An early case of lithic recycling in India: evidence from the Acheulian site at Damdongri, Madhya Pradesh

Research on recycled lithic artefacts in Indian prehistory is extremely limited when compared to the world scenario. In the present study we group the recycled activity of lithic artefacts into two categories - (1) artefact that is created and recycled during one 'cultural age' and (2) artefact that is created by the 'ancestors' and recycled during subsequent cultural ages. It is a fact that the earliest evidence of recycled artefacts belonging to Acheulian hominin is extremely limited and as such, the Damdongri site in Madhya Pradesh, India is the only Acheulian site where recycled artefacts have been identified pushing back the antiquity of such human behaviour to Acheulian culture for the first time in the country. Keeping in view this uncommon evidence and considering the nature of recycled artefacts from Damdongri, it is clear that recycling of lithic artefacts to put them back to use was uncommon during the Acheulian cultural phase in India. The present evidence from Damdongri is unique, where lithic analysis has shown that recycled activity on lithic artefacts was carried out during the Acheulian cultural phase with no intention to reuse them. Rather this action can be ascribed to certain symbolic activity. Finally, based on these evidences it has been hypothesized that recycling activity on ancestral lithic artefact during the Acheulian was probably considered 'taboo' and evidence from Damdongri was probably indicative of a site where artefacts were presented as symbolic object connected with some belief system during the Acheulian.