Middle Palaeolithic Occupation in the Thar Desert During the Upper Pleistocene: the Signature of a Modern Human Exit out of Africa?

Quaternary Science Reviews 77 (2013) 233e238

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Quaternary Science Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev

Short communication Middle Palaeolithic occupation in the Thar Desert during the Upper Pleistocene: the signature of a modern human exit out of Africa?

James Blinkhorn a,*, Hema Achyuthan b, Michael Petraglia c, Peter Ditchﬁeld c a PACEA, Université Bordeaux 1, Bâtiment B18, Avenues des Facultes, Talence Cedex, France b Department of Geology, Anna University, Sardar Patel Road, Chennai, India c School of Archaeology, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK article info abstract

Article history: The Thar Desert marks the transition from the Saharo-Arabian deserts to the Oriental biogeographical Received 4 March 2013 zone and is therefore an important location in understanding hominin occupation and dispersal during Received in revised form the Upper Pleistocene. Here, we report the discovery of stratiﬁed Middle Palaeolithic assemblages at 31 May 2013 Katoati in the north-eastern Thar Desert, dating to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5 and the MIS 4e3 Accepted 12 June 2013 boundary, during periods of enhanced humidity. Hominins procured cobbles from gravels at the site as Available online 5 July 2013 evidenced by early stages of stone tool reduction, with a component of more formalised point production. The MIS 5c assemblages at Katoati represent the earliest securely dated Middle Palaeolithic occu- Keywords: ﬁ e Middle Palaeolithic pation of South Asia. Distinctive artefacts identi ed in both MIS 5 and MIS 4 3 boundary horizons match Upper Pleistocene technological entities observed in Middle Palaeolithic assemblages in South Asia, Arabia and Middle Thar Desert Stone Age sites in the Sahara. The evidence from Katoati is consistent with arguments for the dispersal of Hominin dispersal Homo sapiens populations from Africa across southern Asia using Middle Palaeolithic technologies. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The Palaeolithic archaeology of the Thar Desert is predominately known from the results of surface surveys, which indicate repeated The path of hominin dispersal from Africa to Asia is commonly associations between humid landforms, such as palaeochannels illustrated as a coastal corridor (e.g. Stringer, 2000; Field and Lahr, and pedogenised dune deposits, and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts 2005). However, recent ﬁeld investigations in the Sahara and the (Allchin et al., 1978; Misra et al., 1982; Raghaven and Courty, 1987; Arabian Peninsula have begun to illustrate how Middle Stone Age Blinkhorn, 2012). Secure and reasonably well-dated evidence for and Middle Palaeolithic populations expanded along continental hominin occupations in the Thar Desert during the Upper Pleisto- corridors during periods of enhanced humidity (Armitage et al., cene is limited to the site of 16R Dune (Misra and Rajaguru, 1986; 2011; Drake et al., 2011, 2013; Dennell and Petraglia, 2012). The Raghavan et al., 1989). At this large sand dune, overlooking Did- Thar Desert (Fig. 1), which ranges across western India and south- wana Lake, a Middle Palaeolithic occupation horizon is constrained eastern Pakistan, is part of the mid-latitude arid belt, which appears by dates of 80e40 ka, with non-diagnostic occupations stretching to have shared similar palaeoenvironmental responses to global back to ca 180 ka (Gaillard, 1993; Achyuthan et al., 2007; Singhvi climatic change through the Upper Pleistocene. Hominin coloni- et al., 2010; Blinkhorn, 2013). Here, we report the initial results of sation of the central Thar may have been impossible during periods an excavation at Katoati, ca 50 km from 16R Dune, which have of increased aridity, effectively preventing continental routes of identiﬁed Middle Palaeolithic occupations in Marine Isotope Stage dispersal through this region (Field et al., 2007). However, the (MIS) 5 and at the boundary between MIS 4 and 3. presence of dense networks of palaeo-channels across the Thar Desert (Gupta et al., 2011) suggests continental routes of dispersal 2. The Katoati study site may have existed during periods of enhanced humidity. Katoati is located in Nagaur District, Rajasthan in the north- eastern Thar Desert at (E7411 035.4400,N2713019.3800). The Jayal Formation, a tectonically uplifted boulder-conglomerate horizon * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 7850035415. (of Early or Pre-Quaternary origin) overlying a ferricretised sand- E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Blinkhorn). stone basement, provides the major source of topographic relief in

