Palaeo

Anthropological
Evidences from
India
ANTHROPOLOGY

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Palaeo - Anthropological Evidences from

India
Human settlement in the Indian subcontinent.

 Settled life which involves the transition from foraging to farming and pastoralism, began in south Asia
around 7000 BC.

 By 4500 BC settled life had spread more widely and began to gradually evolve into the Indus Valley
Civilization.

 This civilization flourished between 2500 BC and 1900 BC in north west India and was noted for its urban
planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage and water supply.

Shivalik Region
 Siwalik hills is a range of foothills of the Himalaya extending from northeast Pakistan through northern
India to Southwest Nepal, famous for its rich fossil beds containing extinct apes and other primates.

 Fossiliferous sediments in the Siwalik hills are very extensive, measuring several kilometers in thickness.

 During the MIOCENE (23-5 million years ago), active uplift of himalaya led to increased erosion, and this
produced massive volumes of sediment that were deposited by floodplains and rivers.

 The remains of lower paleolithic (500,000 to 125,000 BP) Soanian culture have been found in Siwalik
region.

 The most common and best known fossil ape in the Siwalik Hills is Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus.

Narmada Basin
 Narmada basin extends over states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujrat, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh.

 It is bounded by Vindhyas on north, by Maikal range on east, by Satpura on the south and by the Arabian
sea on the west.

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 Study of Narmada basin is important because of its geographical location which is very strategic for
migration of animal population from North to South and East to West.

1. It is not only rich in fossil and archaeological sites, but it also has a long history of human
occupation.

2. Excavations at Narmada basin have yielded evidence of human settlement from the lower
paleolithic period and continued till present times.

Significance of Narmada Basin

1. Narmada Man

2. Bhimbetka

3. Adamgarh

Ramapithecus
 Earliest fossils bearing the traits of hominids are those belonging to genus Ramapithecus. Ramapithecus is
the most important hominid from the Miocene Epoch.

 There are at least 2 dozen fossil specimens that have been identified as belonging to RAMAPITHECUS.
Most of these specimens consist of teeth and jaws and they principally come from two areas-

 Shivalik in India

 Fort Ternan in Kenya

Discovery and Distribution of Ramapithecus

 First discovery of the Ramapithecus fossil was made by G.E. LEWIS in 1932 in Siwalik Hills region of India.

 He assigned one of the fossils, (an upper jaw), to a new genus and species he named RAMAPITHECUS
BREVIROSTRIS.

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 Overall characteristics were discovered to differ from dryopithecus and resemble several aspects of early
humans. Evidence can be loosely compared to humans.

1. Name simply means Rama’s ape, Rama being the mythical prince who is the hero of an Indian epic
poem.

2. Later evidence suggested Ramapithecus and Dryopithecus sivalensis shared striking similarities,
leading to the two species being combined to form the new genus Sivapithecus (Shiva's Ape).

Anatomical Characteristics of Ramapithecus

 INCISORS AND CANINE

 Incisors and canine are inserted vertically and not in a slight procumbent position as in apes.

 Little or no canine diastema.

 Dental arcade is rounded.

 Palate of ramapithecus is arched as in men.

2. PREMOLARS AND MOLARS

 Flattened and thick enameled premolars and molars that appear to be adapted for heavy chewing
and processing of hard food stuff.

 Molars possess the Y-5 cusps pattern.

3. FACE AND JAWS

 Large inferior torus on the mandible.

 Facial profile is orthognathus.

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Phylogenetic Position of Ramapithecus

Ramapithecus fossils were found to resemble those of the fossil primate SIVAPITHECUS, which is now
regarded as ancestral to the orangutan.

A - Phylogenetic position of Ramapithecus in 1970s, B - Phylogenetic position of Ramapithecus after 1977

DEBATE ON PHYLOGENETIC POSITION -

 Before 1977 ramapithecus was considered as a direct ancestor to humans based on the similarity of
the jaws fossil which resembled the human jaw.

 But in 1977 after the complete jaw fossil discovery of ramapithecus it was considered to be more
like apes (V shaped) and not humans (Parabolic). Hence removed from direct ancestors to humans.

PRESENT POSITION -

Ramapithecus fossils were found to resemble those of the fossil primate genus Sivapithecus, which is now
regarded as the ancestral to orangutan.

The belief also grew that Ramapithecus probably should be included in the Sivapithecus genus and is
considered as the female species of the genus Sivapithecus.

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Sivapithecus
Sivapithecus, fossil primate genus dating from the Miocene Epoch and thought to be the direct ancestor of the
orangutan.

