observation of the amount of patina on a stone

may be of use at sites where there is a long sequence and
demonstrates that those tools which lie in the bottom ievel
may have more patina than those in the upper levels. The
different types of tools from river gravels, terraces of rivers
or lakes can be differentiated in the relative amounts of
patina on the basis of which the relative ages can be
assigned to the artifacts.
A.J.H. Goodwin who worked extensively on
patination in 1960 lists many variables involved in patina
formation as well as different types of patination. This
method can be used fruitfully for the tools from stratified
deposits.
3.Rate of Accumulation of CuiruraI or Natural Deposits
This method involves the rough calculation of time
on the basis of the thickness of the habitation deposits. This
has been widely used by the archaeologists in the beginning
days of [he discipline because this was the only available
metllod far quite sometime. That is why Robert F. Heizer
(1959 : 24) says that "when this method is the only
available, hese estimates are better than nothing".

he has been extensively applied by

archaeolo@sfiworking in USA and the Near East since the
beginning of this century. For instance. R. Pumpelly
calculated that the culture strata at ANAu ac~urnulatedat
the rate of 2.5 feet per cenfury while in Egypt the rate of
refuse ac~urnulationranged behveen 1.43 and 1.9 feet per
76 Elements of Prehisto~y

century. Similarly N.C. Nelson, W.E. Schenck and E.N. if ford

determined the antiquity of refuse accumulation. Based on
their conclusions from here they suggested a chronology of
the culture horizones of the adjacent lower Sacramento
Valley which when checked with C-14 dates was found to
be reliable to a considerable extent

This has been further applied particularly in USA for

situations where the natural deposits such as glacial Or
sedimentary varves as at the Peruvian sites, alluvial fillings
as in lower Mesopahmia, peats etc., which overlie the
cultural strata, were involved.
By estimating the rate of filling of cave deposits L.L.
Loud and M.R. Harrington have worked out approximate
age dates of culture deposits in Lovelock and Gypsum caves,
Nevada. Radiocarbon dates available for these caves more
or less agreed with the accumulative dates (treizer, 1959).
The following example shows that the rate of g r o h
of cultural deposits of any site is not constant and is found
to be subject t o such factors as the increase or decrease in
population, t h e Use of several debris dumps, the lateral
expansion of the site, etc. M.L. Fowler [Hole and HeizeL
19653 excavated the Madoc Rock shelter in Illinois which
contained a habitation deposit of27 k e t deep. Many of the
strata yielded charcoal samples of which as many as eleven
samples were dated by radiocarbon method. Fowler*
although did not doubt the correctness of t h e radiocarbon
dates wanted to calculate the rate of accumulation of
cultural refuse. He thus examined the vertical position of
each dated sample with reference to the quantity of refuse
between it and the next upper dated level. For the
 beheen 8000 and 5000 B.C. the rate of deposition was
found to be constant a t about one foot per 500 years ;
between 5000 and 3600 B.C,the rate has increased to about
one foot per 300 years ; between 36110 and 3000 B.C.it has
increased to 1.7 Feet per 100 years and between 3300 and
2700 B.C. it decreased to one foot per 400 years. The
variable rates of accumulation noticed at the above
mentioned site create problems for the archaeologist as to
how and why they have occurred in that order, Fowler,
however, should have realisd from his experience that
these variable rates were probably governed by such
factors as climatic conditions, differences over time of
number of occupants, variations in living patterns, efc. Sir
Mortimer Wheeler (19473,who applied the method for
calculating the duration of time required for six successive
building phases of the platform of the Harappa citadel
excavated by him, says about the rate of accumularion
dating thus : "Such calculations have if any a purely
academic or abstract interest They make no allowance for
the intermittencies and vagaries which alike in human and
jn history, defy the confines of mathematical
formulaew PVheeJer, 1956). It does not h o w that the
method is absolutely useless in its application to
archaeological contexts.
4. Palaeontology: Dating by Using Animal Remains
This is a relative method of dating of components. It
is fact [hat bones are found in association
with archaeological materials, the S N ~ofYwhich helps US
have lived with what cultures.
to know what
Changed dimate will bring about the occurrence of
different animals and plant species. This sho\vs that certain
78 Elements of Prehistoly

species of animals have become extinct since men

appeared. With the help of these two factors one may use
palaeontology for establishing relative dates. For instance, if
evidence for Elephas antiquus [a forest elephant] is Found,
one can assume a temperate climate, while the presence of
E. primigenius (a steppe elephant] indicates a steppe O r
tundra environment of almost glacial conditions. Such
rough estimates of dating as these are very valuable for
certain periods of Pleistocene. For the later stages of
Pleistocene such as the upper palaeoIithic period, the
presence of the Forest and steppe varieties of reindeer
suggest the alternation of warm and cold periods in Wiirm
glacial period in France,
The arrival of man in North America caused the
extinction of mammals such as the mammoth, horse, camel
and several species of 'bisons'. These can be dated
approximately to about 6000 B.C. wherein a margin of 1000
Years error might be there but all of them have not become
extinct at once and some have lived in isolated areas in
which case the dating of fauna associated with other
evidence is inexact and misleading.
Small species like rodents and birds, some molluscs
and snafls are very sensitive to climatic changes. Their
Presence or absence in archaeological site may indicate
changes in climate. In case these changes are related to
varves, pollen or soils it is easy to date them and other
remains.
The following are some of the limitations of this
method of dating. It is risky to interpret past climate on the
basis of bones because they are not a random sample
 Methods of Dnting
79

around the site but brought by h e hunters mostly. Several

animal species can live in a wide range of climate. Man in
the past must have hunted the animals around his living
place and so he must have hunted only one species.
Inferences about Lhe climatic tolerance of species thar they
have not changed over millennia is not a safe assumption.
Though some animals prefer a particular environment they
may be able to live in different environmental conditions,
The preferences and tolerances are not well known and a?
such t11ejudgment about environment at the time of the site
must be done with caution.

The main function of this method is to relatively date

the components. This is a well known pafae~botanic~l
method, which helps in tracing the ancient climate as well
as the dates ofthe deposits. Its significance lies in the fact of
the extraction of the tiny seeds called pollen grains and
their which is generally described by the term
pa]ynology. A level-wise microscopic study of the ancient
pollen samples obtained from a verticd section of a
prehistoric site helps us to trace the past vegebtion history
in relation the prevalent climatic conditions and age of
the region.
In areas of extreme flowering tree-grad, pollen-
scatter is a common phenomenon. Under Favourable
dimatic conditions pollen grains belonging t o different
plant species of different time periods get deposited in the
soil. The which implies the identifimtion of plant
species on the basis of pollen munt enables in making a
pallen-diagram in whi~llthe relative fl'equenfie~of various
species through time are p h e d to show the changing
1
vegetation. The peat can be dated by C-14method and this
if combined with pollen analysis makes it possible t o work
out a very good chronology.
Lennar Von Post, the Sweedish Scientist, was the
first to develop this method in 1916. The method, which
was initially confined t o the study of pollen from forest
trees, has been extended after two decades to all flowering
plants that scatter pollen. The works of P.S. Martin and 1.
Gray and G.W.Dimblely in the sixties of this century have
sophisticated this method to the extent of recognising the
climatic changes and chronology of the terminal phase of
Pleistocene and Holocene epochs.
I t is indeed a fact that pollen grains are not
preservable in all kinds of soil deposits. The researches
conducted in Northern Europe revealed that the peat bog
deposits are the ideal conditions for the preswation of
ancient pollen. Other good sources that may contain enough
pollen to provide a sequence indude dry sites, sands and
clay. G.W. Dimblely's work also indicates that acid soils with
PH of less than 5.5 may also preserve large amounts of
pollen. However, the last two-decade research by a number
of workers highlighted that pallen analysis can be extended
to dry environments and dry caves as well [Hole and
Heizer, 1965).
order to successfully apply the technique of pollen
analysis for archaeolagical deposits containing pollen
&rains in a particular area, one should have a Fairly good
knowledge about the local plant ecology as well as about
"standard local sequence" based on the study of the natural
 Methods of Dating
81

deposits such as lakes and swamps. By comparing the

frequencies of pollen grains of the living trees with those of
the past one can know the various plant species distribution
and their climatic conditions. A sample of pollen grains
obtained from a vertical section of site can be described as a
pollen spectrum which tells the plant-history as well as
climatic conditions of that area. Besides, we may get
evidence from such levels which can be dated by
chronometric rncthods like the C-14method. By this we can
get absolute dates for various samples of pollen spectra of
various levels, Such as these pollen spectra with known
dates can be used as background against which other pollen
specma with unknown dates can be examined whereby
cultural correlations as well as dates i n number of years can
be established.
Pollen analysis does not find favour with dry areas
usually. Even when one finds pollen samples from the
banks of streams or other sediments they being inorganic
cannot be dared unlike bogs. In other situations pollen
frequenciesmight be disturbed by remains of domesticated
plants or by pollen brought by animals on their fur. In case
the levels mix and overlap, it would be
difficult to draw a correct picNre by pfillen analysis.

In spite of the above mentioned pmblems, pollen

analysis is very as relative and absdute dating. lf one
has a worked out picture of the clirnaticdoral history of a
region. it is easy to identi@ the pollen from an interglacial
or gla&] period but without any date. But if readily
prepared chronology is at hand, it is often possible to make
pollen profiles in terms of exact number of yeax
82 Elements of Prehistogr

C. ABSOLUTE METHODS OF DATING OR

CHRONOMETRIC DATING

(1) C-14 Method

Rays travelling through the outer space about five
miles above the earth strike against the nitrogen atoms and
produce radio-active atoms of Carbon-14. These atoms in
the air combine with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and
then reach the ground. This COz is taken by all green plants
on earth. Animals eat the plants and take C-14 into their
bodies. Homo sapiens take C-14 into their bodies when they
eat both plants and animals.

The moment the living organism dies it cannot take

any C-14but the same falls apart The C-14method implies
the measurement of C-14 atoms present in the object and
those that have disappeared from it.
The radioactive carbon-14 was discovered in 1941. All
substances on earth-a hard mass, Liquid or --are made
up of one or a combination of two or more substances that are
called elements. There are 92 elements that occur naturally,
and OxYSn, gold and carbon are same of the examples.
The smallest part of an element is known as an atom.
Each atom has nudeus around which there are one or more
moving bits called electrons. Atoms of different: elements
have different number of electrons ranging from 1 to 92.
For example, all gold atoms each have 77 electrons. Inside
the nucleus there are one or more bits called protons, the
mmber of which is always equal to the number of electrons
moving around i t This is called atomic number. So all atoms
of a particular element have the same number of protons
 Methods ofDa tiug

and electrons, they all have the same atomic number and
they all act exactly alike. Nucleus also contains another part
called neutron. Almost all atoms have neutrons. The atomic
- -

weight of an atom consists of the nurnber of protons plus

the number of neutrons in the nucleus.
The neutron number varies from atom to atom of the
same element. Thus the atoms have the same atomic
number [in view of same number of protons and electrons]
but different atomic weights [in view of different number of
neutrons). These atoms are called isotopes. Carbon-14 is an
isotope.
The isotopes differ in weights and behaviour. One is
known as stable while the other is called unsrable. ~h~
unstable isotope gives out radioactive rays, and changes.
Hydrogen has for example three isotopes. The most
common is the one with one proton and one electron [A).
The second contains a neutrnn added to it [B]. These two
are stable. The third has one electron, one proton and two
neutrons with an atomic weight of 3 [C). This is unstable
radioactive isotope. When such atoms throw off radioactive
rays, the unstable isotope changes into an isotope of
another Most of the elements have unstable
isotopes.The rays thrown off by the unstable isoto~esare
measured by sdenasts Unstable isotapes are also called
rare isotopes. Carbon-ll( is such fare is~mPeof carbon.
Carbol, has three isotopes : C-12and C-13 which are stable
and C-14which is radioactive.
atom cannot be seen, iLr rays
~ h the ~ ~ ~ h
can be located, counted by the Geiger Counter which makes
a small noise when the rays touch it
 All radioactive isotopes have half-life which means
that over a certain time period the isotope throws off
enough radioactive rays to reduce itself by one-half. The
halF-life of C-14is 5568 years.
C-14 disintegration occurs through beta radiations.
The quantity of C-14 present in the sample is counted on
the basis of the beta radiations per minute per gram that
are produced. The modern C-14gives out: 15 beta radiations
per minute per gram. For 5750 years, 7.5 beta radiations
Per minute per gram are produced.
It is necessary to see that the fossil sample is not
contaminated with the modern one. The humic acids from
the surface of the ancient deposits can carry moder*
carbon-14 down to the ancient level, Further the roots of
the trees on the surface of the prehistoric site can easily
reach the underlying deposits and introduce modern
carbon-14. Collection of ancient samples is to be made in
n @ to avoid intrusion of new carbon. There is
~ o l ~ t h e l e bags
a danger that a contaminated sample would give wrong
date which may he modern Scientists before dating the
samples treat them in order t o remove the impurities-
Libby converted the fossil sample to be dated into
carbon, smeared it on the inside of a specially built
Geiger-Muller Counter, and then by counting the befa
radioachve ions produced by it calculated its date
technique is known as Screen-Wall-Technique. In this
method there is a chance of the charcoal under examination
getting contaminated by the surrounding environment-
Therefore now a better method than this has been devised
and for this Gas Proportional Counter is used. In this
 Methods of Llatino
85
method the sample to be dated is converted into carbon
dioxide or methane [CHz] or Acetilene gas [ G H I ) which is
then introduced into the counting chamber.
During the disintegration of the radioactive carbon
there come out beta partides which whiie ianising the gas
give out puIses which can be electronically retarded. These
counts are calculated according to the following formula to
arrive at an absolute date.

