Short Report: A déjeté Levallois tool from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) and the role it plays in the chronology of the Pleistocene terraces of the Bannu Basin
Keywords:
Pakistan, Bannu Basin, Pleistocene terraces, Geomorphology, Middle Palaeolithic, Levallois technique
Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of the discovery of one déjeté Levallois tool from the surface of a dark grey and black patinated gravel terrace located ca. 500 m south-west of the Neolithic site of Sheri Khan Tarakai in the Bannu Basin (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan), and provides a detailed geomorphological description of the area where it was found. The Neolithic site rests on a large gravelly fan, at present terraced and dismembered by small seasonal streams. Scatters of black varnished pebbles, at the top of a thick ochre silt of possible alluvial origin, cover its surface. Amongst the numerous siliceous gravels forming the deposit, some are of a good quality chert, whose source can be found in the Tertiary Sulaiman Formation. The typological characteristics of the tool, the chert employed for its manufacture, its location and the presence of black patina on its cortex are all important elements that contribute to the definition of the Pleistocene period during which pebble terraces formed. The tool comes from a region where Middle Palaeolithic artefacts had never been found before, though the re-analysis of old collections would suggest their presence as far as the course of the Indus in Lower Sindh. Moreover, its discovery contributes to the study of the south-eastern spread of the Middle Palaeolithic Levallois technique, an important topic that still needs to be fully understood.
References
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Khan, F., Knox, J.R., Thomas, K.D., Petrie, C.A. & Morris, J.C. 2010, Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan. Oxbow Books, Oxford, 464 p.
Morris, J.C., Ashton, N. & Hook, D. 2001, The Lithic Assemblage from the Neolithic Site of Sheri Khan Tarakai, NWFP, Pakistan: The Technological Interpretation and the Resultant Socio-Economic Implications. Paléorient, 27-(1): 127-139. URL: https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_2001_num_27_1_4724
Morris, J.C. & Khan, F. 2010, Struck lithics from Sheri Khan Tarakai. In: Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan (Khan, F., Knox, J.R., Thomas, K.D., Petrie, C.A. & Morris, J.C., Eds.), Oxbow Books, Oxford: p. 195-210.
Morris, J.C. & Thomas, K.D. 2002, Excavations at the Later Prehistoric Site of Lewan, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 13: 94-100. doi:10.5334/pia.178
Morris, T.O. 1938, The Bain Boulder Bed: a glacial episode in the Siwalik Series of the Marwat Kundi Range and Shekh Budin, North-West Frontier Province, India. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 94: 385-421. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1938.094.01-04.15
Munsell Soil Color Charts 2000. GretagMacbeth, New Windsor, NY, 10 p. 23 sheets.
Nasab, H.V. 2011, Paleolithic Archaeology in Iran. International Journal of Humanities, 18-(2): 63-87. URL: http://eijh.modares.ac.ir/article-27-1985-en.html
Nasab, H.V., Clark, G.A. & Torkamandi. S. 2013, Late Pleistocene dispersal corridors across the Iranian Plateau: A case study from Mirak, a Middle Paleolithic site on the northern edge of the Iranian Central desert (Dasht-e Kavir). Quaternary International, 300: 267-281. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.11.028
Nishiaki, Y. & Akazawa, T. 2018, Archaeological Issues in the Middle and Upper Paleolithic of the Levant and its Neighboring Regions. In: The Middle and Upper Paleolithic Archeology of the Levant and Beyond (Nishiaki, Y. & Akazawa, T., Eds.), Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series. Springer, Singapore: p. 1-7. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-6826-3_1
Raverty, H.G. 1888, Notes on Afghanistan and Part of Baluchistan, Geographical, Ethnographical, and Historical. Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 746 p.
Rendell, H. 1981, A Preliminary Investigation of the Sedimentary History of the Bannu Basin in the Late Holocene. In: South Asian Archaeology 1979 (Härtel, H., Ed.), Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin: p. 219-225.
Thomas, K.D. 2003, Minimazing Risk? Approaches to Pre-Harappan Human Ecology of the North-West Margin of the Greater Indus System. In: Indus Ethnobiology. New Perspectives from the field (Weber, S.A. & Bercher, W.R., Eds.), Lexington Books, Oxford: p. 397-342.
Thomas, K.D. 1986, Environment and Subsistence in the Bannu Basin. In: Lewan and the Bannu Basin: Excavation and Survey of Sites and Environments in North West Pakistan (Allchin, F.R., Allchin, B., Durrani, F.A. & Khan, F.M., Eds.), BAR International Series, 310. Archaeopress, Oxford: p. 13-33.
