Soanian
Encyclopedia
The Soanian is an archaeological culture of the Lower Paleolithic
(ca. 500,000 to 125,000 BP
) in the Siwalik region of the Indian subcontinent
. Contemporary to the Acheulean
, it is named after the Soan Valley
in the Sivalik Hills, Pakistan
. Soanian sites are found along the Sivalik region in present-day India
, Nepal
and Pakistan
. The bearers of this culture were Homo erectus
.
On Adiyala and Khasala about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Rawalpindi
terrace on the bend of the river hundreds of edged pebble tools were discovered. At Chauntra
hand axe
s and cleavers were found.
No human skeletons of this age have yet been found, however, tools upto two million years old have been recovered. In the Soan River Gorge many fossil
bearing rocks are exposed on the surface. 14 million year old fossils of gazelle
, rhinoceros
, crocodile
, giraffe
and rodent
s have been found there. Some of these fossils are on display at the Natural History Museum of Islamabad
.
The term "Soan Culture" was first used by Hellmut De Terra in 1936, however, D. N. Wadia had identified the presence of these archaeological implements in 1928.
Lower Paleolithic
The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the...
(ca. 500,000 to 125,000 BP
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
) in the Siwalik region of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. Contemporary to the Acheulean
Acheulean
Acheulean is the name given to an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains...
, it is named after the Soan Valley
Soan River
The Soan , Sawaan , Sawan or Sohan River is a river in Punjab, Pakistan.- Location and Geography :...
in the Sivalik Hills, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Soanian sites are found along the Sivalik region in present-day India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The bearers of this culture were Homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
.
On Adiyala and Khasala about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
terrace on the bend of the river hundreds of edged pebble tools were discovered. At Chauntra
Chauntra
Chauntra is a village situated at an altitude of above sea level in District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. The settlement is along the National Highway 20 connecting Mandi with Pathankot...
hand axe
Hand axe
A hand axe is a bifacial Stone tool typical of the lower and middle Palaeolithic , and is the longest-used tool of human history.-Distribution:...
s and cleavers were found.
No human skeletons of this age have yet been found, however, tools upto two million years old have been recovered. In the Soan River Gorge many fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
bearing rocks are exposed on the surface. 14 million year old fossils of gazelle
Gazelle
A gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella, or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera, Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera...
, rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
, crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
, giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
and rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s have been found there. Some of these fossils are on display at the Natural History Museum of Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
.
The term "Soan Culture" was first used by Hellmut De Terra in 1936, however, D. N. Wadia had identified the presence of these archaeological implements in 1928.
See also
- Madrasian CultureMadrasian CultureThe Madrasian culture is a prehistoric culture of South India. It flourished in the Early Stone Age. It is called the Madrasian culture because tools related to this culture were first found at Attirampakkam near Chennai . Thereafter, tools related to this culture have been found at various other...
- South Asian Stone AgeSouth Asian Stone AgeThe South Asian Stone Age covers the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods in South Asia. Evidence for the most ancient anatomically modern Homo sapiens in South Asia has been found in the cave sites of Batadomba lena and Beli lena in Sri Lanka.In Mehrgarh, in what is today western...
- Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric culturesSynoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric culturesThe synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures gives a rough picture of the relationships between the various principal cultures of prehistory outside the Americas, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania...