Microlithic variation and the Mesolithic occupations of western India

Considerable confusion and uncertainty persist on the cultural and chronological contexts of Holocene microlithic assemblages reported from South Asia. The paucity of securely dated sites with microlithic remains has compounded the confusion. Evidence from sites securely attributed to the Mesolithic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2022-06, Vol.17 (6), p.e0267654-e0267654
Main Authors: Gadekar, Charusmita, García-Granero, Juan José, Madella, Marco, Ajithprasad, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeology
Biology and Life Sciences
Confusion
Domestication
Earth Sciences
Exploitation
Holocene
Hunter-gatherers
Hunting and gathering societies
Lithic
Mesolithic
Neolithic
People and Places
Physical Sciences
Raw materials
Relative abundance
Resource exploitation
Social Sciences
Statistical methods
Toolkits
Typological analysis
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Summary:Considerable confusion and uncertainty persist on the cultural and chronological contexts of Holocene microlithic assemblages reported from South Asia. The paucity of securely dated sites with microlithic remains has compounded the confusion. Evidence from sites securely attributed to the Mesolithic based on a holistic approach (including direct evidence of plant and animal exploitation strategies) is needed to provide a better understanding of Mesolithic lithic tool-kits. This study uses morphometric and statistical methods to assess the nature of the Holocene hunter-gatherer microlithic tools-kit from a radiometrically secured chronological context at Vaharvo Timbo, a recently excavated Mesolithic site in North Gujarat (India). The assemblage is further compared with the nearby contemporary site of Loteshwar to highlight similarities and differences within hunter-gatherer lithic assemblages, understanding which can provide detailed information about subsistence strategies as well as patterns of settlement and mobility. The results show general standardisation between these two sites regarding raw materials and manufacturing technique but variation in the relative abundance of tool types between these two sites, despite their close proximity, indicating diverse strategies of resource exploitation by the Holocene hunter-gatherer groups in western India.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0267654