New Archaeological Discoveries Suggests Humans Lived In Bengaluru 4 Lakh Years Ago!
Dr K B Shivatarak claims Bengaluru may have been home to human beings four lakh years ago. Evidence backing the claim was discovered in May 2016 near Kadirenahalli underpass at Bendrenagar, Banashankari II Stage. Shivatarak collected five stone implements from Banashankari, a hand-axe, scraper, leaf-like implement, hammer stone and miniature hand axe made of quartzite and quartz.
The city may have been home to human beings four lakh years ago, if an archaeologist's claims are to be believed. The historian says he has unearthed the earliest pre-historic evidence in Bengaluru for the first time.
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"The discovery confirms man's existence in this area during the Stone Age," claimed Dr K B Shivatarak, retired professor of ancient history and archaeology, Mangalore Universitiy.
Chance discovery
Evidence backing the claim was discovered in May 2016 near Kadirenahalli underpass at Bendrenagar, Banashankari II Stage where BWSSB had dug a road to fix water leakage.
"I live nearby and out of sheer curiosity, I observed the stones the workers had found while digging. I picked up some stone implements from the spot and washed them. I realized they bore a strong resemblance to the implements I had collected earlier from Tumakuru, Mandya and Chitradurga districts where I have done similar research," said Shivatarak.
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Weapons like spears and axes found
He collected five stone implements from Banashankari ¡ª a hand-axe, scraper, leaf-like implement, hammer stone and miniature hand axe made of quartzite and quartz. They are 7-11cm long and 4-7cm broad. The implements appear to have been used for different purposes by the early man, Shivatarak said.
"Those days hunting was the main occupation and man used stones for hunting and peeling off the animals' skin," he explained.
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"Palaeolithic cultural remains have been found in Bengaluru for the first time. The same type of stones were unearthed near Abhimaan Studio near Kengeri. I am studying these findings in detail," said Shivatarak, who is yet to apprise the archaeological department of his findings.
However, other archaeologists are skeptical if the stone age man ever inhabited the area where Benglauru later came up.
"There is no scope for palaeolithic stone implements in Bengaluru as no quartzite quarries have been found around the city. In Karnataka, paleolithic stones can be seen only in the north, and Kibbanahalli near Tumkur," Prof Ravi Kori Settar, retired professor of archeology, Karnatak University, said.
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