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Quaternary Science Reviews xxx (2013) 1e6

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Middle Palaeolithic occupation in the Thar Desert during the UpperPleistocene: the signature of a modern human exit out of Africa?

James Blinkhorn a,*, Hema Achyuthan b, Michael Petraglia c, Peter Ditchfield c

a PACEA, Université Bordeaux 1, Bâtiment B18, Avenues des Facultes, Talence Cedex, FrancebDepartment of Geology, Anna University, Sardar Patel Road, Chennai, Indiac School of Archaeology, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building,South Parks Road, Oxford, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 4 March 2013Received in revised form31 May 2013Accepted 12 June 2013Available online xxx

Keywords:Middle PalaeolithicUpper PleistoceneThar DesertHominin dispersal

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 7850035415.E-mail address: j.blinkhorn@pacea.u-bordeaux1.fr

0277-3791/$ e see front matter � 2013 Elsevier Ltd.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.012

Please cite this article in press as: Blinkhorsignature of a modern human exit out of Af

a b s t r a c t

The Thar Desert marks the transition from the Saharo-Arabian deserts to the Oriental biogeographicalzone and is therefore an important location in understanding hominin occupation and dispersal duringthe Upper Pleistocene. Here, we report the discovery of stratified Middle Palaeolithic assemblages atKatoati in the north-eastern Thar Desert, dating to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5 and the MIS 4e3boundary, during periods of enhanced humidity. Hominins procured cobbles from gravels at the site asevidenced by early stages of stone tool reduction, with a component of more formalised point produc-tion. The MIS 5c assemblages at Katoati represent the earliest securely dated Middle Palaeolithic occu-pation of South Asia. Distinctive artefacts identified in both MIS 5 and MIS 4e3 boundary horizons matchtechnological entities observed in Middle Palaeolithic assemblages in South Asia, Arabia and MiddleStone Age sites in the Sahara. The evidence from Katoati is consistent with arguments for the dispersal ofHomo sapiens populations from Africa across southern Asia using Middle Palaeolithic technologies.

� 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The path of hominin dispersal from Africa to Asia is commonlyillustrated as a coastal corridor (e.g. Stringer, 2000; Field and Lahr,2005). However, recent field investigations in the Sahara and theArabian Peninsula have begun to illustrate how Middle Stone Ageand Middle Palaeolithic populations expanded along continentalcorridors during periods of enhanced humidity (Armitage et al.,2011; Drake et al., 2011, 2013; Dennell and Petraglia, 2012). TheThar Desert (Fig. 1), which ranges across western India and south-eastern Pakistan, is part of themid-latitude arid belt, which appearsto have shared similar palaeoenvironmental responses to globalclimatic change through the Upper Pleistocene. Hominin coloni-sation of the central Thar may have been impossible during periodsof increased aridity, effectively preventing continental routes ofdispersal through this region (Field et al., 2007). However, thepresence of dense networks of palaeo-channels across the TharDesert (Gupta et al., 2011) suggests continental routes of dispersalmay have existed during periods of enhanced humidity.

(J. Blinkhorn).

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n, J., et al., Middle Palaeolithrica?, Quaternary Science Rev

The Palaeolithic archaeology of the Thar Desert is predominatelyknown from the results of surface surveys, which indicate repeatedassociations between humid landforms, such as palaeochannelsand pedogenised dune deposits, and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts(Allchin et al., 1978; Misra et al., 1982; Raghaven and Courty, 1987;Blinkhorn, 2012). Secure and reasonably well-dated evidence forhominin occupations in the Thar Desert during the Upper Pleisto-cene is limited to the site of 16R Dune (Misra and Rajaguru, 1986;Raghavan et al., 1989). At this large sand dune, overlooking Did-wana Lake, a Middle Palaeolithic occupation horizon is constrainedby dates of 80e40 ka, with non-diagnostic occupations stretchingback to ca 180 ka (Gaillard, 1993; Achyuthan et al., 2007; Singhviet al., 2010; Blinkhorn, 2013). Here, we report the initial results ofan excavation at Katoati, ca 50 km from 16R Dune, which haveidentified Middle Palaeolithic occupations in Marine Isotope Stage(MIS) 5 and at the boundary between MIS 4 and 3.

