Bagalkot: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) unearthed prehistoric tools made up of stones dated 2.5 lakh years ago in the Badami Taluk.
The four-member team of the prehistoric branch from Nagpur discovered stones that reportedly belonged to the Palaeolithic era.
To discover more such stones from the era, the team is working at Ranganatha Betta (hill); located between Taminal and Katharaki village.
Superintendent archaeologist at Nagpur Pre-Historic Branch, Ramesh Mulimani said, “We have found out different stone tools, which were in usage during the stone age, in the small hill located on the bank of Malaprabha river,”.
He added that in the mid-19th century, several scholars including the father of Indian prehistory and geologist Robert Bruce Foote conducted geological surveys of prehistoric locations and discovered 2 lakh-year-old stone tools in Katharaki, Kyada, and other villages of Badami.
At the site of Ranganatha Hill, stone tools including scrapers, choppers, Burin, hand axe and cleavers were discovered by the team. To seek permission for more exploration, excavation and documentation of the findings, the officials wrote a letter to the District Administration.
“These are unique and rare stone tools production industries that were characterized by the high precision in manufacturing that was used by them in their daily life. The profusion of stone tools discovered from this site indicates the numerical density of prehistoric communities that lived in this region. We will make proper documentation of this finding,” added Mulimani.
An explorer, Manjunath Sulloli, pointed out that, “There are several more such old-age stone tool production units in the hillocks located in this region. It is necessary and the need of the hour to explore a maximum of such palaeolithic stone tool industries. Apart from this, there are hundreds of caves and shelters, which were used by the ancient people, in the hills located in Badami.”
“However, there is no exact timeline of human evolution in this region. The entire hillock is made up of sedimentary rocks and the entire hill station is palaeolithic strata. If the authorities concerned conducted proper excavation and documentation they could uncover the rich heritage of this region to the current generation,” stated expert Sulloli, who is also Assistant Director of the Department of Information Public Relations in Bagalkot.
