In a recent archaeological exploration in Kupari and Oupada area of Balasore district in north Odisha, a large number of stone age tools, said to be 6,000 to 8,000 years old, were found. The exploration, conducted by Oupada College history department head, Dr Atul Kumar Pradhan, found weapons and tools which belonged to the upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic period.
Pradhan, who has wide experience in explorations and has made remarkable achievements in Chhattisgarh as an archaeologist, told THE WEEK that the findings indicate the living condition and culture of those years.
Prehistoric period, Pradhan explained, belongs to the time before the emergence of writing. Palaeolithic Age spans from 500,000 years ago, when tool making members of Homo Erectus arrived, to 10,000 BC. It is divided into three periods viz. lower Palaeolithic, middle Paleolithic and upper Palaeolithic ages. In lower Palaeolithic phase, the tools were mainly hand axes and cleavers with some flakes. These tools were relatively blunt and have been found all over India except plains of Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra as raw material may not have been available in these parts. The raw material used for making tools was mainly quartzite and chert. The lower Palaeolithic cultures slowly transformed into the middle by shedding some of the tool types and by incorporating new forms and techniques in making them. The period came to be known as the flake tool industry as the tools in this age became smaller, thinner and lighter. Further, there was also a significant change in the choice of raw materials for making tools. While quartzite, quartz and basalt continued to be used, in many areas those were replaced or supplemented with fine-grained siliceous rocks like chert and jasper. Upper Palaeolithic culture developed during the latter part of the upper Pleistocene.
The upper Palaeolithic period has recorded a rich panorama of fossils in the peninsular rivers of India. One important discovery is of the Ostrich egg shells at over 40 sites in Rajsthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra, which shows that Ostrich, a bird of arid climate, was present in western India during the later part of the upper Pleistocene.
There were very important changes in the Palaeolithic environment, which had its own impact on the distribution and living ways of humans. The tools of upper Palaeolithic Era are further refined during the lower and middle periods. The advancement in tools is evident from bores on stones, grinding slabs etc. The bored stones are still used by fishermen as net sinkers while fishing. Grinding stones might have been used for processing plant foods such as wild rice. The Mesolithic culture in India corresponds with the second cultural phase of Pleistocene.
In archaeology, the Mesolithic is the period between Palaeolithic and Neolithic. In this age, climate changes brought about changes in fauna and flora forcing humans to move to new areas. Though the hunting-gathering pattern of life continued during this period, there was a shift from hunting big animals to small animals and they also took up fishing. Bows and arrows were also used during this period. As humans began settling for a longer period in an area, domestication of animals, horticulture and primitive cultivation also began. Animal bones found on these sites dog, deer, boar and ostrich. The dead were buried along with microliths and shells. Microliths made of stone are the characteristic tool of the Mesolithic age. Stone tools, often not more than five centimeters in size, are called microliths. These tools are characterised by parallel sided blades taken out from prepared cores of fine-materials like chert, crystal, chalcedony, jasper, carnelian, agate etc and were generally one to five centimeters long. The paintings and engravings found on the rock shelters give an idea about the social life and economic activities of Mesolithic people. At various sites in Bhimbetka, Adamgarh etc rock and cave paintings have been discovered. In these paintings, various subjects including animals and human scenes have been found.
Pradhan said, recent archaeological findings in Kupari and Oupada in Balasore district are first such discoveries in north Odisha. Kupari is located on the foothills of Nilagiri hill range of Balasore district bordering West Bengal. All the stone tools have been retrieved from surface of morum formation. These must have been used as appliances by humans during that period, said Pradhan, who presumes those items belong to upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. The microlithic tools comprised lunate, points, blade, burins, core, trapeze etc. But the Mesolithic tools are generally found from the upper part of murram formation. The Mesolithic is chacterised in most areas by small composite flint tools, microliths and microburins. Earlier, from Kupari Buddhist and Bahminical remains had been recovered. But the recent findings of prehistoric tools from Kupari takes it further back in history. Pradhan said all tools were recovered from rain gallis and the surface of the site. The tools were retrieved from Kupari College area, Guapal, Harhpokhari. Some sites like Agirapada, Janikapal and Chinchida (Pandavghera) of Oupada revealed large number of microlothic tools. These tools were retrieved from the hill slopes of the site.
Village to village survey which was carried out revealed large number of sculptures, temple remains and ancient sites. In prehistoric age, people lived in hill slopes and banks of rivers. Pradhan said, his latest exploration area is very close to hills and water channels, which must have been very suitable for settlement by prehistoric people.
