The mangrove swamps in Bombay and Salsette islands are made up up to 5 m of dark and brown mud filling undulating rocky basins. Pollen analysis has revaled statistical insufficiency of pollen grains, the identification of which permits us to infer broadly an increase of Rhizophorae (Bruguiera and Ceriops) in the top samples; Avicennia was poorly present and there are indications of the presence of the other important mangrove genera among which pollen grains of Sonneratia acida outnumber those of others. The sediments have been found to abound in microplankton and microforms, and the latter have indeed escaped the destructive effects of the acetolysis method. The lack of organic matter and poverty of pollen have not permitted the building up of radiocarbon dated pollen stratigraphy for these mangrove swamps. The possibilities for the prevalence of relatively moister climate in the past have been discussed.

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The paper reviews both the palynological and palaeobotanical evidences that have been put forward to suggest early domestication of plants in the Indian sub-continent, Thailand, Taiwan and China. It appears that the distinction between cereal and non-cereal pollen grains has been based upon insufficient data, and stages of the earliest occupation phase have not been judiciously inferred from the pollen diagrams. A careful sifting of all the evidences from India suggests that the domestication of plants commenced around 3,000 B.C. The alleged earliest records of domestication described from the Spirit Cave in Thailand and radio-carbon dated to 11,500 B.P., on scrutiny suggest a more advanced and discriminating stage in food-gathering, rather than domestication. This paper suggests a more detailed botanical identification of the plant remains and a careful evaluation of ethnographic information towards the inference of early domestication.