Possible lower and middle Palaeolithic sites found

Archaeologists uncover over 500 Stone Age tools in Tamil Nadu, highlighting significant Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites.

Over 500 stone age tools, which could date back to Lower and Middle Palaeolithic periods, have been found by a couple of young archaeologists during field surveys conducted in Tiruchi, Pudukottai, and Namakkal districts.

The archaeologists, Bharath Krishnamoorthy and K. Pragatheeswaran, have done their post graduation from the University of Madras.

“Based on typo-technological characteristics, the Palaeolithic implements, predominantly made of quartz, from these districts can be classified into Lower Palaeolithic and Middle Palaeolithic cultural phases,” said Mr. Bharath.

Implements such as hand axes and cleavers and flakes and cores, including multi-directional discoidal core, were found and documented from Kurumbappati, Kallikudi, and Valkaradu near Thuraiyur; Veeramalai, and Nadukattupatti near Manapparai in Tiruchi district; Mullipatti and Malampatti in Pudukottai district; and Sarugumalai, Sitharmalai, and Thalaimalai in Namakkal district. Additionally, the occurrence of microlithic tools suggests a later prehistoric habitation phase at this sites, Mr. Bharath said.

“These discoveries hold particular significance as they represent some of the earliest reported Palaeolithic sites in the Central region of Tamil Nadu. The identification of lithic assemblages from Tiruchi, Pudukkottai, and Namakkal would contribute to filling a major cultural gap in the understanding of prehistoric occupation in this region, which had previously remained under-represented in Palaeolithic research. Together, these sites establish the Central region of Tamil Nadu as an important prehistoric landscape,” he said.

“On typo-technological basis, the lithic artefacts could be from the Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic periods,” said Jinu Koshy, excavation in-charge, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Madras. “The two former students of the department had found good sites which are new and not recorded before. These are interesting sites; so far we have been concentrating on the Tiruvallur region (Attirampakkam),” Mr. Koshy added.