C hap te r-I

GCO-PHYSmi FORMATWH OF PREHISTORIO KASHMIR

The available archaeological ev idence’ provide substantia l ground

for undertaking research on m ulti-dim ensional aspects o f the history of

prehistoric Kashmir, but before they are made a subject of study, we ought

to knov\/ the geo-physical conditions prevailing then; understanding the

environm ental conditions in existence in which the human cultu res survived

and developed. In the geological sequence.^ Kashm ir basin developed in

I The archaeological material is briefly described in Chapter II.

Geologically the earth's history goes back to 4.5 billion years which is

divided into several periods; the last of it is called Tertiary (Cenozoic Era)

and is divided into six separate geological epochs as:

Holocene = 10,000 B.C. onwards

Pleistocene = 2 million years before present (MY B.P.) to 10,000

B.C.

Miocene = 5 - 2 MY B.P.

Oligocene = 35-25 MY B.P.

Eocene = 60-35 MY B.P.

Paleocene = 70-60 MY B.P.

Martin K. Nickels, David E. Hanter and Philip Whitten, The Study of Physical

Anthropology and Archaeology. London, 1979, pp. 167-169.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 1

the later stages of the Him alayan orogeny.^ The accum ulated geological

sedim ents o f the late Pliocene and the early P le istocene epochs suggest

that Kashm ir underwent a series of geological, m orpholog ica l and

environm enta l changes o f fa r reaching impact on the geo-physical

form ation of the Valley during those times. Accordingly, the course o f the

V alley ’s dra inage which was running parallel to the river Chinab in the

south o f Kashmir, got impeded due to the rise in the Pir Panjal heights,“

turning thereby the Valley basin into a vast lake w ithout any outle t for the

dra inage - a fact borne out by historical myth also.®

I. G eolog ical Evidence

W hile attesting the above fact, Charles Von Hugel (1840), the first

European traveller to report about the geological changes in Kashmir,

During Miocene epoch, as a result of plate tectonics, Indian sub-continent,

which up to that time had been an island in the Indian Ocean, drifted up

against southern Eurasia and this collision resulted in the geological

formation of the Himalayas and by about the middle of Miocene epoch the

connected land formation in the Himalayan region was almost complete

Corresponding to it Kashmir also appeared in the present day world map,

Ibid: and D. P. Agrawal, Man and Environment in India through Ages. New

Delhi, 1992, pp. 44-45.

D. P. Agrawal, Ibid.

Nilmata Purana, a Sanskrit text of Kashmir, dated around 6V " century A.D.

has recorded that Kashmir once a vast lake was called Satisar, where a

demon Jalodbhava used to cause distress to the Nagas - the earliest

habitation here. Kashyapa, the grand son of god Brahma, with his prayers

and with the help of other gods invoked god Vishnu who as a boar (varaha)

struck the mountains at Baramulla and thus drained the lake and created the

land of Kashmir; Ved Kumari Ghai eng. translation, The Nilmata Purana,

verse 29-227, Vol. I, Srinagar; 1968, as also Kalhan's Rajatrangini, eng. tr,

M. A. Stein, Book I, V. 25-27. Delhi, 1977 ed.

Geo-Physical Formalion of Pre-Historic Kashmir 2

m aintained that Kashm ir valley was actually form ed o f an extended lake in

which lacustrine mud deposits got accum ulated, and subsequently the lake

water flowed out through a breach caused by earth-quakes in the north­

western H im alayan range.® The lake deposits o f mud, now called Karewas^

were la ter on regarded by G odwin-Austen - a prolific w rite r on the geology

o f Kashmir^ to have originated in two d ifferent ages, one series younger in

age than the other.® Fedric Drew, the firs t state appointed geologist, further

d ifferentia ted the two types as one group placed horizontally and the other

certainly tilted.® Lydekker, for the first time, used the term Lower Karewas

and Upper Karewas fo r the tilted and the horizontal beds respectively.'®

g

to

Charles Von Hugel Kashmir und Res Reich der Siek (German). Suttgart,

1840, o f. D. P. Agrawal, Man and Environment in India.

Flat surfaced plateaus, commonly called in Kashmir Karewas or Wudars,

on the boarder of the Jehlum flood-plain flanking the surrounding mountain

precipices, are superficial deposits containing lacustrine and fluviate

deposits, terminal moraines, glacial clays, gravel and sands. These are

described in the infra pages.

FI. FI. Godwin - Austen, 'On the Lacustrine and Karewa deposits of Kashmir

Geological Society London Quarterly Journal, Vol. 15, 1859, pp. 221-29.

'Notes on the Valley of Kashmir' Royal Geographical Society Journal, Vol.

31, 1861, pp. 301-31 'Geological Society London Quarterly Journal, Vol. 20,

1864, pp. 383-88. Fie noted the earlier series at Flirpur in the south-west

Kashmir, now called Flirpur series, and the latter, sub-divided Into Islamabad

series, found at Islamabad in the south-east of the Valley and Baramulla

series, the low level terraces found at Baramulla in the north-west of

Kashmir.

Fedric Drew, The Jammu and Kashmir Territories, London, 1875

R. Lydekker, found the tilted beds associated with blue clays and

conglomerates while the flat topped horizontal beds contained brown clays

with sand deposits, ‘Notes on Geology of Kashmir, Kistawar and Pagani',

India Geological Sun/ey Memorial, Vol. 22, 1883, pp. 1-344.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 3

Thereafter, two leading geologists, H. de Terra and T. T. Paterson,

did a pioneering work on the P leistocene glaciating o f Kashm ir and they

also testified the presence o f a vast lake in which there was accum ulation

o f diverse m aterials like silts, clay, gravel which formed the Karewas. W hile

com m enting on the stratigraphy o f the Karewas and the tim e span o f their

form ation,, they argued that these lake sedim ents rested over the

Palaeozoic and Triassic basem ent rock which itself was overla in by the

term inal m oraines of the firs t phase of the P le istocene glaciation.

Accordingly, the Karewas were thus regarded to have grown between the

Lower to M iddle P le istocene e p o c h ," precisely between the end o f the first

G lacial to the end o f second Inter-glacial stage of P le istocene glaciation, as

shown in the following table:

Table 1: (Bottom to top)G eological Period 1 G lacial Period Nature o f the form ationM iddle P leistocene 1 II Interglacial Stage Upper KarewaM iddle P leistocene ! II G lacial Stage Lower P le istocene ! 1 Interglacial Stage

Lower Karewa Lower Karewa

Lower P le istocene ' 1 G lacial Stage Term inal moraines(Compiled on the basis of the work of de Terra and Paterson; 1939, Washington)

A nother leading geologist, D. N. W adia, however, modified the

inform ation regarding the tim e span underlying the form ation o f the

Karewas;^^ his observations are reproduced in Table II:

Table II; (Bottom to too)Geological Period Glacial Period Nature o f the form ationUpper P leistocene IV G lacial Stage Upper KarewaUpper P leistocene III G lacial Stage Upper KarewaMiddle Pleistocene II G lacial Stage Upper KarewaLower P leistocene 1 Glacial Stage Lower Karewa

work of D N. Wadia, 1970, Delhi)

" H. H. De Terra and T. T. Paterson, Studies in Ice Age of India and

Associated Human Cultures. Washington, 1939.

” D. N. Wadia, Geology of India. New Delhi, 1970.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 4

Although, m odifying the earlier schem e o f de Terra and Paterson,

W adia believed tha t it was during the entire period o f P le istocene epoch

that the Karewas gathered together, it is again quite contrary to the

assertion o f geologists like Lydekker, M iddlem iss, Sahni, who believed that

the Karewa sed im ents '^ heaped up during the Upper P liocene to the

P le istocene epochs.''*

W ith the help of m odern scientific tools, a recent s tudy '^ has shown

tha t Kashm ir basin turned into a vast lake on account o f tecton ic related

Godwin-Austen, Geological Society London, 1859, p. 211, has maintained

that these are lacustrine sediments - a fact agreed to by I. B. Singh also,

'Sedimentation Pattern in the Karewa basin Kashmir and its geological

significance', Journal o f Palaeontological Society of India, Vol. 27, 1982, p,

71. But de Terra and Paterson argue that these were partly lacustrine and

partly fluvitle in nature, the latter noticeable in the upper part or the Upper

Karewas only where such sediments accumulated during the course of the

drainage of the lake. Studies in the Ice Age.

According to Lydekker (op.cit) the Karewas got shaped at a time when the

Upper Siwaliks came into being during the Upper Pliocene epoch; C. S.

Middlemiss, lig n ite coal fields in the Karewa formation of Kashmir Valley’

Recording of Geological Survey o f India, Vol. 55, 1924, pp. 241-53 and B.

Sahni, ‘The Karewas of Kashmir'. Current Science, Vol. 55, No. 1, 1936, pp.

10-16, have agreed that the base of the Karewas came into existence during

the Pliocene epoch and Sahni further elaborating made it clear that the

Upper Karewa formation took place during the Pleistocene age.

A multi-dimensional research on palaeoclimate, geo-physical formation,

associated flora and fauna of Kashmir under the banner of Kashmir Paiaeo-

climatic Project, was undertaken from 1980 to 1989 by the experts and

scientists of National Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad,

Geological Survey of India, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow,

Universities of Delhi, Garhwal, Gujrat, Kashmir, Lucknow and Punjab. Many

of its findings have been published separately in various journals, but the

consolidated findings have appeared in Man and Environment, Vol. VI, 1982

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 5

upheaval o f the Pir Panjal range by about 1700 to 3000 m eters in the south

and south-west o f Kashmir, firs t tim e around 4 m illion years before the

present (M Y.B .P .),’® On account of this upheaval, the natural dra inage

enrouting South Kashm ir'^ got im peded and consequently the Valley basin

becam e the recipient o f highland waters w ithout any outlet which brought in

all kind of,sedim ents, accum ulating them m ostly near the drainage basins.

A nother tecton ic upheaval, assigned to 200,000 years B.P.'® in the Pir

Climate and Geology o f Kashmir and Central Asia the last 4 MY, New Delhi,

1985; Palaeoclimatic and Palaeo-environmental Changes in Asia during last

4 million years, New Delhi, 1988; and a compilation of it appeared in, D. P.