T x log e-
CS-bl
log eZ (So- b]
In this T= Half-fife, b= Background count,
S= Count of hssil samplcs, So= Contemporary count
2. Potassium (K'J-Argon [A) Method

This is another trace element method in which

measurements of the ratio of potassium-40 [K40) to the gas
argon-40 (A401 in many minerals extends the range of
absolute dating far beyond the limits of radiocarbon. K4D, a
radioactive isotope of potassium, has a half life of
1,350,000,ODO years. The method depends upon the fact
that ~ 4 diminishes
0 at a known rate of disintegration into
either calcium-40 or argon-'lO, which is a gas. The ratio of
~ 4 o A++Ois measured in a mass specmmeter and the
amount of trace element left after disintegration is
calculated as in the carbon-14 test.
The assumptions on which the K-A dating depends
are : (1) that [he sample at the time of its formation did not
contain any arkon, (2) that no argon was added or lost
during the life rime of the sample, and (3)
measuring techniques are a~curaw
 K-A dating is used for dating the rocks associated
with archaeological remnants. This has been applied to the
archaeological materials from Olduvai Gorge in the
Tanganyika where L.S.B. Leaky found the remains of the
Aushalopithecines. Here the beds containing fossils
composed of volcanic tuffs or ash alternating days and K-*
date for these materials from the lowest levels is 1,750,00~
Years. But this date has been challenged on stratigraphic
and technical grounds.
Most of the archaeological sites cannot be dated by
K-A dating, as For instance, the rocks b r ~ u g hinto
t a site by
man which may be quite older than the site should not be
used for dating. So this method can be used only to such
situations where there has been volcanic activity that has
caused the potassium-rich materials either shortly Or
" o ~ ~after
I Ythe occupation of man.
3. Thermoluminescent Dating

This is another chronometric dating used for dating

artifacts as well as components. Professor George .'
Kennedy of the California University is an expert On
v~lcanoesHis interest to collect art objects brought t o light
small art figures of terramtta rcooked earth" in Latin)
Mexicobelonging to the Amerindians of the pre-columbian
time. Dr. Kennedy's curiosity to know the age of these
has led to the discovery of this method in 1960 by
himselfand by L Knoff (Hole and Heizer, 1965).
The method was based on the fact that objects such
as Poher~which have been heated in the past could be
dated by measuring their thermoluminescent glow. The
term 'therrnoluminescence' implies the presence of small
 Afethods of Doting

amounts of radioactive elements in all earth materials, both

natural and man-made. As a consequence of long periods of
time, the radioactjvity of these elements gives off rays
which push electrons from their normal paths. These
electrons thus trapped in the substance can be brought:
back to their normal positions only by the forces of heat
During t h i s process, each electron while moving back to its
normal path sends out a certain amount of light called a
photon OF light Millions of released electrons give rise to
millions of photons of light. Such one photon of light that is
produced is resulted by the heating of a substance and this
glow is known as thcrmoluminescence.
Substances that are recently formed and cooled
cannot give out glow because their radioactive elements
require long periods of time to fall apart by throwing off
rays to push electrons t o trap them in the material and to
send them back to their normal paths by high temperatures.
It is not possible to detect the glow with t h e naked
eye but with the help of specially devised instruments. To
determine the age of man-made objects by measuring the
thennoluminescence in them, Dr. Kennedy made use of the
knowledge in the works o f Professon Farrington
Daniels of the Wisconsin Univerriv and V0n F.G.
Houtermans of the University of Bern, Swiaerland [Lynn
and Gray Poole 1964).
The Method and Its Applications
The to be dated should be crushed into a fine
powder and placed on a thin sheet of steel Put a t the botmm
of a box devoid of any light The steel sheet is stretched
between mo to a source of electric Power for a
quick-heating (at a rate of atleast 60 degrees per second) of
the steel plate until the powder reaches a Very high
temperature. Electric wires are connected to the electric
power. The hot plate is covered by a round box containing a
special liquid which keeps out the heat waves produced by
the thin steel plate. Above the round box is put a delicare
instrument: for measuring only the therrnolurninescent glow
given off by the motion of electrons within the powdered
earth. As a result of high temperature, the electrons in
powdered earth fall back into their steady paths and give
a glow of light, which is recorded by the special instrument
meant for the purpose. There is anather devise to measure
and record the surface temperature of the material The
light and the temperature which are recorded in relationship
each 0 t h form the themoluminescent curve. ~ e s i d ~ ~ ~
the in the material is also to be recorded After
obtaining these resultJ the age of the object can be
determined by dividing the amount of kermoluminescence
bythe average radioactivity when the exact number of years
t last fixed can be had.
since ~ e o b j e cwas
To test his method, Dr. Kennedy has worked with a
number of terracotta objects af known dates of which me
potsherds from Greece dug up at the ancient market place
in Centre of Athens by Dr. Roger Edwards gave dates in
ab~olutenumber of years Like t h e C-14 memod. Unlike the
latter, thermolurninescent method can date objects
probably as old as 200,000 years B.C.
The thermoluminescence dating has its own
jimi~tions.It can be used for such materials which did not
undergo any alteration since their initial date of firing*
whereas in reality most ceramics have undergone sorne
 chemical alteration that affects the thermoluntinesccnr
glow. Such an alteration cannot be distinguished from the
glow produced by the radiation damage since the pot was
I fired. As such the application of this method is severely
minimised for the time being. In the words of Ho!e and
Heizer (1965), ". . . . , at leasr f u ~the foreseeable future, it
I [therrnoluminescent method) will not become an important
tool for archaeological dating". However, the method is of a
very good use in detecting modern ceramic fakes fiom the
ancient ones although dating is not possible to give.
4. Archaeomagnetic Dating

Both artifacts a s well as components can be dated by

this method. It is a recently developed dating technique
which also establishes dates for events in human history. It
depends on the fact that the earth is a magnet the force of
which operates all the time in, on, or around the earth. The
cause and the origin of the earth's magnetism are still a
mystew, ~t is also not clear why it is not steady in its force
or direction.
The magnetic lines of force near rhe northern and
southern tips ofthe earth plunge down and sink deep into it
to form north and south magnetic poles. Besides these,
there are what are known as the geographic north and
south poles which are the two ends of the ima@narYline on
which the earth turns. These were established centuries ago
by scientists and travellers while preparing the maps of
water and land masses on earth. On the basis ofthese poles
We locate other directions such as east west or any
direction bemeen it is clear that the points of mawetic
nanh and rnllth poles deviate from the direaions of the
90 Elements of PrehistorY

geographic north and south poles from time to time. Thus

the true magnetic north which a t one time may be on on@
spot and years later might drift by hundreds of miles to the
east or west of the previous spot

Variations in the angle of declination bemeen

magnetic north and true north, and in the angle of dip of a
magnetic needle have been recorded for 400 years in
London and for shorter periods in other cities like Boston#
Rome and Paris.The angles of dip and declination vary frorn
place to place as shown by the above record. These
measurements indicate that the magnetic field of the earth
has changed in direction at a particular rate, A number of
studies have shown that a record of past angles of
declination and dip are trapped in baked clay. The
magnetite and haematite grains in the fired day align with
the magnetic field of the earth surrounding them. When
they cool they become magnetic again. such
alignment of grains is called the t ~ r m o r e m n a n t - m ~ ~ ~ ~ t i ~ m ~
which simply means the magnetism remaining in the objed
*he direction and strength of the second magnetism are
determined by the earth's magnetic fields in which coding
takes place.
It is now known that the geomagnetic north poi@
which guides compass points drifts constantly at the rate of
about 600 miles for every 100 years. This magnetic
direction thus followed a particular pattern which has been
used back into the past By finding out the path of the
earth's magnetic field at the time when the clay sample was
fired and by comparing it with the present magnetic
direction, the age of the sample in exact number of years
can be calculated. The measurements are usually made in
 Methods oJDating

the laboratory with a specially devised equipment

However, two determinations namely the calculation of
geographic north and determination of magnetic north of
the object in question have to be made in the field itself
before sending the sample to the laboratory for measuring
thermoremnan t magnetism.
This method has been tried in detaiI in Great Britain
by M.J. Aitken (Hole and Heizer, 19653 and Professors
Robert E. Cook and john C. Belshe of Cambridge University
[Lynn and Gray Poole, 19641. H. Watanabe in Japan,
Professor E. Thellica OF Paris University and Robert: L.
Dubwis, a geologist at the University of Arizona have also
been working on this method. It is of interest to mention
that the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History
of Art a t Oxford University i s conducting tremendous
research on magnetic dating the proceedings of which are
pub]jshed in the annual V O ! U ~ ~ofSArchoeometw.
The archaeornagnetic dating technique is very
Valuable for prellistoric anthropology partly because it
gives absolute dates and partly because baked day is
present is most prehistoric sites. It is best used for
complimentingdates obtained by C-14method.
The reliability of this method depends much on the
availability of good records of change of magnetic paths for
areas near prehist~rjcsite within a maximum radius of
about 1000 miles. The sharpness of the dates further
depends on a series of samples of baked clay from a single
area which have known dates against which one Can easily
measure those ~ i l h o u tdates. The third factor that
contributes to me dependablliv of this method is to have
92 Elements of PrehisfoV

such a material which has not been shifted From the place
where it was first fired. That is why fire places and kilns
form the best material for dating by this method. Bricks and
portery which can also be dated by this method are usually
removed koom the places of firing and as such it is difficuul
to align them in their original positions so as to calculate
the deviation of the angles of dip and declination.
5. Varve Analysis

This is the oldest method used for dating prehistoric

objeas from excavations. It was described by the sweedish
Baron, Gerard De Geer in 1878 though the fact that varves
are annually deposited layers of silt was recognised by Heer
as early as 1863. Varve analysis like dendrochronolo@'
demonstrates seasonal variations and also throws light On
the climatic conditions of ancient time.
Vanres, as known in Sweedish, are annual layers of
sediments deposited a t the boaom of the lakes by the run
off from melting glacial ice. This method is based on
measurement of the relative thickness of varves and their
comparis~nto new sections as in bee-ring analysis-A varve
is a part core of the sedimentary rock representing
melting and freezing conditians a t times of the past. During
the glacial periods when keezing takes place water does
flow and hence there is no sedimentation resulting in
"arrow bands in the core during winter seasons. During be
interglacial periods characterised by warm climatic
the ice sheets melt and the melted water flows
into the lakes and deposits sediment in their bottom leading
to the formation of wide band in the core. The seasonat
variations are also reflected in the nature of the sediments
 I
Methods of Do tin@
I
I
being coarse or fine. The mrves range in thickness from less
I than 0.5" to more than 15". though these sizes are rarely
I found.

I There are a number of limitations of this method of

dating. First, the varves furm only near ice and so in most
I
Parts of the world there are no varves. Second, even in
places where ice was present during the Pleistocene there
was no evidence of sediments in lake basins and thus speak
of recession ofice sheets. Third, it has been found to be a
problem to witness varves till the present outside
Scandinavia. Even where they are present upto date do not
go beyond 17,000years. Fourth, the melting of ice does not
occur at uniform rates and may be deposited as varves
more or jess frequently than annuafjy.
in spite of the above limitations, the method has
been successfulJy applied in Baltic area, North America,
South America and Africa though the correlations of these
Sequences are not convincing. Thus this method lacks
precision, as experience has s h o w that dates derived by
varve analysjs are older than those for the same events
estimated by C-14method.
6. Dendrachhmnnology or Treeding Analysis (Fig. 111)
I t is also an artifact-componentchronometric dating
method. Tree-ring dating, which provides excellent
seasonal records, is another palaeobotanicd method, which
is much restfic&d in application in space and time. The
method, which was developed in North America, allows
- ~

dating of wooden objects as old as 2000 years.