Fig. 1. a) Map indicating the position of Katoati and the Thar Desert with respect to contemporary Middle Palaeolithic sites in southern Asia; b) Map indicating the position of Katoati in relation to other Palaeolithic sites in the north-eastern Thar Desert. J. Blinkhorn et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 77 (2013) 233e238 235 the immediate surroundings. Previous studies on the Jayal boulder landscape, and is interpreted as evidence of a sheetwash erosion beds have identified Late Acheulean assemblages in excavated event. Beneath this pebble line there is a dramatic increase in the contexts at Jayal and Chhajoli (Misra et al., 1980, 1982). Late proportion of CaCO3 present within the sediments. An OSL age of Acheulean and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts have been identified 61 9 ka dates the base of S3, ca 3 m below surface, which marks on the surface of the boulder beds (Misra et al., 1980, 1982), and the lowest aeolian deposits identified. gravel spreads downslope. To the north of the Jayal Formation ex- Strata 4, 6 and 8 comprise medium sands supporting occasional ists a suite of fluvial deposits overlain by aeolian sediments. gravels and rare cobbles. These three strata are separated by S5 and Reconnaissance survey of the sedimentary deposits at Katoati S7, which comprise medium sands with very rare gravel inclusions. identified stratified cultural horizons with abundant lithic assem- The OSL age of S4 is 48 11 ka, while two fragments of ostrich blages. Initially, a small collection of sixteen single-platform, multi- eggshell (S. camellus) from S4 are dated to >57.9 ka BP (OxA-25897) platform, radial and Levallois cores was made from pebble and and >62 ka BP (OxA-25898) by AMS radiocarbon dating. Although gravel deposits in the upper fluvial deposits. The stratigraphic po- the OSL ages from S3 and S4 are inverted, their error ranges overlap, sition of the cores corresponded with a sample of ostrich eggshell they are statistically indistinguishable, and the ages are also (Struthio camellus) AMS radiocarbon dated to 45.35 0.65 ka BP consistent with the AMS dates. As we suggest below, this dates to (OxA-19407). A test excavation (KAT1) was subsequently conducted the period during which there is a change from fluvial to aeolian to recover a larger sample of lithic artefacts and to study their deposition, which probably occurs at Katoati around the transition sedimentary context. between MIS 4 and 3 ca 60 ka. This is corroborated by the OSL age of KAT1 is situated within the fluvio-aeolian deposits, where a 77 18 ka for S5. The base of fluvial activity exposed through gully exposed a deep, stratified sequence. A 3 m wide step-trench excavation dates to 95.6 13.1 ka. The fluvial sediment sequence is was excavated to a depth of 4.48 m (Fig. 2), revealing eight sedi- interpreted as having been formed as sand and gravel bars within mentary strata (S1e8), five of which are dated using Optically or at the edge of a braided stream. Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) (Table 1; see Supplementary Stable isotope analyses of pedogenic carbonates indicate a information). The two uppermost deposits, which occur to a change in floral composition between periods of aeolian and fluvial depth of 1.3 m, are aeolian dune deposits, with limited evidence for deposition. Pedogenic carbonates from the fluvial sediments (S4e pedogenesis or carbonate formation. An OSL age of 12 4 ka dates 8) returned d13C values of w0&, suggesting 80e90% of vegetation the sediments at the base of S2. In the top of S3, a thin pebble line is of the site comprise C4 plant types. In contrast, 60e70% C4 plant observed, which is laterally extensive across the immediate coverage is suggested by results from S3 between 2 and 3 m depth

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the sediment proﬁle at KAT1 displaying eight strata (labelled S1eS8); the position of OSL samples locations are indicated by solid black circles with associated age estimates (ka); 0.1 m horizon yielding ostrich eggshell marked ‘X’; sampling location for sedimentary analyses is highlighted on the left of the proﬁle. The results of %

CaCO3 and stable carbon isotope analyses are presented to the right. 236 J. Blinkhorn et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 77 (2013) 233e238

Table 1 OSL ages and supporting De and dose rate data for the sediment samples from KAT1.

