The document provides a brief history of pre-historic research in India, outlining 4 phases from 1863 to the present. It describes key early findings by British officials and the roles of institutions like the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Major sites excavated are also mentioned for each phase as scientific dating methods advanced pre-historic knowledge in India.

1. Brief History of Pre-
Historic Researches in India
Dr. Virag G. Sontakke
Assistant Professor
AIHC & Archaeology, BHU

2. Pleistocene and
Holocene climate

3. Tools are the source of Prehistoric
Research

4. Prehistoric Cultures
Palaeolithic
1. Lower Palaeolithic
2. Middle Palaeolithic
3. Upper Palaeolithic
Early Stage Middle Stage
Micro tools
Transition between
Palaeolithic and
Neolithic
Mesolithic Neolithic
New Age
End of Stone Age

5. Lower Paleolithic
Handaxe
Clever
Chopper
Chopping
Scrapers
Homo habilis
Home erectus
Period: 2.2 Mya to 20000

6. Chopper-chopping tools
Primary Tools

8. Acheulean toolkit
Handaxe
• Hand-axe was basically a core-tool and was
produced by knocking off flake systematically from
several directions
• Hand-axe was used by hand rather than a handle.

9. Handaxe

10. Clever

11. Middle Paleolithic
Notches
Points
Scraper
Borers
Neanderthal
Period: 100000 to 40000

12. Tools of Middle Paleolithic

13. Tools of
Middle Paleolithic

14. Upper Paleolithic
1. Man: Homo sapiens
2. Period: 40000 to 10000 BCE
3. Blade and burin tools
4. Scrapers (side, convex, notch, end, steep, round, convergent,
etc.),
5. Flake-blades,
6. Backed blade variants (straight back, curved back, backed
knives, points, lunates, triangles and trapezes);
7. Burins,
8. Unifacial, bifacial and tanged points and
9. Choppers.

17. Burin Bone needles Harpoon point

18. Mesolithic
• Micro Tools
• Blades
• Core
• Triangular
• Points
• Crescents
• Thumb scrapers
• Burin
• Points
• Period: 10000 to 6000 BCE

19. Microlithic Tools

20. Microlithic Tools

22. Neolithic
• Polished and Grind tools
• Axes
• Celt
• Adze
• Ring stone
• Shouldered Celts

25. Pre-Historic Researches in India

26. Introduction
• Prehistoric researches in India are mainly associated with the
Europeans.
• Early findings were made by British officials, Military personal,
Surveyors, Geologists etc.
• Different institutions and individuals played significant roles.
• One important institution in this field is the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
was established in 1784.
• Then Archaeological Survey of India established in 1861.
• Various Universities and Institutions like Deccan College, Pune, BHU,
Allahabad University, MSU etc. conducted excavations and
explorations in this field.

27. Development of Prehistoric Research in India
• Prehistoric researches in India can be divided into four Phases:
1. Phase I (1863- 1900),
2. Phase II (1900-1950),
3. Phase III (1950 - 2000),
4. Phase IV (2000-till date),
 The first phase is marked by individual efforts mainly British officials
 Second phase of research is known for the institutional involvements.
The third phase is characterised by the large scale explorations and
excavations and using scientific methods.
Fourth Phase is application of absolute dating methods and other advanced
techniques.

28. Robert Bruce Foote: The father of India’s
prehistory
• Robert Bruce Foote (1835-1912).
• He was a geologist
• On 30th May, 1863, Foote found a
few Palaeolithic implements from a
gravel pit at Pallavaram, near Madras
(Chennai).
• Initiated prehistoric remains.

29. Phase I (1863- 1900)
•Many Britishers participated in discovering prehistoric
remains.
•In September 1863, Foote again reported his findings of
stone tools from Attirampakkam and a few of them were
in-situ.
•Next year, he reported another Palaeoliths from
Pallavaram.
• Several British official also responsible in discovery of
many sites in other part of the Indian subcontinent.