 Elements of Prehistory

Fig.llI. D e n d r a c h r ~ n o l oor
~ Tree ~ n Analysis
g (for obtaining
dateby counting back from b e a m A to B to c). A. ~ e a mcut
a living bee. B. Beam from an old house for
mmPaflson of its rings with thore of A. C. Beam from an
older house for comparison o f i b rings Ma those of^.
 I
The fan that trees gmw a ring each year and by
counting the rings one could determine the age of the
objects had been known since the time of Leonardo da
Vinci. The tree ring dating of archaeological remains was
I invented by Charles Babbage with the publication of the
Paper in 1838 [Hole and Hefzer, 1965) although the method
was known to have been used as early as 1788 in the U.S.A.
by Reverend Manasseh Cutler when he dated the site of
Marietta, Ohio as 1000 years old. Following this, M. Fiske in
1820 dated a Tennessee site to 500 to 600years-Squier and
Davis determined the age of certain mounds of the
Mississippi valley in 1848,and Lapham in 1855 dated the
Wisconsin copper mining dumps at 395 Years*

The method implies that the trees growing in

zones exhibit clearly defined annual rings of
growth due to the effects of temperature, light and
moisture. Tile width and spacing of the rings vary
seasonally. The growth cells that farm in the winter are
bigger than Ulose of the summer. That the growth of the
tree in a year begins with formation of big tree in a year
begins with formation of big wood-cells and ends-with
small cells. such a tree-ring with kinds of wood cells
indicates an age of one year. Such annual rings can be seen
in concentric if a cross-section of a uee-bunk is
taken. order to know the age of the tree, what alJ One has
to do is tocount fie number of rings. The counting of rings
p e f i p h e ~and the
is done from the centre of the rmnk to
Peripheral ring tells us to when me tree was wct*J'
It is on this principlethat the f3'eedringdan'ngOpera=

we have to have a chronologY mitable for dating

archaeological materials,
,have m necessariiy match
series of rings from trees of various ages. The present
chronology extending into the Rrst century B.C. Was
developed by cross dating. The tree-ring size varies from
year to year due to a number of climatic conditions and
similar series of rings fmrn one tree t o another can be
matched. If the samples selected are good, the relative sizes
of rings for a given time will be similar and recogn'lsable.
Bannister and Smiley list four conditions as
necessary for the establishment of a tree-ring chronologY
a given area, which would permit the date of prehistorlC
materials: (1) availability of trees with clearly defined
annual rings as a result of definite growing season ;
g r o h mainly dependent upon one controlling factor ; (3)
evidence of a local prehistoric population that made
extensive use of wood; and (41 ~ e l l - ~ r e s e r v ewood
d
retaining its cellular structure is a must
The conifers are the best trees for daring and
ponderosa pine (Pinus pondemsa) has been used for dating
in Southwest America. Though longer sequences extendins
down to 4000-years have come horn the giant sequoia in
California {Seqffoio-gigontd]and the bristlecone pine fPinUs
~ d ) in the White Mountains of IZastern
~ r i s ~ ~Found
California, wood fmrn these trees does not occur
archaeological sites. The semnd problem is that the most
dependable sequences come from trees growing in
arid climates where the ring-growth is dependent
sail moisture Much of the temperate world is
due t o much rain in summer. Trees that have not
tapped undergmund water are good. Trees from hill sides
are better than those from river bottoms. ]t is because trees
kom the flood plains of rivers b r m a very small ring during
 I
a wet year while those on slopes form large rings, It is so
because the bees from the flood plains suffer from
I
I drowned roots.
There are other cautions to be taken illto account
when logs for dating are available from such sites. The last
I
ring on the log represents the time or terminal date when
the log was cut. Such a date need not necessarily coincide
with the time of its use. Another point is that where the
I
wood is available on a small scale and where thc use of
primitive tools was involved, the logs were repeatedly used.
in such cases the dates cannot really represent the
prehistoric culture.
Other Methods of Dating
There are a number of other methods used for
dating archaeological materials particularly depending on
the context in which they are found. They consist o f the
Pleistocene features such as beaches, terraces, dunes,
I
I moraines, loesres etc.; astronomjcal dating based on the
relationship between the variations in the solar radiation
I and climatic change; sequence dating based on a
I
genera]ised temporal Sequence of artifact W e S or
associa~ionsof artihcts; CrOhS dating which implies the
tracing of relationships between different areas with the
help of culture seque""S, efC. All these help in drawing
relative chronologies,
 FOUR
STONE TOOL TECHNOLOGYAND TYPOLOGY
A. IMPORTANCE
I
It is difficult to identify the prehistoric cultures a,ld
l
the people responsible for them since no written records
are found. In order to accomplish this task of deciphering
these anonymous communities, the prehistorian depends
an the material ablects only, which may be artifactual or
non-artifactual, on the basis of which the broad cultural
divisions namely palaeolithic, rnesolithic, neolirhic,
chatcolithic, bronze age, and iron age are recognised. This
framework is nothing but the efaboratian of the concept of
Three Ages put forth by C. J, Thornson. The main criterion of
these subdivisions is the technological change which is
inadequate for a convincing interpretation of the cultural
developments.
The problems of terminology of the framework for
Prehistoric anthropology will be considered elsewhere as
We are concerned here with the smne tool t~potechnology
of different culhral periods. The prehistoric objeds are
called ar6facts because they have been produced artificially
by human and not by nature. The identification
of these objects requires the necessary training, experience,
and objective and carefil examination without which there
is every likelihood of doubting their authenticity as
man-made. These objects consist of a wide variety of tools
or implements and weapons primarily produced from stone
though *her materials like wood, bone, antler. ivory. shell*
etc., were also used in their manubchlre. But stonebeing
survives the ravagesof me
the most impefishable
time and hence the prehistoric cultures are also described
as "Stone Age Cultures".
,
These cultures show evolution from time to time in
typo-technology and raw materials in time with the needs
of the people and physical environment In the beginning
stages of man's life, the artifacts were larger in size, cr"dely
made by applying simple techniques and very few in types'
In course of time relatively small-sized and well made
of many different types were manufactured by em^^^^^^^
advanced techniques. In addition to primary flaking ma"
started carrying out secondary working or retouch On the
tools. Certain tools used to be produced according
geometric shapes. Then man thought of sharpening the
edges of the tools by intense rubbing which is technically
known as 'grinding technique'. At every stage of map"
Progression, improvement over the preceding stage is
noticeable which could be achieved with the help 0f the
of the people of the previous sbges.
The different types of tools of the lower palaeoIithic
people are pebble tools, hand axes, cleavers, discoid5'
Scrapers. etc. They were mainly made ham cares. The
of the middle palaeolithic people were made on flakes a"d
the chief types include various types of scrapers, points1
borers, etc. The tool-kit of me upper palaeoIithic ma"
contained blades, pen-knives, burins, arrow-heads, etc.1
made of stone besides different types of tools made
bone* antler, and ivory. The mesolirhic
different BeOmetric micraliths like lunates, triangles, and
haPezes besides several non-geometric forms. The
of hafting a number of microliths into a woode'
handle to produce a Compound tool signifies fie twhno~ogical
 Stone Tool Technology and 7frpology

Progress made by the people. The succeeding neolithic

people by applying the pecking and grinding techniques in
addition to the already known techniques of flaking
produced different types of axes, chisels, adzes, etc., and
domestic tools. During this stage of cultural development of
man the evidence of pottery was found in association with
stone tools. All these are far remote us in time and
therefore we want to know the materials and 'techniques
used in making them.

B. RAW MATERIALS
The main rocks used in tool making consist of
igneous rocks, sedimenbry rockcs, metamorphic rocks and
The igneous rocks incfude basic rocks such as
basalt, dolerite, epidiorite, amphibolites (green stones); and
acidic rocks such as granites, grano-diorites, epidote
granites, pegmatite$ etc, The sedimentary rocks consist of
sandstone (greyish), and flint (black) The metamorphic
rocks include rocks of the silica group which is divisible into
C ~ t o c ~ s ~ l l i n e like chert, chalcedony. jasper, agate.
carnelian, opal, obsidian, etc; and crystalline rocks like
guam and r o k crystal. Other metamorphic rocks are
quarhite, finely-banded ~ ~ c ~ c ~schist5
D U S marsely-banded
these which Can be considered as
granite peisses, etc.
, AIJ these rock
minerals are fie cryptocrystalline rocks
same
hypes were not used by people of one and
period but by those of different cultural periods and at
on their availability in the
different: times depending
vicinitv of their sires.
N

used for making tools of lower,

The raw
middle and upper palaeolithic periods are as under. The
102 Elements of PrehistoY I

lower palaeolithic people made their required tools from

the easily breakable rocks such as obsidian and hard rocks
/
I
like quartzite or other rocks of the metamorphic type which
were easily available in the surroundings of their sites In
Europe and other Western countries sedimentary rocks like
flint were extensively used by man for making his tools
whereas in India quartzite, basalt, etc,,were the rocks from
which stone tools were produced indicating that man
mostly depended on the locally available raw materials
the manufacture of his tools. During the middle palaeolithiC
period there was change in the raw materials used as we''
as in the tool me5 made due to change in the environment
Man of this period used for the preparation of his flake tools
like scrapers, points,. borers, etc., different siliceous rocks of
the cryPtocrYstalline variety like agate, jasper, and
o b ~ i n e din the form of river pebbles or frorn
wtnWs whose C~nchaidalfacture is more regular
than that of quartzite. Quartzite of a fine-grained type Was
also used by the man of this period to some extent The
palaeolifhic folk produced their mols of blade and
burin culture from the coarse, medium to fine g a i n e d
quartzite of various shades besides some siliceous rncks.
With the disappearance of the ~leistoceneIce Age, the
pdaeolithic way of life also came to a dose and ~ 0 1 0 ~ ~
with normal envimnmental mnditions making it
"n&enial far the people of Mesolithic cultures to produCe
Wotechnologically advanced tools particularly by e r n p l o ~ ~ * ~
technique of making [he composite tools from
microliths. Metamorphic rocks of m e ~ r ~ ~ t o c ~ s t a land
line
crystalline types of silica group have been largely used 'Or
manuhcturing the non-geometric and g e o m M c microlithsv
 Stone Tool T~cli/~o/ogy
and Typology

The new stone [neo~ithic) age charactenred by

settled way of life succeeded the rnesolithic period, 1k
comPrises two stone too! industries : pecked and ground
stone industry, and blade and rnicrofithic industry. The
hoJsof the first industry have been made on igneous rocks
1
of the basic as well as acidic types. The basic rocks like
basaft, dolerite, diorite, etc., have been used for making
1
different edge tools like axes, chisels, adzes, etc. while the
I non-edge tools or domestic implements like rubbers,
mullers, querns, hammer stones etc., have been produced
from acidic racks like granite, granodiarite, epidote granite,
etc. In any case man's choice during the neolithic times too
was restricted t.0 the locally available rocks occurring either
as dykes and sills, or as boulders in the viciniw of their
settlements. The tradition of producing ground stanetools
COntjnued into the ~halcolithic-BronzeAge tirnes to some
extent whereas fie blade tods have been made in great
abundance and sophistication during these times and a
degenerate formduring the subsequent time periods'

C. STONE TOOL TECHNIQUES OF

PALAEDLITHIC AND MESOLITHIC PEWODS
The different techniques by which the Stone tools
have been made can be identified on the basis of the study
of the tools themselves, by imitating them today, and by
obsening tools of similar kind made and used by the living
tribal communitiesA "umber of scholan like Abbe Henri
ordes, and H.D. Sankalia
Breuil, L.S.0. Leakey, Francois
Wrk On the "One too's
have made in the
in the field as well
technology and typ01ogY
orjes which could be
laboratory. he chief categ ercussion flaking,
Carried out by different tecllniques a" P
 I
Pressure flaking, striking blades from prepared cores, and
grinding or polishing.
In percussion method, a large block or nodule of
stone is selected and struck in its middle by a large hamrner
stone of about two to three pounds weight which results in
two parts. This is k n o w n as the of the stone
nodule. The half piece of stone nodule with flat surface
again hit vertically by a hammer stone in its midee
resulting in the formation of a cone of the lines of force in
the nodule. But if the force of impact is insufficient, a small
Piece offlake comes out. If the blow i s confined to one 0f the
peripheries of the nodule the impact is equally less but
will result in the formation of an angle of about 160".
Among the different percussion techniques, the lower
palaeolithic tools were mainly made by block-on-block Or
anvil technique, direct percussion o r stone hamme'
technique, and cylinder hammer and hollow hammer
technique. In addition to these, there are some flake
techniques used during t h e lower palaeolithi~period in
Europe such as the Clactonian Levalloirian, and ~ ~ u s t e ~
techniques, which appear during the middle pa~aeolithiC
Period in hdia and Africa (Fig, IV).
1.Block-on-Block or Anvil Technique (Fig. IV.1)

