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

Chris Clarkson (), Clair Harris, Bo Li, Christina M. Neudorf, Richard G. Roberts, Christine Lane, Kasih Norman, Jagannath Pal, Sacha Jones, Ceri Shipton, Jinu Koshy, M. C. Gupta, D. P. Mishra, A. K. Dubey, Nicole Boivin and Michael Petraglia ()
Additional contact information
Chris Clarkson: University of Queensland
Clair Harris: University of Queensland
Bo Li: University of Wollongong
Christina M. Neudorf: Desert Research Institute
Richard G. Roberts: University of Wollongong
Christine Lane: University of Cambridge
Kasih Norman: University of Wollongong
Jagannath Pal: University of Allahabad
Sacha Jones: University of Cambridge
Ceri Shipton: Australian National University, College of Asia and the Pacific
Jinu Koshy: University of Madras
M. C. Gupta: University of Allahabad
D. P. Mishra: University of Allahabad
A. K. Dubey: Banaras Hindu University
Nicole Boivin: University of Queensland
Michael Petraglia: University of Queensland

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract 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.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14668-4

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