New Observations on Animal Bones and Lithics from Tejpur, Northern Gujarat August G. Costa 1 1 . Departments of Anthropology and Earth Science, Rice University, 5100 Main. St. Houston, TX 77005, USA (Email: [email protected]) Received: 30 June 2015; Accepted: 11 July 2015; Revised: 19 August 2015 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3 (2015): 33‐43 Abstract: Pleistocene sediments of Gujarat have yielded abundant evidence of Palaeolithic populations in the form of durable flaked stone implements. Despite years of investigations, little data is available on animal remains contemporary to the Palaeolithic of Gujarat. Pleistocene fossils are rare in Gujarat and often occur as isolated surface finds, which have no clear archaeological associations. Even so, a better understanding of Pleistocene animal remains is essential to understanding the diets and environments of early human populations in Gujarat. This paper outlines new investigations on a previously reported Middle Palaeolithic fossil from Tejpur, northern Gujarat. Tejpur was revisited to reassess lithic and bone remains, their geoarchaeological context and chronometric age. Field results support earlier observations that Palaeolithic tools and bones are abundant at Tejpur. Yet, new AMS dating, faunal analysis and stratigraphic observations suggest that the bone bearing sediments at Tejpur are more recent in age than previously thought. Keywords: Pleistocene, Palaeolithic, Fossil, Fauna, AMS Dating, Equus, Microlithic Introduction Published finds of Pleistocene‐aged fossil fauna are rare in Gujarat state and western coastal India. Pleistocene fossils associated with Palaeolithic artifacts are rarer still. Although Palaeolithic artifacts are found throughout Gujarat state, very little data is available on associated or isolated faunal remains from the Pleistocene epoch. This leaves a major gap in our understanding of the paleodiet and paleoecology of ancient human populations that once inhabited Gujarat. In 1973 H.D. Sankalia collected a single equid metacarpal from an exposure along the Meshwa River near the village of Tejpur in northern Gujarat (Badam 1977). This specimen was described by Badam (1977) as Equus cf. asinus and reportedly came from the same deposit as some apparent Middle Palaeolithic flakes (e.g. points, scrapers and large agate chunks). This discovery is exceptional as fossils associated with Middle Palaeolithic sites are rare in South Asia and Quaternary vertebrate remains are rare in Gujarat. This promising site was targeted for additional investigations as part of the Gujarat Paleoanthropology Project (Costa et al. 2011).
Transcript
New Observations on Animal Bones and Lithics from Tejpur, Northern Gujarat
August G. Costa1 1. Departments of Anthropology and Earth Science, Rice University, 5100 Main. St.
Received: 30 June 2015; Accepted: 11 July 2015; Revised: 19 August 2015 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3 (2015): 33‐43
Abstract: Pleistocene sediments of Gujarat have yielded abundant evidence of Palaeolithic populations in the form of durable flaked stone implements. Despite years of investigations, little data is available on animal remains contemporary to the Palaeolithic of Gujarat. Pleistocene fossils are rare in Gujarat and often occur as isolated surface finds, which have no clear archaeological associations. Even so, a better understanding of Pleistocene animal remains is essential to understanding the diets and environments of early human populations in Gujarat. This paper outlines new investigations on a previously reported Middle Palaeolithic fossil from Tejpur, northern Gujarat. Tejpur was revisited to reassess lithic and bone remains, their geoarchaeological context and chronometric age. Field results support earlier observations that Palaeolithic tools and bones are abundant at Tejpur. Yet, new AMS dating, faunal analysis and stratigraphic observations suggest that the bone bearing sediments at Tejpur are more recent in age than previously thought.
Introduction Published finds of Pleistocene‐aged fossil fauna are rare in Gujarat state and western coastal India. Pleistocene fossils associated with Palaeolithic artifacts are rarer still. Although Palaeolithic artifacts are found throughout Gujarat state, very little data is available on associated or isolated faunal remains from the Pleistocene epoch. This leaves a major gap in our understanding of the paleodiet and paleoecology of ancient human populations that once inhabited Gujarat.