Depth from Strata Lab sample U (ppm) Th (ppm) K% Wt. mean Equivalent Dose rate Wt. mean Age (ka) surface De (Gy) dose (De) Gy (Gy/ka) age (ka)

1.25 m 2 LD-1087 1.7 12.1 1.3 28 9 2.3 0.1 12 4 2.87 m 3 LD-1089 1.5 11.3 1 120 16 2.0 0.1 61 9 3.30 m 4 LD-1088 1.5 11.8 1 97 20 2.0 0.1 48 11 3.85 m 5 LD-1090 1.5 9.9 0.8 133 30 1.7 0.1 77 18 4.40 m 8 LD-1149 1 0.01 3.2 0.03 0.56 0.01 109.43 14.90 1.14 0.01 95.6 13.1

of w2&. Dispersed isotope results observed between 1.5 and 2 m indicates early stage reduction activities were undertaken at the site. suggest proximity to an ancient land surface, which is consistent Core technology within the largest assemblages, S4 (n ¼ 76), S6 with the interpretation of a sheet wash event scouring this horizon. (n ¼ 108) and S8 (n ¼ 64) is homogenous, comprising informal (single Lithic assemblages from KAT1 were recovered from S3, S4, S5, S6 and multi-platform) and formal (prepared and Levallois) types. Two and S8 (Table 2). A collection of 58 artefacts was recovered in as- Levallois cores from S4 and one from S8 exhibit a mixture of distal sociation with the pebble line at 1.5 m (S3a), and size class char- divergent and lateral preparation of the flaking surface to produce a acteristics suggest this is the fine fraction of a transported distalemedial ridge resulting in the removal of prepared points assemblage. Eight artefacts were found towards the base of S3 (Fig. 3). These reduction schemes are consistent with descriptions of (S3b). Large collections of artefacts were made from S4 (n ¼ 436), Nubian Levallois technologies (Rose et al., 2011; Usik et al., 2013). S6 (n ¼ 627), and S8 (n ¼ 327), which present well matched evi- Variability amongst flakes predominately relates to reduction dence for size sorting, weathering and rounding. Limited post- intensity, with highly cortical flakes with fewer scars on the dorsal depositional disturbance has removed the smallest (<20 mm) surface typically larger than flakes lacking cortical surfaces with fraction, whereas the larger fraction (>20 mm) of these assem- more numerous prior removals. A single flake from S4 presents a blages are largely undisturbed. This suggests exploitation of the site combination of distal divergent and lateral removals on the dorsal after deposition of each gravel horizon. The assemblage from S5 surface and a prior removal of a pre-determined pointed flake, (n ¼ 62) appears to have been subject to more significant post- indicative of the use of Nubian Levallois strategies (Fig. 3). A small depositional alteration. Overall, the lithic assemblages appear to number (n ¼ 3) of Levallois points present further evidence for have been produced following periods of fluvial activity in a pre- debitage strategies orientated towards point production. dominantly C4 habitat. Retouched tools are most abundant in S4 (n ¼ 42) and S6 (n ¼ 50), but mostly present informal retouch of a single side, or a single side and either one or two ends of each artefact. Formal retouched ar- 3. Lithic technology tefacts include a single bifacial point, and eleven delineated pieces, including notched, nosed, tongued, shouldered and tanged arte- Raw material use at KAT1 is dominated by immediately available facts (Fig. 4). A total of seven large bifaces were found in S8, materials, particularly quartzites (96%), with low proportions of including a single ovate biface. The presence of prepared point core quartz (n ¼ 50), chert (n ¼ 5) and sandstone (n ¼ 2). A single lime- production and delineating retouch of pointed artefacts stands out stone artefact is the only example of imported raw material. The among the formalised reduction strategies at KAT1. The technology presence of numerous large and highly cortical cores and flakes and antiquity of the lithic assemblages supports assignment of the Katoati assemblages to the South Asian Middle Palaeolithic. Table 2 Typology of artefact assemblages from Katoati (counts in brackets indicate blade proportioned flakes or final flake scars). 4. Discussion

