FORMATION PROCESSES OF THE ACHEULIAN SITES OF
THE ORSANG VALLEY, GUJARAT
P. AJITHPRASAD
Introduction
Studies in Stone Age prehistory started in Gujarat with
the pioneering discovery of Acheulian artifacts from the
gravel conglomerate at Pedhamli in the Sabarmati valley
by Robert Bruce Foote in the 1890s (Foote 1898: 86-98).
Subsequently Sankalia’s explorations in the 1940s resulted
in the discovery of several Lower Palaeolithic artifacts from
a comparable gravel deposit exposed by the rivers Orsang
and Karjan (both being tributaries of the Narmada) in
south Gujarat (Sankalia 1946). This was followed by
Subbarao’s discoveries of Acheulian tools from the basal
gravel in the Mahi valley in the early 1950s (Subbarao
1952). These discoveries have firmly established the
presence of Acheulian hunter-gatherers in most of the
major river valleys that drain the mainland Gujarat. Later
discoveries of the Acheulian and post-Acheulian cultural
material from Saurashtra, especially from Halvad in
Surendranagar district, the Hiran valley sites in Junagadh
district (Marathe 1981) and from Samadiala in the
Kalubhar valley in Bhavnagar district (Chakrabarti 1983),
have demonstrated that the Acheulian occupation in
Gujarat was reasonably widespread. Isolated Acheulian
artifacts have also been reported from a few sites in
Kachchh (Ansari and Pappu 1970-72) and from south
Gujarat (IAR 1965-66).
In most of the above-mentioned sites, barring
Samadiala in the Kalubhar valley, artifacts are found
in secondary context; they are generally associated
with the coarse pebbly gravel deposit occurring within
the alluvial formation. While these sites are extremely
important in studying the depositional environment and
post-depositional processes active within a region, they
are less useful in understanding the cultural and settlement
features of Acheulian community. The latter aspects belong
to the domain of site formation processes and can only
be properly discerned from primary context sites where
artifacts are found at the original places of deposition. In the
late 1980s and early 1990s the present author has reported
a number of primary localities of the Acheulian culture
in the Orsang and Sukhi valleys of Gujarat (Ajithprasad
1988, 1998). Archaeological and environmental data
collected from the primary and secondary localities of the
Acheulian period in the middle Orsang valley has been
useful in identifying the depositional processes as well as
post-depositional changes in the archaeological record.
The present paper seeks to study the major aspects of the
formation processes of the Acheulian record of this part of
Gujarat.
Speaking in general terms, the rise of processual
archaeology gave a real impetus to the study of formation
processes. The behavioural approach of Schiffer (1976;
1987) and the middle range research of Binford (1981)
emerged as two major perspectives. Postprocessual
archaeology too has accepted formation processes research
as an important concern of archaeology (Hodder 1986).
Formation processes concern all kinds of agencies operating
during the pre-depositional and post-depositional stages
of site history.
Generally, two sets of processes (cultural processes
and the natural processes) are involved at various stages
of site formation (Schiffer 1987; Paddayya and Petraglia
1995). The actual formation of the site in terms of
patterned deposition and distribution of artifacts is by
and large a product of the cultural processes. The role of
natural processes is limited at this stage. Once deposition
is over the natural processes take over and at this stage
cultural processes have only a limited role to play. An
archaeological site results from a complex interplay of
both natural and cultural processes mentioned above.
Unravelling this complex interplay in order to extract
meaningful information about past cultural dynamics is
the primary concern of site formation studies (Binford
1983).
The processes leading to actual formation of a site
start with the selection of a spot/region by a group of
people who may be influenced by subsistence practices or
ideational concerns. The role environment and ecological
settings play in this stage is extremely significant. The choice
of raw materials, extractive strategies and technological
adaptation of the group or community are all linked with
the environment and ecological settings. The study of
environment and ecological setting of each and every
site is therefore important in understanding its formation.
