In which of the following Palaeolithic sites, were tools made of limestone…

2023

In which of the following Palaeolithic sites, were tools made of limestone found?

  1. A.

    Koldihwa

  2. B.

    Inamgaon

  3. C.

    Brahmagiri

  4. D.

    Hunsgi

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D

Palaeolithic toolmaking communities used whatever workable stone was locally available; where quartzite (the material used at most Palaeolithic sites) was scarce, other rock types such as limestone were shaped into tools instead. This raw-material choice is one of the key markers archaeologists use to identify and distinguish specific excavated sites.

Excavations in the Hunsgi valley (present-day Yadgir district, earlier part of the undivided Gulbarga district, Karnataka) recovered a large Lower Palaeolithic tool assemblage worked predominantly on local limestone slabs rather than quartzite, because limestone was abundantly available in the valley while quartzite was comparatively scarce there. This limestone-based toolkit is what distinguishes Hunsgi among Palaeolithic sites.

The other sites belong to entirely different periods and cultural contexts:

  • Koldihwa's cultural sequence belongs to the Neolithic period, known chiefly for early rice-cultivation evidence in the Belan valley.

  • Inamgaon is a Chalcolithic Deccan settlement known for its irrigation channels and burial customs.

  • Brahmagiri is significant for its Megalithic burials and a Neolithic-to-Megalithic cultural sequence.

Hunsgi is therefore the site where tools made of limestone were found.

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