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Jinu Koshy

University of Madras, Ancient History and Archaeology, Excvation In-Charge

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Phone: 9791195563
Address: Department of History,
Madras Christian College,
Tambaram (East),
Chennai - 600059

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University of Allahabad

University of Cambridge

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali

The University of Queensland, Australia

Julia Lee-Thorp

University of Oxford

Ravi Korisettar

National Institute of Advanced Studies

University of Wollongong

Michael Petraglia

Griffith University

Christopher Clarkson

The University of Queensland, Australia

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Papers by Jinu Koshy

Human occupation of northern India spans the Toba super-eruption ~74,000 years ago

Nature Communications

India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapi... more India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa and into Asia and Oceania. Here we report evidence for long-term human occupation, spanning the last~80 thousand years, at the site of Dhaba in the Middle Son River Valley of Central India. An unchanging stone tool industry is found at Dhaba spanning the Toba eruption of~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.

Clarkson et al[1]. 2009 Antiquity

Petraglia et al PNAS

Petraglia et al Eurasian Preh[1]

This ar ti cle re ports on on go ing ar chae o log i cal re search in the Kurnool Dis trict of so... more This ar ti cle re ports on on go ing ar chae o log i cal re search in the Kurnool Dis trict of south ern In dia. The re gion is well-known for its rich cul tural her i tage, with pre vi ous in ves ti ga tors iden ti fy ing "Up per Paleolithic" and "Mesolithic" indus tries in caves, and Neo lithic set tle ments on val ley floors. Re cent field work in the re gion has ex panded upon these earlier in ves ti ga tions, re sult ing in the iden ti fi ca tion of a wider range of ar chae o log i cal sites (Acheulean through to Early Historic pe ri ods) in a va ri ety of depositional con texts (i.e., caves, rockshelters, open-air set tings). Sur vey in the Jurreru River Val ley re vealed the pres ence of a vol ca nic tephra de posit, rep re sent ing the Young Toba Tuff (YTT) of 74,000 years ago. Mid dle Paleolithic in dus tries have been lo cated in strati graphic con texts above and be low the tephra, thereby pro vid ing a unique op por tu nity to ex am ine stone tool tech nol ogy and hu man re sponses to this vol ca nic super-erup tion. Al though distinct "Up per Paleolithic" blade tool in dus tries have yet to be re af firmed through our cave in ves ti ga tions, strati graphic obser va tions in di cate that Late Pleis to cene stone tool as sem blages (flake, blade, bladelet) and fau nas are in deed pres ent. Survey re sults in di cate that many hun dreds of un re corded rockshelters are pres ent in the Kurnool Dis trict, a sig nif i cant propor tion bear ing rock art and sur face microlithic in dus tries. Rockshelter test ex ca va tions have in di cated bur ied as semblages, with one rockshelter con tain ing dated microlithic as sem blages at least 34,000 cal i brated ra dio car bon years old. The val ley floors con tain Neo lithic, Iron Age and Early His toric pe riod set tle ments as well as Mega lithic burial struc tures. Con tem po ra ne ous mid-to late-Ho lo cene cave and rockshelter set tle ments are in ferred here as rep re sent ing the ac tiv i ties of for ag ing pop u la tions. The ex traor di nary wealth of ar chae o log i cal re sources in the Kurnool Dis trict in di cates that the region can con trib ute sub stan tive in for ma tion about long-and short-term changes in hu man ad ap ta tions and so cial complex ity. Map No. Lo cal ity GPS/Elev.(m) Notes 1 Billasurgum N15°26.153'; E78°11.122'; Elev. 377 Cave com plex with four ex ca vated lo cal i ties (Char nel House, Pur ga tory, Ca the dral, Chap ter House North). 2 Bugganapalle I N15°27.448'; E78°11.066'; Elev.