In addition to this, understanding the depositional
environment and geomorphological processes responsible
for post-depositional changes also demands a thorough
knowledge of the present and past environments (Clark
1960). Hence, a very brief account of the general
80 Formation Processes of the Acheulian Sites of the Orsang Valley, Gujarat

environmental features and ecological settings of the
Gujarat Acheulian sites, particularly of the middle Orsang
valley, will serve as the backdrop for understanding various
aspects relating to site formation.
Environmental Setting
Geographically, Gujarat comprises three major regions:
Kachchh, Saurashtra peninsula and mainland Gujarat
(Fig. 1). Physiography and environments of these three
regions are varied and diverse. The Kachchh region,
bordering with Pakistan in the north, comprises the Ranns,
hilly regions, Banni plain and southern coastal plain.
The Saurashtra peninsula, separated from Kachchh by
the Gulf of Kachchh, forms a rocky tableland fringed by
coastal plains, a major portion of which is occupied by the
Deccan lava flow. The central part of it is made up of an
undulating hilly plain drained by a number of small rivers
flowing in all directions. The mainland Gujarat constitutes
two distinct geographic sub-zones: a) the eastern rocky
highlands bounded by the Aravalli and Satpura ranges and
b) the western alluvial plains. The mainland Gujarat has
been further divided into northern, central and southern
parts (Merh 1995). Being located at the southern margin
of the Thar Desert, Kachchh and parts of north Gujarat
fall in the arid climatic zone with the rainfall ranging from
less than 250 mm to 370 mm. South Gujarat with a
precipitation higher than 1000 mm, on the other hand,
falls in the sub-humid climatic zone. Saurashtra and
northern and central parts of the mainland Gujarat fall in
the predominantly semiarid climatic zone with an annual
precipitation ranging from 400 mm to 1000 mm.

Fig. 1. Gujarat: Geographical features and major Acheulian sites.

P. Ajithprasad
Monsoon is the most important factor that influences
climate in western India. The present-day monsoonal
regime in peninsular India was already established by the
beginning of the Quaternary period (Rajaguru 1973). One
of the important features of the monsoon that influences
the human population is its cyclic nature. In a monsoonal
environment, the resources also reproduce themselves in
a cyclic manner in tune with the seasonality (Gamble
1986). Exploitation of these resources by human societies
results into identifiable patterns in archaeological record.
Hence the distribution of sites and their articulation with
the environmental resources in a region as well as the
content of each artifact assemblage are important in
understanding formation processes of the archaeological
record. This will give us a glimpse of not only the complex
interrelationships that the site shares with the environment
but also other factors responsible for the site formation.
The vast alluvial plain in the western part of mainland
Gujarat in which the Acheulian sites are located, is formed
by the major rivers comprising the Tapi, the Narmada, the
Mahi and the Sabarmati; and further north by the Rupan,
the Sarasvati and the Banas and their tributaries (Fig.1).
The thickness of the alluvium varies from about 100 m
along the Konkan coast in south Gujarat to about 500 m in
north Gujarat (Merh 1995), indicating a complex interplay
of fluvial, eustatic and tectonic activities in their formation
during the Quaternary. Irrespective of this, the alluvial
formations in the major river valleys show a broad, basic
scheme of sequential deposition indicating the overall
control of the climatic regimes in their formation (Merh and
Chamyal 1993). Sedimentological characteristics of the
above formations are particularly useful for reconstructing
the depositional environment of the Acheulian and
post-Acheulian cultural record in Gujarat.
As has been mentioned earlier, the Acheulian artifacts
are found in the coarse pebbly gravel, generally at the
base of the alluvial sections exposed by all the major rivers
of Gujarat, indicating a high energy phase of the river
(Zeuner 1950; Allchin et al. 1978). Assuming that there
was little time lag between the actual use/deposition of
the artifacts and their redeposition in the gravel, it has
been estimated that the climate during the Acheulian
phase was slightly wetter than today. The gravel, however,
incorporates heavily abraded as well as fresh-looking
artifacts without any stratigraphic distinction, which clearly
points to complexities in the integrity of artifact assemblages
found in the secondary context. It, however, clearly
establishes that these two categories of artifacts were
available for redeposition by fluvial agencies while the
pebbly gravel was formed in all the major river valleys
of Gujarat. The gravel in the Sabarmati valley has been
81
dated by TL to the Middle Pleistocene (Tandon et al.
