Microlithic Assemblage of Chorkhambara River in Maharashtra, with Special Reference to Malli Excavation Season 2012‐2013 Tosabanta Padhan 1 , Garima Khansili 2 and Virag G. Sontakke 3 1 . Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, Punjab – 140 306, India (Email: tpadhan@gmail.com) 2 . Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed to be University, Pune – 411 006, Maharashtra, India (Email: k.garima79@gmail.com) 3 . State Department of Archaeology, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India (Email: viragsontakke @gmail.com) Received: 17 July 2017; Revised: 20 September 2017; Accepted: 02 November 2017 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 5 (2017): 528‐540 Abstract: This paper is based on the findings and analysis of microlithics from an excavated site‐ Malli located on the Chorkhambara River, a small tributary of Wainganga river system in in eastern Vidharbha region of District Gondia, Maharashtra. The Microlithic layer is consist of 20 cm thick. Excavations yielded 951 artifacts and from surface 508 artifacts collected for detailed analysis. The microliths were found associated with calcrete; suggest a chronology of late Pleistocene periods. Keywords: Malli, Excavation, Maharashtra, India, Late Pleistocene, Microliths, Lithic Technology Introduction Microliths are conventionally taken as the hallmark of Mesolithic Culture and their existence in Indian subcontinent was thought to be not later than Holocene (12000 B.P.). But various dates have now shaken this convention and has pushed back its antiquity to late Pleistocene with the dates like 45 ka from Mehtakheri in Madhya Pradesh (Mishra et. al. 2013), 42 ka from Kana and 34 ‐25 ka from Mahadebbera, both in West Bengal (Basak et. al. 2014), 38 Ka from Chandresal, 36 Ka from Nagda, again both in Rajasthan (Kumar 1988), 25 Ka from Patne in Maharashtra (Sali 1989), 25 Ka from Belan Valley Koldiwal in Uttar Pradesh (Williams and Clark 1995), 17 Ka from Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh (Nambi and Murthy 1983) among dozens of other dates. These dates clearly indicate that hominin making microliths were present throughout the Indian subcontinent towards the end of late Pleistocene. Studies on various aspects of microliths have been carried out from the time of its first discovery by A.C.L Carlleyle in Kaimur Hill ranges of district Mirzapur in Uttar