Type S3a S3b S4 S5 S6 S8 We have presented archaeological evidence for stratified Middle Core 1 0 3 0 4 0 Palaeolithic assemblages at Katoati, indicating repeated hominin Single platform 6 0 41 (1) 8 57 (3) 42 (2) occupation of the Thar Desert between MIS 5 and the MIS 4e3 Bidirectional 0 0 5 2 (1) 4 1 (1) Multi-platform 1 0 21 3 31 (2) 17 boundary in association with periods of enhanced humidity. The Prepared 0 0 6 5 12 (2) 4 Katoati findings corroborate the archaeological evidence from 16R Total cores 8 0 76 18 108 64 Dune, indicating the presence of hominin populations in the Thar Flake 24 (1) 3 231 (2) 23 340 (3) 165 Desert between 80 and 40 ka. The archaeological findings clearly Bipolar flake 0 0 14 0 3 5 Redirecting flake 0 0 1 (1) 1 1 0 extend the occurrence of Middle Palaeolithic hominins in South Flaked piece 25 5 73 16 125 73 Asia to MIS 5c ca 95 ka. A Middle Palaeolithic occupation of the Thar Total un-retouched 49 8 318 40 469 243 Desert during MIS 5a corresponds with evidence from Jwalapuram Single end 0 0 4 0 5 0 in southern India ca 78 ka (Petraglia et al., 2007, 2012b). The Single side 1 0 13 2 13 4 presence of hominins employing Middle Palaeolithic technology at Single side (flaked piece) 0 0 0 0 2 2 fi Single end single side 0 0 3 0 12 1 the transition between MIS 4/3 lls a lacuna for dated archaeo- Single end single side 000010 logical sites in the South Asian Palaeolithic record. The age range for (flaked piece) Middle Palaeolithic occupations at KAT1 also overlaps with the Single end double side 0 0 3 1 6 4 hominin occupations of Arabia (Armitage et al., 2011; Petraglia Double side 0 0 9 0 5 1 Double end double side 0 0 0 0 2 0 et al., 2011, 2012a; Delagnes et al., 2012, 2013; Rose et al., 2011) Unspecified 0 0 1 0 3 1 and the Sahara (Smith et al., 2007; Hill, 2009). The identification of Unspecified (flaked piece) 0 0 9 0 1 0 cultural continuities between these regions may be critical to assess Total retouched 1 0 42 3 50 13 different models for the dispersal of hominin populations. Heavy tool 0 0 0 1 0 7 The discoveries at KAT1 are pertinent to the current debate Total 58 8 437 62 627 327 regarding the dispersals of Homo sapiens into South Asia and J. Blinkhorn et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 77 (2013) 233e238 237

routes or exploitation of the Indus corridor (Field et al., 2007). The evidence from S4 suggests fluvial activity and hominin occupation at the MIS 4/3 transition may have facilitated continental routes of dispersal using riverine networks. The presence of Middle Palae- olithic technologies in the Thar Desert at ca 60 ka clearly occurs within the timeframe that have been suggested by genetic studies for the arrival of H. sapiens in South Asia (e.g. Macaulay et al., 2005; Scally and Durbin, 2012; Fu et al., 2013). This contradicts the hypothesis that modern humans arrived in South Asia using “small crescentic forms.that are markedly similar to those that define the so-called Howiesons Poort technology” (Mellars, 2006: 797). Comparable technologies, principally based around microblade production, are not observed in South Asia until 40e30 ka (Clarkson et al., 2009; Perera, 2010) or after the Last Glacial Maximum in the Thar Desert (Blinkhorn, 2012). Instead, the Katoati evidence is consistent with arguments for the dispersal of H. sapiens populations using Middle Palaeolithic technologies (Petraglia et al., 2010, 2012c; Boivin et al., 2013). Technological continuity in Middle Palaeolithic assemblages at Katoati before and after the eruption of Toba at 75 ka (Mark et al., 2013) matches evidence observed in southern India (Petraglia et al., 2007, 2012b). The tanged point at KAT1 is similar to a specimen from Jwalapuram (Locality 22) (Fig. 4), with further examples observed within the Thar Desert (Blinkhorn, 2012). This Fig. 3. 1e3) Nubian point cores presenting a medialedistal ridge produced through supports suggestions of technological continuities in the use of shaping of flaking surface convexities from 1) distal divergent (Nubian Type 1), 2) Middle Palaeolithic technologies across South Asia. Critically, the lateral (Nubian Type 2) and 3) distal divergent and lateral (Nubian Type 1/2) removals focus upon point production at KAT1, observed across core, flake to enable the production of a pointed flake of pre-determined shape; 4) A flake bearing a dorsal surface shaped by removal of distal and distal divergent scars preceding the and retouched artefact categories, indicates a number of similar- removal of a single, pre-determined pointed flake (Nubian Type 1). ities with the Arabian (Armitage et al., 2011; Rose et al., 2011; Usik et al., 2013) and Saharan (Scerri, 2013) archaeological records in the Upper Pleistocene. In particular, the appearance of core potential exploitation of continental corridors associated with technologies analogous to Nubian point cores is notable as they fl uvial networks. Analyses of eastward routes into South Asia have exhibit a highly restricted distribution within the eastern Sahara suggested dispersals into the Thar Desert during MIS 4 would have and southern Arabia (Rose et al., 2011). Similarly, the presence of been prohibited due to increased aridity, and identify either coastal delineated pointed artefacts, including tanged specimens, may be comparable with Aterian industries in the Sahara (Scerri, 2013). Further archaeological research is required to identify where these similarities are the result of convergent evolution of tool forms, their adaptive significance for exploiting arid landscapes, or cultural connections across the mid-latitude arid belt. The discoveries described from Katoati indicate the Thar Desert is a critical region to evaluate the relationship between climate changes, hominin demography and cultural evolution that help to illuminate evidence for the dispersal of H. sapiens from Africa into South Asia.