1997). At the same time, milliolite formation associated
with Acheulian artifacts at Umrethi in the Hiran valley,
Saurashtra has been dated between 65 kyr to 190 kyr by
Th-U decay dates (Baskaran et al. 1986), indicating a late
Middle Pleistocene age for the Acheulian in Gujarat.
Since Gujarat has a long coastal line, an important
factor that needs to be taken into consideration while
discussing the geomorphological process concerns the
eustatic changes during the Quaternary. Attempts have
been made in the past for understanding the effects of
eustatic changes on the Quaternary depositional regimes
and Palaeolithic settlements (Wainwright 1964; Gupta
1973). However, a clear correspondence between the
eustatic changes and depositional features of the prehistoric
settlements is still a far cry. In addition to these, recent
studies have indicated that past tectonic events did play a
significant role in the evolution of Quaternary landforms in
Gujarat (Pant and Chamyal 1990; Chamyal et al. 1994).
The Middle Orsang Valley
As the primary context sites of the Acheulian culture
are located in the middle Orsang valley, a detailed account
of the environmental and ecological settings of the Orsang
valley is called for. The Orsang river is a tributary of the
Narmada. It originates in the Jabua district in Madhya
Pradesh and flows in a southwesterly direction and meets
the Narmada at Chandod near Bharuch (Fig. 2). It has
a total channel length of 135 km, a major part of which,
except a small length of 8 km at its source, flows through
Baroda district of Gujarat. It is joined in the headwater
region by two main tributaries, the Sukhi and the Ani,
and in the downstream area by the Unch and Heran
rivers. The Orsang forms a large oval basin measuring
approximately 4000 km2. The valley floor, which gently
slopes down in the southwesterly direction, is formed
by granite and gneiss rocks of the Archaean group. In
addition to this, extensive formations of phyllite, schist and
quartzite of the Aravalli metasediments are found in the
valley. The majority of Acheulian artifacts are made of
fine-grained quartzite of varying colours and hues found
in the Champaneer series of rocks belonging to the latter
group. In its headwater region, in the north and the
northeastern part, the valley is surrounded by a series
of hilly ridges belonging to the above group of rocks
of varying heights forming a high relief. These are, in
fact, erosional remnants of a vast tableland of rolling hilly
terrain. At many places the rocky ridges intrude into the
valley as interfluves, which form watersheds between the
tributary streams. These features make the basin a distinct
geographical unit in terms of territorial and topographic
82 Formation Processes of the Acheulian Sites of the Orsang Valley, Gujarat
Fig. 2. Physiographic features of the Orsang valley, Gujarat.
differentiation and distinct river systems, and comprising
different natural regions.
The general pattern of drainage in the valley
corresponds to the gentle southward slope of the entire
basin. The Orsang and its main tributaries mentioned
above are joined by a number of first and second order
streams forming an integrated palmate-type drainage
network. The longitudinal profiles of the river and its
main tributaries indicate a graded river channel except
for a knick point between Jojwa and Chuchhapua in the
case of the Orsang (Fig. 3). This is significant because
some primary depositional features are discernable in the
secondary context Acheulian sites exposed in the alluvial
sections around the knick point. Further downstream,
up to its confluence with the Narmada, the river flows
through its own alluvium. In this segment of the valley, the
channel shows a conspicuous incision to the order of 20
to 25 m and development of deep ravines on either side
forming badland topography. These features are generally
attributed to a neo-tectonic uplift in the region (Maurya et
al. 2000; Rachna Raj et al. 1998).
The river retains an abundant water flow during the
wet season. The channel flow is sustained till the month
of January. However, soon after the winter, as a result
of sharp increase in the rate of evapo-transpiration the
smaller streams and surface runoff channels start drying
up and the flow becomes more and more sluggish. During
P. Ajithprasad 83

categories: (a) the secondary context sites and (b) primary

context sites (Table 1). Thirty-two of the primary context
sites among these have shown varying features of the
lower and upper Acheulian occupation. In addition to
this, three sites incorporated some interesting features
of transition from the upper Acheulian to the Middle
Palaeolithic (Ajithprasad 1989).