Petraglia et al Eurasian Preh[1]

This ar ti cle re ports on on go ing ar chae o log i cal re search in the Kurnool Dis trict of so... more This ar ti cle re ports on on go ing ar chae o log i cal re search in the Kurnool Dis trict of south ern In dia. The re gion is well-known for its rich cul tural her i tage, with pre vi ous in ves ti ga tors iden ti fy ing "Up per Paleolithic" and "Mesolithic" indus tries in caves, and Neo lithic set tle ments on val ley floors. Re cent field work in the re gion has ex panded upon these earlier in ves ti ga tions, re sult ing in the iden ti fi ca tion of a wider range of ar chae o log i cal sites (Acheulean through to Early Historic pe ri ods) in a va ri ety of depositional con texts (i.e., caves, rockshelters, open-air set tings). Sur vey in the Jurreru River Val ley re vealed the pres ence of a vol ca nic tephra de posit, rep re sent ing the Young Toba Tuff (YTT) of 74,000 years ago. Mid dle Paleolithic in dus tries have been lo cated in strati graphic con texts above and be low the tephra, thereby pro vid ing a unique op por tu nity to ex am ine stone tool tech nol ogy and hu man re sponses to this vol ca nic super-erup tion. Al though distinct "Up per Paleolithic" blade tool in dus tries have yet to be re af firmed through our cave in ves ti ga tions, strati graphic obser va tions in di cate that Late Pleis to cene stone tool as sem blages (flake, blade, bladelet) and fau nas are in deed pres ent. Survey re sults in di cate that many hun dreds of un re corded rockshelters are pres ent in the Kurnool Dis trict, a sig nif i cant propor tion bear ing rock art and sur face microlithic in dus tries. Rockshelter test ex ca va tions have in di cated bur ied as semblages, with one rockshelter con tain ing dated microlithic as sem blages at least 34,000 cal i brated ra dio car bon years old. The val ley floors con tain Neo lithic, Iron Age and Early His toric pe riod set tle ments as well as Mega lithic burial struc tures. Con tem po ra ne ous mid-to late-Ho lo cene cave and rockshelter set tle ments are in ferred here as rep re sent ing the ac tiv i ties of for ag ing pop u la tions. The ex traor di nary wealth of ar chae o log i cal re sources in the Kurnool Dis trict in di cates that the region can con trib ute sub stan tive in for ma tion about long-and short-term changes in hu man ad ap ta tions and so cial complex ity. Map No. Lo cal ity GPS/Elev.(m) Notes 1 Billasurgum N15°26.153'; E78°11.122'; Elev. 377 Cave com plex with four ex ca vated lo cal i ties (Char nel House, Pur ga tory, Ca the dral, Chap ter House North). 2 Bugganapalle I N15°27.448'; E78°11.066'; Elev.

Evidence of Rock Art from Paniam Quartzitic Formation at Kunukuntla

by Ajay Kumar Rammoorthy, Jinu Koshy, and Ramesh Masethung

This paper deals with the figurative as well nonfigurative paintings which are well preserved wit... more This paper deals with the figurative as well nonfigurative paintings which are well preserved within the rock shelters at Kunukuntla, a meseta in the Proterozoic Kurnool basin, escalates the various evolutionary phases of the rock art in a minor valley that has a set of ten rock shelters sporadically distributed within. The paper also discusses several unique features of the prehistoric paintings that help us comprehend the behaviors of the prehistoric man and their environmental selection, notably with a superimposition of figurines, representation of butterfly and portrayal of a hunting scene. The presence of butterfly or a species of Lepidoptera among the figurative paintings indicative of a seasonal selection of environ and hunting of a rodentia order species provide insight into the cognition.

Human occupation, adaptation and behavioural change in the pleistocene and holocene of south India: recent investigations in the Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh

Petraglia, M., Korisettar, R., Kasturi Bai, M., Boivin, N., B, J., Clarkson, C., Cunningham, K., ... more Petraglia, M., Korisettar, R., Kasturi Bai, M., Boivin, N., B, J., Clarkson, C., Cunningham, K., Ditchfield, P., Fuller, D., Hampson, J., Haslam, M., Jones, S., Koshy, J., Miracle, P., Oppenheimer, C., Roberts, R. & White, K. (2009). Human occupation, adaptation and behavioural change in the pleistocene and holocene of south India: recent investigations in the Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. Eurasian Prehistory, 6 (1-2), 119-166.

