Research projects in palaeoanthropology and history are undertaken by our Centre. Current projects comprise investigations into the prehistoric archaeology of Tamil Nadu along the southeast coast of South India. Our excavations at Attirampakkam and field surveys in northern and southern parts of the state reveal new information on the earliest prehistoric populations of South Asia.

Research

Satellite remote sensing and field studies aided in studying changing ways in which prehistoric populations occupied this landscape over the Pleistocene and ealry Holocene. For example, Acheulian occupation was predominantly clustered in the northwest and northern parts of the study region (95 sites within 82 complexes); primarily owing to the proximity of quartzite cobbles and boulders, although a few scattered artefacts are noted further south of the river Palar. This pattern is also conditioned by the distribution of exposures of Lower to Middle Pleistocene sediments. Middle Palaeolithic sites (133 sites within 119 complexes) occur over the entire study region; a greater range of raw material types including chert and chalcedony were exploited; and artefacts were transported across distances of over 40 km. A decline in the number of Late Palaeolithic assemblages (having a greater blade component, lacking Levallois techniques and with a microlithic element) is seen, with only 43 such sites in 34 complexes, and sparse sites which are truly microlithic. They are scattered over the entire study region. Satellite remote sensing helped identify raw material sources, and field studies aided in studying the nature of clasts, which were useful to address issues related to site distribution and technological strategies followed.

Heritage Management

Sites are being rapidly destroyed by infrastructure development and mechanised agriculture. Owing to this purpose we included a component of impact assessment and heritage management planning in our project. For this purpose, we quantified the nature, intensity and area of modern landuse patterns impacting sites from both field studies and from satellite images. This was done at several levels:-at the exact site area, and within buffer radii of 50 m, 500 m and 1 km around the site) to assess immediate and potential impacts. Impact indices aided in classification of sites based on their level of destruction. Overlays of georeferenced village cadastral maps on rectified high resolution IKONOS data provided exact landuse and ownership details, to suggest site-specific conservation strategies.