According to this technique, the pebble or block of

Ston@ to be converted into a tool is struck against the
projecting point of a large fixed block of stone termed
'anvil'-As a result of this, large and massive flakes come
These have a highly elevated portion called 'bulb of
Percussion' which is at an angle to the platform of the flake*
The negative flake scars left on me pebble are deep and
Stone 7301 Technolo# and ~ P Q I Q U
vertical to the striking plane and are much longer than I
wider. No secondary working or retouch is possible on the 1
artifamprepared by this kind of method. Thus the method I
is convenient to produce large and crude tools. The flakes
removed by this method without further working must
have been used by the man for flesh-cutting and I
I

animal-skinning purposes.
2. Direct Percussion or Stone ~ a m m e Technique
r
[Figs,IV.2 and 31.
This was the most commonly employed memod by
prehistoric man anywhere in the world at any time period
for making his implements. This Wchnique also involves
selection of two blocks of stone of suitable size, one of them
acting as hammer whiIe the other one is made into a
Both these are held in both the hands respectively and with
the help of hammer, flakes are removed from the ofher
block. The direction and the amount of force which the
hammer was driven would determine the shape, size and
nature of the flake. The flake thus resulted bears elevated
bulb of percussion whereas the core exhibits the
corresponding depressio~ the "negative bulb
percussion". In this method the hammer usually hits
border of the core from the undersurface from which the
flakes come out instead of from the upper surface The
alternate flaking on both the surfaces of the core i s nothing
but the bifacial flaking and the flake scars from either
surface intersect forming a zig-zag cumng edge. The
technique as such is oRen referred to as alternote flokim
technique. The block to be converted inlo a tool
Sometimes held on the knee or on the trunk of a tree to
Serve as suitable pads.
 Scone Tool l'ecimoloyy und Typolagy

The handaxes with deep flake scars and irregular

outline, and heavy butt found first a t the French sites of
Chelles (at the junction of the rivers Seine and MarneJ and
Abbeville (in the Somme valley) were certainly made by
this technique, Such handaxes are now knowm as
"Abbevilliannraher than "Chellian [or Chellean)" and are
chronologically the earliest in rhe handaxe industry of the
lower palaeolithic period.
During the process of flaking of a pebble or a block of
stone with another, the maker has to exercise control over
the force of his smoke depending on the type of tool he is
making. In such situations the force is to be driven towards
the centre or the thickest area of the nodule, So the force
which becomes restricted and cannot spread over the entire
thickness of the nodule almost becomes exhausted half-way
though resulting in the form of a crack upto * e distance the
Force entered. It is a kind of secondary flakink?which helps
in surface chiselling, As a stepllke structure resulh the
face of the crack' me technique is termed 'step flaking
techniquer and the flakes removed by this are
I
necessarily small hinge hactureRakes-
3. Cylinder Hammer and H~llowHammer Technique
pig. IV.51
Tools with unusually shallow and elongated flake
surface are suppored to have resulted due to the type of
hammer used by the htonf?age man. Leakey who conducted
experiments ivith regard to these techniques declares that
flaking could be possible only by the use of hollow bone or
Wooden hammer and hence the technique can also be called
so. ~~~l~ produced by Lhis technique reveal not only great
technical development but also foresight in planning the
design of the tool which was not observed in the earlier
techniques. The Acheulian handaxes with ~hhallowflake
scars, even surfaces with biconvex or lenticular crUSS
section and regular shape were prepared by this techni9ue.
Such handaxes were first noticed a t the French site of Saint
Ached in the Somme valley.
The above techniques have been employed for the
manufacture of pebble tools, and tools of the
and Acheulian handaxe industries-all of the lower
palaeolithic period. Besides these basic techniques,
are some techniques which involve h e production O'
special types of flakes. They are Clactonian, ~evalloisianand
Mousterian techniques, which have been mainly employed
by the middle palaeolithic people for the
various types of flake tools and weapons.
4. CIactonian Technique (Fig. W.4)

Tools made by this technique were first found at the

classic site of Clacton-ondea in the Essex CounQ, ~ ~ n ~ l aThe
nd-
tools are made of large massive flakes of this type or h e flakes
themselves have been used without any further working.
In this technique, a nodule with fairly regular
surfaces is selected, and a good- sized flake is removed from
one of its surfaces by hammering with another stone which
acts as a hammer. On observation, a detached flake shows a
small, circular, raised projection on its under Surface-This
raised projection as mentioned earlier is called the 'positive
bulb of percussion' and the flake surface that is hit upon is
called the striking platform. Flakes of this type are removed
both by direct hammer or by block-on-anvil method. They
 Stone Tool Technology ond 7Srpolugy

bear the bllowing characterisfics : [a] The flakes u a rule

are large and massive and bear prominent bulbs af
--
percussion with ripples of force marked occasionally; 01
The striking platform makes an angle of 100" to 220" with
the flake surface; k ) The striking platform as a matter of
fact remains unflaked and retains original surface. Such
unworked platform is called unfaceted platform.
This technique is also known as "Swinging-
I
blow-method" because the material for the purpose is hit
against a hard block of rock or anvil with a swinging blow
I resulting in the removal of a flake. In India, the man of the
i
I
middle palaeolithic times has widely used this technique,
whereas in Europe the technique first appeared to have
been used in the closing stages of lower palaeolithic period.
I
5. kvalloisian Technique [Figs. IV.6-9)
This is another advanced. and skilihj technique of
I
removing flakes which were Brst noticed at the site of
I
Levallois Perret, a suburb of Paris, France.
The most important fearvre of the Bakes ofthis type
is that they are in advance on the core. The
process starts with the mugh trimming of the sides of the
core, and then removal ofthe cortex from the under surface
and also frorn the upper surface n, facilitate flake scars to
meet in the centre. The removal of all irregularities and
uneven portions of the surface nearly give rounded Or
semi-rounded shape to the-core,
In semnd stage, the striking pla""is prepared
by removing very small flakes on the core with a small
Punch or along the margin prefenbly at the shorter
end or in the middle of the longer side where the two
surfaces of the core meet and are perpendicular to the
longer or shorter axis.
The third stage involves the removal of the flake
from the core by giving a blow by a sharp or narrow
pointed tool either directly or through an intermediate too]
called punch on the platform by holding or supporting the
core with left hand. The blow is given at right angles to the
platform or the axis of the core.
AS a result of this, a thin flake roughly triangular Or
oval in outline with dean undersurface and a part of the
prepared platform making an angle of 80-90" with the
undersurface i s produced. The upper surface bears s h a l ~ o ~ ~
triangular, centrally directed flake scars indicating previous
preparation of the core. Flakes pmduced by this technique
have sharp edges and as such do not require any further
retouch.

The core shows shallow conchoidal flake scar with a

little of prepared platform flaked prior to the of the
main flake. The core appears ova1 and so called 'tortoise
core' in view of the resemblance of its rounded
undersurface to the Upper she]] or carapace of a tortoise
and the conchoidal flake scar of the vental underside
comparable to its belly. The technique is therefore called
'tortorise core technique'. It is also known as ' p p a r e d ~01'~
technique' in view of the preparation a( the core in advance-

technique has been witnessed in Europe in the

st%es of the lower palaeolithic period particularl~
duringthe final A ~ h e u l i astage,
~ while in Africa and in India
it has been noticed in the middle palawlithic period. The
 Stone T d Tecllootogyond Typology

flakes produced by this method have been extensively used

for making the Acheulian handaxes.

The following are the differences between the

Clact~nian and Levalloisian methhodds. The Leva1Joisian
method, though lengthy, each Lime involving the
Preparation of the core and producing only one flake, is
economical and the flake is of quality and size. Once the
technique is mastered, the production of more such Bakes
becomes easier and quicker. In the case of Clactonian
method, the size of the flake is not predetermined and as
such the blow is given any where on the margin of h e
nodule in a haphazard manner resulting in small or large,
thin or thick flake of irregular shape which may not be
Useful. Moreover, in this technique the flaking of the core is
not pfanned in advance and dlercfore khere is loss of
material and the e d g of the flake may not be suFficient'y
sharp.
6. Discoid or Mousterian Technique tFi& lV.10)
This technique, comparable with the Levalloisian
technique, derives its name from the French cave site of Le
Moustier in a small village on the Vezere river in Dordogne,
France. It is a f a c m site where large number of cores and
flakes produced by this technique have been found, is from
these prod*& Fhat the technique h a been reconsbucted*

It involves the selection ofa large flake with a flat

one of iu
surface on one or a flat nodule, or Core
sides being Fmm fie flat surface of fie nodule or flak+%
small flakrs are
which, on eramination look round
or polygonal leaving identical flake scars on the core- In the
can be removed from the
next step, similar such flakes
112 ' Elements of Prehistory

other side of the core depending on its size. The residual

core on examination shows a central flat surface and
bevelled rim produced by the intenection of flake scars and
cortexed surface of the nodule.
The Levalloisian or tortoise cores and discoid cores
and the flakes produced from them show differences and
advantages. In the case of the tortoise core, only one flake
can be produced a t a time and far producing another, the
core has to be prepared again, whereas in the case of
discoid core, several flakes can be removed without
rejuvenation or preparation of the core. secondlyl the
tortoise core can Held large flakes ranging kom 5" fo 7" in
len@h at times, while those of the discoid core are smatler
in size varying from 2" to 4". Each of these had its own
u t i l i ~ ,say, large flakes could be converted into beautifU'
ovate handaxes, a large number of which have been faund
in several parts of Western Europe, Africa and lndia and
small discoidal Rakes could be used for making tools lilce
and Points. Thirdly, flakes from tortoise cores
show a number of small flake scars an the reverse side
the previous preparation of fie core in the
case of discoid cores which show three or four scars or
none.

Stone tools prepared by the Mousterian technique

have been noticed in large numbers in Europe. West and
Asia and North Africa. Mousterian culture is of great
~ i ~ i f r c a nnot
c e only in the occurrence of different types of
made by this technique but also from the standpoint
of its stratigraphical position,
 Srufre Tool Technology ond ijpofogy

Blade or Fluting Technique [Fig. V)

I
This is a new technique known ta man for the first
time during the middle palaeolithic period in addition to the
techniques already described above. By this method long.
narrow, thin parallel-sided flakes have been produced fn
different parts af the Old World. This technique has been
regularly and extensively used during the upper
Palaeolithic, rnesolithic and later periods.
I

I
A blade is a narrow flake with nearly parallel sides
and mostly thin and flat surface. By this definition all flakes
become blades though all blades are flakes.
Unlike in the different flake-producing techniques
dlscusscd earlier, in blade techniques the raw rnater,rials
used as well as h e nature of the cores are different. The
coresare generally cylindrical and fluted, the &kes are long
as well as narrow and thin with faceted platforms. The
nature of raw materials depended on the needs of the
blades produced. For blade production, the materials were
all fine-grained such as jasper, chert, chalcedony, agate,
obsidian, etc,, belonging to the silica goup. In this method,
the blades were not from rhe cylindrical core
direct but by employing a wood OT bone punch placed
against it and by exerting pESSUre indifferent ways An
almost similar method even today by stone
Workers of Cambay, Gujarat has been reparredby Sankajia
(1964 :~ i 21).~ perhaps
. this must also have been practised
during *e neo]ithic chaJcofithic times with
modifications and depending 0" the narure of the raw
blades by direct
materials. The technique of removing among the
percussion method has SO been
I American Indians.
 and rSlpology
Scone Tool Tec/?no/agy

From a careful examination of the cores and blades

from different parts of the world and experimentr, it has
been possible to infer that the stone age man has employed
Pressure technique, pressure and indirect or direct
Percussion technique, or only percussion technique in the
manufacture ofblades of different dimensions.
Pressure Technique [Fig. fVa11)
In this technique or the other techniques the first
1 involves the preparation of the core. The cores which

I
I
be tubular or cylindrical musr have been roughened
other hard semiprecious stones or by an abrasive like
Sand. This initial preparation of roughening the core was
Probably done to facilitate the worker to hold the punch
the platform ofthe core in position and not: to allow
it from falling down. In the second stage nf the preparation
of the core, small platforms were made along the edge of
the core by removing small chips when it becomes faceted.
In certain situations, the core required further preparation
in the maUng of a "crested ridgea'by removing a number of
flakes along fie jon@udinal axis alternately and at right
angles to its hce form a ridge with a zig-zag edge. Flakes
of this kind ,-reate weaknesses parallel to the ridge and
facilitate the removal of long flakes fmm me cores' Such
Crested ridge also help as a keel that can be
in a or a slot m hold the core in positio* during
Raking. cores and flakes wiLh such pre~ar~'''' have been
in France and chalcolithic
found during heneoJjthic
period in India.
In (he next sage, a stick or a shaft measuring 2.5' to
4' in lengrh with about 2%3"in thickness would be selected
and to its Lower end was Rxed a pointed bone or horn while
the other end was provided with a cross piece against
which the worker's chest rested. A t the same time the
worker wodd keep the core between his feet in standing O r
sitting position. Finally he would hold the staff with both his
hands, rest his chest against the cross of the staff and apply
Pressure. As a result a long flake of 10" to 12" results.
The production of flakes and their conversion inM
arrow or spear-heads by the technique of pressure flaking
by an American Indian of California was noticed in the
beginning of this century by Theodora Kroeber in her work'
lshi the Yahi (for further details see Sankalia, 1964).
Percussion Technique [Fig. VJ

In this method too, surface roughening i s done On

the core followed by the preparation of a small platform at
one end. Finally a short wood punch is placed against it and
a tap is given by a mallet far the removal of blade. This
method has been tried on obsidian by two ~ r e n c h m ~ ~
Cabrol and L. Coutier and produced Long blades. In this
method practised in Peru, a bone wedge was placed across
the platform and struck lightly to pmduce blade as reported
by Tyler. The method also has been attempted by Barnes
(19471 O n glass producing narrow blades of as much length
as In Western Europe, blades by percussion method
have been reported right from Acheulian times a"d
continued into Ule upper palaeolithic period when it
became the main feature of the technology. The method has
been successfully carried out during the rne501ithic'
neolithiqand chalcolithic times when short blades were
produced.
 The cores used For blade producfion during these
times were small ranging from 0.5" to 2.5"in length and are
of three types : (1) pointed or conical, (2) flat-based, and [3)
chisel-or oblique-ended. In the case of the chisel-ended and
flat-based cores, the flake scars are quite regular and
parallel with faceted and flured appearance, while in the
case of pointed cores the flake scars are convergent The
I Rakes produced from the flat-based cores are constant in
their length but decrease in the case of 0 t h cores as

I flaking continues.