Metanarratives and the (re)invention of the Neolithic: A case study in rock-art from Birappa Rock Shelter and Hiregudda Hill, South-Central India

Journal of Social Archaeology, 2008

Rock-art reflects cultural narratives and is influential as a medium in the invention of narrativ... more Rock-art reflects cultural narratives and is influential as a medium in the invention of narratives. Images found in south-central Indian rock-art are particularly useful in considering archaeological transitions. Rock-art here shows a chronology spanning the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Megalithic, Historic and Modern times. Imagery reflects changing human/animal relationships, from 'agile' hunted animals to cattle and its domestication, with rock-art an active medium in the creation of new metanarratives focused obsessively upon bulls. While bulls in the singular appear early, later compositional elements imply a growing concern with ideas of herds as interconnecting communities. Through time, panels were focal points for the addition of subsequent anthropomorphic imagery, further reinventing the Neolithic. A historic period efflorescence of densely applied rock-art perhaps reflects an appropriation of a locality redolent with the past as new mythologies were invented in the ancestral association with the now millennia old Neolithic rock-art.

Lithic technology and social transformations in the South Indian Neolithic: The evidence from Sanganakallu–Kupgal

by Jinu Koshy and Michael Petraglia

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2012

Here we examine patterns in stone tool technology among Mesolithic, Neolithic and Iron Age locali... more Here we examine patterns in stone tool technology among Mesolithic, Neolithic and Iron Age localities in the Sanganakallu-Kupgal site complex, Bellary District, Karnataka, South India. Statistical tests are used to compare proportions of raw materials and artefact types, and to compare central tendencies in metric variables taken on flakes and tools. Lithic-related findings support the inference of at least two distinct technological and economic groups at Sanganakallu-Kupgal, a microlith-focused foraging society on the one hand, and on the other, an agricultural society whose lithic technologies centred upon the production of pressure bladelets and dolerite edge-ground axes. Evidence for continuity in lithic technological processes through time may reflect indigenous processes of development, and a degree of continuity from the Mesolithic through to the Neolithic period. Lithic production appears to have become a specialised and spatially segregated activity by the terminal Neolithic and early Iron Age, supporting suggestions for the emergence of an increasingly complex economy and political hierarchy.

The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter

by Michael Petraglia, Christopher Clarkson, Jinu Koshy, Preston Miracle, and Jinu Koshy

The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is ... more The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is merging as one of the key sites for documenting human activity and behaviour in South Asia. The excavated assemblage includes a proliferation of lithic artefacts, beads, worked bone and fragments of a human cranium. The industry is microlithic in character, establishing Jwalapuram 9 as one of the oldest and most important sites of its kind in South Asia.

The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter

by Michael Petraglia, Kate Connell, Clair Harris, Ravi Korisettar, Preston Miracle, Jinu Koshy, and Jinu Koshy

Middle Paleolithic Assemblages From the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption

by Christopher Clarkson, Michael Petraglia, Kevin White, Jinu Koshy, and Jinu Koshy

science, Jan 1, 2007

The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter

by Ravi Korisettar, Preston Miracle, Michael Petraglia, Jinu Koshy, and Jinu Koshy

Antiquity, Jan 1, 2009

The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is ... more The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is emerging as one of the key sites for documenting human activity and behaviour in South Asia. The excavated assemblage includes a proliferation of lithic artefacts, beads, worked bone and fragments of a human cranium. The industry is microlithic in character, establishing Jwalapuram 9 as one of the oldest and most important sites of its kind in South Asia.

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

by Christopher Clarkson, Michael Petraglia, Jinu Koshy, and H. James

Genetic studies of South Asia’s population history have led to postulations of a significant and ... more Genetic studies of South Asia’s population history have led to postulations of a significant and early population expansion in the subcontinent, dating to sometime in the Late Pleistocene. We evaluate this argument, based on new mtDNA analyses, and find evidence for significant demographic transition in the subcontinent, dating to 35–28 ka. We then examine the paleoenvironmental and, particularly, archaeological records for this time period and note that this putative demographic event coincides with a period of ecological and technological change in South Asia. We document the development of a new diminutive stone blade (microlithic) technology beginning at 35–30 ka, the first time that the precocity of this transition has been recognized across the subcontinent. We argue that the transition to microlithic technology may relate to changes in subsistence practices, as increasingly large and probably fragmented populations exploited resources in contracting
favorable ecological zones just before the onset of full
glacial conditions.