Acknowledgements

Fieldwork at Katoati has been supported by the Emslie Horni- man Scholarship (Royal Anthropological Institute) awarded to JB. AMS radiocarbon dating was funded by the NERC Radiocarbon Facility (2011/2/16) awarded to MP and JB. JB has been supported by the Kathleen Hardy Scholarship and Fyssen Foundation Post- Doctoral Fellowship during preparation of the manuscript. We thank the Archaeological Survey of India for permitting this work, and the villagers of Katoati for their support and assistance in the ﬁeld. We thank Dr. N. Suresh, Wadia Istitute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, for conducting the OSL analyses and providing details of methodology and ﬁgures presented in SI. We are grateful to Prof. Tom Higham for commenting on the manuscript.

Appendix A. Supplementary data

Fig. 4. 1) Tanged point from Jwalapuram 22 (adapted from Haslam et al., 2012); 2 & 3) Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http:// Tanged point from Katoati. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.012. 238 J. Blinkhorn et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 77 (2013) 233e238

References Mark, D.F., Petraglia, M., Smith, V.C., Morgan, L.E., Barfod, D.N., Ellis, B.S., Pearce, N.J., Pal, J.N., Korisettar, R., 2013. A high-precision 40Ar/39Ar Age for the Young Toba Tuff and dating of ultra-distal tephra: forcing of Quaternary climate and im- Achyuthan, H., Quade, J., Roe, L., Placzek, C., 2007. Stable isotopic composition of plications for Hominin occupation of India. Quaternary Geochronology. http:// pedogenic carbonates from the eastern margin of the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2012.12.004. India. Quaternary International 162e163, 50e60. Mellars, P., 2006. Going east: new genetic and archaeological perspectives on the Allchin, B., Goudie, A., Hegde, K., 1978. The Prehistory and Palaeogeography of the modern human colonization of Eurasia. Science 313, 796e800. Great Indian Desert. Academic Press, London. Misra, V.N., Rajaguru, S.N., 1986. Environment et culture de l’homme prehistorique Armitage, S.J., Jasim, S.A., Marks, A.E., Parker, A.G., Usik, V.I., Uerpmann, H.P., 2011. dans le desert du Thar, Rajasthan, Inde. L’ Anthropologie 90, 407e437. The southern route “out of Africa”: evidence for an early expansion of modern Misra, V.N., Rajaguru, S.N., Raju, D.R., Raghavan, H., Gaillard, C., 1982. Acheulian humans into Arabia. Science 331, 453e456. occupation and evolving landscape around Didwana in the Thar Desert, India. Blinkhorn, J.A., 2012. The Palaeolithic Occupation of the Thar Desert. University of Man and Environment 6, 72e86. Oxford. D.Phil. thesis. Misra, V.N., Rajaguru, S.N., Agrawal, D.P., Thomas, P.K., Husain, Z., Dutta, P.S., 1980. Blinkhorn, J.A., 2013. A new synthesis of evidence for the Upper Pleistocene occu- Prehistory and palaeoenvironment of Jayal, western Rajasthan. Man and Envi- pation of 16R dune and its southern Asian context. Quaternary International ronment 4, 19e31. 300, 282e291. Perera, H.N., 2010. Prehistoric Sri Lanka: Late Pleistocene Rockshelters and an Open- Boivin, N., Fuller, D.Q., Dennell, R., Allaby, R., Petraglia, M.D., 2013. Human dispersal air Site. Archaeopress, Oxford. across diverse environments of Asia during the Upper Pleistocene. Quaternary Petraglia, M.D., Alsharekh, A.M., Crassard, R., Drake, N.A., Groucutt, H., Parker, A.G., International. