Late Quaternary Environment, Palaeontology and Culture of Tarafeni Valley, Midnapur District, West Bengal - A Preliminary Study

The authors present an integrated data on the Quaternary studies carried out during the 1993-95 field seasons in a lesser known area, the Tarafeni Valley in Midnapur District, West Bengal. Microliths primarily made on chert, quartzite have been found in association with colluvial deposits formed more or less contemporaneously with underlying nodular calcrete of pedogenic Oligin. Occurrence of several vertebrate fossils on the surface of the calcrete at Dhuliapur indicates Late Pleistocene age of the artefact bearing colluvial deposits. The formation of pedogenic calcrete in a sub-humid environment, with an average annual rainfall of 1600 - 2000 mm, suggests the presence of semi-aridity in Late Terminal Pleistocene period.