Earliest Dates and Implications of Microlithic Industries of Late Pleistocene from Mahadebbera and Kana, Purulia District, West Bengal

Microlithic industries, a technology associated with modern humans, as defined by the production of microblades have been found in different parts of the Indian subcontinent with the earliest date being 48 ka. The present communication reports on recent archaeological excavations of these industries from a colluvial context located in the pediment surface of Precambrian hills in Purulia, West Bengal. These are dated to 34-25 ka by optically stimulated luminescence dating and are the earliest dates for microlithic industries in eastern India. To our knowledge such dating does not exist for any prehistoric site in Bengal. The context of the sites - hill-slope colluvium - is also unique and a rarity in the subcontinent. These findings add additional inputs to the knowledge of these industries, providing supporting evidence to their antiquity.