BAGALKOT: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has unearthed a 2.5 lakh-year-old palaeolithic (old stone age) stone tools production unit at a hillock located in Taminaal village near Badami in the district.
A four-member team of the Prehistoric Branch from Nagpur is working at Ranganatha Betta (hill) located between Taminaal and Katharaki village.
“We have found different stone tools, which were in use during the stone age, in the small hill located on the bank of the Malaprabha river,” said Ramesh Mulimani, superintending archaeologist.
Detailing the findings, Mulimani said, “Numerous scholars in the past including the father of Indian prehistory and geologist Robert Bruce Foote, who conducted geological surveys of prehistoric locations in India in the mid-19th century, have found out 2 lakh-year-old stone tools in Kyada, Katharaki and other villages of Badami. However, they had failed to identify the location of the palaeolithic stone tool industry. Now, we have found out about the industry, which is estimated to be about 2.5 lakh-years-old.”
The stone tools include burins, choppers, scrapers, hand axe and cleaver in the Ranganatha Hill. After the excavation, the officials have decided to write a letter to the District Administration seeking permission for more exploration, excavation and documentation of the findings.
“These are unique and rare stone tools production industries that were characterized by the high precision in manufacturing that these human groups used in their daily life. The profusion of stone tools discovered from this site indicates the numerical density of prehistoric communities that lived in this region. We will make proper documentation of this finding,” added Mulimani.
Stressing on the requirement of more research and excavation in and around Badami, Manjunath Sulloli, an archaeology expert, pointed that, “There are several more such old-age stone tool production units in the hillocks located in this region. It is the need of the hour to explore all the palaeolithic stone tool industries. Apart from this, there are hundreds of caves and shelters, which were used by the ancient people, in the hills located in Badami.”
"However, there is no exact timeline of human evolution in this region. The entire hillock is made up of sedimentary rocks and the entire hill station is palaeolithic strata. If the authorities concerned conduct proper excavation and documentation, we can introduce the rich heritage of this region to the current generation,” stated Sulloli, who is also Assistant Director of the Department of Information Public Relations in Bagalkot.
The other ASI officials who were part of the exploration are Dr Gajanan K, Devendra K and Narsilal M.