Table 1. Primary and Secondary Context Acheulian Sites

in the Middle Orsang Valley

Primary context localities Secondary Context

(Surface assemblages) Localities (River gravel
deposits)
Fig. 3. Longitudinal profile of the Orsang and its major
tributaries. Mosabar Locality I, II Bahadarpur
the period of hot summer, water in the river is confined Dori Dunkar Locality I, II Wadeli
to small depressions and puddles within the channel and Laphni Locality I to VI Chuchhapura
they are fed by subsoil water. An important feature of Duma Locality I, II Samdhi
water resources in the middle Orsang valley, as far as the Baskario Locality I to III Uchhakalam
prehistoric settlements are concerned, is the presence of a Uchhet Locality I to III Ratanpur
few natural depressions in the alluvial plains as well as Haveli Locality I, II
in the northern pediment zone. These depressions at Achali Locality I
present have a diameter approximately 50 to 100 m wide. Sagdhra Locality II to IV
Almost all of them are fed by surface runoff. Today they Pipiya Locality I to IV
retain water up to the beginning of February. Several Gundiviri Locality I to III
Acheulian and later Stone Age sites are located close to Kolwa Locality I
these depressions in the piedmont.

The Orsang valley falls in the semiarid bio-climatic

zone, as it receives average annual rainfall of 954 mm
spread over a period of 42 days. The climate in the valley
is marked by a hot summer and a general dryness except
during the monsoon. Due to a relatively higher rainfall the
northern hilly region and many areas of the valley close
to the escarpment are covered with thick vegetation and
form a part of the forested areas of the valley. These forests
are classified as the dry mixed deciduous type and are
the habitat of a number of tribal communities today. The
forest produces about seventy types of edible plant items
-- fruits, pods, tubers, edible leaves etc. -- and supports a
number of animals, birds, reptiles and insects (Ajithprasad
1988). Seasonality of these food and water resources was
one of the important factors that affected the settlement
pattern during the Palaeolithic and later periods.

The Nature and Contexts of Acheulian Sites

The author’s work in the middle Orasng valley has

resulted in the discovery of 41 Acheulian sites (Fig. 4) in
a small area of 300 km2 between Sankheda and Bodeli
(Ajithprasad 1988). On the basis of geomorphic and Fig. 4. Distribution of Acheulian localities in the middle
stratigraphic contexts they can be classified into two broad Orsang valley.
84 Formation Processes of the Acheulian Sites of the Orsang Valley, Gujarat
Secondary Context Sites
The secondary localities are found associated with the
gravel deposit of the Orsang and its tributary streams. As
these sites contain artifact assemblages removed from their
original places of deposition by agencies other than man,
their usefulness for reconstructing behavioural pattern of
the Lower Palaeolithic groups is limited. The tools obtained
from these secondary localities comprise both abraded
and sharp-edged, not-so-abraded specimens. As has been
mentioned in the beginning, they are found embedded
in the gravel deposit with no stratigraphic distinction. The
abraded tools are not only rounded, but their surfaces also
have prominent patina making them easily distinguishable
from the fresh ones.
Although a temporal distinction between the fresh and
abraded tools can be easily discerned, further studies are
needed to understand the actual context of the abraded
specimens. The tools that are fresh and in “mint condition”
may suggest that the Acheulian hunter-gatherers were
frequenting the area while deposition of the gravel was
taking place. Two such fresh artifacts from Bahadarpur
and Wadeli are embedded at the bottom of the sandy
silt deposit, which directly overlies the pebbly gravel of
the Orsang. Another fresh artifact is found at the top of
the pebbly gravel deposit in the small Jojwa stream that
joins the Orsang near Jojwa. Considering the nearness of
sources of raw material, it would appear that at least a
few of the above-mentioned occurrences of tools in the
alluvial strata may in reality have been discarded by the
Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers very close to their present
contexts of occurrence.
Primary Context Sites
Primary sites in the middle Orsang valley are
distributed all along the foot of the hilly ridges in the
northern boundary and also a few along the courses
of small tributary streams that drain the piedmont (Fig.
