Were there stone-tipped armatures in the South Asian Middle Paleolithic?

Middle Palaeolithic point technologies in the Thar Desert, India

“…For a long time they have been tacitly considered for their role in hunting systems, often as stone tips to spears and other forms of composite technologies (Misra, 2001). This has recently been supported by an assessment of point technologies by Costa (2012), who identified some Middle Palaeolithic points that fall within size ranges of anthropological collections for projectile points. However, the diversity in form of Middle Palaeolithic points sampled from across India lead Costa (2012) to characterise them as lacking distinctiveness, potentially due to ecological differences with the more open, savannah ecologies of South-West Asia and Africa.…”

“…The synthesis presented by Costa (2012) characterises Middle Palaeolithic points in South Asia as lacking distinctiveness due to their expedient use, rather than standardised as key component of Middle Palaeolithic technological strategies. This is in marked contrast to South-West Asia and Africa, where point technologies are often a key component of Middle Palaeolithic (including Middle Stone Age) industries.…”

“…This is in marked contrast to South-West Asia and Africa, where point technologies are often a key component of Middle Palaeolithic (including Middle Stone Age) industries. Costa (2012) proposes that differences in ecology between these regions may explain this contrast. In particular, the presence of gregarious large mammals in open, savannah settings in Africa are contrasted with the typically solitary large mammals of South Asia that inhabit more forested habitats, suggesting very different technological adaptations may be required for these different circumstances.…”

“…Recently, Costa (2012) has presented a study of 72 points reported from 13 different published sources spanning the Indian subcontinent to investigate Fig. 7.…”

“…the presence of stone-tipped projectiles in the South Asian Middle Palaeolithic. Based upon comparisons with ethnographic data-sets for tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) measurements (Shea, 2006), Costa (2012) indicates that some Indian Middle Palaeolithic points are compatible in size with use as thrusting or thrown spears, offering some insight into potential uses of this artefact class. The appearance of point technologies in the Thar Desert that appear to have been modified to facilitate hafting offer a complementary line of support for the presence of composite technologies in the Indian Middle Palaeolithic.…”