Archaean Geology Investigations in Southern India

A brief review is made of the investigations conducted on the Archaean rocks of southern India from the time of Newbold (1838) to the present. Problems connected with Dharwar stratigraphy and the relationship of Peninsular Gneiss to Dharwar schists and charnockites have given rise to considerable differences of opinion and the main features of these controversies are summarised. Much of the confusion is due to the fact that terms like 'Dharwar' and 'Peninsular Gneiss' have been used in very different senses by individual workers. Geochemical and geochronological investigations are of recent origin and have yielded some interesting results. An account is given at the end of some of the problems in Precambrian geology that are still awaiting solution in southern India.