Abstract The Archaean–Proterozoic rock successions in India have the potential to enrich the global database on Precambrian stratigraphic development, and to offer valuable clues to global tectonic reconstructions. Built over four distinct Archaean cratonic nuclei, the major Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal belts/cover sequences include the Dhanjori Group, the Singhbhum Group (including the Dalma volcanics and the Chandil Formation in eastern India), the Cuddapah Supergroup and the adjoining Nellore Schist Belt bordering the eastern Dharwar Craton, the Aravalli Supergroup in the Aravalli–Delhi Fold Belt in NW India, the lower Vindhyan (Semri Group) and the Mahakosal/Sausar/Betul belts close to the Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ), and, possibly, the Dongargarh Supergroup in Bastar. A major erosional unconformity separates the Archaean tonalite–trondjhemite gneiss basement in these cratons from the overlying volcano-sedimentary successions. An overview of Palaeoproterozoic stratigraphic development in these cratonic blocks is presented to bring out the salient features for global comparison and to highlight issues requiring further attention. Multiple metamorphic, magmatic and deformation events are recorded in the fold belts at the join of the cratons or their margins, inviting application of the plate tectonic paradigm. However, a comprehensive tectonic model for the amalgamation of the Indian Archaean nuclei is yet to emerge, and is crucial for our understanding of Palaeoproterozoic supercontinent development.

Abstract The Lower Son Valley is generally overlooked despite a lengthy history of archaeological and geological studies in the adjacent Middle Son Valley. However, recent explorations in the former have yielded a large number of Palaeolithic and microlithic sites. This paper provides an initial report on Doma, a newly discovered site with the first-known stratified bifaces in this part of the valley. The site preserves multi-period technologies in different contexts, including terminal Acheulean/early Middle Palaeolithic and Upper Palaeolithic (all tentatively assigned based on respective typologies). Preliminary field observations are presented on the sedimentary sequence, archaeological surveys, topographical mapping, raw material and the overall palaeoanthropological assessment of Doma. The raw material utilized at the site is primarily porcellanite, derived from exposures of the Semri Group of the Vindhyan Supergroup. The oldest Palaeolithic evidence at Doma broadly resembles Late Acheulean sites dated to c. 140–120 ka in the nearby Middle Son Valley. The Pleistocene sediments here also yielded mammalian fossil specimens, such as long bone fragments, dental specimens and antler fragments. Along with the lithics and fossils, the site also preserves datable sedimentary sequences with calcrete, all key proxies in developing a testable model of technological transitions within a palaeoenvironmental framework, in the future.