Though the site was discovered earlier by Robert Bruce Foote and subsequently worked upon by the members of Yale Cambridge expedition and Archaeological survey of India but since the year 1990 the site was extensively explored, excavated and dated by the members of Sharma Institue of Heritage Studies under the leadership of Shanti Pappu.
The Site
Robert Bruce Foote, a British geologist is considered as the father of Indian prehistory because in 1863 he had discovered the first stone tool of Palaeolithic period from India from a site called Pallavaram near the erstwhile Madras city. Soon after him and his colleague William King in course of the geological survey of the area discovered the site Attirampakkam in the same year. The site is located on the North West of the city of Chennai on the tributary stream of the River Kortallaiyar. It is situated at a height of 200-380 meters above sea level on an outlier of the Satyavedu hill of the Eastern Ghat. Foote had described the site, reconstructed its past environment, and interpreted the typo-technology of the tools found at the site. From 1990s under the leadership of Shanti Pappu reinvestigation of the site and culture of Attirampakkam took place. Her intensive and collaborative work had yielded important information about the Palaeolithic culture of the site. Application of modern dating techniques has established the site firmly on the world map of Palaeolithic culture and considered it as one of the stations in the route of migration of Homo erectus out of Africa into India.
Geological Features
Elaborate methods were followed for interpretation of stratigraphy, environment, culture, hominid behaviour and above all for establishing chronology in absolute terms. The surface collections were charted by means of contour mapping and formation of grid at an interval of 1 m sq. Other methods were digging test pits, carrying out excavations through step methods as well as horizontal digging. Eight depositional strata were identified at the site. Eight main sedimentary horizons were found (Papu and Akhilesh, 2014).The stratigraphy confirmed with the general sequence of alternating gravel and silt beds, very common in the peninsular India. A layer of argillaceous silt bed was deposited on the bed rock (Layer 8) followed by a gravel bed (layer 7). This bed was overlain by another bed of argillaceous silt (layer 6). Early men lived at the site at the time of formation of the deposits. Layer 6 was overlain by the ferruginous gravel bed of layer 5. Over these lay clay rich silt beds of layer 4 and 3. A deposit of fine grained ferricrete gravels marked by Pappu and Akhilesh as layer 2. The topmost layer consisted of clayey silt considered as layer 1. Layers 5 to 2 yielded cultural elements, which were later in date, namely, the late Acheulian and Middle Palaeolithic assemblages.
Chronology
Dating forms an important part in the study of Acheulian culture at Attirampakkam. Pappu and Akhiles (2014) stated that for dating Acheulian horizon two different methods were used. The artefacts were directly dated by cosmic ray exposure method. This method was used first time in India at the Attirampakkam site. Date available was 1.51+/-0.07 MYA. With help of this date and Palaeomagnetic data, it is assumed that the Acheulian hominids were present at Attirampakkam before 1.07 mya (Pappu and Akhilesh, 2014). The date corresponds with the dates of Olduvai Gorge, Ubeidiya and Dmanisi.
Palaeoecology
Environment of the time of Acheulian was mostly semi arid. Faunal remains were possibly Bovini, Equus sp. and Caprini or Boselaphini. It appeared that wild ox, horse and deer were present in the environment probably by the later part of Pleistocene. Acheulian men lived at a time when landscape was open under semiarid condition.
Culture
Evidences show that hominids lived continuously at Attirampakkam from Acheulian to Late Middle Palaeolithic. Attirampakkam site showed a continuous habitation by the hominids at the site from Acheulian to Late Middle Palaeolithic. Raw materials used for making Acheulian tools were fine to coarse grained quartzite.
The tool kits of Acheulian culture consist of Hand axes and cleavers. Hand axes are classified into larger and smaller ones. Larger ones are made on cortical flakes and smaller tools made on flake are without cortex. Most of the hand axes on flake have shapes of ovate and pointed. Cleavers are comparatively less in number than Hand axes. Most of the cleavers are convergent. Large trimmed flakes are found, which were retouched and used. Numerous small flakes are also present. Large flakes at the site probably were broken from larger cores elsewhere and brought into the site and were further worked upon at the site to prepare bifaces. Smaller cobbles were also brought into the site for taking out flakes. There were some tools made on cobble itself. It appears that Acheulian hominids lived at Attirampakkam for a long time. Perhaps they visited the place seasonally for butchering of animals and for plant resources along the shore of the water bodies. An evidence of development of Middle Palaeolithic culture through transitional phase from Acheulian is noticed in the upper layers.
