Short Report: A déjeté Levallois tool from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) and the role it plays in the chronology of the Pleistocene terraces of the Bannu Basin

Paolo Biagi,Renato Nisbet,Romana Haider

doi:10.2218/jls.5171

Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of the discovery of one déjeté Levallois tool from the surface of a dark grey and black patinated gravel terrace located ca. 500 m south-west of the Neolithic site of Sheri Khan Tarakai in the Bannu Basin (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan), and provides a detailed geomorphological description of the area where it was found. The Neolithic site rests on a large gravelly fan, at present terraced and dismembered by small seasonal streams. Scatters of black varnished pebbles, at the top of a thick ochre silt of possible alluvial origin, cover its surface. Amongst the numerous siliceous gravels forming the deposit, some are of a good quality chert, whose source can be found in the Tertiary Sulaiman Formation. The typological characteristics of the tool, the chert employed for its manufacture, its location and the presence of black patina on its cortex are all important elements that contribute to the definition of the Pleistocene period during which pebble terraces formed. The tool comes from a region where Middle Palaeolithic artefacts had never been found before, though the re-analysis of old collections would suggest their presence as far as the course of the Indus in Lower Sindh. Moreover, its discovery contributes to the study of the south-eastern spread of the Middle Palaeolithic Levallois technique, an important topic that still needs to be fully understood.

Highlights

The scope of this paper is to discuss the chronology of the Pleistocene terraces on which the Neolithic settlement of Sheri Khan Tarakai is located
Among the many results achieved by the BAP are the definition of the archaeological cultures that characterised the area between the Neolithic and the Historic period, and the absolute chronology of all the excavated sites
The discovery of a déjeté Levallois tool in the Bannu district of north-western Pakistan is important because it can help date the formation of the black varnished pebble terraces on the surface of which it was collected that according to our data are to be attributed to a Pleistocene period probably earlier than 50-40,000 BP. It contributes to the study of the distribution of Middle Palaeolithic Levallois technique in the Indian Subcontinent, a topic that is still badly known (Bar-Yosef 2013: fig. 2.1) and interpreted in different ways (Biagi & Starnini 2014)

Summary

Introduction

The scope of this paper is to discuss the chronology of the Pleistocene terraces on which the Neolithic settlement of Sheri Khan Tarakai is located. It is well known that old Quaternary terraces are very difficult to date without the help of chronologically reliable palaeontological or archaeological evidence. In this respect, the discovery of one Middle Palaeolithic Levallois tool on the surface of one of the terraces located ca. Among the many results achieved by the BAP are the definition of the archaeological cultures that characterised the area between the Neolithic and the Historic period, and the absolute chronology of all the excavated sites. A few knapped stone artefacts attributable to earlier Holocene and Pleistocene periods were discovered in the area (Allchin et al 1986: 65; Ambers & Bowman 2003; Khan et al 1986; 1987; 1988; 1989; 1991: 5-7, 151; 2001; 2010: 196, 464; Thomas 1986; 2002; 2003; Thomas & Knox 1994)

Geomorphologic setting

The Levallois tool

Discussion