Agrawal, Man and Environment in India through the Ages, New Delhi, 1992.

Magnetostratigraphy and fission track dating marks the event around 3,5 MY

B.P., Sheela Kusumgar, D. P. Agrawal and S. B. Kotlia,

'Magnetostratigraphy of the Karewas', Climate and Geology of Kashmir and

Central Asia the last 4 MY B.P., New Delhi, 1985. However, the pollen

sequence of the earliest levels of the Lower Karewas from Dubjan locality In

the Remibara river Valley pushes the date to around 3.8 MY B.P., R. Dodia,

D. P. Agrawal and A, B. Vora, 'New Pollen data from the Kashmir bogs: a

summary. The Evolution o f the East Asian Environment, ed. R. D. Whyte,

Vol. 2, 1984, p. 659 and as such the Pir Panjal rise may have started some

time around 4 M. Y. B.P.

” The lithologic and palaeocurrent changes that are observed in the Jehlum

re-entrant around 4-5 MY B.P. are the direct reflection of the south-ward

relocation of the basal thrust front and the initial elevation of the Pir Panjal

range. On account of this the natural drainage system of Kashmir got

blocked which would have run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the present

day river Chinab, D. W. Burbank and R. G. H. Reynolds, 'Sequential lake

Cenozolc structural disruption of the northern Himalayan fore-deep', Nature,

Vol. 31, 1984, p. 144.

" It was earlier estimated that this event took place around 3,50,000 B.P., A

Bronger, R. K. Pant and A. Sanghvi, 'Pleistocene changes and landscape

evolution in the Kashmir basin: Palaeopedologic and Chronostratigraphic

Studies’, Quarterly Research, Vol. 27, 1987, P. 167. However, as the loess

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 6

Panjal range, led to further rise in its height. As a consequence, the basin

or lake floo r tilted towards the north and north-east exposing thereby all the

sedim ents accum ulated on the south and south west of the Valley.'®

Thereafter these exposed Karewa sedim ents got overlaid by a new

deposition and accum ulation of w ind-borne loess.^° The lake sedim ents on

profile at the earliest levels on the south-south west of the Valley has been

dated to around 2,00,000 B.P., so the event gets marked accordingly, S K.

Gupta, 'Recent Palaeoclimatic data from Indian Region', Palaeo-climatic and

Palaeoenvironmental changes in Asia, p. 14. This has been further

authenticated by the pollen record pertaining to the Romshu river located in

the south of the Valley dated back to 2,00,000 B.P. demarcating the end of

the lacustrine deposits on that side of the Valley, R. Dodia, 'Climate of

Kashmir during the last 7,00,000 years: the Baltal pollen profile', Palaeo­

climatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, p. 153 and the rise in

the Pir Panjal could not have been much older than 300,000 B.P.

” Palaeogeographically, the extended lake of Kashmir continued to occupy the

whole of the Valley from around 4 t\/lY to 200,000 8 , P. when it shifted

roughly towards north of about 33° 55' N, D. P. Agrawal, N. Juyal, P.

Sharma, R. Gardner and H, Rendell, 'Palaeogeography of the loess deposits

of Kashmir', 'Palaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia. p.

57, thus exposing major portion of the Karewa beds on the south-south west

of Kashmir.

" Loess deposits are found in many parts of the world, the thickest being in

China and Central Asia. Its origin is generally traced in the glacial abrasion,

aeolian abrasion and salt weathering. Regarding China it is, however,

believed that loess is a wind-borne deposit of sill derived from deflation of

surfacial rocks of deserts and arid areas of the north western China, D. P.

Agrawal, N. Juyal, P Sharma, R. Gardner and H. Rendel. 'Palaeogeography

of the loess deposit of Kashmir', Palaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmental

Changes in Asia. pp. 51-57.

In the maximum deposit of twenty meters of Kashmir loess on the Pir Panjal

side the concentration of iron and titanium together with ilmenite is relatively

high than that of ten meter deposits of loess on the Himalayan flank. The

reason being that the Pir Panjal range is dominated by the basic igneous

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 7

the north and north-west o f Kashm ir continued to grow up and got exposed

only when the lake water got drained out through the Baram ulla fault, as a

result of breach there, som e 85,000 years giving rise to the present

river channel of the Jehlum. The wind borne-loess continued to accum ulate

on all the exposed Karewa tops.^^ These accum ulations can be

categorised into three parts: the top-m ost m em ber is o f loess which is

followed by the Upper Karewas and the Lower Karewas as the case may

be. Thus all the lake sedim ents which accum ulated together before the 2'’“’

upheaval of the Pir Panjal and in between 4 MY B.P to 2 ,0 0 ,0 0 0 B.P., are

called Lower Karewas and the lake sedim ents which accum ulated from

rocks and has high concentration of ilmenite while as the Himalayan flank is

made up of limestone which generally have lower concentration of titanium.

Thus it appears that the source material for loess deposits in Kashmir was

derived from the nearby rocks in the periglacial environment and not

transported into from far off distance, G. S. Lodha, KJ.S. Swahney, H.

Razdan, D, P. Agrawal and N. Juyal, ‘Characterization of loess -palaeosol

sequence in Kashmir Valley using multielemental concentration data’,

Palaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia. pp. 31 -45.

The lower part of the loess on the Baramulla side has been dated back to

85,000 years B.P., D. P. Agrawal, N. Juyal, P. Sharma, R. Gardner and H.

Randell, Palaeogeography of the loess deposits of Kashmir', Palaeoclimate

and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, p. 56.

The loess on the south-south west of Kashmir got deposited on the Lower

Karewa tops from around 200.000 years P.P. while as the loess on the

north- north east of the Valley got deposited from 85,000 years B.P. on the

Upper Karewa beds. Thus the loess member is about twenty meters thick on

the south - south west while the loess member on the north-north east is

only ten meters thick and thus 85,000 years younger than the south-south

west accumulation, D, P. Agrawal, N. Juyal, P, Sharma, R. Gardner and H.

Randell, 'Palaeogeography of the loess deposits of Kashmir', Palaeoclimatic

and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, p. 55.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir g

200,000 B,P to 85,000 B.P. are term ed as Upper Karewa.^^ The study has

thus shown that the Karewa form ation started during the P liocene, soon

after the first rise of the Pir Panjal range around 4 MY B.P. and culm inated

during the M iddle Pleistocene, soon after the lake started to get dra ined off

around 85,000 years B.P., leaving behind 1.2 km, th ick deposit^'' in which

the deposition o f loess term inated after around 15,000 years B.P.^^

2. Glaciation

The work o f H. de Terra and Paterson^® rem ains the m ajor source of

inform ation on the climate and glaciation^^ in the P le istocene Kashmir.

26

27

D. P. Agrawal, N. Juyal, P. Sharma, R. Gardner and H. Randell,

'Palaeogeography of the loess deposit of Kashmir', Paiaeociimatic and

Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, p. 56. Earlier these members were

differentiated on the basis of sedimentology (Lydekker, supra note 10). H. de

Terra and Paterson differentiated the Upper Karewa from that of the Lower

Karewas on the basis of the record of 2"^ upheaval of the Pir Panjal in these

sediments. Studies in the Ice Age. These were even differentiated on the

basis of their location, like Hirpur formation and Nagum Fonnation, Dr. D. K.

Bhat, ‘A Review of the stratigraphy of the Karewa group (Pliocene-

Quaternary) Kashmir', Man and Environment, Vol. VI, 1982, pp. 46,55.

R. Dodia, 'Climate of Kashmir during last 700,000 years: the Baltal pollen

profile' Paiaeociimatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, p. 150.

Earlier de Terra and Paterson estimated that a maximum of 800 meters of

Lower Karewas Is certainly presen/ed and almost an equal amount of

thickness of those were eroded, Studies in the Ice Age.

The last palaeosol at the top of loess member is dated around this time, S.

Kusumgar, D. P. Agrawal, N. Juyal and P. Sharma, 'Palaeosols within loess:

Dating Paiaeociimatic events in Kashmir', Radiocarbon-, Vol. 28. 2A, 1986,

pp. 561-65,

H de Terra and T. T, Paterson, Studies in the Ice Age.

A glacier is a body of ice and firn (more than one year old snow is firn which

gets converted into ice by further accumulation of snow thereby forcing air

out of the diminishing intergranular spaces). The glaciers under the influence

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 9

According to them, Kashm ir experienced four glacial stages in all,

d istinguished from each other by three interglacial stages. The im prints of

this glaciation are amply reflected in the Karewas contain ing term inal

moraines^® o f glaciers, buff coloured sand and lam inated clays deposited

during interglacial periods. Likewise, the north eastern face o f the Pir Panjal

is covered with m oraine m aterial, while the terraces located in the upper

valleys o f the river Jehlum contain m oraine contents m ixed w ith fluvio-

glacial deposits.^^ The fact, tha t the Valley in the P le istocene epoch

characterised by a chain of g laciation oriented events, is fu rther evidenced

of gravity, flow out from the snowfield they originate from. At present one

tenth of the land surface is covered by glaciers, mostly at the poles, but

during the more widespread glaciation in the Pleistocene epoch, this

proportion was as large as one third of land surface of the world, R. F. Flint,

Glacial Geology and the Pleistocene Epoch, New York, 4* Edition, 1953,

As the glacier flows out from the snowfield it carries alongwith a debris of

rocks and clays, which are mostly liberated from the steep above the glacier,

mainly by frost shattering. The sides of the glaciers become edged with long

ribbons of the debris called lateral or marginal moraines. A certain proportion

reaches the sole of the glaciers and together with this the material plucked

or scraped from the floor constitute sub-glacial moraine; when the lower part

of glacier becomes heavily charged with the debris and cannot transport it,

all the excess is deposited as ground moraine. All the raised debris that

finally arrives at the terminus of the glacier, ranging from angular blocks and

boulders to the most finely ground rock-flour is dumped down haphazardly.