In any case af production of short or long blades, the

steps involved include the selection of a cylindrical or
quadrilateral core, removal ofsmoothness from the surface
of the core by roughening preparation of platform or
faceting by removing small chips, preparation of crested
guiding ridge for facilitating ff aking and for Sghl fixation an
the anvil 01. ground, and removal of blade-flakes by
pressure percussion with the help of a punch and light
I
hammer. ~ f i e removing
r flakes From one side of fie core
1 another side is to be selected for blade production*
Apart from the above methods, the technique of
Pressure flaking appears to have been carried out by stone
age man by using fabricator, pa"icu1arly in the case of
backed by trimming along their backs and rnicroliths
by applying pressure. in another method known as
pressure flaking by a 'fabricator' Or by a 'lame emillee'~a
broken blade or stone is used to apply Pressure along the
flake be trimmed by holding the latter down ona piece of
bark or leather and by pushing downwards with broken
edge of lame ecaillee in this process very small flat flakes
are removed.
 The technique of pressure flaking by finger-nails was
done by pressing out small flakeswith finger nails on blades
and flakes, examples of which occur in the form of saws
with beautiful denticulations along the edge during the
mesolithic and later cultural periods. The pressure flaking
by slit method is done by means of a slit in a piece of raw
hide and passing through the slit a deliberately notched
blade in such a way that the mid-point of the notch is in line
with the slit, and a little bending of the flake results in the
application of pressure t o the central point of the notch
bearing the fracture of pressure. The outcome of this kind of
flaking leads to the formation of a small bulb of applied
force and a curved or twistred flake scar, This method was
applied by the rnesalithic man in the
production of microburins.
Retouch or Secondary Working (Figs. V.8-11)
This technique is applied to the artifact for giving a
sharp working edge/point or for creating a smooth surface
after primary flaking and hence it is known as retouch Or
secondary working. With the exception of the pebble
handaxes and cleavers of the lower palaeolithic the
tools of the succeeding periods mostly undewent
secondaly working aRer their removal from the core Or
after ~ r i m a l yflaking. This type of working may be confined
to certain m a a n or ~ Sometimes all round the implement
At times fie secondary working might have been applied
the butt end of the to01 to facilitate hafting which is also a
kind of SO retouch is the technique carried
to give sharpness t o the mol or to strengthen the
edge mOugh there are certain raw materials like
etcet whose original edges are as sharp as those
 that are deliberately prepared. Even in the case of the latter,
if me original edge was damaged, man must have resorted
to carry our fresh flaking or chipping in order to achieve
workable edge for use. Thus it may be stated that the
retouch or secondary working was discovered by man
probably when the original edge or point ofthe to01 became
usejess due to working.

Based on the extent and nature, different names are

given to the retouch. They are: 11) nibbling retouch in
which the tool is retouched by removing small indentations
here and there quite cafdessly, (2) oblique retouch when it
is carried out a t an and (33 straight retouch when the
Secondary work is done regularly and systematically.

There are instances where the names of the

retn~cheshave been cDinedafter the names of the sites as
in the case of the Egyptian site of Heluon where Professor
Dorathy Carrod called the retouch made on the upper and
1 undersides of the arc of the lunates as "Heluan Retouch,

I though this term was later discarded by her and in its place
suggested the term ltridge-backretouch"Or "dosd'a~e:

Man-made retouch on the tools by emplo~ing

different techniques can be inferred from their observation,
I t has been found that retouches could be made either by
holding fie edge ofthe tool against a fixed piece of stone
wood and by carefully moving it up and down- It was also
Produced by striking with a small hammer stone, which
LeakeYsays was of all the Stone age culrnresn
Another mehod af executing was with the help ofa
5haIp, thin, insfrurnent like the room of "Irus
pressing it over the edges of the mols pmducinga fine
120 Elements of Prehistory

retouch. Leakey who from his decades of researches on me

stone age cultures of Africa reported that the upper
palaeolithic man employed a modified cylinder hammer
technique by the use of a small piece of wood or bone of the
size of a finger for producing beautiful lance-heads.
Retouch perhaps first appeared on ~ b b e v i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
in
Acheulian type of handanes and Mousterian
Europe, became well lmown during the upper pala@olithlc
period and continued during the mesolithic in the
production of different types of microliths. But by the
advent of chalcalithic and bronze ages, it started declining
in view of the massive production of parallel-sided blades
and herefare confined to lunater, vapezes and
blunted-back and pen-knife blades and bnged specimensm
DmTECHNIQUE OF GRlNDlNG OF
THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD
All the methods of preparing tools or flakes during
stages of the whole of ~alaealit-ic and rnesoliLhic
periods were executed by flaking or by chipping The
surfaces of these tools remained relatively coarse and
uneven. No attempt was made to make the surfaces of the
tools smooth and even in any of these p r i o d s in the historY
of evolution of man I t was only by the emergence of
neolithic period when man started leading a settled way of
life, it occurred to him to make the surfaces and/o r the
working edges of the mols smooUl and even by applying the
of grinding the origin of which is not known
But C~ghlan(19431,on the basis of the evidence of
a =peciman of ground axe found in association the
Sokutrean and other upper palaeolithic cultural waditions
 I Stone Tool Technology ond Typd~gy
121

I
Western Europe and the finding of a rounded pebble
converted into an axe by a little grinding from the Danish
Kikchen middens, thinks that it mighr have developed from
a ~alaeolithicsharp-edged scraper.

In any case, the origin of this technique is closely

linked with the nature of the raw material and the physical
environment, which were the main consideration For
such techniques in the manufacture oftools. The
rocks on which the technique of grinding has been
@xtensivefyemployed by man were all Rne-grained igneous
rocks Such as basajt* dolerite, epidiorite, etc., which were
Preferred over the metamorphic rocks though thcse were
also used to a limited extent, However the technique was
never attempted on siliceous rocks. It was also found by
man mat it was very convenient to work on igneous rocks
in view of the presence of joint planes On hem, which
helped to convert fie mol according to fhe plan of the
maker. AS a result where the raw material was available jn
fage scale it was possible br man to manufacture different
types of tools far more in number than his requirement
CUlminating in fhe development of fadow sites khrnwhere
they must have been transported to places where

I they were needed.

~h~ ncojihjc culture characteristic of Sournern
India, Northern India and EasLern India has witnessed the
technique of grinding in the prepa"lion of and
I weapons, AJlchin [1960) recognises five stages of working:
I
I
(1) primary flaking (23 .semndary flaking. (31 pecking or
I
hammer dressing, [4) edge 13r-ndingand (5) ~verallgrinding*
222 Elements 01Preh istW

The first two stages can be combined under a singie

stage as both are flaking techniques which involve the
initial flaking of a pebble or nodule of any fine-grained rock
into the desired shape of the tool by employing
block-on-blocktechnique or direct percussion method with
the help of a spherical or discoid hand hammer. This is
followed by the Rne flaking to regularise the form and to
make the edge sharp. After passing through flaking, the
looks like an Abbevillian handaxe,
In the second stage, the tool undergoes pecinng
which means battering or hammering. This is done by
removing projections and ridges as also depressions
produced by flaking. For this purpose, a pointed instrument
i s used in the absence of which a small discoid or cylindrica1
hammer is used. The tool which undergoes pecking
presents even surfaces.
During the third stage, namely grinding, the too1
placed on a big bounder or stone and rubbed by moving if
up and down with the help of sand or other coarse materia1
and some water serving as abrasive. The grooves On the
boulders and the smooth surfaces on the tool show that the
grinding was done on a small portion ofthe tool the
edge portion.

The next stage of overall grinding is the final stage

the preparation of the tool. Also known as poljshingt this
Stage was applied preferably to achieve very fine smooth
surfaces to the tool. This is done by intense rubbing using
some grease or oily substance according Sankalia (1964)'
The ground allover are found in smaller frequencies
On
Indian neolithic site and therefore it i s inferred that
 I Stone Tool Tecl~nology
and Typology

[hey have been manufactured for certain specific purposes

of some religious significance, Thus without this level of
grinding and by considering flaking as a single stage, only
three stages of working can be put forth na~nely,flaking.
Pecking and grinding.

i E. TYPES OF TOOLS AND THEIR FUHCTlONS

I
The study nf stone tool technologv hitherto made
tells us that it is intimately related to typ~logyor vice-vc?~-s~~.
Both these in turn are to a considerable extent dependent
the nature and types of rocks available to a particular
group of prehistoric people, For example, a heavy cutting
tool Could not have been prepared by employing the fluting
nor could il: be applied to coarse-grained mcks.
Thus a gmup of people living in the viciniv of hard mcks
and not a t all mming across the situation during which
I
blade tools are would never know the technique of
fluting at a given nf lklle. AS such, it is well known
that diffprent of tools occur in different ecologial
niches for different needs during different periods of
This kind of explanation appear5 to good and
reasonable the knowledge of trade of raw
and migrations of populations ha5 occurred.

The aim of the of prehistoric [yp~lopie~

is to
eshblish various tool making techniques adapted by
Prehistoric man at different places during early phases
hi5 E L I ~ ~ I J development
~ ~ ~ In the Case of the tool types of
later cultures, the study is aimed to diagnose diffusion.
Contact and rnigradon of d i f f e ~ n traditions
t and meir
on the past The dassification of different jnto
types is done by the olnsideration of certain svu*ra' Or
morphological criteria such as form, technique and the
possible functional significance which are either &leaned
from similar usage today or were current among certain
primitive communities. This is done by comparative
ethnology.

