“Understanding Context rather than Component”: An Assessment of Mayurbhanj Palaeoliths from a Geo-Archaeological Perspective

The first Lower Palaeolithic (Acheulean) sites ever excavated in India are located in the Burhabalang river valley of the Mayurbahnj district of Orissa. It reveals that the Mayurbhanj Acheulean site complex has been under the scanner of prehistoric archaeologists for a long period. However, it is unfortunate to say that, despite being studied for nearly one century by several scholars, the implementiferous beds of the Burhabalang River valley have not been studied in detail till now. The present article brings forward an attempt to fathom the nature and the mode of origin of the Acheulean artifact-bearing beds of the Burhabalang river valley near Baripada town of Orissa. In this study approach of geo-archaeology is adopted to study and compare physical features like various geomorphological and lithological attributes of several Acheulean sites of this region. Besides, an attempt is made to understand the nature of occurrence of Acheulean artifact bearing-beds of this region and the mode of origin of these implementiferous beds too. Results of this study reveal that probably Acheulean artifacts bearing ferricrete horizons of the Burhabalang river valley were deposited some time during the middle Pleistocene, under the influence of a much more humid monsoonal climate. Perhaps prehistoric humans with Acheulean artifacts roamed in the river valleys of this region when deposition of ferruginous sedimentation or ferricrete was taking place. During the later time under the influence of a much drier climate ferruginous duricrust developed at the top of ferricrete sediments and Acheulean artifacts are now found deposited in the hard duricrust horizon.