2. The Katoati study site

Katoati is located in Nagaur District, Rajasthan in the north-eastern Thar Desert at (E74�11035.4400, N27�13019.3800). The JayalFormation, a tectonically uplifted boulder-conglomerate horizon(of Early or Pre-Quaternary origin) overlying a ferricretised sand-stone basement, provides the major source of topographic relief in

ic occupation in the Thar Desert during the Upper Pleistocene: theiews (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.012

Fig. 1. a) Map indicating the position of Katoati and the Thar Desert with respect to contemporary Middle Palaeolithic sites in southern Asia; b) Map indicating the position ofKatoati in relation to other Palaeolithic sites in the north-eastern Thar Desert.

J. Blinkhorn et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews xxx (2013) 1e62

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the immediate surroundings. Previous studies on the Jayal boulderbeds have identified Late Acheulean assemblages in excavatedcontexts at Jayal and Chhajoli (Misra et al., 1980, 1982). LateAcheulean and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts have been identifiedon the surface of the boulder beds (Misra et al., 1980, 1982), andgravel spreads downslope. To the north of the Jayal Formation ex-ists a suite of fluvial deposits overlain by aeolian sediments.

Reconnaissance survey of the sedimentary deposits at Katoatiidentified stratified cultural horizons with abundant lithic assem-blages. Initially, a small collection of sixteen single-platform, multi-platform, radial and Levallois cores was made from pebble andgravel deposits in the upper fluvial deposits. The stratigraphic po-sition of the cores corresponded with a sample of ostrich eggshell(Struthio camellus) AMS radiocarbon dated to 45.35 � 0.65 ka BP(OxA-19407). A test excavation (KAT1) was subsequently conductedto recover a larger sample of lithic artefacts and to study theirsedimentary context.

KAT1 is situated within the fluvio-aeolian deposits, where agully exposed a deep, stratified sequence. A 3 m wide step-trenchwas excavated to a depth of 4.48 m (Fig. 2), revealing eight sedi-mentary strata (S1e8), five of which are dated using OpticallyStimulated Luminescence (OSL) (Table 1; see Supplementaryinformation). The two uppermost deposits, which occur to adepth of 1.3 m, are aeolian dune deposits, with limited evidence forpedogenesis or carbonate formation. An OSL age of 12 � 4 ka datesthe sediments at the base of S2. In the top of S3, a thin pebble line isobserved, which is laterally extensive across the immediate

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the sediment profile at KAT1 displaying eight strata (labelledassociated age estimates (ka); 0.1 m horizon yielding ostrich eggshell marked ‘X’; sampling loCaCO3 and stable carbon isotope analyses are presented to the right.

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landscape, and is interpreted as evidence of a sheetwash erosionevent. Beneath this pebble line there is a dramatic increase in theproportion of CaCO3 present within the sediments. An OSL age of61 � 9 ka dates the base of S3, ca 3 m below surface, which marksthe lowest aeolian deposits identified.

Strata 4, 6 and 8 comprise medium sands supporting occasionalgravels and rare cobbles. These three strata are separated by S5 andS7, which comprise medium sands with very rare gravel inclusions.The OSL age of S4 is 48 � 11 ka, while two fragments of ostricheggshell (S. camellus) from S4 are dated to>57.9 ka BP (OxA-25897)and >62 ka BP (OxA-25898) by AMS radiocarbon dating. Althoughthe OSL ages from S3 and S4 are inverted, their error ranges overlap,they are statistically indistinguishable, and the ages are alsoconsistent with the AMS dates. As we suggest below, this dates tothe period during which there is a change from fluvial to aeoliandeposition, which probably occurs at Katoati around the transitionbetweenMIS 4 and 3 ca 60 ka. This is corroborated by the OSL age of77 � 18 ka for S5. The base of fluvial activity exposed throughexcavation dates to 95.6 � 13.1 ka. The fluvial sediment sequence isinterpreted as having been formed as sand and gravel bars withinor at the edge of a braided stream.

