The Paleolithic in South Asia is also traditionally divided into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic periods. The Paleolithic falls within the larger geologic
Pleistocene Epoch, spanning from about 2.58 million years ago (Ma) to 11,700 years ago (Ka). As such, the terms
Early Pleistocene and
Middle Pleistocene are often applied as overlapping geological timeframes in discussions about the Paleolithic.
Lower Paleolithic The Lower Paleolithic period in South Asia represents the earliest phase of known hominin activity in the region and corresponds chronologically with the
Early Pleistocene. This archeological record, spanning 2.6 Ma to approximately 300 Ka, is marked by evidence of
lithic technology, including those characterized as the
Acheulean industry, (which are often attributed to early hominids such as
Homo erectus), the
Soanian industry, named after the
Soan River, a tributary of the
Indus, and also includes distinct Pre-Acheulean lithic assemblages.
Siwalik Hills (Pre-Acheulean) The
Masol site, located in the
Siwalik Frontal Range north of
Chandigarh, India, was surveyed between 2009 and 2011 by an Indo-French research program led by
Yves Coppens, the College of France and Academy of Sciences and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The site yielded over 1,469 fossils within a stratigraphic layer confirmed by
paleomagnetic dating to 2.6 Ma, including 45 fossils with green fractures, 12 with carnivore traces, and 3 with cut marks, found on a tibia shaft from a large herbivore, a bovid shaft, and a rib from a
Stegodon (
Stegadon insignis). Although critics have attributed similar types of bone markings elsewhere to large predators or trampling, in this case, researchers concluded the "anthropic origin can be in no doubt" based on several lines of evidence. Foremost, the markings closely matched experimental cut marks made by quartzite edges. Evidence of anthropic cut marks on fossilized bone in the Himalayan foothills (2.6 Ma) and
Lomekwi, Kenya (3.2 Ma), both earlier and further from Africa than previously considered.
Pothohar Plateau (Pre-Acheulean) While the Masol site provides evidence of quartzite cut marks, other sites in the region reveal evidence of stone tools capable of producing such cut marks.
Riwat, located in the
Pothohar Plateau, is one of the earliest sites containing
Pre-Acheulean stone tools dated to around 2.5 Ma. The stone tools found at these sites, including light and heavy-duty tools like simple end-choppers, represent a distinct, older lithic technology separate from the Acheulean and Soanian traditions.
Earliest Acheulean sites The
Attirampakkam site, located near
Chennai, was first identified by the British geologist
Robert Bruce Foote in the 1860s. It has produced some of the oldest known
Acheulean tools in not just South Asia, but the entire world, indicating that hominins inhabiting the Indian subcontinent were already familiar with bifacial tools, handaxes and cleavers approximately 1.5 Ma. This dating, confirmed by both
paleomagnetic and 26Al/10Be burial dating, means that India's oldest Acheulean tools were contemporary to those in Africa and Central Asia and thus challenges the traditional view of Acheulean colonization, suggesting either an earlier spread or independent development of these lithic technologies across several continents. Isampur in
Karnataka, India, is one of the about 200 Lower Paleolithic Acheulian sites in the
Hunasagi and
Baichbal valleys, and is dated to about 1.27 Ma. Although older assemblages have been found in Attirampakkam and
Bori, Maharashtra (1.4 Ma), Isampur is a unique archeological site in that it is a quarry - a site of lithic manufacturing where over 15,000 artifacts have been uncovered. The site has provided insights into a full spectrum of early hominin tool-making, from selecting limestone slabs and removing large flakes to shaping tools into bifaces such as handaxes and cleavers using secondary flaking.
