The prominent Mesolithic sites in India are:

The prominent Mesolithic sites in India are:

(i) The Pachpadra basin and the Sojat area (Rajasthan) are rich in microliths. Tilwara, a signifi­cant site, has two cultural phases, Phase-I is Mesolithic and is characterized by the presence of microliths.

In Phase-II, wheel made pottery and pieces of iron, along with microliths, are found. Bagor, excavated horizontally, on the River Kothari is the largest Mesolithic site in India. It has three cultural phases. On the basis of radio-carbon dating, phase I of the culture has been placed between 5000-2000 BC.

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(ii) The rivers Tapti, Narmada, Mahi and Sabarmati (Gujarat) have also yielded many Mesolithic sites. Langhnaj, situated east of River Sabarmati, has been extensively studied and has revealed three cultural phases.

Phase I has produced microliths (mostly blades, triangles, crescents, scrapers and burins), burials and animal bones. Akhaj, Valasana and Hirpur are other important Mesolithic sites.

(iii) The Vindhyas and Satpuras are rich in Mesolithic sites. In Allahabad-Pratapgarh area, Sarai Nahar Rai (Uttar Pradesh) is an extensively studied site. Morhana Pahar and Lekhahia (both in Uttar Pradesh) are two significant Mesolithic sites in Kaimur range.

Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh), with a favorable ecological set up, has yielded many microliths. Adamgarh in Hosangabad is another significant Mesolithic site.

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(iv) Sites like Kasushoal, Janyire, Babhalgo and Jalgarh in coastal Konkan have reported microliths. The Deccan basaltic plateau has also many Mesolithic sites.

(v) The Chhota Nagpur plateau, the coastal plains of Orissa, the Bengal delta, the Brahmaputra valley and the Shillong plateau have yielded Mesolithic microliths.

(vi) The Krishna and Bhima rivers have pro­duced many microliths, both Mesolithic and Neolithic. Sangankallu situated on the western fringe of the Karnataka plateau has produced cores, flakes, points and crescents. Microliths have also been reported from Kurnool, and Renigunta in Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.

Bagor, Sarai-Nahar-Rai, Mahadaha and Adamgarh are truly Mesolithic sites due to their early dates and associated material culture.