Human Occupation, Adaptation and Behavioral Change in the Pleistocene and Holocene of South India

by Michael Petraglia, Preston Miracle, Sacha C Jones, Jinu Koshy, and Kevin White

Middle Paleolithic assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent before and after the Toba Super-Eruption

by Sacha C Jones, Marta Mirazon Lahr, Jinu Koshy, Christopher Clarkson, Clive Oppenheimer, and Michael Petraglia

Middle Paleolithic Assemblages From the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption

by Michael Petraglia, Christopher Clarkson, Jinu Koshy, Jinu Koshy, and Clive Oppenheimer

science, Jan 1, 2007

Middle Paleolithic Assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption

by Jinu Koshy, Michael Petraglia, and Marta Mirazon Lahr

Science, 2007

The following resources related to this article are available online at

The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter

The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is ... more The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is emerging as one of the key sites for documenting human activity and behaviour in South Asia. The excavated assemblage includes a proliferation of lithic artefacts, beads, worked bone and fragments of a human cranium. The industry is microlithic in character, establishing Jwalapuram 9 as one of the oldest and most important sites of its kind in South Asia.

Dhaba: An initial report on an Acheulean, Middle Palaeolithic and microlithic locality in the Middle Son Valley, north-central India

by Jinu Koshy, Janardhana Bora, Kathryn M Price, Michael Petraglia, and Christopher Clarkson

Quaternary International

This paper presents the first report on Dhaba, a newly discovered locality in the Middle Son Vall... more This paper presents the first report on Dhaba, a newly discovered locality in the Middle Son Valley, north-central India. The locality preserves Acheulean, Middle Palaeolithic and microlithic artefacts within a Late Quaternary stratified alluvial sequence. Initial information is provided on the sedimentary sequence, archaeological survey and excavation, topographical mapping, and lithic technological analysis of Dhaba 1, the largest excavation at the locality. The assemblage is situated within the regional geomorphological and hominin occupation sequences, noting that while Dhaba lies within a kilometre of Toba tephra deposits, no temporal link between the tephra and the artefact-bearing sediments is possible at present. Dhaba currently provides the only known extensive occurrence of Middle Palaeolithic artefacts in the Middle Son Valley that lacks handaxes.

Human occupation of northern India spans the Toba super-eruption ~74,000 years ago

Nature Communications

India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapi... more India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa and into Asia and Oceania. Here we report evidence for long-term human occupation, spanning the last~80 thousand years, at the site of Dhaba in the Middle Son River Valley of Central India. An unchanging stone tool industry is found at Dhaba spanning the Toba eruption of~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.

Clarkson et al[1]. 2009 Antiquity

Petraglia et al PNAS

Petraglia et al Eurasian Preh[1]

This ar ti cle re ports on on go ing ar chae o log i cal re search in the Kurnool Dis trict of so... more This ar ti cle re ports on on go ing ar chae o log i cal re search in the Kurnool Dis trict of south ern In dia. The re gion is well-known for its rich cul tural her i tage, with pre vi ous in ves ti ga tors iden ti fy ing "Up per Paleolithic" and "Mesolithic" indus tries in caves, and Neo lithic set tle ments on val ley floors. Re cent field work in the re gion has ex panded upon these earlier in ves ti ga tions, re sult ing in the iden ti fi ca tion of a wider range of ar chae o log i cal sites (Acheulean through to Early Historic pe ri ods) in a va ri ety of depositional con texts (i.e., caves, rockshelters, open-air set tings). Sur vey in the Jurreru River Val ley re vealed the pres ence of a vol ca nic tephra de posit, rep re sent ing the Young Toba Tuff (YTT) of 74,000 years ago. Mid dle Paleolithic in dus tries have been lo cated in strati graphic con texts above and be low the tephra, thereby pro vid ing a unique op por tu nity to ex am ine stone tool tech nol ogy and hu man re sponses to this vol ca nic super-erup tion. Al though distinct "Up per Paleolithic" blade tool in dus tries have yet to be re af firmed through our cave in ves ti ga tions, strati graphic obser va tions in di cate that Late Pleis to cene stone tool as sem blages (flake, blade, bladelet) and fau nas are in deed pres ent. Survey re sults in di cate that many hun dreds of un re corded rockshelters are pres ent in the Kurnool Dis trict, a sig nif i cant propor tion bear ing rock art and sur face microlithic in dus tries. Rockshelter test ex ca va tions have in di cated bur ied as semblages, with one rockshelter con tain ing dated microlithic as sem blages at least 34,000 cal i brated ra dio car bon years old. The val ley floors con tain Neo lithic, Iron Age and Early His toric pe riod set tle ments as well as Mega lithic burial struc tures. Con tem po ra ne ous mid-to late-Ho lo cene cave and rockshelter set tle ments are in ferred here as rep re sent ing the ac tiv i ties of for ag ing pop u la tions. The ex traor di nary wealth of ar chae o log i cal re sources in the Kurnool Dis trict in di cates that the region can con trib ute sub stan tive in for ma tion about long-and short-term changes in hu man ad ap ta tions and so cial complex ity. Map No. Lo cal ity GPS/Elev.(m) Notes 1 Billasurgum N15°26.153'; E78°11.122'; Elev. 377 Cave com plex with four ex ca vated lo cal i ties (Char nel House, Pur ga tory, Ca the dral, Chap ter House North). 2 Bugganapalle I N15°27.448'; E78°11.066'; Elev.

