Ref ID:	28274
Ref Type:	Journal Article
Authors:	Soni, Vidwan Singh Soni, Anujot Singh
Title:	New observations on the age and context of Soanian artefacts in the northwestern sub-Himalayas of India
Date:	2012
Source:	Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association
Abstract:	The Siwaliks or sub-Himalayas are the foothills of Himalayas situated along its southern margin which house the Soanian lithic industries. We recently made surface collections from almost 30 localities on the stream-terraces and alluvial fan surfaces in the Indian sub-Himalayas and excavated two in a buried state. Based on the dates obtained for some sites, it is observed that the Soanian type stone implements existed in the sub-Himalayas even up to late mid-Holocene times. This inference is also confirmed by the discovery of such tools from the post-Urban Harappan sites and from the existence of such tools in association with the Harappan potsherds on young terrace surfaces. Our identification of many new tool-types, especially the pitted cobbles and the edge-ground lithic specimens which are known from mid-Holocene sites else-where in the world, also hints at the influence of those lithic industries in this region. We briefly present here lithic assemblages from some dated sites and show that the Soanian and many new tool-types were in use in the Northwestern sub-Himalayas until late mid-Holocene times.
Date Created:	12/17/2013
Volume:	32
Page Start:	6
Page End:	18