In 1973 H.D. Sankalia collected a single equid metacarpal from an exposure along the Meshwa River near the village of Tejpur in northern Gujarat (Badam 1977). This specimen was described by Badam (1977) as Equus cf. asinus and reportedly came from the same deposit as some apparent Middle Palaeolithic flakes (e.g. points, scrapers and large agate chunks). This discovery is exceptional as fossils associated with Middle Palaeolithic sites are rare in South Asia and Quaternary vertebrate remains are rare in Gujarat. This promising site was targeted for additional investigations as part of the Gujarat Paleoanthropology Project (Costa et al. 2011).
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The author examined the original Tejpur fossil at Deccan College and revisited Tejpur on two occasions to assess the archaeological context and probable age of the materials. This paper reports on new field observations and animal remains discovered at Tejpur. These investigations largely support the observations of Sankalia and Badam, yet a new AMS radiocarbon date and additional stratigraphic observations suggest that the alluvial sequence at Tejpur is more complex than previously documented.
Setting The village Tejpur (Tajpur) is located near Harsol in the Talod Taluka of Sabarkantha district in North Gujarat (Figure 1). The Tejpur (TJP) bone‐bearing locality [N 23.36957057, E 73.03077190] is located on the east or left bank of the Meshwa River. The locality is not to be confused with the Tejpur Toba ash site described by Raj (2008) on the Madhumati River in the Lower Narmada Valley (South Gujarat).Tejpur is located (~100 m absl) on the middle part of the Gujarat Alluvial Plains (GAP) a broad gentle westward slope consisting of Quaternary alluvial from the Aravalli highlands.
The Meshwa is an ephemeral tributary of the Vatrakbasin and drains an area of ~259km2 in northern Gujarat. The Meshwa channel originates in the western Aravalli Archaean metamorphic highlands of Rajasthan (470m absl) and flows south, southwest ~245km to join the Vatrak River (40m absl) south of Ahmedabad before coalescing with the lower Sabarmati River and debouching into the Gulf of Cambay. The Meshwa drains a semi‐arid zone receiving about 650 mm of rainfall annually. Several lines of evidence show that the Meshwa River is structurally controlled and has migrated eastward in the Late Quaternary due to neotectonic processes (Raj 2012). Tejpur is located just north of the East Cambay Basin Margin Fault. Abandoned meander loops found just south of Tejpur appear to be related to base level changes as well as historically documented climatic events (e.g. high magnitude floods) within the drainage(Raj et al. 2014). Frequent channel shifting and meander cutoffs have altered the course of the Meshwa River though time.
Field Reconnaissance The TJP locality was visited on two separate occasions prior to and following the monsoon season. The goal of these visits was to determine whether any notable fossil or lithic remains were present as previously described (Badam, 1977). Both fauna and lithic remains were observed during both visits, however these finds were found to be much more abundant in the dry season when ground cover was minimal. Faunal material was discovered eroding out of a massive fine grained sand deposit at the top of the left bank of the Meshwa River. Palaeolithic materials were not found associated with the upper bone horizon, but did appear to be traceable to underlying units located upstream of the Tejpur bridge.
Context and Stratigraphy Alluvial exposures along the left bank of the Meshwa River near Tejpur vary from ~5‐9m in thickness. The bone rich section is ~5m in thickness and is located just ~100 m
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is elsewhere, however due to unfavorable local preservation factors (e.g. Holmes et al. 2006) this technique is less reliable and has a shorter effective range (~30ka) than in most other settings. This technique was applied to determine if the fossil remains were relatively recent or beyond the range of radiocarbon dating (i.e. >30 ka).