4). These sites still retain enough evidence in the form
of material relics in their original context of deposition.
However, it will be unrealistic to imagine, particularly
in the case of Stone Age surface sites, that the artifacts
have not been disturbed at all from their original contexts.
Assessing the degree of post-depositional disturbance in
such sites is a crucial area of Stone Age research today.
These drawbacks notwithstanding, such sites do indicate
the actual localities in which depositional events took
place in the past. Hence, they are of utmost importance
in evaluating the subsistence strategies and settlement
pattern of the Lower Palaeolithic occupation of the
valley. Primary occupation localities in the middle Orsang
valley are identified on the basis of clusters of diagnostic
tools, abandoned cores, waste flakes, and unfinished and
discarded tools in a relatively undisturbed condition (Fig.
5). Although no biological remains have so far been
discovered from any of these localities, it is nonetheless
evident that such clusters owe their origin to Acheulian
occupation.
Besides these two types of sites, a few isolated tools
are collected from various parts of the explored portion
of the valley. Such occurrences are termed as ‘non-sites’
(Thomas 1975) or ‘off-sites’ (Foley 1981). In recent years
the importance of such non-sites has been recognized in
understanding the subsistence and behavioural pattern
of non-sedentary communities in terms of their strategies
for food and raw material procurement, movement and
delimitation of the exploitative territory within a given
region (Thomas 1975; Plog et al. 1978; Isaac 1981; Foley
1981).
Similar isolated occurrences of artifacts have come to
light at three different localities in the explored areas of the
middle Orsang valley. Among these the first one consisted
of a large chopping tool and a flake. They are found in
an old point-bar of the Maniyan stream, a tributary of the
Unch. A thorough investigation of the gravel deposits of
both these streams has failed to yield any further evidence
of Palaeolithic artifacts. The other two occurrences are
closer to the northern piedmont zone - - one at Kolwa and
the second one at Gundiviri. Kolwa is about one kilometre
further north of the escarpment and is situated in a narrow
deep valley. A broken, well-made handaxe and a large
retouched flake are found here on the shoulder of one
of the small rocky ridges. Similarly, a large scraper and
a broken polyhedron are found at the foot of the hill
near Gundiviri; this spot lies about a kilometer away from
the nearest large occupation showing a large cluster of
artifacts.
Primary Sites: Context and Preservation
As has already been stated, almost all Lower
Palaeolithic primary sites are located about 7 to 10 km
away from the Orsang channel in the piedmont of the
valley flanked by rocky ridges. They are confined to an
area of 10 to 12 km2 along the foot of the hills, at
100 to 140 m MSL (Fig. 4). The entire piedmont is
mainly formed of colluvial deposit: rubble and cobbles
of quartzite, quartz and disintegrated schist and granite,
which is generally covered by a mantle of soil measuring
0.2 to 2 m. The southern portion of the area forms a part
of the present-day cultivated land, whereas the northern
part closer to the hilly ridges is covered by thickly growing
P. Ajithprasad
Fig. 5. General view of the foothill region in the middle Orsang valley where primary Acheulian sites have been located.
The cluster of stones in the foreground is one of the primary localities at Uchhet.
grass, scrub jungle and deciduous trees. The occupation
sites are found as surface spreads of lithic artifacts in
this open land, either in agricultural fields or in relatively
undisturbed forest margins (Fig. 5).
An understanding of various processes involved in
the formation and preservation of, and possible past
and present disturbances caused to, these occupation
sites is essential not only for cultural interpretation of the
archaeological data but also for critically evaluating the
utility and limitations of the data retrieved from the site.
