Jwalapuram

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Jwalapuram ( Tamil சுவாலபுரம் ; Sanskrit for city ​​of fire ) is an archaeological site in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh in southern India . The site provides traces of hominid settlement before and after the Toba catastrophe 73,000 years ago. However, it is unclear which human species has settled in Jwalapuram as no fossil remains have yet been found.

Jwalapuram is of particular importance for the understanding of microlithic technology in South Asia and helps to elucidate the influence of environmental changes on technological changes. In Jwalapuram Locality 9, five stratigraphic units document the technological change. Finds of microblades ( microliths ) were made in the deposits from stratum E (deepest layer) to the uppermost layers. Clarkson's research group examined the change in density of the microblade technology through the layers and concluded from this that the changes in the microlitic technology can be traced back to climatic changes. The climate in the investigated area apparently became more and more arid , so that the hominids had to wander further, which the changes in the tools indicate.

The archaeological site was visited by Alice Roberts for the BBC documentary The Incredible Human Journey .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Samir S. Patel: Paleolithic Tools, Jwalapuram Valley, India. In: Archeology , 61, 1, January / February 2008.
  2. ↑ Michael Petraglia & al .: Middle Paleolithic Assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption. In: Science , 317 (5834): 114-116. July 6, 2007.
  3. ↑ Michael Balter: Of Two Minds About Toba's Impact. In: Science , 327 (5970): 1187-1188. March 5, 2010.
  4. ↑ Michael Haslam: A southern Indian Middle Palaeolithic occupation surface sealed by the 74 ka Toba eruption: Further evidence from Jwalapuram Locality 22. In: Quaternary International , Vol. 258: 148-164. May 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ Clarkson et al. define microblades as blades with a maximum length of 40 mm and a size ratio of 2: 1. It is also taken into account that the back side has almost no cortex (less than 20 percent) and, at least on the dorsal side, has almost parallel, lateral clearance in the direction of the stop. Chris Clarkson; Michael Petraglia; Ravi Korisettar; Michael Haslam; Nicole Boivin; Alison Crowther; Peter Ditchfield; Dorian Fuller; Preston Miracle; Claire Harris; Kate Connell; Hannah James; Jinu Koshy: The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter. In: Antiquity. 2009 vol. 83: 326-348.
  6. ↑ Chris Clarkson; Michael Petraglia; Ravi Korisettar; Michael Haslam; Nicole Boivin; Alison Crowther; Peter Ditchfield; Dorian Fuller; Preston Miracle; Claire Harris; Kate Connell; Hannah James; Jinu Koshy: The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter. In: Antiquity. 2009 vol. 83: 326-348.
  7. ^ Roberts, Alice (May 31, 2009) The Incredible Human Journey - Part 4 - Australia

Coordinates: 15 ° 48 '36 "  N , 78 ° 1' 48"  E