Petraglia et al Eurasian Preh[1]

This ar ti cle re ports on on go ing ar chae o log i cal re search in the Kurnool Dis trict of so... more This ar ti cle re ports on on go ing ar chae o log i cal re search in the Kurnool Dis trict of south ern In dia. The re gion is well-known for its rich cul tural her i tage, with pre vi ous in ves ti ga tors iden ti fy ing "Up per Paleolithic" and "Mesolithic" indus tries in caves, and Neo lithic set tle ments on val ley floors. Re cent field work in the re gion has ex panded upon these earlier in ves ti ga tions, re sult ing in the iden ti fi ca tion of a wider range of ar chae o log i cal sites (Acheulean through to Early Historic pe ri ods) in a va ri ety of depositional con texts (i.e., caves, rockshelters, open-air set tings). Sur vey in the Jurreru River Val ley re vealed the pres ence of a vol ca nic tephra de posit, rep re sent ing the Young Toba Tuff (YTT) of 74,000 years ago. Mid dle Paleolithic in dus tries have been lo cated in strati graphic con texts above and be low the tephra, thereby pro vid ing a unique op por tu nity to ex am ine stone tool tech nol ogy and hu man re sponses to this vol ca nic super-erup tion. Al though distinct "Up per Paleolithic" blade tool in dus tries have yet to be re af firmed through our cave in ves ti ga tions, strati graphic obser va tions in di cate that Late Pleis to cene stone tool as sem blages (flake, blade, bladelet) and fau nas are in deed pres ent. Survey re sults in di cate that many hun dreds of un re corded rockshelters are pres ent in the Kurnool Dis trict, a sig nif i cant propor tion bear ing rock art and sur face microlithic in dus tries. Rockshelter test ex ca va tions have in di cated bur ied as semblages, with one rockshelter con tain ing dated microlithic as sem blages at least 34,000 cal i brated ra dio car bon years old. The val ley floors con tain Neo lithic, Iron Age and Early His toric pe riod set tle ments as well as Mega lithic burial struc tures. Con tem po ra ne ous mid-to late-Ho lo cene cave and rockshelter set tle ments are in ferred here as rep re sent ing the ac tiv i ties of for ag ing pop u la tions. The ex traor di nary wealth of ar chae o log i cal re sources in the Kurnool Dis trict in di cates that the region can con trib ute sub stan tive in for ma tion about long-and short-term changes in hu man ad ap ta tions and so cial complex ity. Map No. Lo cal ity GPS/Elev.(m) Notes 1 Billasurgum N15°26.153'; E78°11.122'; Elev. 377 Cave com plex with four ex ca vated lo cal i ties (Char nel House, Pur ga tory, Ca the dral, Chap ter House North). 2 Bugganapalle I N15°27.448'; E78°11.066'; Elev.