Lewarch and O’Brein (1981) and Wood and Johnson
(1978), while discussing the complexities and significance
of surface sites, identify various erosional and depositional
agencies present in a given region as the most influential
factors in the formation of surface sites. In the case of
middle Orsang valley alluvial and colluvial processes are
the major components of the depositional and erosional
regimes that affect archaeological sites. Alluvial processes
are largely responsible for the formation of secondary
sites within the gravel deposit exposed at several places
near Bhadarpur, Chuchhapura and Wadeli along the
85
main Orsang channel; and near Uchhakalam and Samdhi
along the tributary streams. Since artifacts are found
embedded in an unsorted, non-graded cobbly, pebbly
gravel formation, it is obvious that they were deposited
in a short-lived depositional episode of considerable high
energy. One should not forget that this event must have
resulted in the alteration of depositional features in the
primary localities too. In the case of primary sites, their
formation, starting from the selection of the site, was
influenced by a number of factors such as the availability
of food resources, source of suitable raw material for tool
production, reliable source of water, etc. The nature of a
site is therefore an indicator of the strategies adopted for
exploiting these resources by various Acheulian groups as
well as duration of occupation at a particular location.
Since the Acheulian sites are located close to the foot
of the hills in the open air, one of the major depositional
agents that may affect their preservation is the colluvial
process. Colluvial wash can completely wash away or
gently cover the artifacts, thereby preserving the site.
Primary context sites in the middle Orsang valley are found
86 Formation Processes of the Acheulian Sites of the Orsang Valley, Gujarat
associated with the colluvial formation whose thickness
varied from a mere 20 cm to 2 m, depending upon
the original contour of the valley floor. It is only at a
few localities in Mosabar and Laphni, where a shallow
monsoon runoff channel has exposed the colluvial section,
that the artifacts are found well embedded within the
colluvial deposit. In such cases the position and orientations
of the artifacts mostly correspond to the general trend
exhibited by rock clasts of similar shapes and sizes (Fig.
6). The depositional contexts of such artifacts are certainly
altered by colluvial process even in a primary context site.
At the same time, Localities I to IV at Laphni and sites
at Duma and Baskario showed artifacts lying just at the
top of the colluvial formation, not necessarily embedded
in it, pointing to the fact that both natural and cultural
processes of deposition were simultaneously responsible
for creating several interesting features at the site. The
Acheulian tools at many localities are found underneath
20 to 30 cm thick soil cover, which supports grass and
shrub-type vegetation. Vegetation has effectively prevented
soil erosion in all these sites. At a few places where there is
no such vegetation growth, constant erosion by rain and
slope wash has resulted in partial removal of the soil cover.
Artifacts are found at these sites mixed with the underlying
rubble and cobbles (Fig. 7).
Fig. 6. An Acheulian biface embedded in the colluvial deposit in a primary context site.
Being the headwater region of small tributary streams,
the northern piedmont is generally dissected by a number
of small channels. The banks of these shallow channels
are eroded heavily to form a very gentle slope. Acheulian
artifacts are found exposed on such slopes at Mosabar,
Achali and Sagdhra (Fig. 8). A gradual sliding and rolling
down of artifacts from the slope to the channel due
to the combined effect of gravitational movement and
fluvial activity can be discerned in these sites. When
artifacts in theses sites are partially exposed to the surface,
the exposed surfaces in course of time develop smooth,
weathered features due to the constant abrasion of fine
silica particles present in the slope wash.
Quite a few Acheulian localities in Duma, Sagdhra,
Haveli and Uchhet are found on the lands that are now
subjected to agricultural activity. Ploughing and tilling of
these fields have led to lateral spread of artifacts. Recent
studies in ‘plough-zone archaeology’ have argued that
the magnitude of lateral displacement appears to be less
serious than assumed (Nance 1983, Shott 1995, Jhaldiyal
1997). However, a continuous mixing of the upper horizon
of the soil mantle with the artifacts is a special feature of
these sites. It has been observed that artifacts from such
sites undergo abrasion and weathering. The nature and
P. Ajithprasad
extent of preservation of sites is mainly dependent on their
post-depositional environment and the susceptibility of
deposits to human and natural agencies acting upon them.
Sites are better preserved if they are covered immediately
after their deposition under thick vegetation. This, in
general, is an exception rather than the rule. Hence, the
post-depositional disturbance by various agencies before
the sites get buried have to be taken into account even in
the case of subsoil assemblages in order to have a better
picture of site formation processes.