Stable isotope analyses of pedogenic carbonates indicate achange in floral composition between periods of aeolian and fluvialdeposition. Pedogenic carbonates from the fluvial sediments (S4e8) returned d13C values of w0&, suggesting 80e90% of vegetationof the site comprise C4 plant types. In contrast, 60e70% C4 plantcoverage is suggested by results from S3 between 2 and 3 m depth

S1eS8); the position of OSL samples locations are indicated by solid black circles withcation for sedimentary analyses is highlighted on the left of the profile. The results of %

ic occupation in the Thar Desert during the Upper Pleistocene: theiews (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.012

Table 1OSL ages and supporting De and dose rate data for the sediment samples from KAT1.

Depth fromsurface

Strata Lab sample U (ppm) Th (ppm) K% Wt. meanDe (Gy)

Equivalentdose (De) Gy

Dose rate(Gy/ka)

Wt. meanage (ka)

Age (ka)

1.25 m 2 LD-1087 1.7 12.1 1.3 28 � 9 2.3 � 0.1 12 � 42.87 m 3 LD-1089 1.5 11.3 1 120 � 16 2.0 � 0.1 61 � 93.30 m 4 LD-1088 1.5 11.8 1 97 � 20 2.0 � 0.1 48 � 113.85 m 5 LD-1090 1.5 9.9 0.8 133 � 30 1.7 � 0.1 77 � 184.40 m 8 LD-1149 1 � 0.01 3.2 � 0.03 0.56 � 0.01 109.43 � 14.90 1.14 � 0.01 95.6 � 13.1

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ofw�2&. Dispersed isotope results observed between 1.5 and 2 msuggest proximity to an ancient land surface, which is consistentwith the interpretation of a sheet wash event scouring this horizon.

Lithic assemblages fromKAT1were recovered from S3, S4, S5, S6and S8 (Table 2). A collection of 58 artefacts was recovered in as-sociation with the pebble line at 1.5 m (S3a), and size class char-acteristics suggest this is the fine fraction of a transportedassemblage. Eight artefacts were found towards the base of S3(S3b). Large collections of artefacts were made from S4 (n ¼ 436),S6 (n ¼ 627), and S8 (n ¼ 327), which present well matched evi-dence for size sorting, weathering and rounding. Limited post-depositional disturbance has removed the smallest (<20 mm)fraction, whereas the larger fraction (>20 mm) of these assem-blages are largely undisturbed. This suggests exploitation of the siteafter deposition of each gravel horizon. The assemblage from S5(n ¼ 62) appears to have been subject to more significant post-depositional alteration. Overall, the lithic assemblages appear tohave been produced following periods of fluvial activity in a pre-dominantly C4 habitat.

3. Lithic technology

Rawmaterial use at KAT1 is dominated by immediately availablematerials, particularly quartzites (96%), with low proportions ofquartz (n ¼ 50), chert (n ¼ 5) and sandstone (n ¼ 2). A single lime-stone artefact is the only example of imported raw material. Thepresence of numerous large and highly cortical cores and flakes

Table 2Typology of artefact assemblages from Katoati (counts in brackets indicate bladeproportioned flakes or final flake scars).

Type S3a S3b S4 S5 S6 S8

Core 1 0 3 0 4 0Single platform 6 0 41 (1) 8 57 (3) 42 (2)Bidirectional 0 0 5 2 (1) 4 1 (1)Multi-platform 1 0 21 3 31 (2) 17Prepared 0 0 6 5 12 (2) 4Total cores 8 0 76 18 108 64Flake 24 (1) 3 231 (2) 23 340 (3) 165Bipolar flake 0 0 14 0 3 5Redirecting flake 0 0 1 (1) 1 1 0Flaked piece 25 5 73 16 125 73Total un-retouched 49 8 318 40 469 243Single end 0 0 4 0 5 0Single side 1 0 13 2 13 4Single side (flaked piece) 0 0 0 0 2 2Single end single side 0 0 3 0 12 1Single end single side