Discovery and Distribution of Sivapithecus

 Sivapithecus is closely related to Ramapithecus, and fossils of the two primates have often been received
from the same deposits in the Shivalik Hills of northern Pakistan in the late 19th century.

 Other sivapithecus remains have been found at sites in Turkey, China, Greece and Kenya.

 In 1982 DAVID PILBEAM published a description of a significant fossil find, formed by a large part of the
face and jaw of Sivapithecus.

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Anatomical Characteristics of Sivapithecus

1. HEIGHT About 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) in body length, similar in size to a modern orangutan.

2. FACE Concave face markedly upward in profile, a condition called airorhynchy.

3. EYE Eyes set narrowly apart.

4. NOSE Smooth nasal floor.

5. TEETH AND JAWS Large zygomatic (cheekbone) bones.

Shape of the wrists and general body proportions suggests that it spent a significant
6. BODY
amount of its time on the ground as well as in trees.

All the above features show similarities to the features of orangutans.

Phylogenetic Position of Sivapithecus

Sivapithecus' place in primate evolution was poorly understood
until the 1980s.

New Sivapithecus finds and the reinterpretation of existing

remains convinced most authorities in the 1980s that
Sivapithecus was ancestor of the modern Orangutan and
diverged from common lineage of the African apes and humans
more than 13 million years ago.

In 1982 DAVID PILBEAM published a description of a significant

fossil find, formed by a large part of the face and jaw of a
Sivapithecus. The specimen bore many similarities to the
orangutan skull and strengthened the theory that Sivapithecus
was closely related to Orangutans.

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Narmada Man
A subspecies of the extinct homo erectus, known as homo erectus narmadensis, was the Narmada Man.

Discovery and Distribution

Dr. Arun Sonakia discovered a broken skull of homo-erectus on 5th december 1982 in the middle of Narmada
Valley in Hathnora Madhya Pradesh. It was given the name Narmada Man.

Significance
 It is a specimen of a broken skullcap found in the Narmada basin. It is the only skeleton remains of the
lower paleolithic period found in India. This specimen is estimated to be about 1.8-2 million years old.

 It was the most ancient human remnant so far discovered in the Indian subcontinent.

 In addition to putting India on the global fossil map, the discovery demonstrated that there were early
humans living on the subcontinent and filled a knowledge gap on human evolution.

Physical Characteristics
1. CRANIAL CAPACITY Around 1150 to 1400 cc which is within the range of Homo sapiens.

It has following features

2. SKULL 1. Flat cranial vault
2. Large brow Ridges

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Cultural Features
The fossil was discovered among a number of stone tools, including cleavers and handaxes that are typical of
Acheulian culture. This is a sign of routine tool use. Broken bones from various animals discovered nearby
indicate that the Narmada man was a hunter.

Phylogenetic Position of Narmada Man

Dr. Sonakia identified it as H. erectus narmadensis because of its connection to the Lower Palaeolithic
Acheulian civilization. Due to its large cranium, Dr. Marie-Antionette de Lumely classified it as an evolved H.
erectus. Hence there are various theories regarding its phylogeny.

The age of fossils has long been up for debate. Some believe that the Narmada fossil could be a late Homo
erectus species. Many people think the fossil might represent a female. "The proof isn't even a complete
skull. According to Bhattacharya, it is more like a skull cap with a small amount of orbital roof. The discovery
has undergone scientific analysis and it is believed narmada man to be an early human form that colonized
India around 400,000 years ago.

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Why don’t we have more fossils from India?

According to Parth Chauhan, research associate with the US-based non-profit Stone Age Institute and with the
anthropology department at Indiana University, the occurrence of fossils depends on preservation factors like
soil chemistry and erosion rates in specific places.

Fossil research has been negatively impacted by development initiatives including the Narmada dam,
mining and oil drilling operations, intense agriculture, and population pressure. According to Chauhan,
hundreds of prehistoric and stone age sites are being destroyed all throughout the subcontinent.

According to him, paleoanthropology, or the study of human origins, is severely underappreciated in India.

Bhattacharya claims that India still practices paleontology in the antiquated manner of the 18th century.
Even the national institute for paleontology is lacking in the nation. Inadequate, according to Chauhan, are
guidance, experience, and skilled expertise. As in other regions, like Africa, palaeoanthropology is rarely
practiced in its purest form using multi-disciplinary techniques in India. He claims that, with a few notable
exceptions, most research conducted in India has not been systematic or comprehensive.

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