Thomas, K.D., Khan, F. & Petrie, C. 2010, The physical and human geography of the Bannu Basin. In: Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan (Khan, F., Knox, J.R., Thomas, K.D., Petrie, C.A. & Morris, J.C., Eds.), Oxbow Books, Oxford: p. 29-40.
Thomas, K.D. & Knox, J.R. 1994, Routes to passage: Later prehistoric settlement and exploration of a frontier region in northwestern Pakistan. Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology, London, 31: 89-104.
Thorburn, S.S. 1876, Bannu; or our Afghan frontier. Trübner & Co., London, 504 p.
Allchin, F.R., Allchin, B., Durrani, F.A. & Khan, F.M. (Eds.) 1986, Lewan and the Bannu Basin: Excavation and Survey of Sites and Environments in North West Pakistan. BAR International Series, Vol. 310. Archaeopress, Oxford, 283 p.
Ambers, J. & Bowman, S. 2003, Radiocarbon Measurements from the British Museum: Datelist XXVI. Archaeometry, 45 (3): 531-540. doi:10.1111/1475-4754.00126
Bar-Yosef, O. 2013, Neanderthals and Modern Humans Across Eurasia. In: Dynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans Volume 1: Cultural Perspectives (Akazawa, T., Nishiaki, Y. & Aoki, K., Eds.), Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series. Springer, Tokyo: p. 7-20. doi:10.1007/978-4-431-54511-8_2
Biagi, P. & Starnini, E. 2014, The Levallois Mousterian assemblages of Sindh (Pakistan) and their relations with the Middle Palaeolithic of the Indian Subcontinent. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia, 42-(1): 18-32. doi:10.1016/j.aeae.2014.10.002
Biagi, P. & Starnini, E. 2018, Neanderthals and Modern Humans in the Indus Valley? The Middle and Late (Upper) Palaeolithic settlement of Sindh, a forgotten region of the Indian Subcontinent. In: The Middle and Upper Paleolithic Archeology of the Levant and Beyond (Nishiaki, Y. & Akazawa, T., Eds.), Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series. Springer, Singapore: p. 175-197. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-6826-3_12
Douka, K., Slon, V., Stringer, C., Potts, R., Hübnerb, A., Meyerb, M., Spoore, F., Pääbo, S. & Higham, T. 2017, Direct radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis of the Darra-i-Kur (Afghanistan) human temporal bone. Journal of Human Evolution, 107: 86-93. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.03.003
Dupree, L. & Davis, R.S. 1972, The lithic and bone specimens from Aq Kupruk and Darra-i-Kur. Prehistoric Research in Afghanistan (1959-1966). Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 62(4): 14-32. doi:10.2307/1005969
Farid, A., Khalid, P., Jadoon, K.Z. & Jouini, M.S. 2014, The depositional setting of the Late Quaternary sedimentary fill in southern Bannu basin, Northwest Himalayan fold and thrust belt, Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 186-(8): 3-20. doi:10.1007/s10661-014-3876-5
Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. 1973, Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. Geological Investigations in Pakistan. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B. Pakistan Geological Survey, Quetta, 44 p. doi:10.3133/pp716B
Heydari-Guran, S., Ghasidian, E. & Conard, N.J. 2015, Middle Paleolithic Settlement on the Iranian Central Plateau. In: Settlement Dynamics of the Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone Age, Volume 4 (Conard, N.J. & Delagnes, A., Eds.), Tübingen Publications in Prehistory, Kerns Verlag, Tübingen: p. 171-203.
Inizan, M.-L., Lechevallier, M. & Pelegrin, J. 1994, The use of metal in the lithics of Sheri Khan Tarakai, Pakistan: evidence provided by the technological approach of pressure debitage. In: South Asian Archaeology 1993 (Parpola, A. & Koskikallio, P., Eds), Annales Academiæ Scientiarum Finnicæ, Series B, number 271, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Helsinki: p. 245-262.
Khan, F., Knox, J.R. & Thomas, K.D. 1986, Sheri Khan Tarakai a new site in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Journal of Central Asia, 9: 13-34.
Khan, F., Knox, J.R. & Thomas, K.D. 1987, The Bannu Archaeological Project a study of prehistoric settlement in Bannu District, Pakistan. South Asian Studies, 3: 83-90. doi:10.1080/02666030.1987.9628359
Khan, F., Knox, J.R. & Thomas, K.D. 1988, Prehistoric and Protohistoric Settlements in Bannu District. Pakistan Archaeology, 23 (1987-1988): 99-148.
Khan, F., Knox, J.R. & Thomas, K.D. 1989, New perspectives on early settlement in Bannu District, Pakistan. In: South Asian Archaeology I985 (Frifelt, K. & Sørensen, P., Eds). Curzon Press, London: p. 281-291.