It is not necessary that all tool types found all Over

the world should conform to the defined typology, because
the prehistoric man made tools according to his own plan
and necessities of life but not with the idea of Our
classification. Therefore, variations in the style of the nipes
of tools are but natural to occur and they have 0 be
described accordingly, as in the case of handaxes which
may be called triangular, ovoid, cordiform, pyriform, and So
on. Further different types of tools characteristic of
different cultures have also acquired typological meaning as
in fie case o f handaxes of lower palaeolithic pi-iod such as
Abbevillian or Acheulian types in view of their similaritY
those first found on the French sites of the same names.
(i] Lower Palaeolithic Period [Figs. VI-VIT]

The following are the different types of tools of the

Lower Palasolithic period :

1. Pebble tools: (a) Chopper, (b) Chopping tool,

(c) Scraper, Id1 Rostrocarinate.
2. Proto-handaxes
3. Clactonian core and flakes
4. Handaxes: (i) Chellian-Abbevillianhandaxes;
(ii) Acheulian handaxes- W Pear-shaped or
P~riformhandaxes, (b) Ovates, (c) Cordate or
heart-shaped handaxes, (d) Lanceolate handaxe%
(e) Triangular handaxes; and (iii) Micoquian handaxes-
mG'.M' of m m ~ ~ pi d
& i ~urn
d (After
7* ma@hhand=, 8. ~ a n c m h t em d a x e , 9. ow'
h.n&?* 104 brdate h d m , 11. ~ i ~ ~ v~i BaWIae *
1E. Cleaver.
 Stone Tool Technology and TJpo/ogv

5. Cleavers
5. Discoids
7. Scrapers
Pebble Tools (Figs. VI. 1-21

The term 'pebble tool' IlteraJly applies to any tool

made on a pebble. In usual practice, this applies M a variery
of choppers.. scrapers and hand adzes whose working edge
1s Prepared by block-on-anvil technique whereas the
remaining part of the tod retains the original surface. These
tools are quite big and massive and are characteristic of the
lower pa]aeoJithjc cultures of South-East Asia [Burma]),
Noa-west India and East Africa. They Were first f ~ u n d
1 Site on the river Kafu, Uganda; a t Olduvai, Northern
Tanganyika 2nd a t some sites on the Sohan and other rivers
in the Western Punjab. Subsequently they have been
reported from the Vaal river in South Africa; at the cave
sites of Makapansgdt and Sterkfontein in Transvaal and on
Some sites in Algeria
- and from the East Punjab and a large
I number of sites in the Peninsular India.
At the sites of Olduvai and Sterkfontei~pebble tools
have been found in a separate stratigraphical horizon and
hence they were as belonging to a reparate
CulNral tradition called pebble tool Culfure' fhough *ey
Were associated with handaxes made on nodules and flakes*
Deshmond Clark in 1962 suggested the term "Oldow~n
Culture" in fhe plar&of the above term and the tools ofsuch
cu]hre are known as Oldowan mds. The an@uiv of this
fmdition is ltjinatId be about tW0-tilree milliai years in
I
I
Africa, wllerensjn Java and China if may be about
I
I half-a-million years
 As the tools of the pebble tool tradition were found
in association with flakes and tools made on other rocks, it
is argued that they do not indicate a separate culture. But
one thing i s clear: the pebble tools found in the above areas#
though similar in shape and other features, are nor of the
same antiquiry. Recent investigations revealed the presence
of these in Europe, particularly in Hungary, South Francel
etc. In India pebble tools form a part of the handaxe-cleaver
industry as shown by researches in different parts of the
country. There are two types of pebble tools : Choppers and
chopping tools.
(a] Chopper:This is a large massive pebble tool which
has been unifacially flaked. This and the term chopping
were first suggested by H.J. Movius in 1944 when he
analysed the palaealithic tools from India. Choppers
have been used for scraping and clearing purposes.
[b) Chopping tools: This term is restricted to describe
such core or split pebble tools with flaking on both the
surfaces of the working edge which is sinuous or jagged Or
wavy. The remaining surface including the thick bug retain
the original surface or cortex. These tools are heavy and
large, and made their appearance fint in the lovver
palaeolithic period and later also in the middle palaeolithiC
period when their size has become smaller.
Most of the choppers and chopping tools possess a
mansverse cutting edge. But when the cutting edge tends
become pointed they have been called as "pointed oblates"
by Patenon and Drurnmond in 1962 in [heir analysis of
Indian ~daeoliths.Sen called the choppen as unifacia1
scrapers and chopping tools as bifacial scrapers, whereas
Seivebng termed them unifacial and bifacial cleavers.
 I Sto~leTool iecfmolugyand 7J~pology

(c) Scraper: This is supposed to be a smaller pebble

toof than chopper according to Movius whereas the flaking
done unifacially as in Ule latter, The unworked side
Serves the purpose ofa canvenient haridhold.

(dlRostrocurinate: This is also a pebble tool with

cortex a t the posterior end and partly on the lateral sides.
making is done in such a way that a large flake comes out
from the undersurface while the uppersurface bears partial
flaking with a ridge or keel. The tool looks like a beak when
viewed from front and top.
2. Proto-p and Axe Fig. V1*41

This is supposed to be a variant of rwtrocarinate

one af its surfaces partially flaked ta give it a cutting
edge. This and rostrcrcarinate can be described as pebble
butted handaxes but the former type is better-shaped with
more flakings than latter. Secondary work is, howeveL
rare in both cases.
3- Clactonjan Core and Flake (Fi& Vl-3)
I
The CJactonian core is a core Or a primary piece of
rock fmm which flakes could be removed by aacmnian
technique whereas the resultant is a flake with irregular
shape, farre
- in prominent bulb of percussion and
semicone formed by the ripples orf~rce.
i 4, Handaxes

These bifacja]]y flaked core tools with bimnvex

Profile, thick and heavy b u t - end and a thin, WJering
1 painted working end and with Or without !Inflaked
ortance to the pebble took They
Portions, are next in imp
I
are also called as 'bifaces', Bucher, and c o u p - d e - ~ o ~ g .
Bucher de Perthes, a French prehistorian was t h e first to
find handaxes hllowing which they have been discovered in
Europe. Africa. Asia particularly in India. Though these tools
are called handaxes, they do not resemble the present day
axes. They have a pointed end while the other is thick and
blunt The pointed end is used for digging while the sides
are used for cutting or splitting. hat: i s why they are
termed "multiple tools".
On the basis of the evidence from the Olduvai Gorge#
East Africa. it is believed that they were first made in Africa
from pebble tools and then spread to Europe by diffusion.
That is why t h e handaxe industry js said to have originated
from pebble tool industry in East Africa and handaxes found
in other parts .of the world are later in origin than the East
African ones.
On the basis of the methods of manufacture,
axes have been placed under three traditions: chellian'
Abbevillian and Acheulian, based an the evidence faund in
France. The baditions are indicative of their development
through various stages according to one school. The crude
variety of handaxes were put under Chellian tradition
which are said to mark the beginning of handaxe tradition
The hand axes of the last tradition are finely made
indicating me skill of stone age man. Pr&istorians however
think fiat there is not much difference b e m e n che1lian
and Abbevillian industries and so they ,-an be called
to M O traditions, Chelljan or Abbeviliian and
Acheulian.These hu0 traditions are believed to indicate
different culfura! traditions but some scholars have
expressed doubts about them because the evidence frorn
 Stone Tool Terhnology ond TLpolu~y

the Olduvai Gorge shows the development d handaxes

from crude types cuntinuously and does not show that they
belong to different traditions.
(i) Chellion-AbbeviIIiunhandaxes (Fig, V1.61

These hand axes exhibit wide and deep flake scars at

One end or side, or in ttie semi-circular area of the tool.
Flaking of this kind could be possible by the black-on-Mock
technique or stone hammer technique. These handaxes are
irregular in outline with a zig-zag working ends and the
c o r t ~ xbearing thick butt end. The tools are crude in nature
and have been flaked Crom the upper and lower surfaces
which intersect forming a working edge for use. The names
of these tools were given after the type-sites, ChelJes and
Abbeville, one on the jtrnction of the rivers Seine.and
while the &her js on the Somme river- bob in Fiance. It is
believed that these tools were used by the man of those
days for digging cutting or splitting Purposes.

CiiI Acheuhn handms

These handaxes were so termed as they were first
turned up at h e tyge ~ i k of Saint Acheul in the Sornme
valley, France discovered by Boucher de Pelthes in 1836.
These are regular in outline and beautifii to look a t
Observations and experimena revealed that these have
been regularly worked by removing thin flakes on both
surfaces, crospsection they are biconvex or lenticular.
They could be ~roducedb) a light cyiindrical hammer of
Wood, bone or stone. They show technological
in the handaxe indust&s They are later in antiqui@
the Chelljas-Abbeviffian handaxes. The follocving are fie
sub-types of the Acheulian handaxe$-
 (a] Pear-shaped or pyrqorrn handaxes (Fig. V1.51: These
resemble the shape of a pear. They are short and heavy with
a rounded working point. The butt end is thick and may be
flaked or unflaked. The general shape of the tool i s achieved
by primary flaking followed by the removal of a
secondary flakes to sharpen the edge.
(bl Ovates: These are oval in outline and biconvex in
profile, and are thin and symmetrical. The working end and
the lateral borders continue in the form of a ridge across
the butt end. Secondary working is done all over the border
to make it a working edge. In profile ovates present a
S-twist. These are made on flakes by LevalIois technique-

[C) Cordiform or henrt-shoped handaxes (Fig.

These resemble heart in general outline. These are
symmetrical tools with a broad round butr and gently
incurved sides converging into a point. In cross-sectiofl they
are biconvex or lenticular,
[dl Lonceolate handaxes (Fig. VIII-33: These have a
fairly long tapering sides ending in a pointed end. Their
surfaces are flat and the width is less than length as in a
lance-head. They are symmetrical, well planned and
finished tools,

(el Triangular hand- ( ~ i g ,VII. I): These are

roughly triangular in shape as the sides meet like the
hiangle- The surfaces are flat and the seaion is triangular.
(iiil Mkoquian hundmes (Fig, V11.5)

These are small, triangular handaxes with thin

working end. They are not so as me
Acheulian handaxes. The thick and heavy butt end oftee
I Stone Tool Tecimolufi and 7@logy

Preserves the original surface. Unlih the Abbevillian

handaxes, these are finely retouched. These were first
noticed a t a French site, La Micoque and Follow the
Acheul ian types stratigraphically.

The Chellirtn or Abbevillian and Acheulian handaxes

described so far are generally known by the term hiface,
Some of the handaxes of the Acheulian industry in India
bear flake scars on one surface only and are called unifaciaj
handaxes. They are largely made from large flakes unlike
the bifaces made on pebbles or nodules. in the case of
unifacial handaxes, only the upper surface is worked by
removing small, shallow flakes, while the under-surface is a
plain flake surface which intersects with *e upper one
forming a thin convenient cutting edge. Handaxe being the
first developed stme tool represents a 'universal' and
'Llnspecia~ised' tool, It is multipurpose tool used far cu*iinga
choppink scraping or even for digging U P fie roo'.
handaxes occur in large number at prehistoric sites and
have been in use fir longer time periods.

Different from pebble mol handaxe industries of the

lower palae~lithicperiod, in England a new indusw called
Clactonian l n d u ~has been recognised. The flakes
Produced by this technique show that they have not been
the byproducts of handwe indusw and appear to have
been removed from big stone blocks. They have a wide
Striking platform and prominent bulb ~f percussion with an
angle of 120° between the W O . Their upper surhces
retajn cortex while the sides have heen secondarily worked
to convert them inm points and scrapers- Such Baker Occur
in association handaxes aS well unlike in
But flakes
where indus@ WaS devoid of
found in association with handaxes probably resulted while
making the latter. The Clactonian Flakes on the other hand
were removed from big pebbles or any other rock of me
same size by using block-on-block technique.
5. Cleaver [Fig. VII.6)

This is a cutting or cleaving tool with a broad c u d n g

edge and a prototype of an iron axe of today. The term
'handaxe' can be more appropriately applied to this too'
type rather than to the handaxe proper. Though it occurs in
association with handaxes, it is later in antiquiw than the
handaxe. Cleavers were found far the first time in
association with the middle Acheulian handaxes. These
have been recovered from Bed 111 at: OIduvai Gorge, East:
Africa.

This is a flat tool made on a broad, rectangular Or

rarely triangular or convex side or end flake. sometimes
cleavers are produced from cores as well with a pebble bun
or from a thick flake with similar feahres. ~enerallYthe
undersurface of cleaver retains the primary flake scar
whereas the upper may retain a portion of the original
surface. AS a rule, the upper surface i s chipped all over an d
the final large flat scar removed a t the broad end of the
flake intersects the scar of the undersurface to give rise to a
abroad and straight cutting edge. The ~ K Othick longitudina1
sides are trimmed to facilitate holding or hafting.
In bifacially worked thick flakes, extensive retouch
done to give a U or V shape to the entire tool and the broad
Straightedge infront is thinned out by removing a single
flake by giving a controlled horizontal blow. The scars
resulted in such instances are known as deaver facets.
I Stone Tool Tecirnology and Ppolog-y

The technique of removing a single large flake from

the undersurface in the preparation of handaxes and
cIeavf?rsinvulves the preparation of the core and platform
as in LevalJois technique. It was first noticed at the site of
Victoria West in South Africa and hence named aFter the
site. Such clea~tei-shave also been reported from India.

On the basis of the shape or form of the butt, form of

the edge and the nabre of cross-section, cleavers are
sub-divided into the following subtypes : [a] Cleaver with
Square or rounded U-shaped butt) and straight broad edge,
and generally square or rectangular in shape ;@] Cleaver
with pointed butt and straight broad edge, and roughly
triangular in shape or V-like ; [c) Cfeaver with broad or
narrow bufi and flaring sides with straight, concave or
Convex edge. The convex edged cleavers resembling
too] were perhaps used for cuMng and scraping
leather. wh jle the concave-edged ones helped to smooth
barks oftrees or cylindrical tools or objects ;and [dl
Cleavers with parallelogrammatic section*
Cleavers n ~ u shave
t been used for deaving, chopping
or splitting tree trunks and carcasses of animab Their
predominant occurrence speaks OF the wooded climate and
use ofwood on large scale.
(li) ~ i d d l palaeojithic
e Period [Fig. VlII)
The middle pslaealithic period, which succeeds the
lower pa]a.&Jithic period, differs from the latter in raw
materials used for the preparation of t00h ~ ~ The
o t e c ~ n o ~ ~ g ~ #
toofs.
sizeS Of tools as well as environment
predominantly small in size, Were mainly on Rakerof
Levajlo jsian and Clactunian type of fine-grained
 I Stone Tool Technolog~.oodVpoh~y

metamorphic rocks of siliceous type. The technique of

"touch is quite common on tools of this period. The main
tool types are (1) scrapers of varjous types, (2) points. @j
bor ers-cum-scraperr, (4) small choppers, and IS] bu rins.

