| Abstract: |
Introduction: The Narmada River originates at Amarkantak (22°40'N, 81°40'E) in eastern Madhya Pradesh and flows for about 1300 km before emptying into the Gulf of Cambay near Broach in Gujarat. Deposits between Bedaghat (23°08'N,79°47'E) and Hoshangabad (22°45'N,77°45'E), rich in Pleistocene vertebrate fauna and Palaeolithic artifacts, have interested Quaternary geologists, palaeontologists, and archaeologists for over a century (Theobald 1860
Blanford 1869
Pilgrim 1905
De Terra and Paterson 1939
Khatri 1961
Supekar 1968
Badam 1979a
Biswas and Dassarma 1981
Badam and Salahuddin 1982). The discovery of a fossil hominid skull cap of <i>Homo erectus narmadiensis</i> by Sonakia (1984) at Hathnora (22°52'N, 77°53'E), c. 40 km northeast of. Hoshangabad (Fig. 1), sparked great interest among palaeoanthropologists in India and abroad. In February 1985, we conducted an exploration to evaluate the association of a prehistoric stone tool assemblage found at the fossil hominid site and the assemblage's probable age. A new understanding of the stratigraphy at the site was brought to light.
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