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Excavating Attirampakkam History of Research
From the 1930's to the 1940's this site was also studied by T.T. Paterson, and V.D. Krishnaswami, and became known as a 'type-site' for Palaeolithic archaeology. Industries from this region were termed the 'Madras Handaxe Industries' of the Lower Palaeolithic, or the 'Madrasian' industries. Collections from these sites are found in many museums world wide. In the 1960's, the site was excavated by K.D. Banerjee of the Archaeological Survey of India, results of which remained unpublished.
The paucity of published information, and discrepancies in the work of different scholars, led us to re-examine the archaeology of the Kortallayar basin in general, and this site in particular. The site is one of a complex of numerous sites in the Kortallayar river basin, Tamil Nadu, which were investigated by S.Pappu from 1991-1999, and which are also being investigated as part of our wider project on the prehistory and past environments of this part of South India.
S.Pappu returned to work in this region in 1991. From 1991-1997, she restudied the sites and their stratigraphic contexts, with a special focus on the Kortallaiyar river basin. In 1999, Attirampakkam was chosen among many other for excavation.
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The
site of Attirampakkam was discovered
by the British geologist, R.B. Foote in 1863. Despite the fact
that the first Palaeolithic artefact was discovered at Pallaveram,
in the modern city of Chennai; it was at this site that the science
of prehistory in India was truly born. Foote's observations on the
artefacts and the stratigraphy, laid the foundation of Indian
prehistory.