These are a variety of smaller tools made on fiakes of

medium size. These thin tools are to be manipulated with
fingers just as the handaxes and cleavers are held in the
Palm and used. After the primary flaking is done an the
upper surface the tool is subjected to s e c o n d a ~working.
The undersurface bears a single flake scar of detachment
and is rarely retouched.
Scrapers are used usually for scraping barks of trees,
dressing of the wooden or bamboo shafts and skins of
animals, Based on the shape, position and nature of the edge
for scraping scrapers are classified into a number of
SU b-mes;(o) side scraper, (31end scraper. [c] Found scraper.
b!!concave or hollow scraper, I'e)convex scraper, [rfl concave-
Convex scraper, (Irlside-cum-end scraper and So on.
(a) side scraper: In this type, one or both of the
longer sides from &e upper or underside or sometimes
from both surfaces, is done, and Uley are thus called
Singleside and doub]e-side scrapers respectively- The
Working edges in both these cases are more or less straight

I (b) End s ~ v The

(c) ~ ~ u scroper:
Confined to
n d
: scraping edge in this me is
Confined to the shorter side which is steeply retouched-As
its edge is steep like a nose it is also called hose s~ra~er'l-

In [his type the working

the flake.
 (dl Concave or hollow scraper [Pig. ~111.2): In this
tool me the scraping edge i s intentionally made concave
by flaking or by taking advantage of the natural concaviy*
The tool is retouched from the upper ar undersurfaces.
Such tools started occurring in the lower palaeolithic period
of Europe and India, became quite characterisfic and
survived into later cultural periods. In some inslances
these scrapers, the concavities may be at more than One
side resulting in h e formation of pointed sides or ends in
which case the tool may be called scraper-cum-borer.
(e) Convex scraper (Fig. VIII.1): ~egardlessof the
of the nodule or flake, the working edge in this we
of tool is convex or arched and obliquely retouched frorn
above or undersurface.
(! C~ncavo-convexscraper: In this cype the working
edges are concave and convex respectively.
(gl Side-cum-end scraper: Here one or t w o longer
sidesand ends bear retouch and hence they are called so-
2. Points [Fig, VIII]

These tools are made either on Levallesian flakes Or

other simple Flakes. The tools may be large or small, thick
min, and triangular ta leaf-shaped. Both the longer sides of
the to01 bear retouch marks. Depending on the extent
worhng, points may be known as unifacial [Fig. ~111.4.) Or
bifacial types (Fig. V111.7). Functionally, the mall,
hiangular or leaf-shaped points may have been used
arrow-heads while the larger and h i n n e r ones with
mid-ridge may have served the work of javelin or even as
spear-heads. Points with incipient tang (Fig. VLlI.5) must
have heen hafted and used.
 I Stone Too/ Technology ond ?)yolo~y

This is a pointed tool, the two wings of which are

intentionally retouched by deep notches. The body of the
to01 may be square, rectangular or even round on a flake or
"OdJe. Man sometimes picked up namraliy pointed flakes
Qr nodules where minimum working has been executed for
converting them into borers or points.
1 4. Borer-cum-scraper[Fig. VJ113)

in his type of tool, the borer point is retouched

besides fie neighbouring concati& which also serves as the
boring point as well as hand-hold for the tool.

/ 5- Smali Choppers and Chopping Tools

These tools bear unifacial and bifacial flaking

respectively as Uleir counterparts of the pebble ~ X Y O~ ~i t ~ r e
but these are smaller in size than those of the lamr.

6. Burins [Fig, VIII.6f

Also called as gravers, burins are the characteristic
tool types of the upper palaealithic period and were mainly
used for engraving on soft stone or bone as wdl as on the
Walls of rock shelters and caves. They were also probably
Used for making slots in wood and bone, 'l'hese are thus
special tools of man.
These are m a ] ] chisel-like t00l5 p~0d*Ced on
blade-like flakes with a sharp but thick cumng edge hrmed
by the interseaion of the bevelled or sloping surfaces,
on the extent
Burins can be dassified into different
and n a b r e of working on the toal. The most mmmo* @pe
js called " ~ ~ ~ i ~ - ~ ~ ~ Burins
- d ~ fofl this
u tw ee" are made
140 Elements of PrchistW

on blade-flakes. Clark (1932) discerns five stages of

working in the preparation of the above type of tool. In the
first three stages, the blade flake selected for making burin
is trimmed a little on both of its sides a t one end resulting ln
a rough point. In the next two stages, the point of the blade
flake i s held lightly on the edge of anvil stone with cutting
edge vertical to the plane of the anvil stone. At the upper
edge of the flake, a sharp blow is given with mallet causing
the removal of a narrow flake from the upper edge of the
blade. Similarly from its opposite side also another flake
removed. The two flake scars resulted intersect with each
other at the tip of the blade-flake giving rise to
burin-bec-de-flute type.
[iii) Upper Palaeolithic Period

The upper palaeolithic period is characterised by the

blade and burin industries flourished in the middle and late
Wurn glacial period of the Pleistocene epoch. The owners of
these industries were fully modern humans comparable to
the Homo sapiens of today. Besides blade and burin
industries, the people used to make tools on bones, antler#
and ivory. They lived in caves as shown by paintings on the
walls, and also carvings on rocks as well as bones. They
used to bury their dead. They wore animal skins as clothes*
Their culture is not only found in Europe, Africa, and West
Asia but also in India as per t h e evidence available through
recent researches. The following are the typical tool W e s
o f t h e upper palaeolithic period : (1) blades, {2] burins, (31
backed knives or blades with straight or oblique blunted
backs* (4) knife points, (5) scrapers, (6) arrowhead, (7)
pi@rcers. (8)lunates, (9) trapezes, (10) triangles and so on-
 i Stone Tool Techtrolngy ond

0 ~ Mesolithic
3
Typology

Period [Fig. lX)

Mesolithic period is a transitional stage b e w e n

palaeOJithic and neolithic periods. It made itr beginning
aFter the disappearance of the ~~eistocene epoch. The man
~f this period produced compound tools called microlithq
'vhich were hafted into convenient handles and used for
v a f i o ~purposes
~ (Fig. 1X.l-2). Apart from rhis, the
technique of blade production witnessed during the middle
Palaeolithic period and establjshed during the upper
Palaeolithic period, continued into this and later cultural
Periods. Based on the morphology .of the stone tools, two
categories can be deciphered. They are non-geometric tool
Ypes and geometric tool types, the former being earlier in
antiquity than the lager, The different teal W e s are: 1-cores,
2. Blades and 3, M jcorJithspacked blades, obliquely
blades, b uncated blades, etc.) which are Don-geometries.
Geometries includeJunates or crescents, Mangles#trepezes?
f repezaids, nanches, UanSVerse arrowheads# ho"o W*
based points; 4. micro-burin~,and 5-scrapersd
1. Cores
her^ are ~0 types of cores-flake cores and blade
Flake cores are ordinary cores which were not
Prepared for the produ&on of flakes of any particular size
and shape, These bear liberal flaking the flakes being
off komvarious points h e cares. No p r r ~ a P~~~~
~d is
Present in such car& Flake cores Occur in small number jn
indicating
relation m fie large quantities of flakes and chips
that most of them were converted into blade cores'
Blade cores are regular C o E S from the broad*most'y
prepared platforms of which were removed thin narrow*
Parallel sided blades. In shape, they are cylindrical, tubular.
ma- Toel%es af h o l m & P M O ~ H.D. W a J *
fld
1-3. w e m d d W e -t~slded and
@ b e n dWbteid blades, 4. obliqlrely blunted W
b ~ ~ W ~ 6 a ~ a ~ f r r ~ t r10-13. i a r q J ~
MfP-Vm Bfmpexes, * 4 l 6 . r n ~ i d s@
-,I.
T
18 QbU'i~dyblanH point, 19-21.Tyeddd cad
bladest ZZh<fla@=per, 23.End s a a p ~ r 24. , Steep
~ P @ 25.Iiollow
G or concaves.c~-aper,%, Convex-
 I Slone Tool Technology and 7J~pofogy

quadrilateral or sometimes even pyramidal or conical

having pointed, chisel or flat based ends. The blades from
Such Cores are removed from more than one platform and a
maximum of three platforms, Majority of the cores measure
between 2" and 4" in length.

II
[a) Core reji~venationj?akes: These are flakes removed
from cores to improve the existing platform or to provide
fresh striking platform when the possibility of detaching
blades From one platform gets exhausted. These are
removed from the apex, base, and toe of the cores. They
traces of blade scars and platform on their surfaces,
(b) Chips: These are byproduct or waste flakes
resulted from the preparation of waste cores and various
types of artifacts. They are small and irregular in shape and
bear no marks of use nor of retouch.
(c) ~ b k There
a include unutilired and uflised
and may be end, side or indeterminate flakes. They are
long ova] and leaf-like in form and sometimes irregular.

1 2. Blades (Fig. IX,1-31

Blades are thin, long parallel-sided flakes which may

be retouched or unretouched,Majority of them belong LO the
latter type while only a small proportion induds the former
h e . The remuched blades include those infenfionally
Worked by secondary worldng for Use The retouch may be
on one side or both & e ~ .The blades in genera' have
one to mid-ridge~ an the dorsal surfaces, The
Unr&ouched blades on the other hand include unutilised and
tltiJised types majority of which fall in the laWr MtegOrym
to 4' depending on fhe length
These blades measure from 2
of the cores,
144 Elements of Prehistory

These usually comprise finished tools :

(a) Geometries

[i) Lunotes or crescents [Fig. IX. 5): These are small

microliths made on parallel- sided blades resembling
half-moon shape. They have round back called arc and the
straight opposite side called chord. The arc is thick!
intentionally blunted by steep retouch to facilitate haRing
in a handle while the chord remains almost always
unretouched. So arc-retouched lunates are common. A true
h a t e is supposed to be symmetrical in shape. Sorne
authors make distinction between a lunate and a =rescent.
These are made on broken
(ii) Triangles [Fig. 1X.6-93:
blades, the sharp edge of which forms the base while the
longitudinal sides an blunted. There are two varieties in
triangles : non-geometric triangular form and a regular
form with a longer cutting edge-scalene, equilateral, and
iscocelestriangles,
Cii] Trapezes (Fig. IX 10-13):They resemble g e o m e ~ c
trepeze in which the shorter three sides are rerouched
steeply while the longest side remains as a sharp cutting
edge. It may be taken as a transitional form to lunate. a
true trapeze, the two parallel sides of the original blade
remain untouched while the non-parallel sides are
retouched.

(iv) Trapezoids [Fig. iX.16-18):These form a sub-YPe

of trapeze in which no two parallel sides can be seen while
the other longitudinal sides are retouched.
 I Stofre Tool Teclrnologyond ppofogy

(v] Tmsverse arrow heads (Pig, IX. 14): In this type,

the length between the cutting edge and its posterior
border is more than that between the lateral sides.

I [b} Rlon-geometric Tools

[i) Backed bhdes: These are parallel-sided blades

with one or both af their lateral sides retouched for cutting
Purposes.
[iii) Obliquely blunted bl~des[Fig. IX.4): These are
also called pen-knife blades. These prossess a steeply
blunted side which curves to meet the thin, unretouched
edge which acts as a working edge. The blunting may be
done on right or left sides and partial or complete. The
Working edge is concave or concavo-convex and straight
[iii) Truncuted blades [Fig. 1x19-21): These are bfades,
the broken ends of which are trimmed either transversely
or obliquely probably to produce a scraping edge. The
trur~cationis done at one or both ends. The working edge is
transverse or straight.
(iv) Trunchets: These are flake tools the cutting edge
of wh jch is formed by the intersection of two or more flake
scars from the two surfaces of the tool.

II [v) ~ ~ l b ~ ~ bpoints:
o s e In
d these tools, atfeasta part
of one side is steeply blunted while the base is intentionally
hollowed by retouch. They include both symmemc and
asymrneMc types.