When the ice snout remains stationary for several years, an accurate

crescent shaped ridge of this debris, that curve around the glacier snout and

extend upto the sides on lateral moraines is, called terminal or end moraine, Ibid.

Besides, the material brought down by streams the glacial deposits of

moraine and debris of boulder clays have formed the fluvio glacial deposits,

mostly found in the river valleys of the Sindh and the Ladder, H, de Terra

and T. T, Paterson, Studies in the Ice Age.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir lo

by the presence of abundant polished rock surfaces, rock groovings and

striation m a rk s ,a c c o m p a n ie d by converted hard rock surfaces into well

grooved roche-m ou tonnes}' S im ilarly boulder clays^^ and erratics

present in the upper river valleys are the off-shoot o f th is g laciation process

in Kashmir.

The role played by the glacial sequence in shaping m any of the

geological entities in Kashm ir can be had from the fo llow ing two tables,

which sum m arize the major work of de Terra and Paterson briefly.

“ A glacier with embedded fragments of rocks is an effective tool for eroding

massive rocks. The larger fragments groove the floor and sides of the

underlying rocks or those themselves be worn flat and striated. A finer

material frozen into the sole of glacier act like a sand paper and smoothes

and polishes the rock surfaces, R. F. Flint, Glacial Geology and the

Pleistocene Epoch.

” The up stream sides of most hills and rocks, over ridden by ice were

rounded, polished or grooved; while as down stream sides were irregularly

jagged. Rock knobs sculptured in this way are called roche-moutonnes; Ibid.

“ Glaciers which are effective eroding agents release a vast amount of debns

at their front by melting. Piled in hummockey ridges along the ice front are

heaps of boulders of diverse sizes, sand, silt and clay, mixed without sorting

or stratification. Such unsorted debris deposited directly by the ice is called

tilt or boulder clay, which generally has rock fragments of sub rounded or

angular shape which is dissimilar to the shape of the debris found in

streams, Ibid.

A glacial region Is characterized by scattered boulders of rocks that are

foreign to the place where they have dropped. The ice transported blocks,

earned far from their present outcrops, are called erratic. These striking

monuments indicate the passage and movement of glaciers towards a

particular passage; Ibid.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 1 1

Table III (Bottom to top)

Geological AgeGeologicalStage

Geological entityS ign ificantGeologicalEvents

Holocene Post-glacialstage

- Deposition of Loess- Formation of Terrace 5 (T5)

UpperPleistocene

IV Glacial Stage - Formation of Terrace 4 (T4) of about 3 0 ^0 feet

- Terminal Moraines deposited at a height of 8000-9000 feet

UpperPleistocene

UpperPleistocene

III Interglacial Stage

III Glacial Stage

- Deposition of loess- Formation of Terrace 3 (T3)

of about 100-250 feet■ Erosion of earlier deposits- Formation of Terrace 2 (T2)

of about 100-200 feet.1- Terminal moraines deposited

at a height of 6800-9000 feet and about 100 feet above the 2"” glacial gravel fans

Tilting slightly

Tilting slightly

MiddlePleistocene

II Interglacial Stage

- Formation of Terrace 1 (T1) of about 150-300 feet

- Upper Karewas formed which at lower levels are lacustrine but at above levels have fluvial outwash (partly varved) being aeolian and fluvial in origin

- Erosion of Upper Karewa

! Tilting slightly

Lake DrainsMiddlePleistocene

II Glacial Stage

1

- Glacio-fluvial oufwash, fans deposited

- 400 feet of Karewa gravel deposited

- Karewa building continue- Boulder conglomerates and

boulder clay as glacial deposits

- Moraines deposited at a height of 5500-8000 feet

1 Tilting slightly

LowerPleistocene

1 interglacial Stage

- Lake bed with fluvial inwash and aeolian drift i

- About 2000 feet of Lower Karewas deoosited

Folding and tilting

LowerPleistocene

Compiled on the bi

1 Glacial Stage

asis of thp u/ork r>f

- Conglomerates as outwash formed

- Tenninal moraines deposited at a height of 5500 feet

- Thick gravel fans of about 200 feet deposited

UJ rin. 1 ___

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 13

From table III. one infers that the I Glacial stage left behind

c o n g lo m e ra te beds^ and term inal moraines over which the Lower

Karewas. containing such material as fluvial wash and aeolin drift, came

into existence dunng the interglacial period on account o f lake form ation

The Lower Karewas continued to gam their heights until the Upper

Karewas were formed by the end of II Interglacial stage The significant

feature of this stage was that the lake water drained off through a breach in

the Baramulla fault This correspondingly led to decline in the water level of

the glacial lake besides the accumulation of abundant fluvial m ateria ls upon

the Upper Karewas It was during the II Interglacial stage that first terrace

on the existing formations and soft silts of exposed Karewas, was form ed

by the river tributaries to meet the receding water level in the Valley In

spite of the III and the IV Glacial stage deposited term inal m oraines, a

series of terraces were formed on account o f erosion and deposition by the

Conglom erate beds are m ainly com posed o f boulders, angu lar s tones and

pebbles alongwith rock flour The rock flour being ca lcareous in nature,

cem ent the sedim ents to form a hard concrete like form ation dunng g lacia lconditions. Ibid

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Hisloric Kashmir i j

river tributaries during this time. Table IV given below/ exhib its the entire

information regarding the ir form ation at different stages.

Tab le IV (B o tto m to Top)

T erraceNo.

P eriod o f fo rm a tio n■C auses u n d e rly in g

the fo rm a tio nD is tin g u is h m g

fe a tu re s

T5 Post-G lacial** stage ^ - Erosion of earlier terrace caused by the release of m ore melted w ater of g lacier in the streams

- Com posed of brown loam y (loess) silt.

- P laced 20-30 feet below the T4.

T4 IV Glacial stage - Deposition of glacia l debris brought down by the advancem ent o f glaciers.

- Com posed of loam y silts derived from w eathered and re-depositing loess as the glacia l wash

- Placed 40-50 fee t above the present stream line.

T3 III Interglacial stage - Erosion of earlier deposition o f T2 caused by the release o f more melted w ater from the glaciers.

- Corresponding to the o ther it is having great width and has cut the m oraines o f III G laciation stage upstream.

T2 III Glacial stage

1

- Deposition of glacia l debris on account of advancem ent of glaciers.

- Presence of term inal m oraines in the terraces.

T1 II Interglacial Stage*

1

- Erosion o f existing level form ations due to the fall in the w ater level on account of dra inage o f the lake,

- Soft silts o f Karewas d issected and exposing underlying gravel fans.

W ashington.The major event of drainage of the lake is r\ow dated around 85,000 years B.P. as in supra, on the basis of scientific dating techniques adopted by the scientists of the Kashmir Palaeoclimate Project.in nn'I’t Holocene period which is generally dated around10,000 B.C.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 14

It is evident from the above table that the terraces were shaped

mainly due to the glacia l oriented aggradation and degradation. In case of

aggradation, the advanced Ice sheets brought down all available debris (of

sorts) and deposited It during the ir m ovem ent upon the ir fronta l snouts, On

the other hand, degradation was caused by the corresponding rise in water

level of the stream s during Inter-glaclal stages thereby cutting down the

raised beds, so form ed during glacial stages, o f the stream s. These

terraces mainly consist of debris m aterial o f glaciers, including silts, gravel,

fluvial wash and stream -rolled material. As Is known from the ir

chronological fram ework o f sediments, de Terra and Paterson encom pass

the entire episode of glaciation In the P leistocene epoch In which Karewas

were built from Lower to M iddle P leistocene epoch precisely between the

end of 1 G lacial to the end o f II Interglacial stages while as terraces were

cut thereafter to the beginning of Holocene period.

This chronological fram ework is now open to criticism at least on two

accounts. In the first place, the entire episode o f glaciation was m easured

to have taken place during the Pleistocene epoch. W e have already noted

that the Valley of Kashmir turned into a vast lake in the Pliocene epoch and

eventually the geological entity of Karewas cam e into existence.^® As the

superficial sediments have in their m atrix the records o f glaciation, these

records in turn make us push back the beginning o f the g lacia tion to the

Pliocene epoch; and, obviously it would be pertinent to ask. if there were

only four glacial periods in the entire history o f Kashmir, if so, which of

these fall in the Pliocene epoch. The climatic sequence established by de

“ Supra pages

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Hisloric Kashmir is

Terra and Paterson was seem ingly m odeled on the four fold g laciation of

the Alps, represented there by Gunz, Mindel, Riss and W urm and identified

in other regions as far afield as East A frica and North Am erica. Th is model

is being itself questioned and recently scholars have provided evidence of

seventeen glaciations in North Am erica fo r the last 1.7 On the other

hand, in the neighbourhood of Kashmir, Porter recorded only three glacial

periods of the Pleistocene epoch in Swat Kohistan (Pakistan).^^ Can we,

therefore, infer from these diverse records regional patterns in the world of

glaciation? Even though presently the available record o f the pa laeoclim ate

of Kashm ir is not as com plete as one would like to be, yet there are

indications that Kashmir had possibly m ore than three glacial stages in the

Pleistocene and one such instance o f cold clim ate was prevailing in the

later stages o f the P liocene epoch as well.^® Given th is s ituation what is

eventually put in the place o f de Terra and Paterson's m odel o f sequence,

particularly in this regard, is at present impossible to predict accurately.

“ The evidence based on ocean - floor sediments of the Pacific was

presented by N J Shackleton and N. D. Opdyke, 'Oxygen -Isotope and

Palaeomegnetic stratigraphy of the Pacific core v 28-239, Late Pliocene to

latest Pleistocene’ Geological Society of America Memorial. Vol. 145, 1976,

p. 449-64; cf. R, W. Dannall, The Potwar plateau and studies of early man',

South Asian Archaeology, 1981, (1984) p. 10.

” S.C. Porter, 'Quaternary glacial record in Swat Kohistan, West Pakistan'

Bulletin of Geological Society o f America. No.81, 1970, pp. 421-46 . He

however does not identify any interglacial stage in between the glacial

periods, but these were instead, demarcated from each other by several

interstadial periods which like interglacial periods were warm but of shorter

duration, with fluctuations.

