RAS question
Which Paleolithic site in Maharashtra is known for Upper Paleolithic blade tools?
Correct answer: (A) Patne.
Patne in Maharashtra is the Palaeolithic site known for Upper Palaeolithic blade tools.
Explanation
Patne is the right answer because the question is testing a specific site-tool association in Indian prehistory, not merely a Maharashtra archaeological site. Patne in Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, is an important Upper Palaeolithic site that yielded blade and burin tools and shows the transition from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic technology in western India. Indian Science Heritage describes Upper Palaeolithic long, parallel-sided blades detached from cylindrical cores and states that excavations at Patne in Maharashtra exposed three developmental stages in Upper Palaeolithic technology. That combination makes Patne the site linked to Upper Palaeolithic blade tools.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Daimabad is not the Maharashtra site known for Upper Palaeolithic blade and burin tools.
- (C) Nevasa is not the site for the Upper Palaeolithic blade-tool association.
- (D) Jorwe is not the Patne-type Upper Palaeolithic blade-tool site.
Concept
This tests the Ancient History/prehistory concept of matching Stone Age sites with tool traditions. It recurs in RAS because Upper Palaeolithic blade technology and the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition are standard site-based recall areas.