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.01.008. Roberts, R.G., 2011. Middle Paleolithic occupation on a Marine Isotope Stage 5 Clarkson, C., Petraglia, M., Korisettar, R., Haslam, M., Boivin, N., Crowther, A., lakeshore in the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia. Quaternary Science Reviews 30, Ditchfield, P., Fuller, D., Miracle, P., Harris, C., Connell, K., James, H., Koshy, J., 1555e1559. 2009. The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35,000 Petraglia, M.D., Alsharekh, A., Breeze, P., Clarkson, C., Crassard, R., Drake, N.A., years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 Groucutt, H.S., Jennings, R., Parker, A.G., Parton, A., Roberts, R.G., Shipton, C., rockshelter. Antiquity 83, 326e348. Matheson, C., al-Omari, A., Veall, M.-A., 2012a. Hominin dispersal into the Nefud Delagnes, A., Tribolo, C., Bertran, P., Brenet, M., Crassard, R., Jaubert, J., Khalidi, L., Desert and Middle Palaeolithic settlement along the Jubbah Palaeolake, Mercier, N., Nomade, S., Peigne, S., Sitzia, L., Tournepiche, J.-F., Al-Halibi, M., Al- Northern Arabia. PLoS ONE, e49840. Mosabi, A., Macchiarelli, R., 2012. Inland human settlement in southern Arabia Petraglia, M.D., Haslam, M., Fuller, D., Boivin, N., Clarkson, C., 2010. Out of Africa: 55,000 years ago. New evidence from the Wadi Surdud Middle Paleolithic site new hypotheses and evidence for the dispersal of Homo sapiens along the complex, western Yemen. Journal of Human Evolution 63, 452e474. Indian Ocean rim. Annals of Human Biology 37, 288e311. Delagnes, A., Crassard, R., Bertran, P., Sitzia, L., 2013. Cultural and human dynamics Petraglia, M.D., Korisettar, R., Boivin, N., Clarkson, C., Ditchfield, P., Jones, S., Koshy, J., in Southern Arabia at the end of the Middle Paleolithic. Quaternary Interna- Lahr, M.M., Oppenheimer, C., Pyle, D., Roberts, R., Schwenninger, J.-L., Arnold, L., tional 300, 234e243. White, K., 2007. Middle Palaeolithic assemblages from the Indian subcontinent Dennell, R., Petraglia, M.D., 2012. The dispersal of Homo sapiens across southern Asia: before and after the Toba super-eruption. Science 317, 114e116. how early, how often, how complex? Quaternary Science Reviews 47, 15e22. Petraglia, M.D., Ditchfield, P., Jones, S., Korisettar, R., Pal, J.N., 2012b. The Toba Drake, N.A., Blench, R.M., Armitage, S.J., Bristow, C.S., White, K.H., 2011. Ancient volcanic supereruption, environmental change, and hominin occupation watercourses and biogeography of the Sahara explain the peopling of the history in India over the last 140,000 years. Quaternary International 258, desert. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108, 458e462. 119e134. Drake, N., Breeze, P., Parker, A.G., 2013. Paleoclimate in the Saharan and Arabian Petraglia, M.D., Groucutt, H., Blinkhorn, J., 2012c. Hominin evolutionary history in Deserts during the Middle Palaeolithic and the potential for hominin dispersals. the Arabian Desert and the Thar Desert. In: Mol, L., Sternberg, T. (Eds.), Quaternary International 300, 48e61. Changing Deserts: Integrating People and Their Environment. White Horse Field, J.S., Lahr, M.M., 2005. Assessment of the southern dispersal: GIS-based ana- Press, Cambridge, pp. 61e82. lyses of potential routes at Oxygen Isotopic Stage 4. Journal of World Prehistory Raghavan, H., Rajaguru, S., Misra, V.N., 1989. Radiometric dating of a Quaternary 19, 1e45. dune section. Man and Environment 13, 19e22. Field, J.S., Petraglia, M.D., Lahr, M.M., 2007. The southern dispersal hypothesis and Raghaven, H., Courty, M.A., 1987. Holocene and Pleistocene pedo-sedimentary en- the South Asian archaeological record: examination of dispersal routes through vironments in the Thar Desert (Didwana, India). In: Soil Micromorphology. GIS analysis. