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Handaxe Assemblages from the Didwana region, Thar Desert, India: A Metrical Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

C. Gaillard ,
D. R. Raju ,
V. N. Misra  and
S. N. Rajaguru
S. N. Rajaguru
Affiliation:
Deccan College Research Institute, Poona, India
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Abstract

The Didwana region has preserved lower palaeolithic artefacts in primary and semi-primary contexts. On the basis of geological stratigraphy of aeolian and playa sediments, artefacts occurring in a stratified context have been dated to the Middle Pleistocene. In order to work out technological evolutionary trends of the acheulian culture in this region, 301 handaxes from 10 localities have been studied following Roe's methodology, with some additional attributes. Some differences in size, shape and refinement are apparent between the collections. Statistics, diagrams, factor and cluster analyses suggest a technological evolution within the assemblages and therefore indicate the chronology of the sites. Compared with those of other known Indian sites, these handaxes may correspond to cultural stages ranging between early acheulian and very late acheulian or even early middle palaeolithic.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , 1986 , pp. 189 - 214
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1986

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