Evidence of Rock Art from Paniam Quartzitic Formation at Kunukuntla

by Ajay Kumar Rammoorthy, Jinu Koshy, and Ramesh Masethung

This paper deals with the figurative as well nonfigurative paintings which are well preserved wit... more This paper deals with the figurative as well nonfigurative paintings which are well preserved within the rock shelters at Kunukuntla, a meseta in the Proterozoic Kurnool basin, escalates the various evolutionary phases of the rock art in a minor valley that has a set of ten rock shelters sporadically distributed within. The paper also discusses several unique features of the prehistoric paintings that help us comprehend the behaviors of the prehistoric man and their environmental selection, notably with a superimposition of figurines, representation of butterfly and portrayal of a hunting scene. The presence of butterfly or a species of Lepidoptera among the figurative paintings indicative of a seasonal selection of environ and hunting of a rodentia order species provide insight into the cognition.

Human occupation, adaptation and behavioural change in the pleistocene and holocene of south India: recent investigations in the Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh

Petraglia, M., Korisettar, R., Kasturi Bai, M., Boivin, N., B, J., Clarkson, C., Cunningham, K., ... more Petraglia, M., Korisettar, R., Kasturi Bai, M., Boivin, N., B, J., Clarkson, C., Cunningham, K., Ditchfield, P., Fuller, D., Hampson, J., Haslam, M., Jones, S., Koshy, J., Miracle, P., Oppenheimer, C., Roberts, R. & White, K. (2009). Human occupation, adaptation and behavioural change in the pleistocene and holocene of south India: recent investigations in the Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. Eurasian Prehistory, 6 (1-2), 119-166.

Metanarratives and the (re)invention of the Neolithic: A case study in rock-art from Birappa Rock Shelter and Hiregudda Hill, South-Central India

Journal of Social Archaeology, 2008

Rock-art reflects cultural narratives and is influential as a medium in the invention of narrativ... more Rock-art reflects cultural narratives and is influential as a medium in the invention of narratives. Images found in south-central Indian rock-art are particularly useful in considering archaeological transitions. Rock-art here shows a chronology spanning the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Megalithic, Historic and Modern times. Imagery reflects changing human/animal relationships, from 'agile' hunted animals to cattle and its domestication, with rock-art an active medium in the creation of new metanarratives focused obsessively upon bulls. While bulls in the singular appear early, later compositional elements imply a growing concern with ideas of herds as interconnecting communities. Through time, panels were focal points for the addition of subsequent anthropomorphic imagery, further reinventing the Neolithic. A historic period efflorescence of densely applied rock-art perhaps reflects an appropriation of a locality redolent with the past as new mythologies were invented in the ancestral association with the now millennia old Neolithic rock-art.

Lithic technology and social transformations in the South Indian Neolithic: The evidence from Sanganakallu–Kupgal

by Jinu Koshy and Michael Petraglia

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2012

Here we examine patterns in stone tool technology among Mesolithic, Neolithic and Iron Age locali... more Here we examine patterns in stone tool technology among Mesolithic, Neolithic and Iron Age localities in the Sanganakallu-Kupgal site complex, Bellary District, Karnataka, South India. Statistical tests are used to compare proportions of raw materials and artefact types, and to compare central tendencies in metric variables taken on flakes and tools. Lithic-related findings support the inference of at least two distinct technological and economic groups at Sanganakallu-Kupgal, a microlith-focused foraging society on the one hand, and on the other, an agricultural society whose lithic technologies centred upon the production of pressure bladelets and dolerite edge-ground axes. Evidence for continuity in lithic technological processes through time may reflect indigenous processes of development, and a degree of continuity from the Mesolithic through to the Neolithic period. Lithic production appears to have become a specialised and spatially segregated activity by the terminal Neolithic and early Iron Age, supporting suggestions for the emergence of an increasingly complex economy and political hierarchy.

The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter

by Michael Petraglia, Christopher Clarkson, Jinu Koshy, Preston Miracle, and Jinu Koshy

The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is ... more The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is merging as one of the key sites for documenting human activity and behaviour in South Asia. The excavated assemblage includes a proliferation of lithic artefacts, beads, worked bone and fragments of a human cranium. The industry is microlithic in character, establishing Jwalapuram 9 as one of the oldest and most important sites of its kind in South Asia.

