Stone Age tools in Konkan cave uncover early human footprint

PUNE: At the bottom of a cave in coastal Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, experts from the state archaeology department have found over 1,500 Stone Age tools that tell a tale of how humans evolved in this region between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago.
The find in Koloshi cave, which includes ringstones, spades, blades, core and hammer stones, all between 2cm and 15cm in size, has survived against all odds.
The discovery could throw light on Konkan's prehistoric period and present evidence for human behaviour thousands of years ago.
The size and make of the tools indicate that humans from this prehistoric period may have used wild grains and not solely depended on small-game hunting.
The experts said the discovery could also bridge the missing link between the region's middle Stone Age and the early historical period.
Archaeologists refer to the thousands of years in between the two eras as the 'Dark Age' in Konkan's history as there is little evidence of human habitation here in this period.