Large size cleaver-like flakes and Hoabinhoidal elements from terminal Pleistocene to mid-Holocene epoch sites

New Observations on the Age and Context of Soanian Tools Found in Post-Urban Harappan Sites and Along WTH Se Asian Type Tools on the Mid-Holocene Terraces in the Nw Sub-Himalayas

“…At Bara also, the occurrence of Soanian tools in that Late-Harappan site went unnoticed by the earlier excavators (Sharma 1981). Furthermore, many new tool-types (like pitted cobbles, edge-ground tools, large core and flake cutting-tools etc) known from lithic sites elsewhere in the world conforming to mid-Holocene times, and found by us from mid-Holocene sites of NW sub-Himalayas (Soni et al 2008;Soni and Soni 2009;2010;2011) were also not per chance encountered by the earlier workers in this region. The discovery of such tools in association with the ceramics of contemporary times on young tool-bearing terraces of River Satluj near Nangal dated from mid to late mid-Holocene (Soni et al 2008, and the present paper), indicates the adoption of some expedient stone-technology by the hominines who had gathered in this region in those times.…”

“…As a result, Soanian technological evolution (de Terra and Paterson 1939) is no longer considered to be valid (Rendell et al 1989;Chaohan 2007Chaohan , 2008. There is no evidence of discrete 'Early' or 'Late' Soan entities since the Soanian tools including both large and small types and with varying flake contents have also been found recently even from very young sites (Soni et al 2008;Soni and Soni 2009, 2010, 2011. Also the 'Early Soan' tools (as conventionally defined) have only been found in very small quantities both in India and Pakistan (Mohapatra 1966;Jayaswal 1978: 71-84) and no factory site with exclusive Early Soan assemblage has ever been reported in stratified context from anywhere.…”

Fluvial deposits as an archive of early human activity: Progress during the 20 years of the Fluvial Archives Group

“…2007) has further demonstrated and confirmed that most of the Soanian evidence appears to post-date the regional Acheulian and this adaptation of using rounded (i.e., river-worn) clasts continued until the regional Neolithic and Chalcolithic times (e.g. Soni and Soni, 2010). Despite this progress since the 1990s, many key questions and issues remain, such as whether there are any convincing Lower Palaeolithic Soanian assemblages in the Sub-Himalayan zone.…”