Pre-History of The Susunia Hill Complex And The Suvarnarekha Valley (An Old and Rare Book)

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In 1965 the Directorate of Archaeology explored areas around Susunia Hills in Bankura District of West Bengal under the leadership the then Director Late P. C. Dasgupta. This was followed by several seasons of exploration in the area. Consequently, Susunia and its neighbourhood came to acquire a very important position in the pre history of Indian Sub-continent.

Artefacts collected in course of our work at Susunia and other areas ultimately found their place in the State Archaeological Museum, West Bengal.

it was felt that such an important collection needs to be published in some details. The present volume is the outcome of our attempt at making available archaeological data to the professionals and people interested in their past. Along with an earlier monograph 'Pragaitihasik Susunia (in Bengali) by P. C. Dasgupta, this volume provides an exhaustive account of the pre-historic artefacts of Susunia. We hope this volume will generate further research on the pre-history of West Bengal in all its diversities.

The study of Prehistoric Culture of Bengal was probably initiated by Valentine Ball in 1865, when he drew our attention to the occuttence of stone tools in some parts of this region. For an obvious lack of interest, no significant work was done on Palaeolithic Bengal fot about a century since the time of Ball. The Palaeolithic part of Bengal came to a sharper focus when in 1959 the present author under the supervision of V.D. Krahnaswami, the then Superintendent of Archaeological Survey of India, explored the alluvium deposit of the Kangsavati river. V.D. Krishnaswami became interested in this part, after examining two Lower Palaeolithic quartzite handaxes collected, from a site near Chhatna Police Station. by Ms. Debala Mitra (the then Superintendent of the Eastern Circle, Archaeological Survey

of India) during her short exploration of a part of the Bankura District from 7:12.57 to 14.12.57. Almost simultaneously the Department of Anthropology, Calcutta University, explored prehistoric materials in the hilly tract of Belpahari, Bankura District. The subsequent surveys conducted by the Department of Anthropology, Calcutta University, resulted in the discovery of a number of palaeolithic tools from several sites in the Districts of Midnapur, Bankura and Purulia. In 1960s P.C. Dasgupta, the then Director of Archaeology, West Bengal, carried out extensive exploration in the Districts of Purulia, Bankura, Midnapur, Burdwan and Birbhum and collected from the surface level a large number of palaeolithic tools. Thus, the Directorate of Archaeology, West Bengal, came to possess the largest number of prehistoric tools with origin in West Bengal. In 1990, the present author received an invitation from the Directorate of Archaeology, West Bengal, for cataloguing the Prehistoric Antiquities stored in its museum at Behala. On examination, it was found that majority of the stone tools, kept in almirahs, boxes and gunny bags without proper documentation, came from the Susunia hill complex and the Survarnarekha Valley. The classification and categorization of these artefacts establish beyond doubt that Palaeolithic West Bengal went through an evolutionary sequence of three phases, which can be described in such techno-chronological terms as Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Also tools of Mesolithic and Neolithic phases occur in the collection. Therefore, the cataloguing of the artefacts from Susunia and Suvarnarekha Valley has been done according to this techno-chronological order. Those mixed assemblages, essentially represented by surface finds, seem to be results of erosional processes of different geological strata. Some such assemblages may also be due to the overlapping of an interaction between techno-chronologically distinct phases. Considering the number of artefacts, found in the Susunia hill complex and the Suvarnarekha valley, this study is confined to the palaeolithic tools of these two areas alone. For a better understanding the tools from the Susunia hill complex and the Suvarnarekha valley have been listed and described in two separate parts. Necessary maps, tables, diagrams and photographic illustrations find a place in each part as a support to whatever has been deduced from the collection of tools placed at the disposal of the author. As the palaeolithic tools from Susunia were found in a heavily rolled condition, the drawings were made with emphasis on the flaking technique followed in fashioning them. In some instances the exact position of sites apparently located in either of these two areas could not be ascertained with the help of available information. Such sites have been brought together under the heading 'Other Sites', and the artefacts there are define and classified according to the comparable tools from definitely known sites. In the collection of the Directorate of Archaeology, West Bengal, there are several tools representing different cultural stages coming from sites like Dhankora, Kechinda, Parkul and Ratanpur in the neighbourhood of Susunia hill complex. As these tools bear striking resemblance with those found in Susunia they have also been included in the present study.