Infra sub heading , Palaeo-climate .

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 16

The second c o n tra d ic tio n tha t has a r ise n in th is m o d e l is th a t th e y

accom m odated K a re w a b u ild in g a nd te rra ce fo rm a tio n d u r in g the

P le is tocene e p o ch w h e n th e re ce n t s tu d ie s , as w e h a ve n o te d a b o v e , h a ve

shown th a t K a rew a fo rm a tio n s ta rte d in th e P lio c e n e e p o c h In th is re s p e c t

Dr D K B hat, a le a d in g fie ld g e o lo g is t w o rk in g on K a re w a s , re v is e d th is

m odel and e x p la in e d th e ir fo rm a tio n in re la tio n to th e fo rm a tio n o f S iw a lik s

ou ts ide K ash m ir H is m o d e l is re p ro d u c e d in th e fo llo w in g ta b le

Age

R e ce n t o r H o lo ce n e o U p p e r5 QJ

c M id d leQ) (U

Lo w e rLa te

(Uc0

9 E arly a

Table V (B ottom to top)

S iw alik S tratigraphy

P o s t S iw a lik

^ B o u ld e rC o n g lo m e ra teP in jo reT a tro t

K arew aS tratig rap h yP o s t K a re w a

Q.3O5nj

N a g u m *F o rm a tio n

H irp u r ’ *fo rm a tio n

Source Dr D K Bhat. 1982. New Delhi, Table 1. p 49■ Nagum form ation of Bhat is com posed of Loess and U pper Karewa ” By H irpur form ation Bhat m eans Lower Karewa■ denotes unconform ity

T h is s tra tig ra p h ic a l ta b le a llo w s to d e d u c e th a t m a jo r p o r tio n o f th e

L o w e r K a re w a s to o k s h a p e in th e P lio c e n e e p o c h a n d th e re s t o f th e s e

w e re b u ilt in th e e a rly P le is to c e n e e p o c h ; w h ile a s th e e n tire U p p e r K a re w a s

w e re b u ilt in th e M id d le P le is to c e n e e p o c h In o th e r w o rd s , D r. B h a t 's

m o d e l a im s a t c o n ve y in g th a t th e g la c ia l s e q u e n c e m K a s h m ir n o t o n ly

p e rta in e d to P le is to ce n e e p o c h b u t P lio c e n e e p o c h a s w e ll. A c c o rd in g ly h e

e q u a te s th e fo rm a tio n o f th e e a r lie s t p a rt o f th e L o w e r K a re w a w ith th a t o f

D K Bhat. 'A review of the stratigraphy of the Karew a group (P l io c e n e - Q uaternary). Kashmir ■ Man and Envmnment. Vol. VI, 19 82 .p p 46-55

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir I ■>

Dhok Pathan and Tatrot beds of Siwaliks which as per his evaluations were

laid during Early and Late Pliocene epochs, respectively. This

stratigraphical sequence is not only contradictory with that of de Terra and

Paterson but it is also quite erroneous in view of the revised model

formulated by Rendell.''° Besides Bhat has also placed the first three

terraces of Kashmir (T1 to T3) in the Middle Pleistocene and last two

terraces of Kashmir (T4 and T5) in the Upper Pleistocene epoch as against

de Terra and Paterson's placement of only first two terraces (T1 and T2) in

the Middle Pleistocene (Table III above).

On the other hand recent studies carried out in Pakistan have raised

doubts about the very existence of river terraces there which were

identified and related by de Terra and Paterson with the corresponding

scheme o f terrace'formation in Kashmir. The five terrace formations of the

alluvial sediments of the Potwar Plateau in the northern Punjab (Pakistan)

w/ere regarded by them to have been the off-shoot of the rise and fall in the

w/ater level of streams due to glaciating in Kashmir Himalayas.'*’ This

relative chronology of the stratigraphical geo-morphological formations, as

worked out by them, is given in the table VI.

Infra table VII

*' H. de Terra and T.T. Paterson, Studies in the Ice Age.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Hlstoric Kashmir 18

Kashmir

No. of Composition of Terrace Geological entity

Table VI (Bottom to topi

Terrace chiefly consist of {loess} loam Chiefly consist of weathered and redeposited (loess)Loam ______Mainly having boulder gravel and terminal moraines

T3

T2

T1Soft silts of upper Karewas and gravel fans

U plift/tilting /fo ld ing--

Lov(/er Karew/as with BoulderConglomerates and Terminal moraines

■1 ■Folding/tilting.

Lower Karewas deposited having fluvial inwash and aeolian drift

GlacialPeriod No. of

TerraceIV Glacial

Stage

III Inter-glacial

II Glacial

II Inter glacial

1 Glacial

I Inter-glacial

Potwar

Compassion of Geological entity

T4 Pink loam, silt, .gravel

T3 'Thin Loam

12

T1

Potwar loessic silt land Gravel

Upper Terrace Gravel

Erosion tilting/ folding

i Boulderi conglomerates bed

Erosion/ tilting/' folding

iPink silt and sand ion Pinjore beds

Terminal moraines and conglomerate bed

I Glacial

Basement rockPre-Glacial

stage

Conglomerate and sands on Tatrotb ^ __Dhok Pathan formation

-------denotes unconformity.Compiled on the basis of the work of H. de Terra and T. T. Paterson, 1939, Washington.

W hile de Terra and Paterson believed that terrace formation, both in

the Pleistocene Kashmir and Potwar, got completed on account of

glaciation deposition and erosion from II Glacial periods, this belief of

theirs, however, met with substantial criticism from Helen Rendell, a British

geomorphologist who on the other hand emphasised the significance of

tectonic upliftment of sediments for their morphological formations. She,

therefore, outrightly rejected the morphological characters and the outlying

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kastimir 19

cause of five terrace formation in the Potwar Plateau and believed that a

definite stage of geological formation of horizontal layers, called Lei-

conglomerate complex, was formed. This massive complex of pebbles,

cobbles and boulders, chiefly of limestone's, offering considerable

resistance to erosion and cutting down of rivers in the plateau, tends to

appear as residual shelves or benches on the valley slopes which are, what

de Terra and Paterson took to represent, one or more than one terraces

She accordingly presented the following modified relative chronology, as

reproduced in the Table VII, of the Potwar plateau.

Table VII (Bottom to top)Geological deposition_____________________ Tentative dates in B. P.--------Erosion/deposition ■Loess deposition 0-08 Mts. 18,000 B.P.*------ erosion/deposition------------------------------- 40,000 B.P.Loess deposition ___________ 65,000 B.P.**Lei-conglomerate complex 105 Mts.,Includes deposition of loess^------- Uplifting/folding/start of e ro s io n ---------- 500,000 B.P.-700.000 B.P.------- Unconformity ■

Upper Siwalik conglomerates 900 Mts.o.

1.6 My B.P. 1.9 My B.P.

Pinjore beds lOT^Mts.Tarot beds

' ----------- disconformity — '3.0 My. B.P.Dhok Pathan 400 Mts. 8.0 My B.P,Nagri formation 66.5 Mts.

iChinji formation 1525 Mts. 10.2 My B.P' and ** These dates are as a result of the T.L. technique adopted by H. Rendell as described by her in 'Environmental Changes during the Pleistocene in the Potwar plateau and Peshawar Basin, Northem Pakistan' in Palaeodimatic and Palaeoenvironmental changes in Asia.Table source: H. Rendell, 1981, Cambridge

Helen Rendel, The Pleistocene sequence in the Son Valley, northern

Pakistan/Souf/i Asian Archaeology, 1981,(1984) pp 3-9.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 20

Rendell has thus not only radically changed the stratigraphy of the

geological formations in the Potwar Plateau from that of de Terra and

Paterson, but also holds that the formations overlying the Upper Siwalil<s,

taken earlier to be river terraces, even though laid by rivers, streams and

torrents out of mountains into the plains, were subsequently folded as a

result of tectonic events and re-laid in perpendicular or near perpendicular

positions,"'^ It therefore, seems that de Terra and Paterson underestimated

the significance of tectonic upliftment in the stability of the sediments. What

is to be seen is w/hether this criterion can be applied to the terrace

formations, so identified and related by de Terra and Paterson, in Kashmir

and how for tectonic upliftments have played their role in such formations in

the Valley. Randell is again at cross roads with de Terra and Paterson in

terms of time involved in the formation of this variety of geological entities.

She had dated the Lei-conglomerate and upper Siwalik conglomerate

(terraces T1 to T3 and boulder conglomerate of de Terra and Paterson)

complexes from 500,000 B.P. to 1.9 MY B.P. (Pleistocene age) and has

deduced the age for the Pinjore beds to 2.5 My B.P. (Pliocene age).

Since 1980, an interdisciplinary team of experts, comprising British

Archaeological Mission to Pakistan, Department of Archaeology of

Pakistan , Geological Survey of Pakistan besides a joint Pak-America team

are working on the Siwaliks in Pakistan. Some of their findings have been

published by B, Allchin, 'Earliest traces of man in Potwar Plateau, Pakistan-

a report of a British Archaeological Mission', South Asian Studies, Vol.2

1986, pp 69-83 ; R.W. Dannall, op.cit., H. M. Rendell, op.cit., H. Rendell

and R.W, Dannall, 'Dated Lower Paleolithic artifacts from northern Pakistan,

Current Anthropology. Vol.26, No,3, Chicago 1985, p.393; and H. Rendell,

'Environmental changes during the Pleistocene in the Potwar plateau and

Peshawar Basin, Pakistan, Palaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmentai

changes in Asia, pp,58-66,

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Hisloric Kashmir 21

Contrary to this, de Terra and Paterson had attnbuted the age of the

Pleistocene epoch for all these entities together.

As a result of recent geological and Palaeoclimatic investigations,

both in and outside Kashmir, it has become evident that there is a scope for

a fresh dating of the geological formations in Kashmir. One can as such

build up the following table, reflecting a tentative chronology of geological

material accumulated there during the Pliocene and the Pleistocene

epochs when Kashmir, witnessed glacial periods, whose number, however,

is still to be accurately counted.

