Geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies around Bap–Malar playa, district Jodhpur, Rajasthan

We report here stratigraphical, palynological, archaeological and relative radioactive carbon dating studies around Bap–Malar playa in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, as an attempt at understanding the environmental changes in the context of prehistoric sites. We also report, Late Acheulian site in a regolith, large number of Microlithic sites with pottery and bones in the context of stabilized dunes and a few Microlithic sites with or without pottery, around a shallow Bap–Malar playa. During the mid-Holocene, the Bap–Malar was a perennial playa, and provided a congenial ecological niche for pastoral communities.