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. 2024 Aug 27;19(8):e0302580.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302580. eCollection 2024.

Deep-rooted Indian Middle Palaeolithic: Terminal Middle Pleistocene lithic assemblage from Retlapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India

Devara Anil  1 , Monika Devi  2   3 , Gopesh Jha  4   5 , Zakir Khan  6 , Vrushab Mahesh  1 , P Ajithprasad  1 , Naveen Chauhan  2
Affiliations

Deep-rooted Indian Middle Palaeolithic: Terminal Middle Pleistocene lithic assemblage from Retlapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India

Devara Anil et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The Indian Middle Palaeolithic has been recognized as crucial evidence for understanding the complex behavioural dynamics of hominins and is also seen as a behavioural marker of early Homo sapiens in the region. Recent research has pushed back the timeline of the Middle Palaeolithic to the Middle Pleistocene epoch, indicating a potential in-situ emergence from the earlier Late Acheulian culture. The long-lasting Middle Palaeolithic culture in India evolve over multiple glacial-interglacial cycle, showing signs of behavioural resilience to bigger climatic upheaval like ~74 ka Toba super-eruption. This has added to the complexity of our understanding of the Middle Palaeolithic in the region and emphasizes the need for further research. This study focuses upon the investigation of Middle Palaeolithic artefacts found in the Retlapalle area within the upper Gundlakamma river basin, Andhra Pradesh. The dating of the artefact-bearing layer was carried out using the p-IR-IRSL method, which revealed a burial age of 139±17 thousand years. The Retlapalle assemblage is characterized by a diverse range of Levallois core reductions, various retouched artefacts, with a dominance of pointed tools, and a few blade components. The study provides a valuable addition to the existing body of data concerning Palaeolithic sites dating back to the Middle Pleistocene, a period that remains relatively underexplored.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Köppen-Geiger climate map showing location of dated Middle Palaeolithic sites in India.
Spatial distribution of Middle Palaeolithic sites shows varying climatic context of Levalloisian assemblages in India. (Credit: The map is visualized using QGIS, adapting open access Köppen-Geiger climate map at https://koppen.earth/).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Map showing the location of Retlapalle and other sites in the Gundlakamma basin.
(Credit: The map is visualized in QGIS using SRTM dataset from https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/.
Fig 3
Fig 3
Stratigraphy of Retlapalle: (a) Composite lithostratigraphy of fluvial sequence in Upper Gundlakamma basin, showing geochronological data; (b) Photograph of Retlapalle step-trench, showing exposed litho-units at the site.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Results of p-IR-IRSL analyses of sample RTP-18-4 from Unit E.
a: typical feldspar shine down curve; b: typical dose response curve; c: radial plot representing the estimated palaeodoses; d: typical g-value data.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Levallois reductions from the assemblage.
A: Unidirectional Recurrent Levallois Core; b: Recurrent Levallois Core; c: Preferential Levallois Core.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Composite lithic illustrations from Layer E assemblage.
a to e: Prepared core flakes; f to i: Levallois flakes; j to o: Blades; p: Diminutive hand axe; q: Multiplatform core; r and s: Discoidal Cores; t and u: recurrent Levallois cores; V: Levallois point core; w: preferential Levallois core; x and y: blade cores.
Fig 7
Fig 7
Middle Palaeolithic tools from Layer B (post-YTT; all of these artefacts are surface collections from 11 different sites associated with Layer B of composite stratigraphy of Gundlakamma river basin (see ref. 23 and 25 for more details) and shown together for representative purposes): A1—A3: scrapers, A4 –A10; blades, A11 –Levallois flake, A12 –A15: borers, A16 –A19: tanged points; A20-A28: Levallois points; A29: recurrent Levallois core, A30: unidirectional core, and A31: blade core. Middle Palaeolithic tools from Layer D (B1 –B26; pre-YTT: all of these artefacts are surface collections from 12 different sites associated with Layer D and shown together for representative purposes of composite stratigraphy of Gundlakamma river basin (see ref. 23 and 25 for more details) and shown together for representative purposes): B1 –B4: scrapers, B5 –B6: borers, B7—B8: Levallois flakes, B9 –B11: blades, B12 –B15: tanged points, B16 –B17: Levallois points, B18 –B22: retouched points, B23: bidirectional Levallois core, B24: unidirectional core, and B25 –B26: recurrent Levallois cores.
Fig 8
Fig 8
Occurrence of Indian MP sites across glacial-interglacial conditions show highly variable palaeoclimatic context of MP assemblages: (a) Dated Middle Palaeolithic sites in India; (b—d) Compound-specific δ13C and δD measurements of long-chain plant-wax compounds from Mahanadi fan (Bay of Bengal), demonstrating shifts in vegetation and precipitation patterns during different glacial-interglacial transitions in last 500 ka (28); (e) δ18O and δ13C record from Bitto cave speleothem in N. India also compliments Mahanadi dataset (27).
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