Table No. VIII on Page No. 23

On the basis of this tentative chronology we have attempted to relate

chronometrical dates, available so far, to those of the sediments that were

earlier held to have been formed in the Pleistocene only, but many of these

dates actually fall in the Pliocene. Most of these dates are in conformity

with those of the chronometric dates deduced in the Potwar. Even though

sedimentological pattern is that of de Terra and Paterson, yet it differs with

that in many respects, particularly when we do not lay emphasis on the

formation o f terraces. The line between the Pliocene and the Pleistocene

epochs gets demarcated by the presence of boulder conglomerate III

earlier found by de Terra and Paterson in the Lower Karewas of II

H. de Terra and T. T. Paterson, Studies in Ice Age. The model proposed by

Dr. D. K. Bhat, supra table V in respect of Siwalik stratigraphy related with

Kashmir sediments seems erroneous in many respects, particularly in view

of the dates mentioned by Randell,supra table V II ; e.g. neither Dhok Pathan

can be related with Lower Karewas nor Boulder conglomerate with upper

Karewas.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Hlstoric Kashmir 22

Glaciation Accordingly the I Glacial stage of the glacial sequence, as

recorded by de Terra and Paterson, thus occurred dunng the Pliocene

epoch and the rest of glacial period, for which no number can be fixed

safely, actually occurred during the Pleistocene epoch. The II Interglacial

stage of de Terra and Paterson was full of events, in which the Lower

Karewas got exposed, the Upper Karewa began to build and Baramulla

gorge later on ennptied the Valley lake. However, all these events do not

seem to have taken place during this Interglacial penod alone. Firstly

because an Interglacial period is believed to have lasted only for about

10,000 years'*^ while as all these events took more than hundred thousand

years, precisely between 85,000 B.P. and 200,000 B.P. Secondly the

climate of Kashmir around 200,000 B.P. was cold as found during glacial

period.^® There are many dates available now from the loess deposition

which show that Kashmir climate had actually fluctuated more consistently

and therefore no emphasis on the four-fold glacial sequence has been laid

in the above tentative table.

3. Palaeo Climate:

Kashmir climate resembles with that of the [Mediterranean world,

featuring only winter precipitation’s. The present height of the Pir Panjal

(14,000 feet above sea level) constitutes the temperate climate of the

valley as it shields the Valley from the heat and monsoons coming from the

south west of the Indian-sub continent. Before this, Kashmir like the Indian

plains had a sub-tropical type of climate.'*^ This is proved by the climatic

data available to us for about last four million years. The data based on

pollen material is reproduced here, in the table IX, to show that Kashmir

climate recorded periodical changes.

46

S.K.Gupta 'Recent Palaeoclimatic data from India region with reference to

climate modelling and environmental studies'. Palaeoclimate and

Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, pp 12-21.

Infra sub heading, Palaeo-climate.

" D.P. k q rm a \ . Man and environment in India through ages, p263.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 24

Table IX

Age in My Site Pollen Zone Climate02 Romu Loess • Barren :Gap0 3 to 0.6 Romu B-9 • Cold and Dry

B-8 • Cold and DryB-7 • Cold and Dry

Baltal B-6 • Cool, temperate, wetB-5 • Cold and DryB-4 • Cool, temperature, wetB-3 • Cold and DryB-2D -1 • Cool, temperature, wetD- 1 • Cool, moderate, wet

0,6 to 0,7 Sarnar Cool, temperate0,7 to 2.2 Gap2,2 to 2.4 Krachipatra KP-1 to Upper part incomplete, cool

KP-4 temperate with little variation inprecipitation.

2,4 to 2.6 Gap2 63 to 3.7 Hirpur H-15 • cool, temperate, dry

H-14 • cool, temperate, less dryH-13 • cold, temperate, moistH-12 • temperate, humidH-11 • warm, temperate, moistH-10 • sub-tropical, warmH-9C • sub tropical dryH-9B • Temperate and dry

H-9A • Sub tropical dry.

H-8 • Warm temperate wet

H-7 • sub tropical dry

H-6 • cool temperate

1H-5 • sub tropical dry

H-4 • warm temperate dry

H-3 • sub tropical moderately dry

H-2 • warm temperate dry

H-1 • sub tropical dry

3.7 to 3.8 Gap>3,8 Dubjan DB-3 • cool, temperate, wet

DB-2 • warm temperate, less wetDB-2B • increasingly warm tempDB-2A • warm temperate transitionDB-1 • warm temperate moderate

DP Agrawal, 1992, New Delhi, pp. 141-142

One infers from the given data that Kashmir had a warm sub-tropical

climate around 3.8 MY B.P. It registered a transition form sub-tropical to

cool temperate climate between 3.7 to 2.6 MYB.P. Around the latter date

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 25

we get the first positive indication of ensuing cold and di7 (glacial) climate

which rem ained static till at least 2.0 MYB.P In other words, one may

believe that the pre-Pleistocene Kashmir has had a glacial period spread

over thousands of years as is also supported by stable isotopic,''® and

faunal data."*® However, due to the absence of any pollen profile, one is

handicapped to predict the climatic behaviour that was available in Kashmir

between 2 MY and 700,000 B.P. The record available thereafter, from

700,000 to 200,0006 .P. is suggestive o f the fact that Kashmir Valley

experienced very cold climate, a period that itself was formed of three

long cold and dry (glacial) spe lls jn terrup ted by short spells of warm climate

representing either interstadial or interglacial periods.” De Terra and

R.V. Krishnamurthy , M.J.De Niro and R.K. Pant, 'Isotope evidence for

Pleistocene climatic changes in Kashmir Nature. Vol. 298,1983, p.690.

A Sahni and B.S. Kotlia , report that collection of microvertebrates, like fossil

rodents called arvicolids. recorded from the Lower Karewa horizons and

pertaining to the Pliocene epoch, indicate cold glacial activity, 'Karewa

microvertebrates: biostratigraphical and Palaeoecological amplifications',

Climate and Geology o f Kashm ir. p, 27.

Today glacial are taken to last about hundred thousand years and

interglacial last for about hundred thousand years or so, D.P. Agrawal,

Man and Environment in India, p.59. Spread over about 500,000 years the

pollen diagram suggest 5 cold periods and hence D. P. Agrawal called

them 5 cold glacial periods separated by interglacial periods,

'Palaeoclimatic data from Kashmir: A synthesis and some correlation',

Palaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, p 53; on the

other hand. Rekha Dodia argued that 5 cold periods were separated by

interstadial stages, ‘Climate of Kashmir :the Baltal pollen profile', Ibid, p

156. However, the pollen diagram, belonging to the Romu locality, indicate

that the last three cold periods were actually without any break (table IX

supra) and can thus be treated as one constituent unit. This was proceeded

by warm-cold-warm-cold sequence

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kastimir 26

Paterson, while subscribing to the four-fold glacial periods, had maintained

that the II G lacial penod was comparatively intense, severe, long and

largest. S im ilarly they believed that dunng all these periods there were

som e clim atic oscillations^’ meaning thereby that such oscillations formed

part of a glacial period. As this is the case,the warm oscillation recorded

between 700,000 to 200,000 B.P. may therefore be inter stadial.

The fluctuating climatic cond itions^ in Kashmir are further

evidenced by the presence o f palaeosols in the loess, which at several

stages o f its deposition has got transformed into weathered soils during

warm and humid conditions following a spell of cold arid period.” Out of

H. de Terra and T. T Paterson, Studies in the Ice Age. observed that each

glacial stage saw inter-glacial pulsation of the ice front, more evident in the

late stages and thus they recognised at least two advances during II Glacial

stage, four advances and a retreat halt in the III and four advances in the IV,

caused by climatic oscillations. They could not estimate the duration of these

variations as the size of glaciers was itself rather difficult to measure.

Paterson, however, said that if the size of moraines be taken as a standard

for determining the duration of climate then II Glaciation period was larger

than I Glacial period which was itself longer than III Glacial period and the III

period was longer than the IV Glacial period.

Beyond 200,000 B.P. the pollen data from the Upper Karewas and loess

sediments is not available as these sediments being alkaline in nature are

sterile in pollen, D.P. Agrawal, ‘Palaeoclimatic data from Kashmir: A

synthesis and some correlation's', Palaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironwental

Changes in Asia. p. 6.

The palaeosols develop within the loess sections during various stages of

weathering in the periods of climatic amelioration, from cold arid to

temperate humid. These generally contain humus rich horizon, 'A', followed

by a clay rich compact horizon, 'B' with low calcium carbonate (CACO3)

content and a carbonate illuvial horizon with high CACOs content, G. S.

Lodha, K. J. S, Swahney, H. Rezdan, D. P. Agrawal and N. Juyal,

'Characterization of Loess-Palaeosol sequence in Kashmir valley using

multi-elemental concentration data'. Ibid, pp.33-34,

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 27

ten such pa laeoso ls ,n the loess at various depths, three show relatively

g rea te r w eathering and thus reflect more warm er and humid condition

prevailing during the ir form ation The therm olum inescene (TL) dating

techn ique has provided a date of around 15,000 B P for the latest

pa laeoso l form ation.^^ The results drawn from this TL date provide a broad

spectrum o f in form ation regarding the climatic changes which the Valley

experienced between 15,000 to about 30,000 B.P.=® On an average the

V a lley has recorded such changes after every 20,000 years^^ and each

change w as characterised by a set trend seeking to improve the climatic

cond itions from cold to warm -hum id period. The period between 30,000 to

17,000 B.P. exem plifies the above trend besides testifying the climatic

change from cold to warm period in the Valley^® - a reality which is further

re in forced by the po llen record. The pollen record, from the bogs of

K ashm ir suggest tha t K ashm ir c lim ate was relatively warm in and around

s*

56

D. P. Agrawal, Man and Environment in India, p. 262.

Helen Rendel and P. D, Townshed, Thermoluminescene dating of Kashmir

Loess', Paiaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, p. 49.

They however, report some inherent limitations in the technique employed

for the dating in excess of 80,000 years.

