Kolkata prof finds 42,000-yr-old human remains in Bengal
23 Oct 2014 5:19 AM IST
Basak, who teaches archaeology at Calcutta University, says that further excavation of more sites in the South eastern part of Chotanagpur plateau (Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Palamou) may unearth artefacts probably dating back to 2 lakh years ago. ‘We found microliths or small tools dating back 34,000 to 42,000 years in Mahadebbera and Kana at the foothills of the Ayodhya hills in Purulia. Our research reveals that hunter gatherers of the late PLeistocene era would use these tools to procure fruits, wild berries, even hunt small animals by mounting these sharp tools on bows and arrows. But we should dig further’, Basak told Millennium Post.
The 4,000-odd Ayodhya microliths actually include blades and backed tools. Micro blades are small maximum length up to 4cm — parallel-sided tools that are very sharp and suitable for cutting.
Backed microliths are those that are further retouched and attached to bows, arrows and spears to hunt small animals and birds. The breakthrough, which came after more than 12 years of intensive exploration and excavation, were licensed by the ASI and actually took shape when Basak hit upon the forests of the Ayodhya hills (she had come here before for research)in 2011. ‘The next two years would be the most challenging in my career. There were a spate of killings in the wake of the Kishenji encounter. The West Bengal police and Local people helped a lot during those tense moments. I was staying at Balarampur but the sites were in the remote foothills’, recalled the archeologist.
A technique called Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) that establishes the antiquity of tools of a particular age came to her aid. She sent samples of microliths for lab-testing. Scientists like S N Rajaguru and Pradeep Srivastava also helped Basak in the giving the final shape to her findings.
Before Basak’s discovery, the earliest evidence of human presence in Bengal was at Sagardighi, in Murshidabad.
The tools found there were dated to approximately 20,000 years ago. In the subcontinent, the earliest evidence of microlith-using cultures or hunter-gatherer populations that made and used these types of light stone implements found in the Ayodhya hills — is in Metakheri, Madhya Pradesh. They date back to 48,000 years ago.
Basak further tells us that there are no traces of the raw material used in these tools in the near vicinity of the sites, indicating that the early hunter-gatherers had travelled quite a distance(at least 10 to 15 kms) to get the tools required for their survival. Basak plans to take a larger team of students for future excavations.
The 4,000-odd Ayodhya microliths actually include blades and backed tools. Micro blades are small maximum length up to 4cm — parallel-sided tools that are very sharp and suitable for cutting.
Backed microliths are those that are further retouched and attached to bows, arrows and spears to hunt small animals and birds. The breakthrough, which came after more than 12 years of intensive exploration and excavation, were licensed by the ASI and actually took shape when Basak hit upon the forests of the Ayodhya hills (she had come here before for research)in 2011. ‘The next two years would be the most challenging in my career. There were a spate of killings in the wake of the Kishenji encounter. The West Bengal police and Local people helped a lot during those tense moments. I was staying at Balarampur but the sites were in the remote foothills’, recalled the archeologist.
A technique called Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) that establishes the antiquity of tools of a particular age came to her aid. She sent samples of microliths for lab-testing. Scientists like S N Rajaguru and Pradeep Srivastava also helped Basak in the giving the final shape to her findings.
Before Basak’s discovery, the earliest evidence of human presence in Bengal was at Sagardighi, in Murshidabad.
The tools found there were dated to approximately 20,000 years ago. In the subcontinent, the earliest evidence of microlith-using cultures or hunter-gatherer populations that made and used these types of light stone implements found in the Ayodhya hills — is in Metakheri, Madhya Pradesh. They date back to 48,000 years ago.
Basak further tells us that there are no traces of the raw material used in these tools in the near vicinity of the sites, indicating that the early hunter-gatherers had travelled quite a distance(at least 10 to 15 kms) to get the tools required for their survival. Basak plans to take a larger team of students for future excavations.
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