Figure 5: A. Equus cf. hemionus right radioulna (TJP1). Left to right: posterior view of modern donkey (Equus africanusasinus), posterior view of TJP1, anterior view of TJP1. Note the large size compared to the domestic ass (far left). B. Equus cf. hemionus metacarpal originally collected from Tejpur by Sankalia Dec 23, 1973 and described by Badam (1977) Photo courtesy of Parth Chauhan. Scale equals 5 cm.
A relatively complete lower premolar recovered from Tejpur (TJP‐1A) was selected for AMS radiocarbon dating and sent to Beta Analytic Inc. This premolar along with fragmentary portions of molars (M1‐M3) from a splintered transverse ramus of an unidentified bovid was recovered during fieldwork at Tejpur. This specimen was relatively complete, particularly in the root portion and was judged most amenable to yielding collagen for AMS dating.
Beta Analytic Inc. subjected the tooth sample to an extensive pre‐treatment program. The outer layer of enamel was removed and the teeth were rinsed, crushed and repeatedly bathed in dilute cold HCL acid until the mineral fraction was eliminated. The Tejpur sample (TJP‐1A) yielded a good amount of collagen which was then subjected to additional pre‐treatment in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to ensure the
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absence of any secondary organic acids. The pretreated sample carbon (i.e. collagen) was reduced to graphite (100% C) along with standards and backgrounds and detected using an Accelerator Mass Spectrometer. The results of this AMS determination are presented below. The single lower premolar AMS sample (TJP‐1A) from Tejpur yielded a recent age of ~600 BP or Cal AD 1300‐1420 (Table 1).
Table 1: AMS Dating Results
Discussion Prior to fieldwork the original bone specimen (Equus metacarpal) from Tejpur was observed at Deccan College. The sub‐fossil state of this metacarpal and subsequent fauna sampled at Tejpur suggested a recent, Holocene origin for the bone assemblage. In order to test this hypothesis AMS dating of a single tooth TJP‐1A was carried out. The result (Cal AD 1300‐1420) strongly suggests that the Tejpur bones are not Middle Palaeolithic in age. Consequently, the archaeo‐faunal assemblage at Tejpur is not relevant to paleoanthropological studies.
This result was expected given the sub‐fossil nature of the Tejpur animal remains. Indus civilization faunal assemblages (2600‐1900 B.C.) from similar contexts in northern Gujarat are often heavily calcified. The complete lack of mineralization seen in both the recent Tejpur fauna sample and “fossil” metacarpal collected by Sankalia are more consistent with historic animal bones. The taphonomic condition of the Tejpur animal remains is poor and variable. Some bones exhibited a brownish hue and fell into advanced weathering stages 4‐5. Taphonomic experiments suggest that bones exhibiting advanced weathering may have been exposed sub‐aerially for 10‐30 years prior to burial (Behrensmeyer 1978). It is possible that the non‐stained bovid mandible (which was dated) is a more recent intrusion and the stained materials represent an older bone deposit. However the color variation in the Tejpur fauna could also be related to recent sub‐aerial exposure and bleaching.
The bone yielding area has been heavily eroded and bioturbated due to recent human activity. Yet it seems unlikely that the bones represent multiple widely separated depositional events given their spatial distribution and apparent absence elsewhere along the MeshwaRiver banks. Much of the preservation variance observed in the Tejpur bone sample can be explained by density‐mediated factors (i.e. a metacarpal bone is denser than other elements like ribs or mandibular bone).
