SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The thesis outlines an account of Eastern India, as revealed by the study of stone tools left behind by ancient man. It is based on published materials as well as personal observations in the field and on study of the objects in various museums. The environmental background is first given in order to understand the natural factors which man had to face. The account properly begins with Pleistocene man whose material remains have been found in the plateau of Chota Nagpur, extending in Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. In this very region have been collected microliths in association with ground tools. Both Palaeolithic and microlithic industries are related to Peninsular complex. The sections revealing these industries have been carefully studied. The study of ground tools occupies greater portion of the thesis, as they have been found in large numbers in all the provinces of Eastern India, and there are, also, many problems that have been linked up with them. The terminology of these tools in first defined, and then follows a descriptive account from region to region. An attempt is made to clarify the various problems related to them, and on the basis of the available data the typically Indian types of tools have been separated from the foreign types. As there is much confusion over these foreign types, it was considered necessary to investigate thoroughly into the problem of their appearance in India. A complete study has, therefore, been made of the available materials form Yunnan, Indo-China, Siam, Malaya and Burma, the countries which immediately concern our problem. Our investigations show that these foreign types arrived late in India, possibly well within the historical period, and that the archasologieal context does not favour the view of their being brought by migration of any people. With these findings, which are based wholly on archaeological evidence, our study closes.