(flaked piece)0 0 0 0 1 0

Single end double side 0 0 3 1 6 4Double side 0 0 9 0 5 1Double end double side 0 0 0 0 2 0Unspecified 0 0 1 0 3 1Unspecified (flaked piece) 0 0 9 0 1 0Total retouched 1 0 42 3 50 13Heavy tool 0 0 0 1 0 7Total 58 8 437 62 627 327

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indicates early stage reduction activities were undertaken at the site.Core technology within the largest assemblages, S4 (n ¼ 76), S6(n¼108) andS8 (n¼64) ishomogenous, comprising informal (singleandmulti-platform) and formal (prepared and Levallois) types. TwoLevallois cores from S4 and one from S8 exhibit a mixture of distaldivergent and lateral preparation of the flaking surface to produce adistalemedial ridge resulting in the removal of prepared points(Fig. 3). These reduction schemes are consistent with descriptions ofNubian Levallois technologies (Rose et al., 2011; Usik et al., 2013).

Variability amongst flakes predominately relates to reductionintensity, with highly cortical flakes with fewer scars on the dorsalsurface typically larger than flakes lacking cortical surfaces withmore numerous prior removals. A single flake from S4 presents acombination of distal divergent and lateral removals on the dorsalsurface and a prior removal of a pre-determined pointed flake,indicative of the use of Nubian Levallois strategies (Fig. 3). A smallnumber (n ¼ 3) of Levallois points present further evidence fordebitage strategies orientated towards point production.Retouched tools are most abundant in S4 (n ¼ 42) and S6 (n ¼ 50),but mostly present informal retouch of a single side, or a single sideand either one or two ends of each artefact. Formal retouched ar-tefacts include a single bifacial point, and eleven delineated pieces,including notched, nosed, tongued, shouldered and tanged arte-facts (Fig. 4). A total of seven large bifaces were found in S8,including a single ovate biface. The presence of prepared point coreproduction and delineating retouch of pointed artefacts stands outamong the formalised reduction strategies at KAT1. The technologyand antiquity of the lithic assemblages supports assignment of theKatoati assemblages to the South Asian Middle Palaeolithic.

4. Discussion

We have presented archaeological evidence for stratifiedMiddlePalaeolithic assemblages at Katoati, indicating repeated homininoccupation of the Thar Desert between MIS 5 and the MIS 4e3boundary in association with periods of enhanced humidity. TheKatoati findings corroborate the archaeological evidence from 16RDune, indicating the presence of hominin populations in the TharDesert between 80 and 40 ka. The archaeological findings clearlyextend the occurrence of Middle Palaeolithic hominins in SouthAsia toMIS 5c ca 95 ka. AMiddle Palaeolithic occupation of the TharDesert during MIS 5a corresponds with evidence from Jwalapuramin southern India ca 78 ka (Petraglia et al., 2007, 2012b). Thepresence of hominins employing Middle Palaeolithic technology atthe transition between MIS 4/3 fills a lacuna for dated archaeo-logical sites in the South Asian Palaeolithic record. The age range forMiddle Palaeolithic occupations at KAT1 also overlaps with thehominin occupations of Arabia (Armitage et al., 2011; Petragliaet al., 2011, 2012a; Delagnes et al., 2012, 2013; Rose et al., 2011)and the Sahara (Smith et al., 2007; Hill, 2009). The identification ofcultural continuities between these regionsmay be critical to assessdifferent models for the dispersal of hominin populations.

The discoveries at KAT1 are pertinent to the current debateregarding the dispersals of Homo sapiens into South Asia and

ic occupation in the Thar Desert during the Upper Pleistocene: theiews (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.012

Fig. 3. 1e3) Nubian point cores presenting a medialedistal ridge produced throughshaping of flaking surface convexities from 1) distal divergent (Nubian Type 1), 2)lateral (Nubian Type 2) and 3) distal divergent and lateral (Nubian Type 1/2) removalsto enable the production of a pointed flake of pre-determined shape; 4) A flake bearinga dorsal surface shaped by removal of distal and distal divergent scars preceding theremoval of a single, pre-determined pointed flake (Nubian Type 1).

