Bhubaneswar: A recent road excavation work in Deogarh district opened a portal into the past, providing a glimpse of a world inhabited by early human settlers.Road construction work was going on near the OSRTC bus stand in Reamal tehsil of Deogarh district. A bypass road was being built through a small laterite hillock when workers found some stone tools buried in the ground, a discovery that threw new light on Odisha’s history, with stone tools from the Palaeolithic period pointing to human footprint in western Odisha.The tools found include hand axes, Levallois cores and flakes (considered sophisticated Middle Palaeolithic stone tools), awls (sharp-pointed tools), stone scrapers, discoids (disc-shaped tools), and others dating back to approximately 60,000 to 70,000 years, and closely resembling those typically associated with the Middle Palaeolithic period. All the tools are made of coarse quartzite and quartz.A team of archaeologists from Government Autonomous College, Sundargarh, and the Puri circle of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reached the spot and examined the area two days back. The team has so far collected 30 tools and artefacts from the site, all belonging to the Palaeolithic age, also known as the Old Stone Age. The archaeological material was embedded in the stratigraphy and scattered across the surface.The archaeological team, comprising Sakir Hussain, Jayashankar Naik and Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak, said this is the first evidence of Middle Palaeolithic human activity in Deogarh district.“In the Stone Age, prehistoric humans used simple stone tools made by splintering rocks for gathering food, hunting, cutting and scraping. These also served as prehistoric weapons, and quartzite was a commonly used material during the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic ages. In the Middle Palaeolithic age, they used Levallois technology to create tools from carved stones,” said Hussain.What makes the finding significant is that it forms part of a larger region showing evidence of human settlement in western Odisha, particularly near hilly areas, he added. Close to this site are rock art locations in Sambalpur and Redakhol that date back to the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ages.“Indian historians and archaeologists in the 1960s and 1970s claimed there was no human settlement in the southern part of Chota Nagpur Plateau in ancient times, largely because this area had not been studied. However, archaeological findings in Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sundargarh and now Deogarh suggest similar human settlement patterns,” Hussain added.Experts believe the findings are crucial in filling gaps in Odisha’s prehistoric record, particularly in the western part of the state, which have remained relatively under-explored. They noted that systematic excavation and further scientific analysis could provide deeper insights into the lifestyle, technology and adaptive strategies of prehistoric humans who once inhabited the area.Sources said other areas in the state like Radharamanpur in Brahmani valley, Torajunga and Gopalpur in Bhatli; Danta river valley; Kundakhai-Anga in Padampur; Nebedi in Budhabalanga river valley; Kuliana-Kalabadia; and Rushikulya river valley have rich evidence of the Palaeolithic age, which need to be examined to know the movement of human beings.
