Abstract: Palynological studies of Deccan volcanic associated sediments of the Sahyadri Group of Nand-Dongargaon basin of Maharashtra, Amarkantak Group of Chhindwara and unclassified Deccan Trap sequences of Saurashtra show the presence of Aquilapollenites pollen. The overall data on this genus from the Indian Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene indicates that the genus was widely distributed during the Late Cretaceous. A notable decline in abundance in the Early Paleocene may be related to the climatic and environmental changes brought about by the Deccan volcanism.

Abstract India has a great variety of natural stones that have been extensively used as dimension, ornamental and sculptural stone for numerous temples and monuments over many centuries. These temples and monuments, now heritage sites, have a major role in showcasing India's natural stone resources that occur in diverse geological formations of different geological systems across the Indian subcontinent. The formations contain a variety of stone, with colours and textures produced by varied geological processes thus providing a storehouse of diverse stone resources. This paper outlines four potential Global Heritage Stone Provinces where natural stones have been used in heritage monuments: the North and Northwestern Province, the Central and Western Peninsular Province, the Southern Peninsular Province and the Eastern and Northeastern Province. The geotechnical and aesthetic characteristics of the stones, and their response to weathering are discussed.

Abstract The formal beginning of geoarchaeology in India can be traced back to 1863 when the first palaeolith was documented and collected by Robert Bruce Foote in Tamil Nadu and later described in a detailed geological context. Today, various geological tools such as geospatial analytical tools are available to provide extra mileage to geoarchaeological investigations. They supplement field evidence and enable researchers to display, manipulate, and model geological data and the associated archaeological evidence. The present paper attempts to summarize the current status of understanding of the Quaternary geoarchaeology of the Tapi River basin in west-central India. The aspects considered include geomorphology, landform evolution, morphometric parameters, relationships between climate and basin evolution and Palaeolithic and Mesolithic evidence. This present study uses Landsat imagery, locational data, Survey of India topographic sheets and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data in ArcGIS software. The study is the first comprehensive attempt to summarize the issue of prehistoric human adaptations (dominated mainly by Late Pleistocene evidence) through changing environments, with an assumption that the two occurred in synchronization. Another assumption is that the reported lithic and fossil sites and the surrounding areas have preserved signatures of original landforms and sedimentary contexts. Through these perspectives and visual integration of topography, drainage networks and Landsat image parameters in a Geographic Information System platform, along with other variable field inputs, a testable hypothetical model of the Quaternary evolution of Central Tapi valley is proposed. Additionally, an accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) date of 47 145 cal BP for a newly discovered ostrich eggshell fragment from Sakegaon near Bhusawal is presented and its palaeoanthropological implications are discussed. Altogether, our observations from the study area, such as an expansion of land use from the Acheulean onwards, signatures of arid phases and the oldest reported ostrich eggshell, warrant further detailed multidisciplinary research. An in-depth understanding of the first-to-last occurrences of ostriches in the region and comprehensive picture of their pan-South Asian distribution in general will help address the issue of prehistoric human adaptations through changing environments.

ABSTRACT The last major mass extinctions in Earth history (e.g., end-Guadalupian, end-Permian, end-Triassic, and end-Cretaceous) are all correlated closely in time with the main-phase eruptions of major flood basalt provinces (Emeishan, Siberian, Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, and Deccan Traps, respectively). The causal relationship between flood volcanism and mass extinction is not clear, but likely involves the climate effects of outgassed volatile species such as CO 2 , SO 2 , Cl, F, etc., from some combination of magma and country rocks. In a surprising “coincidence,” the end-Cretaceous (K-Pg boundary) micro-faunal extinction also corresponds precisely in time to what may have been the largest meteor impact of the past billion years of Earth history, the Chicxulub crater at 66.05 Ma. The Deccan Traps eruptions were under way well before K-Pg/Chicxulub time and are most likely the result of the mantle plume “head” that initiated the presently active Reunion hotspot track—thus the Deccan Traps were clearly not generated, fundamentally, by the impact. However, recent high-precision 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology indicates that conspicuous changes in basalt geochemistry, lava flow morphology, emplacement mode, and a possible 50% increase in eruption rate at the Lonavala/Wai subgroup transition in the Deccan Traps lava group corresponded, within radioisotopic age precision, to the K-Pg boundary and the Chicxulub impact. This has led to the testable hypothesis that the M w ~11 seismic disturbance of the Chicxulub impact may have affected the Deccan eruptions. Here we review a broad landscape of evidence regarding Deccan volcanism and its relation to the K-Pg boundary and attempt to define what we see as the most important questions than can and should be answered by further research to better understand both the onshore and largely unknown offshore components of Deccan-related volcanism, and what their climate and environmental impacts at K-Pg time may have been.

Abstract New evidence from the Ayodhya Hills, located in the western upland of West Bengal, has expanded knowledge of Late Pleistocene microlithic technology spanning 42–25 ka in South Asia. Continuous exploration for the past two decades has resulted in substantial information on technology, distribution of sites and the colluvial context. It is now clear from surface exploration and excavations that there are localized differences in the formation of the colluvial context. At the Mahadebbera and Kana sites, which have yielded optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates, the in situ occurrence of artefacts in the excavated sections confirm their association with the colluvial context. The occurrence of microliths for a prolonged period (25–34 ka) at Mahadebbera indicates that the colluvial deposition must have followed a slower rate during the course of occupation at the site. At Khududih-Chauniya, a site currently being investigated, excavation and surface exploration indicate that the artefacts are mostly scattered over the regolith surface capping the bedrock; much of the colluvial material from the site has been eroded and transported downslope, exposing the lithic artefacts over the regolithic badland surface. Added interest in this site ensues from recent finds of Middle Paleolithic cores and a Lower Paleolithic core from the badland rain gullies. This promises to complement the already published results from the region, which has emerged as an important zone in understanding the behaviour patterns of anatomically modern humans in South Asia.

Abstract The Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP) covers an area of more than 500 000 km 2 . There are three major dyke swarms in this province, viz. the Narmada-Tapi, the Western Coast and the Pune-Nasik. In addition, the Nandurbar-Dhule and Pachmari dykes have also been studied. However, the Central Deccan Volcanic Province (CDVP), including parts of Aurangabad (Maharashtra, India), has received less attention than the SW, northern and NE parts of the Deccan Trap. We report on deformed/offset dykes in and around Aurangabad, in the CDVP. These dykes intrude the stratified host basaltic lava flows composed of weathered porphyritic and amygdaloidal basalt. This rheological contrast locally affected the emplacement of dykes, producing offset, the formation of sills, the curvature of dyke walls and finger-like intrusions. The offset of dykes is presumably caused by variations in local stress. The dyke swarm from the CDVP is reported for the first time. The range in the length and width of the dykes is 2.4–26.2 and 1–27 m, respectively. The dykes trend NE, which matches that of the Narmada-Tapi dyke swarm. The present study indicates that the feeder dyke(s) may have fed the basaltic lava flows of the Aurangabad region. The bent pipe vesicles indicate that the lava flowed towards the SE.