Quaternary Deposits of Narmada with Special Reference to the Hominid Fossils

The upper 70 m to 90 m of the Narmada alluvium was deposited in a single aggradational episode with minor pauses when dissection of the alluvium produced two terraces (NT₃-NT₂). The sediments of this aggradation episode constitute three lithostratigraphic units viz., Boulder conglomerate, Sohagpur and Shahganj Fomations. The sediments of the alluvial phase are underlain by a boulder bed of glacio-fluvial origin. Thus, the fossiliferous boulder conglomerate, the basal unit of the alluvium marks a disconformity between the lower glacio-fluvial boulder layer and the upper fluvial sediments. The fossiliferous basal boulder conglomerate is considered to be of middle Pleistocene age.