30. Phase I (1863- 1900)
1. In 1861, Le Mesurier found polished stone implements and microliths
from Bundelkhand
2. In 1865 W. Blanford and S.B. Wyne discovered a stone tools and
microliths in M.P. and Nagpur region. He notice their similarities with
their counterparts in Europe.
3. W. King find tools from Andhra Pradesh
4. Ball: found tools at Bengal.
5. Foote found bone implements at Kurnool which he compared with
tools of Upper Palaeolithic Europe.
6. Blanford, Theobold and C. Swynnerton made important discoveries in
North-western Frontier and Sind

31. Phase II (1900-1950)
• This Phase participation of several institutions and efforts towards
palaeo-environmental reconstructions.
• A large number of Indian scholars participated in prehistoric
researches in this period.
• In 1923, P. Mitra published his book called Prehistoric India.
• In 1931, H.C. Dasgupta published a bibliography of prehistoric
antiquities
• L.A. Cammiade and M.C. Burkitt published their studies on
prehistoric antiquities from the Nallamalai Hills of Andhra Pradesh.
• K.R.U Todd’s publication on the Palaeolithic industries of Bombay

32. Phase II (1900-1950)
•In 1935, Yale and Cambridge Universities sent a joint expedition
to the India.
•The expedition was led by H. de Terra and T.T. Paterson. They
published their report in 1939.
•V.D. Krishnaswami carried out researches in Madras
•N.K. Bose and D. Sen who worked in Orissa and
•H.D. Sankalia who carried out field work in Gujarat. Sankalia
excavated the Mesolithic site of Langhnaj in Gujarat

33. Phase III (1950 – 2000)
•H. D. Sankalia’s explorations at Nevasa led to the
reconstruction of an elaborate stratigraphical-cum-
cultural sequence in 1956.
•In the next two decades field investigations in Godavari,
Narmada, Mahanadi and other river valleys of different
parts of peninsular India.
•In this phase Prehistory emerged as an important branch
of Indian archaeology.
•Use of absolute dating techniques

34. Phase III (1950 – 2000)
• Excavations were conducted at Paleolithic sites like
1. Chirki-Nevasa, Maharashtra
2. Morgaon,
3. Hunsgi and Isampur, Karnataka
4. Attirampakkam, Chenai
5. Paisra, Bihar
6. Bhimbetka and Didwana in Rajasthan.
7. Mesolithic sites: Langhanaj, Bagor and Tilwara, and Damdama and other sites in
the Ganga valley.
8. Isampur and Attirampakkam in South India have been dated to 1.2 and 1.5
million years.
• Ethnoarchaeology was adopted by V. N. Misra and M.L.K. Murty and others.

35. H.D. Sankaliya • 10 December 1908 – 28 January 1989
• several significant discoveries of
the Prehistoric culture to his credit.
• Joined Deccan College in 1939 as
a professor
• Guided numerous research scholars in
Prehistoric research
• During his time prehistory was a
fashion in archaeology

36. Hathnora Hominid Fossil
•On 5th December, 1982, Arun Sonakia of Geological
Survey of India found a hominid skull cap from
Hathnora.
•Situated 22 km North West of Hoshangabad in Madhya
Pradesh.
•This skull cap found embedded in horizon of Narmada.
•The first report was published in 1984 which was
followed by further reports from 1985 onwards.

37. Hathnora Hominid Fossil

38. Phase IV (2000-till date)
•A fourth phase concerns the shift of research focus
•From the secondary sites to primary sites
•To understand their various other life-activities
•Explorations in interior areas.
•Preserve sites in their original condition.
•New scientific methods were utilised.
•Micro analysis is adopted
•Role of environment and ecology is studied

39. Conclusion
•India has a long history of Prehistoric research.
•New evidence suggest that early humans possibly as early as 1.8
million years before the present.
•The oldest hominin fossil remains in the Indian subcontinent
are those of Homo Sapiens of Narmada man.
•Well established palaeolithic cultural Map is result of centuries
of research.
•Till researches in prehistoric culture is going on.
•New scientific methods are increasing our knowledge

40. Any
Questions ?