Chrono-contextual issues at open-air Pleistocene vertebrate fossil sites of central and peninsular India and implications for Indian palaeoanthropology

Abstract

Pleistocene vertebrate fossils are prominently known from several regions across the Indian Subcontinent including the Siwalik Hills, the numerous river valleys across India and some cave sites. Unfortunately, most of this evidence is lacking a robust chronological framework and very few fossil specimens have been subjected to absolute dating methods. All of the known fossil evidence is found in diverse sedimentary contexts and these faunal assemblages have mostly been assigned broad or relative age brackets such as Early Pleistocene (i.e. the Pinjore Formation of the Upper Siwalik Subgroup) and Late Pleistocene (almost all the remaining fossil vertebrate fauna in the rest of the Subcontinent). This paper discusses contextual and chronological perspectives and associated interpretative issues of open-air Pleistocene faunal sites south of the Siwalik Hills, such as north-central and peninsular India. For instance, the virtual lack of Early and Middle Pleistocene fauna across most of India requires consideration and explanations beyond just the lack of absolute dates. A general review of the known data demonstrates a critical need for absolute dates for the various fauna as well as more rigorous field and lab methods for Indian palaeontology in general, and to avoid erroneous implications for Indian palaeoanthropology.