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potential exploitation of continental corridors associated withfluvial networks. Analyses of eastward routes into South Asia havesuggested dispersals into the Thar Desert during MIS 4 would havebeen prohibited due to increased aridity, and identify either coastal

Fig. 4. 1) Tanged point from Jwalapuram 22 (adapted from Haslam et al., 2012); 2 & 3)Tanged point from Katoati.

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routes or exploitation of the Indus corridor (Field et al., 2007). Theevidence from S4 suggests fluvial activity and hominin occupationat the MIS 4/3 transition may have facilitated continental routes ofdispersal using riverine networks. The presence of Middle Palae-olithic technologies in the Thar Desert at ca 60 ka clearly occurswithin the timeframe that have been suggested by genetic studiesfor the arrival of H. sapiens in South Asia (e.g. Macaulay et al., 2005;Scally and Durbin, 2012; Fu et al., 2013). This contradicts the hy-pothesis that modern humans arrived in South Asia using “smallcrescentic forms.that aremarkedly similar to those that define theso-called Howiesons Poort technology” (Mellars, 2006: 797).Comparable technologies, principally based around microbladeproduction, are not observed in South Asia until 40e30 ka(Clarkson et al., 2009; Perera, 2010) or after the Last GlacialMaximum in the Thar Desert (Blinkhorn, 2012). Instead, the Katoatievidence is consistent with arguments for the dispersal ofH. sapiens populations using Middle Palaeolithic technologies(Petraglia et al., 2010, 2012c; Boivin et al., 2013).

Technological continuity in Middle Palaeolithic assemblages atKatoati before and after the eruption of Toba at 75 ka (Mark et al.,2013) matches evidence observed in southern India (Petragliaet al., 2007, 2012b). The tanged point at KAT1 is similar to aspecimen from Jwalapuram (Locality 22) (Fig. 4), with furtherexamples observed within the Thar Desert (Blinkhorn, 2012). Thissupports suggestions of technological continuities in the use ofMiddle Palaeolithic technologies across South Asia. Critically, thefocus upon point production at KAT1, observed across core, flakeand retouched artefact categories, indicates a number of similar-ities with the Arabian (Armitage et al., 2011; Rose et al., 2011; Usiket al., 2013) and Saharan (Scerri, 2013) archaeological records inthe Upper Pleistocene. In particular, the appearance of coretechnologies analogous to Nubian point cores is notable as theyexhibit a highly restricted distribution within the eastern Saharaand southern Arabia (Rose et al., 2011). Similarly, the presence ofdelineated pointed artefacts, including tanged specimens, may becomparable with Aterian industries in the Sahara (Scerri, 2013).Further archaeological research is required to identify wherethese similarities are the result of convergent evolution of toolforms, their adaptive significance for exploiting arid landscapes,or cultural connections across the mid-latitude arid belt. Thediscoveries described from Katoati indicate the Thar Desert is acritical region to evaluate the relationship between climatechanges, hominin demography and cultural evolution that help toilluminate evidence for the dispersal of H. sapiens from Africa intoSouth Asia.

Acknowledgements

Fieldwork at Katoati has been supported by the Emslie Horni-man Scholarship (Royal Anthropological Institute) awarded to JB.AMS radiocarbon dating was funded by the NERC RadiocarbonFacility (2011/2/16) awarded toMP and JB. JB has been supported bythe Kathleen Hardy Scholarship and Fyssen Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship during preparation of the manuscript. Wethank the Archaeological Survey of India for permitting this work,and the villagers of Katoati for their support and assistance in thefield. We thank Dr. N. Suresh, Wadia Istitute of Himalayan Geology,Dehradun, for conducting the OSL analyses and providing details ofmethodology and figures presented in SI. We are grateful to Prof.Tom Higham for commenting on the manuscript.

Appendix A. Supplementary data

Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.012.

ic occupation in the Thar Desert during the Upper Pleistocene: theiews (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.012

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