Ibid.

ibid: D. P. Agrawal, Paiaeoclimatic data from Kashmir: A synthesis and

some correlation's', Paiaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in

Asia, p.6.

Carbon dated palaeosols, 30,000 B.P. and above, were reported by S

Kusumgar, D. P. Agrawal, N. Juyal and P. Sharma, ‘Palaeosols with loess,

dating paiaeoclimatic events in Kashmir, Radiocarbon. Vol. 28 2A, 1986, pp.

561-65.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 28

17,000 B P ” a period un iversally known for glacia l maxim um “ Inter alia,

the V alley reg istered c lim atic am elioration which sustained for a long period

as is shown by an extensive palaeosol developm ent at that tim e ®'

How ever, w ith the dawn o f the Holocene period, i.e. around 12,000 B.P.,

the V alley was again ovenwhelmed by a spell of cold c lim a te ^ which

transfo rm ed into a re lative ly w arm er am bience on ly towards the mid-

H o locene period (7,000 B.PI),®^

ei

62

Rekha Dodia, D. P.. Agrawal and A. B. Vora, 'New pollen data from the

Kashmir Bogs: a summary', The Evolution o f the East Asian Environment'

ed. R. O. Whyte, Vol. 2, Hong Kong, 1984, p. 569-78.

D. P. Agrawal, ‘ Palaeoclimatlc data from Kashmir: A synthesis some

correlation's', Palaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, p.

6 . In Nepal, as well, the pollen data suggest that warming up of the

atmosphere had started there around 17,000 B.P. and that the last phase of

glacial maximum was registered there around 20,000 B.P., Y. Igarashi, M.

Yoshida and H. Tabata, 'History of vegetation and Climatic Changes in

Asia', Ibid. pp. 212-25.

D. P. Agrawal, Ibid., p.7.

Rekha Dodia, D. P. Agrawal and A. B. Vora, The Evolution o f East Asian

Environment, p. 569.

Ib id

G eo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 29

4. P alaeo-vegeta tion :

Due to the late land form ation, we have no idea about the vegetation

patte rn o f the pre and early P liocene Kashm ir ®'* But there is ample

ev idence perta in ing to the ex istence of warm loving forest plants, lil<e oaks

and laurals, grow ing during the late P liocene in Kashm ir, around 3.8 to 2.6

M Y B.P.®^ Thereafter, as the foss ils suggest, the flora o f Kashm ir

com prised both o f warm loving oak plants and con ifer plants.®® The warm

loving p lan ts m ainly com prised o f Q uercus sem ecarpifolia, Quercus incana,

B etu la u tilis and P opulus nigra.^^ The conifers broadly consisted o f Pinus

exces la and A bies webbiana, where the fo rm er was in large quantity.®® The

In the beginning of the Paleocene epoch, 70 MY B.P, there appeared on

earth clear adaptive evolutionary superiority of modern plant forms, like

grasses and flowering plants, called angiosperms, over mosses and ferns

that had dominated throughout the dinosaurs reign from 225-75 MY B.P. M.

K. Nickels, D. E. Hunter and P. Whitten, Anthropology and Archaeology, p.

168. Because of the late land formation of Kashmir, during Miocene epoch,

25 MY B.P, (note 3 supra) these angiosperms could not establish

themselves here and also because during its land formation sediments have

been rigged up, compressed and elevated and it seems the angiosperm

plants invaded Kashmir very late through Iran-Afghanistan as a secondary

migration, G. N. Javaid, Flora o f Srinagar, unpublished Ph.D. thesis,

University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 1970.

Rekha Dodia, D. P. Agrawal and A. B. Vora, The Evolution o f East Asian

Environment, p. 569; H. P. Gupta, C. Sharma, R. Dodia and C. Mandavia,

‘Palynostratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of Kashmir, Hirpur location IN',

Climate and Geology o f Kashmir, p. 27.

Ibid.

Ibid] Vishnu-Mittre, 'Floristic and ecological reconsideration's of Pleistocene

plant impressions from Kashmir, The Palaeobotanist, Vol. 16, No. 3&4,

1967, pp. 308-29.

“ Ib id

Geo-Physlcal Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 30

ee

grow th o f these conifers has m ostly been traced in upper area of the Valley

wh ile the lower areas specia lized in the growth o f evergreen and deciduous

broad leafed oal< species.®®

P ollen analysis suggests fluctuating trend in the growth o f the above

p lan t com m unities across the Valley at d ifferent tim es. Thus between

700 ,000 and 200,000 B.P. con ifers like Pinus wallichiana, P ices and Abies

experienced com petition am ong them selves. W ith the result there was

no ticeab le successive rise and fall in the growth o f its one or the other

genus.^“ However, during the sam e period, the conifers out-num bered the

broad leafed plants like Betula, Ulmas, Juglans, Q uercus o f the oak

com m un ities .'’ ’ A s said earlier, th is was the period when the Valley

w itnessed a pro longed spell o f cold c lim ate together w ith com paratively

sho rte r in tervals o f w arm er c lim ate conditions.^^ The cold clim ate periods

fea tu red the grow th o f con ife rs and the w arm er period generally saw the

grow/th o f oak trees, fo rm ing the fo rest cover o f the Valley.

W e have no ev idence w h ich would suggest the type o f the plants

du ring 200,000 to 17,000 B.P.” Tow ards 17,000 B.P. owing to the clim atic

transfo rm ation ,^* the oak outnum bered the conifer plants,^® th is trend

72

73

74

7i

Rekha Dodia, 'Climate of Kashmir during the last 700,000 years: the Baltal

pollen profile' Palaeoclimatic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, pp.

149-157.

Ibid

Ibid

Supra sub-heading Palaeoclimate

Supra and note 52

Supra, and note 59

R. Dodia, D. P. Agrawal and A. B. Vora, The Evolution o f East Asian

Environment, pp. 101-108

G eo-Physical Formation of Pre-Hisloric Kashmir 31

however, did not last long as around 12,000 B.P, there was again a fall in

the proportion o f oaks fo llowed by the substantia l rise in the pollen profile of

the conifers,^® accom panied by the sign ificant decline in the forests o f elm

trees .” H ow ever in the m id-Holocene (5000 B.P.) there was a marked

dec line in the num ber o f pine fo rests leading thereby to the appearance of

new plan ts like P lantago lance lato and a fa ir rise in chenopodiaceae,

com posite shrubs and light dem anding trees such as elm and ash.^® The

g rasses and w eeds in turn are indicative of the fact that the growrth of

certa in cereal plants, like w hea t and barley by about 4000 B.P. had spread

to fo res t lands as well.^®

In the period, m entioned above, there m ight have been a close

strugg le fo r surviva l and grow th between warm and cold loving plants. This,

how ever, never m eant tha t one particu lar com m unity o f plants was

e lim ina ted a ltoge ther at the cost o f o ther com m unities in any given clim atic

cond itions. Palaeo-bo tan ica l stud ies indica te tha t plants like Pinus, Picea,

Betu la, U lmas, Aesculas, Juglans, B axus etc. existed together in Kashm ir

76

77

7 (

7»

Ibid

Vishnu-Mittre, 'Palaeobotanlcal evidence in India’, Evolutionary Studies in

World Crops, Diversity and Change in the Indian sub-continent, ed. Sir

Joseph Hutchinson, Cambridge, 1974, pp. 3-30.

Ibid.

Seeds of certain weeds like Lithosperm arvense, Medicago denticulato,

Medicago spp., Lotus corniculats and Ipomea sp. and grasses like Plantago

establish growth of cereal plants. Ibid. The identification of cereals like barley

and wheat from Burzahom further authenticate the theory, G. M, Bhat and R.

N, Kaw, 'Plant husbandry in Neolithic Burzahom, Kashmir, 'Climate and

Geology o f Kashmir, 109-110.

G eo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 32

around 5000 B.P and m ost of these plants still form the vegetation cover

o f the Valley.®' Thus dunng the successive stages in the phytogeographical

From Burzahom Pinus walllchiana. Pices smithiana. Cedrus deodars,

Parrotioppis jacquemontiana, Qurecus sp . Betula utilis, Ulmas wallichiana,

Celtis australis. Aesculus indica, Buxus sp.. Juglans sp , Platanus orientalis.

Fraxinus excellsior and Ficus sp. are reported belonging to the Neolithic

period, Farooq A. Lone, Maqsooda Khan and G. M. Bhat, "Five thousand

years of Vegetational changes in Kashmir, the Impact of Biotic Factor'’,

Paiaeoctimalic and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, pp. 19-39. From

Gofkral the aceramic levels had Pinus wallichiana, the early Neolithic hnd

Aescalus indica and Juglans regia and the late Neolithic had Pinus

wallichiana, Picea smithiana, Buxus wallichiana. Ulmus wallichiana and

Prunus cornuta, of which Buxus is said to have been acquired from outside

as it does not grow/ here, Indian Archaeology - A Review, 1982-83, pp 175,

The present day vegetation of Kashmir can be divided into three zones.

Zone I (1500-2000 meters): Both broad leafed and conifer elements are

mixed in this zone. The broad leafed plants are poplar {Populas ciliata, P.

nagra), walnut {Juglans regia) and elm (Ulmus wallichiana). The conifers are

deodara {Cedrus deodar) and blue pine (Pinus wallichiana). Zone II (2200-

3200 Mts.): Conifers totally outnumber the broad leafed elements. Elm

occurs upto 2700 Mts. The main conifers are blue pine, fir (Abies webbiana),

spruce {Picea smithiana) and yew (Taxus baccata). The majority of broad

leave trees Is represented by Pronus cornuta, Aesculus Indica, Acer

caesium. Juglans regia, Rosa macrophylla. Zone III (Above 3200 Mts.): It is

the alpine zone, vegetation begins with birch {Betula utilis) and above 3600

Mts. a variety of other vegetation occurs like Juniper (Juniperus communis,

J. squamata), Rhododendron companultum , Salix denticula, Syrings emodi

and Lonicera spp. This zone Is also associated with meadows in which

temperate grass species like /poa, Glyceria and Festuca are dominated, D.

