Spatial distribution of Palaeolithic sites in relation to raw material sources in the central Narmada valley, India

Landscape adaptation in central India is quite exceptional as more than 300 Lower Palaeolithic occurrences have been reported in different contexts. The present work deals with these assemblages and associated raw material sources in central Narmada valley. The central Narmada valley is rich in various rock types which were used as raw material by various hominin populations. Narmada River divides the region into northern and southern parts. In the north, there are mainly the Vindhyan Supergroup and Deccan Trap, whereas, in the south, there are primarily the Gondwana Supergroup, Deccan Trap and the Mahakoshal Group. Along the river, there are exposures of Vindhyan Supergroup and thick deposits of Quaternary alluvium. The main raw material types in the north of Narmada are quartzite and sandstone (Vindhyan Supergroup), whereas, in the south of Narmada, the main raw materials are quartzite (Gondwana Supergroup) and chert (Deccan Trap). Acheulean sites are mostly found along the foothills of Vindhyan as well as along the banks of the Narmada River and its tributaries. In this chapter, the author has tried to link these raw material sources with the occurrences of Palaeolithic sites to have a better understanding of past hominin land use patterns and ecological adaptations.

Malerisaurus , a new eosuchian reptile from the late Triassic of India

Two almost complete skeletons of a new eosuchian reptile, Malerisaurus robinsonae n.sp., were discovered as the presumable gastric contents of ‘twin’ skeletons of Parasuchus hislopi . The specimens are from fluvial flood plain deposits of the late Triassic Maleri Formation of the Gondwana supergroup, India. The osteology of Malerisaurus is described in detail. Malerisaurus was a small, gracile, long-necked eosuchian, facultatively bipedal, and probably able to climb trees or to take to the water when alarmed. It is comparable to modern bipedal lizards in size, proportions and inferred activities. The skull, although showing some carnivorous adaptation, is relatively unspecialized and indicates an insectivorous diet. Because Malerisaurus shows such a combination of primitive and advanced features as a diapsid skull, unossified laterosphenoid, lack of antorbital and mandibular fenestrae, slender limbs, primitive girdles, distinctive elongated cervicals and lack of dermal armour, it is assigned to the suborder Prolacertiformes of the order Eosuchia. A classification of Prolacertiformes indicates four families within this suborder: Petrolacosauridae, Protorosauridae, Prolacertidae and Tanystropheidae. Malerisaurus is tentatively allied to Protorosaurus in the family Protorosauridae; in neither genus is the temporal region of the skull adequately known. Malerisaurus furnishes detailed information about the skeletal morphology of what may be a hitherto undocumented lineage of eosuchian reptiles.