4. N'cro-Burins
hey arc usually prepared on small, cylindrical
nodules. Around the central region a notch is prepared in
the for*, of a wedge to a depth of one-half of rhe mdule.
146 Elements 01Prehistory

The remaining half is broken by a single stroke. The smaller

broken piece becomes burin. Since these burins differ in
their method of manufacture, shape and size from the
palaeolithic burins, they are called micro-burins.
5, Scrapers [Fig. IX,22-26]
This is another important category of tools in which
are found side, end, convex, concave and round scrapers
which have already been described earlier.
(v) Neolithic Period (Fig. X-XI)
These consist of two industries : pecked and ground
stone industry and blade and microlithic industry.
Pecked and Ground Stone Industry
(1) Celts or axes, (23 Adzes, [3) Chisels, (4) Wedges'
(5) Scrapers. (6) Picks (71 Borers, [a) Grinding or M h b i n g
stones, Cg) Saddle Querns or Mill stones, (10)Fabricators Or
Hammer stones, (113 Sling stones, (123 ace-heads or Ring
stones, (133 Axe-hammers, (14)Flakes : (a] Simple flakes,
and Flake blades.
1,Celk or axes (Fig. XI-51: These are mostly h-ianilular
in shape with a broad sharp cutting edge with a butt which
may be pointed, round blunt, broad thick or broad thin'
They constitute the most significant and major group of
pecked and ground stone industry. They vary in size from
small to large specimens. But majority of them are
medium-sized while small and large axes are quite rare.
The material used for the manufacture of axes coul d
be procured born the locally occurring dykes and sills in
form of fragments which varies from v e y fine-grained
 1 Stone Tool Techtrologvand Q p o f ~ g y

basalts to coarse-grained dolerites-At limes diorite, granite,

granodiorite and schist also have been employed,

There is evidence in the form of rack graoves on

granite boulders i n the vicinity of water ponds and springs
showing that the axes have been ground at their edges
particularly. This indicates that the neolithic man had made
use of the pond water and some sand-like abrasive while
rubbing the axes, The present day village-folk adopt similar-
technique in sharpening the iron-axe blades.
1 The working edge or blade of axes is often curved
with slight or prominent convexity although axes with
oblique to straight blades also occur a t times. Their bodies
are thick with round, bevelled and square sides. Majorip of
the axes are ova2 in cross-section at the butt and in the
middle while at the cutting edge lenticular section is most

i common. In longitudinal or vertical section the axes are

often flat oval or lenticular though plano-convex and
concavo-convexsections are also encountered.
There is no direct evidence as to how the axes were
used by their makers it is presumed that they cwld either
be held in naked hand or were hafted into some kind of
handle with the cutting edge or Wade in line with the
handle (~ig,X11.3). Coghlan postulated a number of hafting
methods for h e European axes of which his 'dub-halt
'slot-haft' may suit the pointed butt axe5 of India.
Large axes measuring beyond 20 cm. Were probably used
by freehand bemuse of their s i ~ and
e heaviness.Axes were
probably used by the neoliihic idk in clearing the ~unglefor
agricultural operations, ~orn~letely ground or polished axes
are in number are believed to have been Ihc
150 Elements of PrehiswV

precious possession of the neolithic folk and they have been

most probably used for ceremonial purposes instead of as
tools.
There is special type of tool called "shouldered fool"
(Fig. X1.7) mainly occurring in South-east Asia, Burma and
Eastern India. The peculiarity of this tool is the existence
a tang at its butt end br hafting purposes while the other
end has the cutting or working edge. Their butt end and
also body are square-shaped.
2. Adzes [Fig. XI. I): Coghlan in 1943 defines an adze
as "a tool for chipping or slicing away the surface of the
wood. The cutting edge stands transversely, that is, a t right
angles to the handle. Its bevel i s ground on the inner face
only, while t h e entire outer face is slightly rounded."
These are thin, triangular-shaped tools u n u a l l ~made
on flakes. They differ from axes in having one flat surface
and the other slightly convex surface with a bevelled#
central edge. Adzes are hafted in such a way that the blade
is at right angles to the handle. Usually the bevelled edge is
mound. I t acts as a good carpenter's tool though it is
believed to have been used in agricultural operations.
Adze-blades are very rare in the peninsular 1ndia
though common on the Assam neolithic sites and an those
in China and South-east Asia. Dani in 1960 calls them as
faceted tools of multipurpose nature. The first hafted
specimen of adze was reported a t Arpachiyah in Iraq.
3. Chisels (Fig. X1.2-3): Chisels are narrow elongated
cylindrical or rectangular axes with gmund edges which
may be straight or convex. They are the actual prototypes of
 Stone Tool Technology dnd rYpoIogy

the metal chisels employed in carpentry. Burkin trace, the

angin of chisel from the narrow elongated celt-form. Their
business edges are truncated biconvex which are more akin
to those of wedges. They might have been used for splitting
- Purposes like wedges and for cutting purposes as well.
Chisels like adzes are of rare occurrence,

4. Wedges: These are small, roughly triangular,

quadrilateral pieces with ground edge and pecked surfaces.
These were used for splitting w ~ o dand were probably
made from broken axes.
5. Scrapers: As the name indicates, scrapers must
have been employed by man in scraping skins, barks of
trees, etc. They .are made on cores as well as flakes. On the
basis of the extent of working and general oudine, scrapers
can be divided into side, end, hollow, convex,
concave-convex, round or discoid, etc., types. They are of
Various sizes and commonly occur in association with the
neolithic pecked and ground stone indusby.
6. Picks: Picks are irregular, pointed tools usually
Prepared on cores by flaking though some of them bear
pecking and grinding as well, the former pmbably to
facilitate haffing of b e butt into a wooden handle and the
latter to make h e point sharper. These mols could have
been used in digging and loosening soil and in 0 t h
agricul~ralactivities. They LOO like chisels and adzes turn
up on neoljthic sites o~~asionally'
7. Borers: These, like picks, are a variety of pointed
tools made on flakes, They too occur occasionall~on the
neolithic sites-
152 Elements or Prehistory

8. Grinding or Rubbing stones [Fig. X1.5): These are a

class of domestic implements usually Found in association
with querns, serving the purpose of grinding and pounding
grain. They are made on small, natural slabs in relation to
the querns made on huge boulders. These may be oblong,
recfangular, oval or circular in shape. Usually they do not
exhibit any signs of flaking, but are pecked all over with
stone chisels to give them a Flat surface and t o produce
dentitions for grinding. Grinding was not involved in their
manufacture. Robert Bruce Foote had called these as
"mealing stones."
They are of common occurrence on all the neolihic
sites. Granite of various shades was the chief ravv material
used in the making of these implements. In vertical and
horizontal cross-sections, they are piano-convex, oblong^
rectangular, oval, etc. There are various types of rubbing
stones, the chief among them being those which have been
worked and used on one surface only, with signs of
utilisation at one or both ends, and on one or both sides and
those which have been worked and used o n both faces
besides ends and sides,
9. Saddle Querns or Mill stones (Fig. X1.6): These
derive their name from heir appearance to the riding
saddles. They were used for grinding and pounding grain
and other cereals. They are rectangular, square and less
kequently round in shape and are made out of large granite
boulders. Foote called them 'mealing troughs1. They occur
0" all nealithic sites. Majority of them are long, broad and

shallow in depth. Their surfaces were hollowed out

pecking which became deeper due to use.
 Stone Tool Techrlology ond Typa/ogy

10. Fobrimtors or Hommerstones :These are mund

Or cylindrical in shape. These were put to
manufacture of blade tools and in making grinding in the
or
rubbering stones. Some particularly the cylindrical ones
with marks of battering at either end must have been used
as punches for dressing axes and similar ground tools.
There are some hammer stones with a "gmove' in the
middle and hence called "grooved hammer stones" [Fig,
XlI.4) which have been reported from Eastern India. The
groove is believed to have been used for haftingpurposes.
11. Sling scums: These are perFectJy spherical in
I shape made by pecking and rhe absence of battering marks
on them suggests that they were the final products of the
processes involved in the making of hammer stones. Same
authorities think h a t they were used as wdghts. But it is
more likely that these were used as sling stones for hunting
depending on their size. They occur on aU neolithic sites.
12. Mace heads or Ring stones [Fig, XL4]: These are
thick massive circular stones with a well drilled central
hole. Their surfaces are sometimes pecked and ground. The
central hole was pecked or drilled alternately horn both
surfaces and is of 2 to 3 cm in diameter, The diameter of the
hole narrows down from the surhce to the centre. Their use
as weights for digging sticks sUg@sts that they were
primitive agricultural irnplemenffi. Their association with
agricultural operations has been combrated by Oakley in
1956 who repor& fiat the Bhurhmen of South Afrjta chiefly
uti]jsed the perforated stones as Wights for digging sticks
13, Axe-hommers : These are axes whose cutting
edges due prolonged utilisation ceased to SeWe the
purpose of axe 2nd therefore employed as hammers+
@.XD- . h a & 1HaFtixlg aftds-some aecmmciions
C*ra.D,q-ar3
i. Sickle o f - X Q i ~ ~ 0 blades
I f ~ 8 mounted into a wtrodea
§b$R, 2. H w o o a &med by mouatkd Man*, 3,,P ~ I ~ W ~
hafted fn a slotted harrae, 4. amved hammer
@ wm a b a t a p .
.muhafted
 differ from the true hammers in having the shape and
technology of the axes though funcri~nally they are
identical with hammers. It is because of their function that
they could be classed as hammers.
14. Flakes: These include large flakes, small chips
and irregular flakes which resulted during the manufacture
of finished tools. They may be end, side or indeterminate
flakes. They may be rectangular, discoidal, triangular, oval
and irregular in shape.
They could be divided into two broad categories:
[a) simple flakesand [b3 flake blades.

[a) Simple /lakes include those removed by stone

hammer technique, Most of them do not bear faceted
striking platform which forms an angle of 90' to 120' with
the flake surhce. These may be utilised O r unutilised.

I (b) Nuke blades are those which have roughly

parallel sides
Besides &ese a number of rnis~ekln@~us tools wiLh
a multiplicity of functions occur with these tools,

I Blade and Micmlithic IndusW

I. Flake cores.
2. Blade cores.
3. Core rejuvenation flakes.
4. Crested guide flakes
5. Plunging flakes*
6. Chips,
7. W i s e d and unutilised flakes.
8. Unretouched blades.
9. Microliths :
1
Tools: Backed blades, obliquely blunted blades
and truncated blades.
Microliths: Lunates, trapezes and trapezoids.
10. Points.

11. Borers.
12. Scrapers of various types.
 Allchin, FR 1960 Piklihal Excuvotions, Hyderabad :A.P.G.A.s.
No. 5.
I
I

Barnes, AS 1947 The Technique of Blade Production in

Mesolithic and Neolithic Times. Proceedings of the
PrehistoricSocie& XXI ; 101-113.

I Binford, SR and LR Binford 1968 New Perspectives in

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I
Butzer, KW 1964 Environment ond Archaeo~ogy.London:
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I Charlesworth, jK 1966 The QuaternaryEro, Val. 11. London :
Edward Arnold Ltd.
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1 ChiIde, VG 1956a Man Makes Himsev London.
Childe, VG 1956b Piecing Together the PusL London :
Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Clark, Grahame 1960 Archoeo/ogy and Sociew, Landon:
1
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Medluen, University Paperbacks.
I Clark, JGD 1932 Memlithic Age in Brlfain. Cambriae.
Coghlan, HH 1943 Evolution of the Axe. /orrmal ofthe Royal
Anthrupologicid institute, 73.
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Coles, JM and ES Higgs 1969 The Archoeolu~of Ear& Man
London : Faber & Fatte~.
Danj, AH 1960 pmtohistory and Pr~historyof E~st@rn
indio.
cajcutta : Firma RL Mukhopadhyaya.
158 Elements of Prehistory
I
Daniel, Glyn 1950 Hundred Years ofArchaeology. London.
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Daniel, Glyn 1962 The ldea of Prehistory. London : C.A.
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Daniel, Glyn 1967 The Origins and Growth of ~rchaeologY.
London.
Flint, RF 1957 Glacial and Pleistocene Geology. New York : I
Wiley. I
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Hawkes, Christopher 1962 Archaeological Theory and
Method, Some Suggestions from the Old World. In :
Readings in Anthropology, Vol. 1, MH. Fried (Ed.)t
New York, pp. 434-449.
Heizer, RF 1953 Long Range Dating in Archaeology- In :
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historic Archaeology New Y ork: Holt, Rineharf and
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CEds-),pp. 128-142.
Leakey, LSB 1960 Adam's Ancestors, 4th Edition. ando on :
Methuen & Co. Ltd.
Lynn and Gray Poole 1964 Science Dates the Past. NeN
Y ork
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 OaWey, KP 1958 Man the Tool-Maker. 4th Edition. London :
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Plenderleith, Hj. 1956 The Conservation of Antiquities and
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Zeuner, FE [1gsg) T f ~ ePIeis~ocenc Perioda Landon:

~ " t - c hjnson Scientific and Technical
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