Microlithic occurrences associated with sediments dated to terminal Pleistocene–Late Holocene in the central Narmada Basin, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

The earliest occurrence of microliths in South Asia dates back to the Late Pleistocene at Mehtakheri (45 ka) and Dhaba (48 ka) in Central India, Jwalapuram 9 in Southern India (38 ka), Kana and Mahadebbara in Northeastern India (42–25 ka) and Batadomba-Lena (35–36 ka) and Fa Hien Lena (48 ka) in Sri Lanka. Microlithic technology is distributed across the entire Indian Subcontinent and chronologically continues up to the Iron Age and Early Historic periods. This chapter discusses new data acquired from the first author's doctoral research in the two districts of Madhya Pradesh (Hoshangabad – now renamed Narmadapuram – and Sehore), which fall within the central part of the Narmada Basin in central India. We present here preliminary dates from key areas of distribution to understand the geochronological contexts of microliths at Pilikarar, Morpani and Gurla-Sukkarwada. Initial dates from these respective occurrences range between 14 ka and 3 ka.