Geoarchaeology and Human Occupation in the Lower Narmada Valley, Western India: Insights from the Gujarat Fluvial–Aeolian Quaternary Sequence

Prabhin Sukumaran

The lower reaches of the Narmada Valley in western India preserve an important geoarchaeological archive documenting long-term interactions between landscape evolution and human occupation. This study synthesizes archaeological, geomorphological, and stratigraphic evidence from the lower Narmada and its tributary systems, particularly the Orsang River basin, drawing upon research conducted from the earliest observations in the late nineteenth century to recent multidisciplinary investigations. The region forms the southernmost extent of the Gujarat Quaternary Plain and is proposed here as part of a broader stratigraphic framework termed the Gujarat Fluvial-Aeolian Quaternary Sequence (GFEQS), recognizing the combined influence of fluvial and aeolian depositional processes in shaping the regional landscape. Archaeological investigations reveal a long sequence of prehistoric occupation, including Palaeolithic assemblages associated with gravel-dominated fluvial deposits and Microlithic industries occurring within younger aeolian silt sequences. Studies in the Orsang Valley document an important technological transition from Upper Acheulian to Middle Palaeolithic industries within a well-defined Late Pleistocene stratigraphic context. These cultural phases are closely linked to environmental changes marked by a shift from gravel-rich fluvial systems to landscapes dominated by fine-grained aeolian sedimentation. Geomorphological investigations further identify key landform elements such as paleobank and neobank surfaces, which record Middle-Late Pleistocene and Late Holocene fluvial dynamics respectively. The present synthesise therefore argue the Lower Reaches of Narmada Valley as a significant corridor for examining human-environment interactions in western India and may also have functioned as a dispersal pathway linking the Arabian Sea coastal gateway with the interior of the Indian subcontinent.