Chopanimando is an important archaeological site, which indicates transition of humans from food gathering society to food production society. It is situated in
Belan river
Belan river (बेलन नदी) is a river in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.it Originates from Western part of Sonbhadra district Uttar Pradesh.It is famous for prehistoric sites on its banks.
Origination
It originates from western part of S ...
valley in modern
Allahabad district
Allahabad district, officially known as Prayagraj district, is the most populous district of Uttar Pradesh state of India. The district headquarters is Allahabad which was renamed Prayagraj at the same time as the district was renamed. The Di ...
of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
state, India.
A three phase sequence of
palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
,
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
, and
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
is attributed by
archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. Circular and oval settlement with hearths, hand-made cord-impressed
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
, and
microlith
A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 35,000 to 3,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia an ...
s,
chalcedony
Chalcedony ( , or ) is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic. ...
are found here during excavation.
Excavation
It is located around 77 km from Allahabad at Bank of Belan river. The site is spread in 15000 sq km. The site was excavated in 1967 and 1977 by G.R Sharma. The excavation revealed Mesolithic and Neolithic settlement. Remains of pottery and rice have been found from 7000-6000 BCE.
References
{{UttarPradesh-geo-stub
Allahabad district
Archaeological sites in Uttar Pradesh