The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter

by Michael Petraglia, Kate Connell, Clair Harris, Ravi Korisettar, Preston Miracle, Jinu Koshy, and Jinu Koshy

Middle Paleolithic Assemblages From the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption

by Christopher Clarkson, Michael Petraglia, Kevin White, Jinu Koshy, and Jinu Koshy

science, Jan 1, 2007

The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter

by Ravi Korisettar, Preston Miracle, Michael Petraglia, Jinu Koshy, and Jinu Koshy

Antiquity, Jan 1, 2009

The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is ... more The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is emerging as one of the key sites for documenting human activity and behaviour in South Asia. The excavated assemblage includes a proliferation of lithic artefacts, beads, worked bone and fragments of a human cranium. The industry is microlithic in character, establishing Jwalapuram 9 as one of the oldest and most important sites of its kind in South Asia.

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

by Christopher Clarkson, Michael Petraglia, Jinu Koshy, and H. James

Genetic studies of South Asia’s population history have led to postulations of a significant and ... more Genetic studies of South Asia’s population history have led to postulations of a significant and early population expansion in the subcontinent, dating to sometime in the Late Pleistocene. We evaluate this argument, based on new mtDNA analyses, and find evidence for significant demographic transition in the subcontinent, dating to 35–28 ka. We then examine the paleoenvironmental and, particularly, archaeological records for this time period and note that this putative demographic event coincides with a period of ecological and technological change in South Asia. We document the development of a new diminutive stone blade (microlithic) technology beginning at 35–30 ka, the first time that the precocity of this transition has been recognized across the subcontinent. We argue that the transition to microlithic technology may relate to changes in subsistence practices, as increasingly large and probably fragmented populations exploited resources in contracting
favorable ecological zones just before the onset of full
glacial conditions.

Human Occupation, Adaptation and Behavioral Change in the Pleistocene and Holocene of South India

by Michael Petraglia, Preston Miracle, Sacha C Jones, Jinu Koshy, and Kevin White

Middle Paleolithic assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent before and after the Toba Super-Eruption

by Sacha C Jones, Marta Mirazon Lahr, Jinu Koshy, Christopher Clarkson, Clive Oppenheimer, and Michael Petraglia

Middle Paleolithic Assemblages From the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption

by Michael Petraglia, Christopher Clarkson, Jinu Koshy, Jinu Koshy, and Clive Oppenheimer

science, Jan 1, 2007

Middle Paleolithic Assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption

by Jinu Koshy, Michael Petraglia, and Marta Mirazon Lahr

Science, 2007

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The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter

The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is ... more The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is emerging as one of the key sites for documenting human activity and behaviour in South Asia. The excavated assemblage includes a proliferation of lithic artefacts, beads, worked bone and fragments of a human cranium. The industry is microlithic in character, establishing Jwalapuram 9 as one of the oldest and most important sites of its kind in South Asia.

Dhaba: An initial report on an Acheulean, Middle Palaeolithic and microlithic locality in the Middle Son Valley, north-central India

by Jinu Koshy, Janardhana Bora, Kathryn M Price, Michael Petraglia, and Christopher Clarkson

Quaternary International

This paper presents the first report on Dhaba, a newly discovered locality in the Middle Son Vall... more This paper presents the first report on Dhaba, a newly discovered locality in the Middle Son Valley, north-central India. The locality preserves Acheulean, Middle Palaeolithic and microlithic artefacts within a Late Quaternary stratified alluvial sequence. Initial information is provided on the sedimentary sequence, archaeological survey and excavation, topographical mapping, and lithic technological analysis of Dhaba 1, the largest excavation at the locality. The assemblage is situated within the regional geomorphological and hominin occupation sequences, noting that while Dhaba lies within a kilometre of Toba tephra deposits, no temporal link between the tephra and the artefact-bearing sediments is possible at present. Dhaba currently provides the only known extensive occurrence of Middle Palaeolithic artefacts in the Middle Son Valley that lacks handaxes.

Population Increase and Environmental Deterioration Correspond With Microlithic Innovations In South Asia Ca. 35,000 Years Ago

by Dorian Q Fuller, Jinu Koshy, Michael Petraglia, and Sacha C Jones

Proceedings of the …, Jan 1, 2009