Rajasthan, India (1983)

Abstract

In early 1983 I join Professor Virendra Misra and Professor S.N. Rajaguru in the Rajasthan desert of northwest India to work on Mesolithic and older prehistoric sites in this now semi-arid region. We excavate a deep step trench to a depth of 18.3 m and recover stone tools dating back to the very late Lower Palaeolithic. Later optical dating by Professor Ashok Singhvi indicates that the base of the trench is close to two hundred thousand years old. During that time there were twelve major climatic cycles from wet to dry, each about 20,000 years long. I enjoy meeting a group of itinerant snake catchers. Our work indicates that the Rajasthan desert was already in existence two hundred thousand years ago, and was not caused by human activities. The demise of the Indus Valley Culture was probably caused by climatic fluctuations, with desiccation setting in during the last few thousand years.