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 26, 88e108. Proceedings VII International Working Group Meeting on Soil Micromor- Fu, Q., Mittnik, A., Johnson, P.L.F., Bos, K., Lari, M., Bollongino, R., Sun, C., Giemsch, L., phology, Paris, pp. 227e234. Schmitz, R., Burger, J., Ronchitelli, A.M., Martini, F., Cremonesi, R.G., Svoboda, J., Rose, J.I., Usik, V.I., Marks, A.E., Hilbert, Y.H., Galletti, C.S., Parton, A., Geiling, J.-M., Bauer, P., Caramelli, D., Castellano, S., Reich, D., Pääbo, S., Krause, J., 2013. Ciktor, C., Morley, M.W., Roberts, R.G., 2011. The Nubian complex of Dhofar, A revised timescale for human evolution based on ancient mitochondrial ge- Oman: an African Middle Stone Age industry in Southern Arabia. PLoS ONE 6, nomes. Current Biology 23, 553e559. e28239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028239. Gaillard, C., 1993. Contrabution a la connaissance du Palaeolithique inferieur-moyen Scally, A., Durbin, R., 2012. Revising the human mutation rate: implications en Inde. Universite de Provence, Marseille. Ph.D. thesis. for understanding human evolution. Nature Reviews Genetics 13, 745e Gupta, A.K., Sharma, J.R., Sreenivasan, G., 2011. Using satellite imagery to reveal the 753. course of an extinct river below the Thar Desert in the Indo-Pak region. In- Scerri, E.M.L., 2013. The Aterian and its place in the North African Middle Stone Age. ternational Journal of Remote Sensing 32, 5197e5216. Quaternary International 300, 111e130. Haslam, M., Clarkson, C., Roberts, R.G., Bora, J., Korisettar, R., Ditchfield, P., Chivas, A., Singhvi, A.K., Williams, M.A.J., Rajaguru, S.N., Misra, V.N., Chawla, S., Stokes, S., Harris, C., Smith, V., Oh, A., Eksambekar, S., Boivin, N., Petraglia, M., 2012. Chauhan, N., Francis, T., Ganjoo, R.K., Humphreys, G.S., 2010. A w200 ka record A southern Indian Middle Palaeolithic occupation surface sealed by the 74 ka of climatic change and dune activity in the Thar Desert, India. Quaternary Toba eruption: further evidence from Jwalapuram Locality 22. Quaternary In- Science Reviews 29, 3095e3105. ternational 258, 148e164. Smith, J.R., Hawkins, A.L., Asmerom, Y., Polyak, V., Giegengack, R., 2007. New age Hill, C., 2009. Stratigraphy and sedimentology at Bir Sahara, Egypt: environments, constraints on the Middle Stone Age occupations of Kharga Oasis, Western climate change and the Middle Paleolithic. Catena 78, 250e259. Desert, Egypt. Journal of Human Evolution 52, 690e701. Macaulay, V., Hill, C., Achilli, A., Rengo, C., Clarke, D., Meehan, W., Blackburn, J., Stringer, C., 2000. Palaeoanthropology: coasting out of Africa. Nature 405, 24e27. Semino, O., Scozzari, R., Cruciani, F., Taha, A., Kassim Shaari, N., Maripa Raja, J., Usik, V., Rose, J.I., Hilbert, Y.H., Van Peer, P., Marks, A.E., 2013. Nubian complex Ismail, P., Zainuddin, Z., Goodwin, W., Bulbeck, D., Bandelt, H., Oppenheimer, S., reduction strategies in Dhofar, Southern Oman. Quaternary International 300, Torroni, A., Richards, M., 2005. Single, rapid coastal settlement of Asia revealed 244e266. by analysis of complete mitochondrial genomes. Science 308, 1034e1036.