Revisiting the “Mahadevian": A Typo-technological Reanalysis of the Lithic Assemblages of Mahadeo Piparia, Central Narmada Basin, Madhya Pradesh, India
Mahadeo Piparia, an open-air Palaeolithic site, is considered as a possible Mode 1 techno-complex. It is the type-site for the “Mahadevian” pebble-tool complex, a possible root for an indigenous evolution of the South Asian Acheulean tradition. Later work suggested a secondary and mixed context for the assemblage, including elements from a pebble-tool complex, a handaxe complex and the “Middle Stone Age”. However, no extensive techno-typological analyses have been attempted on these assemblages. This work reinvestigates all available historical collections, employing typo-technological and chaîne opératoire approaches, and supplemented by more recent collections. This paper, thus, updates our understanding of these historical collections in light of recent theoretical and methodological developments, helps augment and contextualize previous interpretations, and enables the inclusion of this “classic” techno-complex into ongoing discussions regarding the South Asian Palaeolithic. Further, it seeks to contextualize the historiography of work undertaken at the site, providing a foundation for ongoing work.