Sample No
Material Pretreatment
Measured Age
13c/12c Conventional Age
2 Sigma Calibration
TJP‐1A (tooth): collagen extraction: with alkali
290 +/‐ 30 BP
‐7.8 o/oo 570 +/‐ 30 BP
Cal AD 1300 to 1360(Cal BP 640 to 590)/ Cal AD 1380 to 1420(Cal BP 570 to 530)
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The species represented by the Tejpur bone sample cannot be determined with great precision. The hemi‐mandible can be attributed to a medium to small size bovid, within the goat/sheep size range. A partial right radioulna diaphysis is attributed to Equus cf. hemionus. This element compliments the equid metacarpal described by Badam (1977). The current diagnosis differs from Badam’s (1977), who attributed the Tejpur metacarpal to Equus asinus (the domestic donkey). The large size and robusticity of the Tejpur Equus specimens compared to the domestic donkey suggests they represent wild Asiatic ass (Equus hemionus khur), which persist today in western Gujarat state. Although Equus asinus, the domestic donkey of African origin was not introduced in South Asia until the mid‐Holocene (Rossel et al. 2008), the 14th century AMS age for the Tejpur fauna leaves open the possibility that the Tejpur equids are domestic donkeys. Recovery and study of additional, better‐preserved remains at Tejpur may help resolve this question.
The nature of the lithic sample observed in association with the bones at Tejpur also requires further study. The backed lithic piece observed near the bone beds is suggestive of a Mesolithic culture. The absence of pottery may imply a much older occupation than the AMS dating result. It is possible: 1) that the lithic/fauna association is erroneous, 2) the AMS determination is erroneous, 3) the AMS date reflects a more recent intrusion, or 4) the lithic specimen observed reflects historic continuity in microlith use (e.g. Roy 2008)Additional more thorough investigations are required to resolve these various alternatives.
The Palaeolithic artifacts present within the Meshwa channel appear to be unrelated to the animal bones found in the overbank deposits near the Tejpurvillage. An Acheulean biface and jasper flake were observed. The prior report of Middle Palaeolithic artifacts at Tejpur cannot be substantiated with the current evidence. Customary Middle Palaeolithic tool stone types (e.g. cryptocrystalline silicas, jaspers, agates) are present at Tejpur, however no convincing techno‐typological evidence is available to support claims of diagnostic Middle Palaeolithic artifacts. The probable context of these Palaeolithic artifacts within the Tejpur alluvial sequence remains unclear. The Mesolithic‐like backed specimen found alongside bone remains requires further investigation. Additional collections, excavations and geochronological efforts are required to characterize the breadth of technology represented in both space and time at Tejpur.
Conclusions This paper highlights new finds on the nature of artifacts and bones found along the Meshwa River near Tejpur. New fieldwork delineated an area rich in animal bones on the left bank of the Meshwa River south of State Highway 68. The occurrence of Palaeolithic tools was also confirmed at Tejpur. These observations largely support earlier findings made by Sankalia and reported by Badam (1977). However the probable associations between the Palaeolithic tools, alluvial stratigraphy and Tejpur fauna remains problematic. The Tejpur fauna is not associated with the Middle
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Palaeolithic. Although only meager lithic materials were observed, present evidence suggests that the Middle Palaeolithic cannot yet be clearly identified at Tejpur. AMS dating of dental remains from Tejpur further suggests that the archaeofauna is too young to be related to Pleistocene‐aged Paleolithic tools. Ultimately, the Tejpur fauna is not relevant to paleoanthropological studies. This revelation is important, as Palaeolithic‐aged faunal remains are rare in northwestern India.
These new investigations raise many additional questions about the nature of the archaeology around Tejpur. The site of Tejpur appears to be promising locale for future archaeological investigations. Although current evidence does not warrant a Middle Palaeolithic age, these new finds are consistent in condition and context as that previously documented by Sankalia and Badam (1977). Additional survey and test excavations are needed at Tejpur to elucidate the nature of the lithic technology represented, the breadth of time represented by the Meshwa alluvium and the variety of fauna present.
Acknowledgements I thank P. Ajithprasad and the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Baroda for support during the field component of these investigations. Thanks to Deccan College and V. Sathe for allowing study of the original Tejpur Metacarpal. I thank the Government of India and Archaeological Survey of India for research visa and field permits. The AMS dating reported here was carried out by Beta‐Analytical and paid for by grants from the Leakey Foundation and the National Science Foundation. I thank Parth Chauhan for providing useful comments on this paper and fieldwork assistance.
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