Khan, F., Knox, J.R. & Thomas, K.D. 1991, Explorations and Excavations in Bannu District. North-West Frontier Province. Pakistan. 1985-1988. British Museum Occasional Paper, Vol. 80. The British Museum Press, London, 151 p.
Khan, F., Knox, J.R. & Thomas, K.D. 2001, Bannu: A melting pot for cultural change in the proto-historic periods. In: Indus Valley Civilization: Dialogue Among Civilizations (Halim, M.A. & Ghafoor, A., Eds.), Ministry of Minorities, Culture, Sport, Tourism & Youth Affairs Government of Pakistan, Islamabad: p. 71-96.
Khan, F., Knox, J.R., Thomas, K.D., Petrie, C.A. & Morris, J.C. 2010, Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan. Oxbow Books, Oxford, 464 p.
Morris, J.C., Ashton, N. & Hook, D. 2001, The Lithic Assemblage from the Neolithic Site of Sheri Khan Tarakai, NWFP, Pakistan: The Technological Interpretation and the Resultant Socio-Economic Implications. Paléorient, 27-(1): 127-139. URL: https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_2001_num_27_1_4724
Morris, J.C. & Khan, F. 2010, Struck lithics from Sheri Khan Tarakai. In: Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan (Khan, F., Knox, J.R., Thomas, K.D., Petrie, C.A. & Morris, J.C., Eds.), Oxbow Books, Oxford: p. 195-210.
Morris, J.C. & Thomas, K.D. 2002, Excavations at the Later Prehistoric Site of Lewan, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 13: 94-100. doi:10.5334/pia.178
Morris, T.O. 1938, The Bain Boulder Bed: a glacial episode in the Siwalik Series of the Marwat Kundi Range and Shekh Budin, North-West Frontier Province, India. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 94: 385-421. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1938.094.01-04.15
Munsell Soil Color Charts 2000. GretagMacbeth, New Windsor, NY, 10 p. 23 sheets.
Nasab, H.V. 2011, Paleolithic Archaeology in Iran. International Journal of Humanities, 18-(2): 63-87. URL: http://eijh.modares.ac.ir/article-27-1985-en.html
Nasab, H.V., Clark, G.A. & Torkamandi. S. 2013, Late Pleistocene dispersal corridors across the Iranian Plateau: A case study from Mirak, a Middle Paleolithic site on the northern edge of the Iranian Central desert (Dasht-e Kavir). Quaternary International, 300: 267-281. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.11.028
Nishiaki, Y. & Akazawa, T. 2018, Archaeological Issues in the Middle and Upper Paleolithic of the Levant and its Neighboring Regions. In: The Middle and Upper Paleolithic Archeology of the Levant and Beyond (Nishiaki, Y. & Akazawa, T., Eds.), Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series. Springer, Singapore: p. 1-7. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-6826-3_1
Raverty, H.G. 1888, Notes on Afghanistan and Part of Baluchistan, Geographical, Ethnographical, and Historical. Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 746 p.
Rendell, H. 1981, A Preliminary Investigation of the Sedimentary History of the Bannu Basin in the Late Holocene. In: South Asian Archaeology 1979 (Härtel, H., Ed.), Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin: p. 219-225.
Thomas, K.D. 2003, Minimazing Risk? Approaches to Pre-Harappan Human Ecology of the North-West Margin of the Greater Indus System. In: Indus Ethnobiology. New Perspectives from the field (Weber, S.A. & Bercher, W.R., Eds.), Lexington Books, Oxford: p. 397-342.
Thomas, K.D. 1986, Environment and Subsistence in the Bannu Basin. In: Lewan and the Bannu Basin: Excavation and Survey of Sites and Environments in North West Pakistan (Allchin, F.R., Allchin, B., Durrani, F.A. & Khan, F.M., Eds.), BAR International Series, 310. Archaeopress, Oxford: p. 13-33.
Thomas, K.D., Khan, F. & Petrie, C. 2010, The physical and human geography of the Bannu Basin. In: Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan (Khan, F., Knox, J.R., Thomas, K.D., Petrie, C.A. & Morris, J.C., Eds.), Oxbow Books, Oxford: p. 29-40.
Thomas, K.D. & Knox, J.R. 1994, Routes to passage: Later prehistoric settlement and exploration of a frontier region in northwestern Pakistan. Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology, London, 31: 89-104.
Thorburn, S.S. 1876, Bannu; or our Afghan frontier. Trübner & Co., London, 504 p.
Published
15-Mar-2020
How to Cite
Biagi, P., Nisbet, R., & Haider, R. (2020). Short Report: A déjeté Levallois tool from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) and the role it plays in the chronology of the Pleistocene terraces of the Bannu Basin. Journal of Lithic Studies, 7(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.5171
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