Hominid Fossil Sites

• Hominid is any member of the biological family Hominidae, which includes all living and extinct great apes, encompassing humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.
• Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of plants and animals that lived in the past, typically more than 10,000 years ago.
• Hominid fossil sites are crucial for understanding early human evolution, migration, and prehistoric culture in the Indian subcontinent.
• The hominid fossil record is one of the best known and most complete of any mammal.
• The oldest fossil hominid in South Asia is an archaic Homo sapiens from Hathnora on the Narmada River, near the famous palaeolithic site at Hoshangabad.

Hominid Fossil Sites

Hathnora

• Location:
  • Situated on the northern bank of the Narmada River, in Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh.
• Key Discoveries:
  • A fossilized fragment of a skull cap along with vertebrate fossils and Acheulian tools was discovered by Arun Sonakia.
  • The skull belonged to a woman around 30 years old, considered to represent an advanced variety of Homo erectus (also referred to as Narmada Man).
  • A hominid clavicle (collar bone) was later found by A. R. Sankhyan, along with animal fossils and Paleolithic tools.
  • Two sets of human fossils possibly belonged to the same individual.
• Chronology:
  • Estimated to date from 0.5 to 0.2 million years ago (mya).

Odai

• Location:
  • Situated in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu.
• Key Discoveries:
  • A fossilized human baby skull was discovered by P. Rajendran.
  • It is the first human fossil ever discovered within ferricrete.
  • The age of the baby skull is estimated to be around 1.66 lakh years (166,000 years).
  • The excavation trench revealed:
    • Microliths in the upper levels.
    • Upper Palaeolithic tools in the lower levels.
• Chronology:
  • Dated to the Middle or Upper Pleistocene period.

Pune

• Location:
  • Situated in Pune district, Maharashtra.
  • Discovery made on the bank of the Mula-Mutha river.
• Key Discoveries:
  • Two human mandibles belonging to:
    • An adult male Homo sapiens
    • An adult female Homo sapiens
  • Discovered by H. D. Sankalia and S. N. Rajaguru.
• Chronology:
  • The exact age of the fossils is uncertain.

Bhimbetka

• Location:
  • Situated in Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh.
  • The discovery was made inside a cave at Bhimbetka.
• Key Discoveries:
  • Fossil remains of an adult male.
  • Discovered by V. S. Wakankar.
• Chronology:
  • The age of the fossil is uncertain.