In 1965 the Directorate of Archaeology explored areas around Susunia Hills in Bankura District of West Bengal under the leadership the then Director Late P. C. Dasgupta. This was followed by several seasons of exploration in the area. Consequently, Susunia and its neighbourhood came to acquire a very important position in the pre history of Indian Sub-continent.

Artefacts collected in course of our work at Susunia and other areas ultimately found their place in the State Archaeological Museum, West Bengal.

it was felt that such an important collection needs to be published in some details. The present volume is the outcome of our attempt at making available archaeological data to the professionals and people interested in their past. Along with an earlier monograph 'Pragaitihasik Susunia (in Bengali) by P. C. Dasgupta, this volume provides an exhaustive account of the pre-historic artefacts of Susunia. We hope this volume will generate further research on the pre-history of West Bengal in all its diversities.

The study of Prehistoric Culture of Bengal was probably initiated by Valentine Ball in 1865, when he drew our attention to the occuttence of stone tools in some parts of this region. For an obvious lack of interest, no significant work was done on Palaeolithic Bengal fot about a century since the time of Ball. The Palaeolithic part of Bengal came to a sharper focus when in 1959 the present author under the supervision of V.D. Krahnaswami, the then Superintendent of Archaeological Survey of India, explored the alluvium deposit of the Kangsavati river. V.D. Krishnaswami became interested in this part, after examining two Lower Palaeolithic quartzite handaxes collected, from a site near Chhatna Police Station. by Ms. Debala Mitra (the then Superintendent of the Eastern Circle, Archaeological Survey

of India) during her short exploration of a part of the Bankura District from 7:12.57 to 14.12.57. Almost simultaneously the Department of Anthropology, Calcutta University, explored prehistoric materials in the hilly tract of Belpahari, Bankura District. The subsequent surveys conducted by the Department of Anthropology, Calcutta University, resulted in the discovery of a number of palaeolithic tools from several sites in the Districts of Midnapur, Bankura and Purulia. In 1960s P.C. Dasgupta, the then Director of Archaeology, West Bengal, carried out extensive exploration in the Districts of Purulia, Bankura, Midnapur, Burdwan and Birbhum and collected from the surface level a large number of palaeolithic tools. Thus, the Directorate of Archaeology, West Bengal, came to possess the largest number of prehistoric tools with origin in West Bengal. In 1990, the present author received an invitation from the Directorate of Archaeology, West Bengal, for cataloguing the Prehistoric Antiquities stored in its museum at Behala. On examination, it was found that majority of the stone tools, kept in almirahs, boxes and gunny bags without proper documentation, came from the Susunia hill complex and the Survarnarekha Valley. The classification and categorization of these artefacts establish beyond doubt that Palaeolithic West Bengal went through an evolutionary sequence of three phases, which can be described in such techno-chronological terms as Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Also tools of Mesolithic and Neolithic phases occur in the collection. Therefore, the cataloguing of the artefacts from Susunia and Suvarnarekha Valley has been done according to this techno-chronological order. Those mixed assemblages, essentially represented by surface finds, seem to be results of erosional processes of different geological strata. Some such assemblages may also be due to the overlapping of an interaction between techno-chronologically distinct phases. Considering the number of artefacts, found in the Susunia hill complex and the Suvarnarekha valley, this study is confined to the palaeolithic tools of these two areas alone. For a better understanding the tools from the Susunia hill complex and the Suvarnarekha valley have been listed and described in two separate parts. Necessary maps, tables, diagrams and photographic illustrations find a place in each part as a support to whatever has been deduced from the collection of tools placed at the disposal of the author. As the palaeolithic tools from Susunia were found in a heavily rolled condition, the drawings were made with emphasis on the flaking technique followed in fashioning them. In some instances the exact position of sites apparently located in either of these two areas could not be ascertained with the help of available information. Such sites have been brought together under the heading 'Other Sites', and the artefacts there are define and classified according to the comparable tools from definitely known sites. In the collection of the Directorate of Archaeology, West Bengal, there are several tools representing different cultural stages coming from sites like Dhankora, Kechinda, Parkul and Ratanpur in the neighbourhood of Susunia hill complex. As these tools bear striking resemblance with those found in Susunia they have also been included in the present study.