As the sites in the valley are constantly exposed
to human and natural disturbances a certain amount
of displacement in the depositional pattern of tools is
inevitable. Recent researches in this direction have helped
us to have a better understanding of the complexities and
potentialities of surface sites in archaeological investigations
(Odell and Cowan 1987; Jhaldiyal 1998). Possibilities
of disturbance due to various agencies notwithstanding,
the clustered nature of artifacts on these sites, occurrence
of blocks of raw material, waste flakes and discarded
Fig. 7. Acheulian artifacts exposed on the surface due to partial removal of the soil cover.
87
elements like broken and half finished tools, and soil and
vegetation cover over them may indicate the primary
context as well as the degree of post-depositional change
at these sites.
Distribution and Depositional Features
As has already been stated, the distribution of
Acheulian primary context sites is confined to the northern
part of the valley; these occur in the piedmont and in
the gravel deposits of the Orsang and its tributaries.
No primary sites have so far been discovered in the
southern alluvial plain. Similarly, the immediate base
of hilly ridges were not much preferred by the Lower
Palaeolithic communities, as most of the sites are found
about 500 m away from the actual base of the hills.
However, at small rocky outcrops like the one near
Mosabar village, occupation sites are found exactly at the
base of it. This outcrop has a height of about 10 m.
Generally, the base or the “knick of the piedmont” of high
hilly ridges is covered by a thick mantle of reddish silty
88 Formation Processes of the Acheulian Sites of the Orsang Valley, Gujarat
Fig. 8. Surface runoff channel at Mosabar; primary context Acheulian localities are exposed on the banks due to slope
wash.
soil concealing the buried features. However, a through
examination of the denuded areas has failed to yield any
evidence of human occupation.
Similarly, no evidence of Palaeolithic occupation sites
has come from the tops and shoulders of hilly ridges. It
seems that the Palaeolithic communities avoided these
areas for occupation, perhaps due to the absence of
perennial water sources and difficult terrain1. Further north
of Baskario and Achali, the terrain is relieved by high
ridges and is thickly forested. These areas were also
avoided by the Acheulian groups due to the same reasons.
But it is possible that these areas formed part of their
economic territory. The discovery of a few ‘non-sites’
within this area clearly suggests that it had been exploited
possibly for food and raw material during this period.
Weathering of the northern plateau in this area has
formed finger-like interfluves jutting out from the valley
floor. Three such rocky ridges are situated parallel to each
other between Duma and Achali and they are separated
by deep, narrow valleys. The valley floor at the base of
these hillocks is made up of thick valley fills. Thorough
search in these valleys has failed to yield any evidence of
Lower Palaeolithic occupation sites. Sites are, in almost
all cases, located at the base of the ridges opening into
the narrow valley, close to Baskario, Haveli and Rajpari
villages. It appears, for some reason, that the narrow valley
proper was avoided for occupation.
The discovery of a number of occupation sites close
to a natural depression at Duma (Fig. 4) is of considerable
interest. This natural depression is just at the foot of a
rather high quartzite hillock, locally known by the name
Baskario. The extant diameter of this depression is 150
m and at present it retains water up to the months of
February and March. Twelve out of a total of 32 Acheulian
occupation sites found in the middle Orsang valley are
located around this depression, within a radius of one
kilometer. Similarly, Palaeolithic sites are found close to
another natural depression at Achali in the foot of the
hillock. These watersources were exploited during the
Mesolithic period also, as a few Mesolithic sites were found
close to them at both Duma and Achali.
The spatial extent of primary localities and the number
P. Ajithprasad
of artifacts found on them varied in different localities.
For example, the largest locality at Dori Dunker-1 covers
an area of about 8000 m2; the smallest one, located at
Baskario-II, is just 100 m2. These measurements simply
indicate an overall maximum area in which artifacts are
found clustered or concentrated at one or more contiguous
areas within the given locality. In fact, many of the larger
sites show more than one cluster of artifacts suggesting
a patterned deposition. Similar occurrences of multiple
clusters of artifacts have been reported in the Palaeolithic
context from Koobi Fora sites in Africa (Isaac 1981) and
in our country from Hunsgi valley (Paddayya 1982). The
above type of intra-site patterning of artifacts known as
“ cluster of clusters” or “compound clusters” may have
resulted from repeated occupation at the same locality by
the Acheulian communities over a period of time. The
frequency and duration of such occupations are crucial
issues which need to be resolved through site formation
studies. Typological characteristics of the artifacts could
be helpful in this respect for understanding the temporal
distinction between different clusters (Wandsnider 1995).
