This phase of Palaeolithic culture coincides with the last phases of the Pleistocene, which saw many changes in the environment the innovations in the stone tool making reflect adaptations of the hunter- gatherers to the changing environment.
This is reflected in the character of the stone artefacts which are lighter and smaller, made possible by new methods of stone working. New materials for making tools also characterize this phase.
The most profound development in stone technology can be seen in blade-making technique. We find evidence of long parallel-sided blades. The number of burins and scrapers increased in number. The parallel-sided blades could be trimmed to make the operative part of a tool such as knife or spearhead. Another important aspect of this culture is an increasing use of bone-tools. Some tools such as harpoons needles etc. have been recognized.
In India, the Upper Palaeolithic Industries seem to have appeared in the arid regions of Pakistan and Western India. In site 55 at Riwat, the archaeologists found evidence of the production of large parallel-sided blades of quartzite. This site has been dated by thermo luminescent method to c. 45,000 years ago.
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However this site is regarded as transitional from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic. Sanghav caves in Afghanistan are another site which provides evidence of Upper Palaeolithic culture. In the Rohri hills at Milestone 101, Upper Palaeolithic working areas have been identified. At Buddha Pushkar in Rajasthan some Upper Palaeolithic sites are found, which show elements of continuity between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites.
In Belan and Son Valleys a number of Upper Palaeolithic sites have been unearthed. Prof. G.R. Sharma’s investigations during the 1960s in both the valleys have resulted in identifying cultural developments from Upper Palaeolithic onwards. In the Belan Valley the Upper Palaeolithic assemblages were dated by C14 method to 19,715+340 years before present. In the Son Valley this was 10,000 years ago. At Chopani-Mando in the Belan Valley, a sequence of occupation from Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic has been found.
Chopani-Mando is an important site where fossil animal bones have been found in the gravels of all four depositional cycles of the Belan River. The third gravel contained bones of sheep and goats which are not indigenous to the region. They, it is supposed, might have been brought by migrant human groups, either from the Himalayas or from the western borderlands.
The Upper Palaeolithic artefacts have been found in a cave at Reniguntur in Southern Andhra Pradesh. Here a large collection of blades and bruins have been found. Some Upper Palaeolithic artefacts have also been found in the Valley of Rallakagava River. At Betamcherlla in AP, many bone tools have been discovered. Artefacts from Visadi in Central Gujarat show a blend of the Upper Palaeolithic and Nevasan Middle Palaeolithic techniques. In Shorapur and Bijapur districts of Karnataka many’ Upper Palaeolithic sites have been found.