Important Types of Microliths that were used by the Earlier Humans in India

Important Types of Microliths that were used by the Earlier Humans in India are given below:

There are some evidences known form Greece, Norway, Sweden and Denmark which demonstrate that these tiny stone specimens were merely elements which in combination were hafted on wooden or bone handles to be finally used as implements.

Such finished types as spear heads, arrow heads, sickles, knives daggers and similar other weapons could be easily planned by using these micro in several forms of combination. In Indian prehistoric contents, however, most of this mien occurs without their original competitive context except at Merger.

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Therefore, the typologies for these are purely structural in description like the earlier periods. To identify a microlithic type one needs only to specify the area of retouch on the blades—the basic tool bank of this period.

1. Geometric Types:

(i) PS Blade:

When a blade has parallel ridges along its dorsal surface its own borders are also as a rule parallax this kind of blade is called is called a parallel sided or simply PS blade.

(a) Crest Guiding Blades:

In contradistinction to these there may be some blades with series bilateral flaking seen on the dorsal surface. These flake scars run horizontally to metalloid a ridge. It is believed that this ridge was specially obtained by these transverse scars in order to guide the length of a blade to be removed and also to form a suitable bed for removal. Such blades, even though they have parallel borders, are called Crest guide blades.

(b) Core Trimming Blades:

Many other thick but short blades with triangular cross-section ail known to occur in every microlithic assemblage. These are of no regular shape and grouped as either Core trimming blades or Core trimming flakes depending on thigh elongation (i.e. 1 > 2B).

(c) Micro-Blades (Blade lets):

There is a more or less universally agreed recommendation to designate all blades having length equal to or less than 5 cm and breadth equal to or less than 1.2 cm (i.e. 12 mm) as blade lets or micro-blades.

(ii) Retouched Blade:

Mesolithic blades can be retouched in two different manners. These can be either bold retouching Ion thick borders or a variety of microscopic retouching. These can further be divided into two more varieties.

That is to say, retouching a border to reinforce the sharpness in the manner of Aurignac and blades or retouching abruptly to blunt a border in the manner of Perigordian blades. Therefore, at least 4 different kinds of microlithic retouched blades can be identified.

(iii) Triangle:

These are one of the most beautiful tool types of Mesolithic culture. The type is counted as geometric microlith. These are usually shorter and smaller than points and have no reinforcement of the point. It has usually one border or/and base which are retouched in this type. Two most characteristic I triangles are:

(a) Scalene triangle and (b) Isosceles triangle when a blade is shaped in the form of a scalene triangle by retouching the two borders that form the obtuse angle the type is called a scalene triangle.

There are many variations possible within this type. In triangles all the three borders may also be retouched. When a blade is specially shaped as an isosceles triangle and only the base is retouched (usually) is termed as an isosceles triangle. It is needless to emphasize that there may be many borders retouched in this type as well. These merely serve as variations.

(iv) Crescent or Lunate:

This is prepared by a semi-circular retouching of one of the borders of a blade and as such appears like a segment of a circle. In a typical piece the maximum width lies at the middle of the length of tool. Asymmetrical lunettes can merge with the range of variations of scalene triangles.

(v) Obliquely Blunted Blade:

It is a specific variety of retouched blade. Here one of the lateral borders is blunted. The blunting is done in such a manner as to meet the opposite sharp border interiorly. The blunted border may be smooth and convex or it may be angular.

In specifically broad blades this type looks very much like a diminutive Cattleperson knife and hence is also referred to as Pen knife. Zairian point of Europe, although, quite young (Epi-Palaeolithic) in date is also referred to as Pen knife in European literature An obliquely blunted microlithic blade is usually much smaller than even these Zairian points.

(vi) Point:

Any blade broken in a triangular manner and then retouched along both the sloping borders to give rise to the point is designated as the type Point. Sometimes thick blades or blade lets 5-6 cm in length are steeply retouched along the borders to give rise to a point at both the anterior as also the posterior end.

These double points are termed Sauveterranean points after the Mesolithic site called Salvatore-La Alamance from south France. There is also a diminutive form of Gravitation point made on blade lets during Mesolithic period and these are termed Micro-Gravette points.

Instances of points made on microlithic flakes are also known in many areas and these need to be distinguished as flake-points.

(vii) Trapeze:

These are trapezoid segments of blades the borders of which are retouched. This is taken as another geometric microlith. Usually more than one border is retouched and in rare cases all the four borders may be retouched.

(viii) Microburin:

Besides normal burins, often prepared on fragments of fluted cores, mesolithic industries in many areas, have yielded Microburins. It is a tiny burin prepared on a notch in such a manner that the facet below is in the same plane as the dorsal surface and the notch is in the under surface. (In normal burins the facets are across the doors-ventral plane and hence the burin edge is equal to the thickness of the blade).

2. Non-Geometric Types:

1. Celt:

One of the most common and almost diagnostic type fossils of this period is a ground axe. There can be a large variety of these ground axes and all of these can be clubbed together under the family name of Celt. In other words, Celts can be defined as simply ground axes. There are at least 3 main types within which the Celts can be divided. These are Axes, Adzes and Chisels.

Axe:

Axes are roughly triangular in form with a firm transverse edge. The specimen may be oval to rectangular in cross-section. The working edge is invariably ground and polished. In addition to this many specimens are totally ground and smoothened. Axes can be further sub-divided according to the nature of the butt-end preparation.

In many instances butt-end may be rectangular without any grinding, in some it may be rounded off while in a third kind the butt may be specially pointed. To distinguish the axes that is biconvex in profile (minimally only the profile of the working end).

Adzes:

Adzes are similar to axes in all general features except that these are usually thinner and hence may have been prepared on suitable flakes. The transverse working border is formed by a convex surface meeting a flat under surface. This leveling can also be done by flat rubbing of one surface of an otherwise thin axe. In profile all adzes are Plano-convex in shape.

Chisel:

Chisels are small, narrow, rectangular pieces in which the two broader surface slope down to meet at the working end while the smaller surfaces running in place of the two lateral borders remain smooth without any kind of slope. These are usually much longer than the axes or adzes.

Homered Celt:

Shouldered celts are celts occurring in south-cast Asian Neolithic sites only. These can be axes or adzes at the butt-end of which sharp rectilinear shoulders have been cut-out.

The right angled nature of these shoulders led many authorities to believe that metal wires must have hen used to do the cutting and hence these are younger than Neolithic age (which by definition is a primeval age). Subsequent experiments seem to have demonstrated that thin silver of bamboo

With sand and water can make such cuts in some softer variety of tones. Hence, it is quite likely that e of them may represent a Neolithic type.

Bides these basic types almost all Neolithic sites yield a large number of ring stones, saddle and querns, bolas and grooved bolas as well. Since these are mere stone pieces put to different uses they to involve any specific typo technological description.

It is also important to mention that most lie Neolithic sites also introduce the use of ceramics for the first time. We can go into ceramic enology and types in the following section.