P. Agrawal, Man and Environment in India, p. 126. However the most

common tree species found in Kashmir are:

English Name Kashmiri Name Botanical nameDeodar Deodar Cedrus deodaraHimalayan blue pine Kairu Pinus wallichianaHimalayan silver fir Budal Abies webbianaYew Posthal Texas baccataElm Brenn Ulmus wallichianaWalnut Dun Juglns regia

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 33

evo lu tion o f Kashm ir, since the P le istocene epoch, the vegetation cover of

the V a lley w as transform ed from sub-tropical oak-laural com m unity to the

p resen t tem pera te p ine-deodor-fir-cherry com m unity on account of climatic

a lte ra tions accom panied by changes in organ ic m ovem ent. The vegetation

cover o f the Valley obta in ing now w as also available som e five thousand

years ago and has not changed to any appreciab le extent during this

period, excep t fo r the changes induced by man. It was because o f his

d is tu rb ing the natural vegetation, by clearing forests fo r the purpose of

agricu lture, tim ber, fue l wood and other fo rest products and his changing

natura l landscape into agriculturaly useful land, destruction o f indigenous

species to favour various econom ica lly useful species and introduction of

exo tics tha t resulted in radical changes in the flora o f the Valley during

these last five thousand years.®^ Othenwise the then environm enta l factors

w ere s im ila r to the present type.

5. A n im a l P a laeonto logy:

During the last 120 years, a large collection o f faunal inform ation has

been co llected from Kashm ir, but so fa r no hum an palaeontologica l record

English Name Kashmiri Name Botanical nameItalian popler Ohrast Populas nigraWhite poplar Dudh phrast Populas albaMaple Kanar Acerspp.Willow VIr Salix tetraspermaWhite birch Burza Betula utilisPlane Boin/Chinar Platanus orientalisJuniper - JunlperusHorse chestnut - AesculusWater chestnut - TrapaOak - QuercusCat tail - TyphaMoonis Raza, A. Ahmad and Mohammad Ali, The Valley of Kashmir, New Delhi, 1978, Table XLVI.

” Farooq A. Lone, Maqsooda Khan and G. M. Butt, 'Five Thousand Years of

vegetational changes in Kashmir the Impact of Biotic Factor' Palaeoclimate

and Palaeoenvironmental Changes in Asia, pp 165-168.

G eo-Physical Formation o f Pre-Historic Kashmir 34

is known. N everthe less, extensive surveys o f fossils in the Karewas have

exposed both Invertebrates and vertebrates.

T he Invertebrates found In Kashnnir are nnolluscus and ostracods.

M olluscus were firs t collected by Godwln-Austen®^ from Gogjipathrl.

P rasad identified som e new types from the Upper and the Lower

Karewas.®^ Thompson®^ and Cunningham®® made collections o f both fresh

w a te r and terrestria l m olluscus from the Karewas. Bhatia a lso collected

som e new types from the U pper and Lower Karewas.®^ He also collected

ostracods w ith 20 Texas and 2 new species from Upper Karewas.®® A large

co llec tion o f ostracods. from the Lower Karewas, w as m ade during Kashm ir

Godwin-Austen, op.cit, 1864 The molluscus were studied and Identified by

Woodward as HelJx, Rupa, Zua, Succinea, Limnaea, Planorbis and Pisidium.

B. Prasad, 'On a collection of land and fresh water molluscus from the

Karewas of Kashmir', Record o f Geological Survey o f India. Vol. 56(4), 1925,

pp. 356-361. He Identified Bithynia, Gyraulis and Planorbis from the Lower

Karewas and Valvata piscimalis, Lymniaea auricularia, Pisidium

hydraspicola and Planorbis planorbis from the Upper Karewa.

Th. Thompson, Western Himalaya and Tibet, London. 1852.

A Canningham, Ladakh - Physical, Statistical and Historical, with notices of

the surrounding countries, London, 1853.

S. B. Bhatia, 'Some Pleistocene molluscus from Kashmir', Himalayan

Geology. Vol. 4, 1974, pp. 371-95 and Identified a new species of

Gastropoda from Upper Karewa.

S. B. Bhatia, 'Some Pleistocene ostracods from the Upper Karewas of

Kashmir', Micropalaeontology. Vol. 14(4) 1968, p. 465; and 'Some ostracods

from the Lower Karewas near Nichahome, Kashmir’, Bulletin o f Indian

Geological Society. Vol. 2(1&2), 1969, p. 69. The Important ones are:

Cansoma, Cypria, Cyprinotus, Cypris, llycypris, Limnocythera and

Potamocypris from the Upper Karewas and Candona, lllyocypris and

Limnocythera from the Lower Karewas.

G eo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historic Kashmir 35

Palaeoclim atic Pro)ect, w h ich for the firs t tim e gave a da te of the ir

appearance in Kashm ir, be tw een 2.4 to 2.2 M Y B.P

The vertebrates can be c lass ified into tw o m ic ro ve rte b ra te s and

m egavertebrates. The m ic rove rteb ra tes found so fa r in K a sh m ir are

represented by fishes, insectivo res and rodents. T he fish rem a in s w e re firs t

reported by G odw in-A usten from G og jipa thn , Y usm arg and Lidermarg.®°

Hora found these from NIngle Nallah G ulm arg and id en tified th e se as

O rienus and S ch izo th roax La ter on, de T erra and Paterson®^ fou nd fish

rem ains from various o ther p laces and w ere iden tified as S ch izo th ro a x

esecinus. Sch izopygopsis, D iptychus, O rienus s inua tus, C yp ris ca rp io

com m unis and Cypris ca rp io scapulasis.^^ Kotlia co llec te d som e 6000

fossils of fish from d iffe ren t loca lities o f K arew as du rin g the K ash m ir

P a laeoc lim atic Project, but no new spec im ens o f any new g e n e ra o r

species w ere f o u n d . H o w e v e r , w ha t w e know from the se d is c o v e rie s is

that fish species like S chozop tho rax esco c in us and C ypris ca rp io

com m unis found from the Low er Karew a ho rizo ns a re d a ta b le to a round

92

D P Agrawal, Man and Environment in India, p. 120. The important

ostracodes are: Candona fabacoformis, C. iiavangaensis, C. kashmiriensis,

C laevis, C. maengoensis. C. maengoensis, C. neglecta. C. compnsa.

Cypris subglobsoa, Cypris pubera, etc.

Godwin - Austen, op cit. 1864.

S. L Hora, 'On fossil fish remains from the Karewas of Kashmir', Record o f

Geological Sun/ey o f India, Vol. 72(2), 1937, pp. 178-87.

H De Terra and T T Paterson, Studies in the Ice Age

S. L. Hora, op.cit, 1937.

B S. Kotlia, Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoecology o f the Karewas

Group Kashmir: A Bio-stratigraphical Study. Ph.D. thesis submitted to the

Punjab University, Chandigarh, 1984, c.f. D. P. Agrawal, Man andEnvironment in India, p. 116.

G eo-P hys ica l Form ation o f Pre-H istoric K ashm ir 36

3 9 m y B P and these con tinued to appear in the K arew as th e re a fte r '

The rem ains of insectivores w ere co llected firs t by K otlia from B irna i N a llah

at Keller®” and are da tab le to 1 8 MY B.P. S im ila rly m ic ro tine roden ts

(arv icoM s). which are ind ica tive o f cold g lac ia l c lim ate , w e re repo rted from

three horizons o f Karew as by Kotlia and are da tab le to 2.4, 1,8 to 1.6 and

0.4 My B.P.®^

T he Karew as have a lso y ie lded a van e ty o f m e g a ve rte b ra te s De

Terra and Paterson®® and la ter on Wadia®® found rem a ins o f B os. Fe lis,

Elephas, Cervus. Shivatherium . R h inoceros. Sus. G ira ffe and E q u a s from

the Upper and the Low er Karewas. L ikew ise m any o f the se an im a ls w e re

also located by Badam and o t h e r s . H o w e v e r the c la s s if ic a tio n o f the

Upper and the Low er Karew as o f ea rlie r resea rche rs is not q u ite a c cu ra te

because o f w h ich the m orpho log ica l sed im en ts w e re a ss ign ed by d iffe re n t

au thors to d iffe rent pe riods o f the P le is tocene on the ba s is o f d iffe re n t

D P Agrawal,/b/d, p 102,

“ S B. Kotlia, Vertebrate fossils in the Palaeoenvironment of the Karewa

inlermonle basin, Kashmir' Current Science. Vol. 54, 1985, pp. 1275-77

* ' S B Kotlia, Ibid. and 'Quaternary rodent fauna of the Kashmir Valley:

Systematic biochronology and palaeoecology' Journal o f Palaeonotological

Society o f India. Vol 30. 1985. pp. 81-91; D. P Agrawal. Man and

Environment in India, pp. 116-18,

H De Terra and T T Paterson, Studies in the Ice Age.

D. N. Wadia, Pleistocene Ice Age deposits of Kashmir' Proceeding o f

National Institute o f Science. India, Vol. &, No. 1, 1941, pp. 19.59

“ G L. Badam, 'Additional mammalian fossils in the Karewas of Kashmir

Current Science. Vol. 41, No, 4, 1972, pp 529-30; Ashok Sahni, 'Karewa

venebrates: Bio-stratigraphy, Palaeohistology and Palaeoecology' Man and

En^ronment. Vol VI, 1982, pp 16-20, S B. Kotlia, A S ahn, D, P Agrawal

and R K Pant. New vertebrate evidence for the age of the Karewa

sediments, Kashmir, Man and Environment. Vol. VI, 1982, pp 13-15

G eo-P hys ica l Form ation of P re-H is loric K ashm ir 37

stratigraphic c lass ifica tions T he ir conc lus ions are now sub)ect to rev iew in

view o f the recent works on the bas is of fiss ion track and m ag ne tic da ting

of the Karewas. as noted earlie r. A ccord ing ly , K o tlia eva lu a te d the

chronostra tigraphica l position o f the fauna l finds tha t w ere loca ted dunng

Kashm ir P a laeoc lim atic P roject, the rem a ins m a in ly pe rta in to the fo llow ing

large anim als.