The Acheulian assemblages of the primary sites are
dominated by handaxes, scrapers, simple retouched flakes
and cleavers, all made on locally available quartzite and
quartz. These surface assemblages show both lower and
upper Acheulian typological features with no stratigraphic
distinction. The artifacts from Laphni (Loc. I to VI),
Mosabar (I, II), Baskario (Loc. II), Haveli (Loc. I, II), Uchhet
(Loc. II) and Dori Dunker (Loc. I) are generally thick
with irregular cross-sections, uneven surfaces and sinuous
edges, thereby indicating a lower Acheulian character. On
the other hand, the assemblages from Sagdhara (Loc. II
to IV), Uchhet (Loc. I & III), Baskario (Loc. I & III), Pipiya
(Loc. I to III) and Dori Dunger (Loc. II) have yielded a
majority of upper Acheulian artifacts. Thin and regularly
shaped ovates and lanceolates and an abundance of fine
scrapers characterized these assemblages.
The presence of a number of fresh, unabraded tools
in the gravel deposit of the Orsang river near Bahadarpur,
Chuchchhapura and at Uchhakalam may indicate that
even the river banks were occupied albeit seasonally by
the Lower Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers. The longitudinal
profile of the Orsang river shows a clear nick-point near
Chuchhapura. Physiographically, the area is relieved by
the basal rocks jutting out in the form of large weathered
boulders even in the river channel. At this point, about a
hundred metres downstream from the Railway Bridge near
Chuchhapura, the Orsang retains a considerable volume
of water in the rocky depression in the channel throughout
the year, even as the flow of water in the channel stops
in the hot summer. The river bank sites which are located
89
at this place may have been occupied by the Stone
Age groups on account of the reliable source of water
round the year and the availability of suitable quartzite
pebbles for making stone implements. In the dry season,
as the animals are also dependent on this water source,
occupation close to it may have been advantageous for
hunting. This is probably one of the reasons for the
presence of many unabraded Lower Palaeolithic tools in
the sections exposed by the river in the vicinity.
None of the primary localities in the valley has yielded
faunal or any other biological remains in association with
the artifacts. However, even today the valley supports rich
plant and animal foods. Although the availability of plant
food items may vary seasonally, they are more or less
evenly distributed throughout the year (Ajithprasad 1997).
The presence of a large number of sites in the region
may suggest repeated exploitation of these resources for
a long period of time. We may therefore consider the
above cluster of primary context localities situated close to
the raw material sources and river bank gallery forests as
localities which witnessed repeated Acheulian occupation
(camping strategies, tool production and exploitation of
food resources).
Considering the varying geomorphological processes
associated with the diverse ecological settings of Gujarat,
a model derived from a particular region may not be
suited either for understanding the cultural adaptations
or formation processes of archaeological record of other
regions. However, what has been presented here could be
a general framework with which data from other regions
can be compared to obtain a better understanding of the
diversity of cultural adaptations and the role of natural
processes in the formation of Palaeolithic site record.
Notes
1. However, our recent explorations in the adjoining Sukhi
valley have brought to light a number of primary context
sites located at the top of Jogpura and Pani hills at a
height of 450 m MSL (Ajithprasad 1998). Occupation at
this high terrain was possible due to the natural springs
that provided water round the year and a flat, shallow
bowl-like morphology of the plateau. Besides, a part
of the entire ridge is formed of fine quartzite rocks, the
main raw material for Acheulian artifacts.
Acknowledgement
The above studies in the Orsang and Sukhi valleys were
financially supported by a Ford Foundation Research
Grant to the Department of Archaeology and Ancient
History, M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara.
90 Formation Processes of the Acheulian Sites of the Orsang Valley, Gujarat
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