Deep-rooted Indian Middle Palaeolithic: Terminal Middle Pleistocene lithic assemblage from Retlapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

The Indian Middle Palaeolithic has been recognized as crucial evidence for understanding the complex behavioural dynamics of hominins and is also seen as a behavioural marker of early Homo sapiens in the region. Recent research has pushed back the timeline of the Middle Palaeolithic to the Middle Pleistocene epoch, indicating a potential in-situ emergence from the earlier Late Acheulian culture. The long-lasting Middle Palaeolithic culture in India evolve over multiple glacial-interglacial cycle, showing signs of behavioural resilience to bigger climatic upheaval like ~74 ka Toba super-eruption. This has added to the complexity of our understanding of the Middle Palaeolithic in the region and emphasizes the need for further research. This study focuses upon the investigation of Middle Palaeolithic artefacts found in the Retlapalle area within the upper Gundlakamma river basin, Andhra Pradesh. The dating of the artefact-bearing layer was carried out using the p-IR-IRSL method, which revealed a burial age of 139±17 thousand years. The Retlapalle assemblage is characterized by a diverse range of Levallois core reductions, various retouched artefacts, with a dominance of pointed tools, and a few blade components. The study provides a valuable addition to the existing body of data concerning Palaeolithic sites dating back to the Middle Pleistocene, a period that remains relatively underexplored.