Acheulean Assemblages and Homo erectus in South Asia The presence of
Homo erectus in South Asia is largely inferred on the basis of lithic assemblages within the appropriate temporal range of the species duration and commonly, via the association between
Acheulian tools and
Homo erectus, which has been established at other global sites including in other parts of Asia. including the Kortallayar Valley in
Tamil Nadu, Hunsgi-Baichbal Valleys in
Karnataka (e.g. Isampur), Chirki-Nevasa in
Maharashtra,
Didwana in
Rajasthan,
Bhimbetka's rock shelters and its surrounding open-air sites in the
Vindhya hills of
Madhya Pradesh. These discoveries indicate that Acheulean technology was not confined to a single area but was widespread across the Indian subcontinent, suggesting that associated early hominins like
Homo erectus had a broad geographical distribution throughout the region.
Middle Paleolithic The Middle Paleolithic in South Asia is marked by the emergence of flake-based technologies that suggest more advanced planning as well as signs of early symbolic behavior. These findings may represent the work of early anatomically modern humans. in South India are among the earliest examples of
Levallois technique outside of Africa. The transition to the Middle Paleolithic in South Asia has been uniquely informed by
Attirampakkam, an open-air site with evidence of lithic industry spanning over a millennium. This quarry site has preserved not only the earliest Acheulean assemblages in South Asia (1.5 Ma), but also the earliest Middle Paleolithic assemblages, dated to 385 Ka. The discovery of over 7,000 artifacts, bearing evidence of the
Levallois technique at Attirampakkam, was published in
Nature in 2018 by a research team led by Shanti Pappu, which challenges some long-held assumptions about the
Out of Africa migration theory. Levallois tools have been traditionally associated with
Neanderthals and early
Homo sapiens, however the Attirampakkam findings are dated to 385 Ka, making them not only the earliest examples of this technology outside of Africa, but archaeologically contemporaneous to the earliest known African Levallois point, dated to 400 Ka, in
East Africa's
Kapthurin Formation. This far predates the previous figure of 130 Ka for when modern humans were thought to have migrated from Africa into Eurasia. The larger implications of the findings remain open to debate. Shanti Pappu, a lead author on the 2018 Nature article, has been careful not to attribute the tools to any particular hominin species, but speculates that the tools could indicate an earlier arrival of
Homo sapiens to India, which would support a more complex non-linear migration pattern out of Africa. Paleoanthropologist John Hawks, also not involved in the study, commented that the Attirampakkam data dismantle previous notions that modern humans spread from Africa due to a significant technological superiority over archaic, less intelligent human species. Petraglia considers these artifacts as evidence of an independent advancement made by early humans in Attirampakkam: Whether the Attirampakkam Levallois tools were made by early modern humans living in India long before the accepted migration out of Africa or by earlier hominin species such as
Homo heidelbergensis remains unresolved in the absence of DNA or fossil evidence.
Narmada Valley The Narmada Valley of central India has revealed evidence of two distinct hominin populations during the middle to early late Pleistocene (250 Ka to 70 Ka). Fossils uncovered by anthropologist Anek Sankhyan include robust but unusually short clavicles, which point to a previously unknown "short-stocky" hominin, coexisting with a larger-bodied, so-called "Acheulian Man".
Early Hominins of Deccan Plateau Further inland from Attirampakkam, on the
Deccan Plateau in present-day Andhra Pradesh, the sites of
Jwalapuram and the
Kurnool Caves offer insights on early hominins in South India. At Jwalapuram, artifacts have been found both beneath
and above volcanic ash from the
Toba supereruption which occurred around 74 Ka in Indonesia and ranks as one of the largest volcanic events in the past two million years. The presence of Middle Paleolithic tools in both layers suggests that hominins survived this major environmental event and continued to inhabit the area, exhibiting cultural continuity. This resilience in the face of extreme climatic stress hints at sophisticated survival strategies. Detailed examination of these tool assemblages reveals notable similarities to Middle Paleolithic technologies found in Africa, rather than those associated with the Levantine. This resemblance has led researchers to propose that
Homo sapiens may have been responsible for creating these artifacts. Additionally, the timing of these assemblages aligns with genetic estimates for early human migrations out of Africa, providing further support for the idea that modern humans may have been present in southern India around this time. ==Homo sapiens==