Pallavaram
Topic: Prehistory: Human Origins and Stone Age Cultures · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Pallavaram is a place near Chennai (then Madras) in Tamil Nadu. In 1863, the geologist Robert Bruce Foote found a stone handaxe here. It was the first Palaeolithic tool to be recognised in India. This find is taken as the start of prehistoric archaeology in India, and Foote is called the father of Indian prehistory.
Example
After the Pallavaram handaxe of 1863, Foote went on to find many more Stone Age sites across south India. One of them was Attirampakkam in Tamil Nadu. Its Lower Palaeolithic tools are now dated to c. 1.5–1.7 million years ago.
Don't confuse with
- Attirampakkam is also near Chennai. It is famous for its very early date (c. 1.5–1.7 mya), not as the place of the first find.
- The Pallava dynasty was a later ruling house of south India. It has no link to the Stone Age site.
Related concepts
- Palaeolithic age
- Acheulian tradition
- Handaxe
- Attirampakkam
- Isampur
- Hunsgi valley
- Didwana
- Soanian culture
- Hathnora
- Belan valley