Elephant. E lephant rem ains have been located from th ree lo ca litie s o f

W apzun, Rom u and S om bur A ll be long to la te ho rizo ns o f the K a re w a s o f

250,000 B.P or la te r and are iden tified as E le ph as h ysu d n cu s E le ph an t

has been found in P akis tan S iw a liks in the C ham ba l section o f a round 3 0

MY B.P (E. p lan ifo rm s) and in the Pabb i h ills o f a round 1.9 M Y B.P

E lephant rem ains have a lso been located in the N a rm ada va lle y b e lo ng ing

to the M iddle P le is tocene (E. H ysudricus) A t W apzu n the e le p h a n t has

been found from a horizon w h ich show s tha t th is an im a l, w h ich no w lives

in w a rm -w et clim ate, lived in cold arid c lim ate - a g lac ia l p e r io d .’ *^

Horse: B esides the finds of de T erra and P a te rson , B adam , T ew a ri and

K a ch ro o ,'“ Kotlia found seve ra l spec im ens o f th e ho rse fro m R e m iba ra ,

S B. Kotlia et al. Ibid. 1982, A, Sahini, Ibid. 1982.

D. P Agrawal, Man and Environment In India, p. 112

lb ,d104

Rekha Dodia, H. P Gupta, Chetna Mandavia, Chhaya Sharma and A B

Vora. Palynological Investigation on the Lower Karewas. Kashmir', Man and Environment. Vol. VI, 1982, p 23.

S B Tewari and R. K Kachroo, 'On the occurrence of Equas siwalensis

from Karewas of Shopian, Kashmir', Recent Researches in Geology Vol 3 1977, pp 468-77

G eo-P hys ica l Form ation of P re-H is ton c K ashm ir 38

Romushi and Shaliganga sections of the Lower Karewas In all these

sections, they belong to an age between 2.0 to 1.6 MY B.P and are

Identified as Equas sivalensis This species has been recorded from

Pinjore beds of the S iwaliks (2.5 MY B.P.) and Pabbi hills (1.8 MY B .P .)’ “

in Pakistan, and from vanous levels in India of the P le istocene depos its .’®®

D eer KotJia found the deer record from Rom ushi and Sha liganga sections

of the Lower Karewas. Most o f these fall between 2.4 to 1.6 MY B P. and

are identified as Cervus siva lensis and Cen/us pun jab iensis In S iwaliks

the earliest record o f dear belong to about 2.7 MY B .P . '"

Giraffe: Am ong the earliest rem ains o f animal, Kotlia found a pre m olar o f

the giraffe from Hirpur section o f the Lower K a re w a ."^ The location m akes

It older than 2.3 MY B.P. In Pakistan its earliest record is o f m iddle G ilbert

Chron (3.9 to 3.4 MY B .P .)."^

Dog: Kotlia found Canis record from Karewa horizons which are younger

than 300,000 B P ."^ It has been identified as Canis v itastensis. in Pakistan

S. B Kotlia. Current Science, Vol. 54; D. P. Agrawal, Man and Environment

in India, pp 112-13.

Ibid.

Ibid

Ibid.

S. B. Kotlia, el a/., Man and Environment. Vol. V I , D. P. Agrawal, Man and

Environment in India, p. 114

D P Agrawal, lb,d. p 114. The famous Kashmir stag, Cervus elephas

hanglu is now found mostly in the northern parts of the Valley.//)/d, p 114-115

/6/d, p i n

S.B.Kollia, Current Science. Vol 54; Ibid, p. i n .

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-H isloric Kashmir jg

„ ,s reported from Pinjore form ations (2.5 MY B P ) and other localities of

a ro u n d 1 9 M Y B P ’ "

As a result of chronom etric dating techniques, the evidences from

Kashmir as well as from Pakistan S iwaliks regarding the faunal data are

now clear. Because of this, the so called Lower P le istocene fauna like

Equas. Cervus, Elephas. etc. can now be dated securely in the P liocene

Although the faunal record gives a dated sequence, the sequence of the

faunal remains is not continuous till date. Eventually, com ple te p icture of

the animal history from the P liocene-P leistocene till date is not available.

However, around 5000 B.P. there existed the stag {C en/us e lephas), the

ibex {Capri ibex), the tahr (Capra jam alica), w ild cattle, (Bos nom adicus),

wild goat {Capra aegagras), wild sheep (O vis orienta lis), the w o lf {Canis

lupus), the here {Lepus) the bear {Ursus) the hedge-hog, rodents and

beaver.'"® W ithin the next 500 years many dom esticated an im als were

also found here which are sheep {Ovis arises), goat {Capra hircus), cattle

{Bos indicus), dog {Canis familaris), pig {Sus scrota), fow l (G allus) " ^

Besides these, humped cattle (Bos indicus), dom esticated buffa lo (Babalus

babilus) nilgai (Bos-elephas tragocam elus) are a lso reported to have m ade

there presence th e n ." “ The dom estication process m ight have continued

' * Ibid] D P. Agrawal, Ibid, p 112.

A.K. Sharma, Excavations at Gofkral- 1981'. Puratattva. no 11, 1979 -80,

ed . K N. Dikshit, 1982.

Ibid

Mohamrriad Naseem, The Neol,thic Cultures o f north western Indo-

Pakistan Sub-continent. New Delhi, 1982, p 174; he reports it on the basis

of information collected by him from T. N. Khazanchi belonging ,o Burzahom.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-H istonc Kashm ir -lo

since then as the present fauna represents many of those dom esticated

species, so is the case with other wild types indicating thereby that the

ecology has not changed much during last 5000 years.

Summary.

This chapter discusses the geo-physical condition of Kashm ir from

the Upper Pliocene to the end of P le istocene epochs. W e started w ith the

researches conducted during the last 150 years and the hypotheses put

forth by many of the learned scholars. The entire evidence of m orpho log ica l

formations is found in the geological sedim ents. The stud ies of the scholars

in various disciplines of science reveal tha t around 4 MY B.P., on account

of tectonic upliftments. Kashm ir basin was transform ed into a vast lake as a

result of rise in the heights o f Pir Panjal range from w here the d ra inage of

Kashmir took place earlier. In the lake mud sedim ents, gravel, sands

brought down by the mountain stream s were continuously deposited . The

sediments got particularly deposited along the flanks o f the lake near the

mountains, which are called now Karewas. A round 300,000 - 200,000

years B.P there was a major tecton ic upheaval particularly on the southern

flank of the Valley thereby causing tilting o f the lake and resulting in

exposing the Karewas on the southern side and subm erg ing o f m ore areas

M9The present fauna of Kashmir is represented by sheep (Ows) goat (Capra).

buffalo (Bos bubalus) bevies (Equas caballus), musk deer (Mohus

moschilerus). barasinga deer (Cervus elephis hanglu), fox (Vulpes

bengalurus). black deer (Antelope cervicapra) leopard (Prionalurus

bangalausis). bear etc. Besides in its lakes and nvers there are many types

of fish, which include brown trout (Salma (route faio), rainbow trout (S.

girenan gireriari). Cypns capria communis. C. capno scapularies Schizo

thorax esocinus S M r o u s . etc. etc. D P. Agrawal, Man and Environment in India, p. 99

Geo Physical Formation of Pre-Hisloric Kashmir -Jl

on the northern side The lake started draining out through a fau lt near

Baramulla around 85,000 B P The Karewas that were form ed by the tim e

of shifting are called as the Lower Karewas whileas the Karewas on the

northern side received further accum ulation of silts etc and are known as

the Upper Karewas

On the exposed Karewa tops, as and when they appeared from the

pnmitive lake, w ind-borne silts which originated from the surrounding hills in

the Valley, got further deposited. Thus the deposition of all these sedim ents

prevailed from the Upper Pliocene to the Upper P le istocene, from about 4

MY B.P to 15,000 B P to change the physiography o f the Valley.

The sedim ents also reveal evidence o f past c lim atic conditions. It

changed from dry tropical to cool tem perate around 3 MY B P. because of

blockade of the Indian ocean m onsoons on account o f the rise o f the Pir

Panjal. The m ost w idely known change was the em ergence o f glacia l

sequence which was earlier thought to have had orig inated during the

Pleistocene but now we have evidence that during the P liocene itse lf and

around 2.6 MY B.P. there was a definite cold stage prevailing in Kashm ir.

This cold stage was possibly the 1 G lacial stage as propounded by de Terra

and Paterson, but it is not authentically understood if the re existed three or

more glacial stages during the Pleistocene. W ith this g lac ia tion m any new

overlaying’s took place, like conglom erates, m oraines, bou lder c lays etc.

which are the present day features o f the land form ations o f the Kashm ir.

The recent record from the Karewa sedim ents a longw ith loess indicate

climatic fluctuations prevailing in Kashm ir from about 4 M Y yet there,

however, are many gaps which ham per in build ing th is record com ple te ly

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Historlc Kashmir v .

Nevertheless, it is known that the glacial sequence ended around the

beginning of Holocene and thereafter the Kashm ir clim ate settled down to

the extent as Is available at present. In this chapter we have recorded the

fluctuating climatic conditions associated w ith the changes in the flora of

Kashmir. Generally, during the warm er periods the forest cover o f the

Valley was represented by broad leafed plants while as during the cooler

periods conifers dominated the forests. It was during m id Ho locene that

certain types o f grasses and weeds appeared which confirm the growth

and spread of certain cereal crop plants, like wheat and barley, by about

5000 B.P., when climate of Kashmir was as good as it is at p resent and the

sediments of the Valley had by then settled down to form the present type

of physiography. The faunal record of Kashmir, as is preserved in the

Karewas, indicates a variety that existed here from around 4 M Y B.P. M any

of the m icro and megavertebrates even indicate the c lim atic cond itions in

which they lived, it has also been supported in the chapter tha t the so

called Pleistocene fauna, like elephant, horse, deer, actually existed in the

Pliocene. Around the Neolithic period, there lived a large num ber o f wild

animals in Kashmir and during this period a new breed o f dom estica tes

widened the convas o f animals.

Geo-Physical Formation of Pre-Hlstonc Kashm ir