Masol (paleontology)

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Masol (paleontology)

Masol
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Shown within India
LocationMasol, Punjab, India
Coordinates 30°50′00″N76°50′00″E / 30.83333°N 76.83333°E / 30.83333; 76.83333
Site notes
Excavation dates1960s-present

Masol is a paleontological- archaeological site in the Shivalik Frontal Range of the sub-Himalayan foothills of northwestern India, in the state of Punjab, a few kilometers north of Chandigarh. It dates from the end of the Pliocene. The fossiliferous formation called "Quranwala zone [1] "(upper limit around 2.7 million years, lower limit 2.95 million years ago) [2] provides what has been tentatively identified as stone tools (choppers, flakes), some in situ with cut marks and percussion marks on fossil bones in the lower layers. [3] [4] [1] It may represents the oldest paleontological record of hominin activities located outside of Africa. [5] However, it is a controversial interpretation. [6]

The majority of the site is composed of sandstone, sand, and silt, which, through time, has eroded due to wind and water action. [7] Such geological action has contributed significantly to the natural excavation of the area.

References

  1. 1 2 Dambricourt Malassé, Anne; Moigne, Anne-Marie; Singh, Mukesh; Calligaro, Thomas; Karir, Baldev; Gaillard, Claire; Kaur, Amandeep; Bhardwaj, Vipnesh; Pal, Surinder; Abdessadok, Salah; Chapon Sao, Cécile; Gargani, Julien; Tudryn, Alina; Garcia Sanz, Miguel (February 2016). "Intentional cut marks on bovid from the Quranwala zone, 2.6 Ma, Siwalik Frontal Range, northwestern India". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 15 (3–4): 317–339. Bibcode:2016CRPal..15..317D. doi: 10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.019 .
  2. ↑ Chapon Sao, Cécile; Tudryn, Alina; Dambricourt Malassé, Anne; Moigne, Anne-Marie; Gargani, Julien; Singh, Mukesh; Abdessadok, Salah; Voinchet, Pierre; Cauche, Dominique; Karir, Baldev; Pal, Surinder (January 2024). "Magnetostratigraphy of the Pliocene Masol Formation, Siwalik Frontal Range, India: Implications for the age of intentional cut-marked fossil bones". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 259: 105884. Bibcode:2024JAESc.25905884C. doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2023.105884 .
  3. ↑ "Pre-Quaternary hominin settlements in Asia: Archaeology, bio-lithostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy evidences at Masol, Siwaliks, Northwestern India".
  4. ↑ Malassé, Anne Dambricourt; Cauche, Dominique (September 2022). "Des traces de boucherie aux outils lithiques de Masol (Pliocène supérieur, Inde du Nord). Une approche psychomotrice de l'origine et de l'identité des hominiens". L'Anthropologie. 126 (4): 103070. doi: 10.1016/j.anthro.2022.103070 .
  5. ↑ Coppens, Yves (November 2014). "The Outstanding Universal Value of Human Evolution in Asia". In Sanz, Nuria (ed.). Human origin sites and the World Heritage Convention in Asia. UNESCO. pp. 9–14. ISBN   978-92-3-100043-0.
  6. ↑ Soni, Vidwan Singh; Soni, Anujot Singh (5 June 2017). "On the Late Pliocene stone tools of the Quranwala Zone, north-west sub-Himalayas, India". Antiquity. 91 (357): e1. doi:10.15184/aqy.2017.43. ISSN   0003-598X. S2CID   134118052.
  7. ↑ Gargani, Julien; Abdessadok, Salah; Tudryn, Alina; Chapon Sao, Cécile; Dambricourt Malassé, Anne; Gaillard, Claire; Moigne, Anne-Marie; Singh, Mukesh; Bhardwaj, Vipnesh; Karir, Baldev (February 2016). "Geology and geomorphology of Masol paleonto-archeological site, Late Pliocene, Chandigarh, Siwalik Frontal Range, NW India". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 15 (3–4): 379–391. Bibcode:2016CRPal..15..379G. doi: 10.1016/j.crpv.2015.06.001 .
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