THE TOBA SUPERVOLCANO and HUMAN EVOLUTION

The following publications – both scientific and as part of our public outreach program - have been produced to date.

Articles in scientific journals and books:

· 2011 Lane, C., M. Haslam, M. Petraglia, P. Ditchfield, V. Smith & R. Korisettar. Cryptotephra from the 74 ka BP Toba super-eruption in the Billa Surgam caves, southern India. Quaternary Science Reviews, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.05.010

· 2011 Smith, V., N.J.G. Pearce, N.E. Matthews, J.A. Westgate, M.D. Petraglia, M. Haslam, C.S. Lane, R. Korisettar & J.N. Pal. Geochemical fingerprinting of the widespread Toba tephra using biotite compositions. Quaternary International, doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.05.012.

· 2011 Haslam, M., R.G. Roberts, C. Shipton, J.N. Pal, J.L. Fenwick, P. Ditchfield, N. Boivin, A.K. Dubey, M.C. Gupta & M. Petraglia. Late Acheulean hominins at the Marine Isotope Stage 6/5e transition in north-central India. Quaternary Research, 75:670-682.

· 2010 Jones, S. Palaeoenvironmental response to the 74 ka Toba ash-fall in the Jurreru and Middle Son valleys in southern and north-central India. Quaternary Research, 73:336–350.

· 2010 Blinkhorn, J., J. Bora, J. Koshy, R. Korisettar, N. Boivin, & M. Petraglia. Systematic transect survey enhances the investigation of rock art in its landscape: an example from the Katavani Kunta valley, Kurnool District. Man and Environment, 34(2):1-12.

· 2010 Shipton, C., Bora, J., Koshy, J., Petraglia, M., Haslam, M., Korisettar, R., Systematic transect survey of the Jurreru Valley, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. Man and Environment, 35(1):24-36.

· 2010 Haslam, M., R. Korisettar, M. Petraglia, T. Smith, C. Shipton & P. Ditchfield. In Foote’s steps: the history, significance and recent archaeological investigation of the Billa Surgam caves in southern India. South Asian Studies, 26:1-19

· 2010 Haslam, M. & M. Petraglia. Comment on “Environmental impact of the 73 ka Toba super-eruption in South Asia” by M.A.J. Williams, S.H. Ambrose, S. van der Kaars, et al. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,296: 199-203.

· 2010 Haslam, M., C. Clarkson, M. Petraglia, R. Korisettar, S. Jones, C. Shipton, P. Ditchfield & S.H. Ambrose. The 74 ka Toba super-eruption and southern Indian hominins: archaeology, lithic technology and environments at Jwalapuram Locality 3. Journal of Archaeological Science,37:3370-3384.

· 2010 Eren, M.I., A. Durant, C. Neudorf, M. Haslam, C. Shipton, J. Bora, R. Korisettar & M Petraglia. Experimental examination of animal trampling effects on artifact movement in dry and water saturated substrates: a test case from south India. Journal of Archaeological Science,37: 3010-3021.

· 2010 Petraglia, M.D., M. Haslam, D.Q. Fuller, N. Boivin, & C. Clarkson. Out of Africa: new hypotheses and evidence for the dispersal of Homo sapiens along the Indian Ocean rim. Annals of Human Biology 83:326-348. [LINK]

· 2010 Haslam, M., C. Clarkson, M. Petraglia, R. Korisettar, B.J., N. Boivin, P. Ditchfield, S. Jones & A. Mackay. Indian lithic technology prior to the 74,000 BP Toba Super-eruption: Searching for an early modern human signature. In: K.V. Boyle, C. Gamble, O. Bar-Yosef, and J. Barrett (eds) The Upper Palaeolithic Revolution in Global Perspective: Papers in Honour of Sir Paul Mellars, pp. 73-84. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge.

· 2010 Taçon, P., N. Boivin, J. Hampson, J. Blinkhorn, R. Korisettar & M. Petraglia. New rock art discoveries in the Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Antiquity 84: 335-350.

· 2009 Petraglia, M., R. Korisettar, M. Katsuri Bai, N. Boivin, Janardhana B., C. Clarkson, K. Cunningham, P. Ditchfield, D. Fuller, J. Hampson, M. Haslam, S. Jones, J. Koshy, P. Miracle, C. Oppenheimer & K. White. Human occupation, adaptation and behavioral change in the Pleistocene and Holocene of South India: recent investigations in the Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. Journal of Eurasian Prehistory 6(1-2):119-166.

· 2009 Jones, S. and J.N. Pal. The Paleolithic of the Middle Son valley, north-central India: Changes in hominin lithic technology and behaviour during the Upper Pleistocene. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 28:323-341.

· 2009 Petraglia, M., C. Clarkson, N. Boivin, M. Haslam, R. Korisettar, G. Chaubey, P. Ditchfield, D. Fuller, H. James, S. Jones, T. Kivisild, J. Koshy, M. Lahr, M. Metspalu, R. Roberts and L. Arnold. Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 106(30):12261-12266.

· 2009 Clarkson, C., M. Petraglia, R. Korisettar, M. Haslam, N. Boivin, A. Crowther, P. Ditchfield, D. Fullar, P. Miracle, C. Harris, K. Connell, H. James and J. Koshy. The oldest and longest enduring microlithic sequence in India: 35 000 years of modern human occupation and change at the Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter. Antiquity 83:326-348. [pdf]

· 2009 Boivin, N., J. Hampson, J. Blinkhorn, R. Korisettar, M. Petraglia. Re-examining Rock Art Studies in India: A Case Study from Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. In K. Paddayya, P.P. Joglekar, K.K. Basa and R. Sewant (eds) Recent Research Trends in South Asian Archaeology, pp. 261-278. Pune: Deccan College.

· 2008 Boivin, N., J. Blinkhorn, J. Hampson, R. Korisettar and M. Petraglia. New Methodological Approaches to Indian Rock Art: Preliminary Report from the Kurnool District Archaeological Project. Man in India.

· 2007 Petraglia, M.D., R. Korisettar, N. Boivin, C. Clarkson, P. Ditchfield, S. Jones, J. Koshy, M.M. Lahr, C. Oppenheimer, D. Pyle, R. Roberts, J.-L. Schwenninger, L. Arnold, and K. White. Middle Paleolithic Assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-eruption. Science 317 (5834): 114-116. [pdf]

· 2007 Jones, S. The Toba Supervolcanic Eruption: Tephra-Fall Deposits in India and Paleoanthropological Implications. In M.D. Petraglia and B. Allchin (eds) The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia, pp. 173-200. Dordrecht: Springer.

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Special Leverhulme Conference: The Toba Super-Eruption: A critical moment in human evolution?

Conference Programme

Conference Abstracts

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Presentations and posters:

· Eren, M. et al. An experimental examination of animal trampling in dry and saturated substrates, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, South India. Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology Meetings, St Louis, April 2010. Winner of the SAA Student Poster Award.

· Clarkson, C. MSA technological traditions and modern human dispersals: exploring 3D and morphometric approaches to lithic (core) analysis. Paper presented at the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Cambridge, 11 November 2009.

· Haslam, M. Assessing models of dispersal and innovation for the Pleistocene origins of microliths in South Asia. Paper presented at the Ancient Indian Ocean Corridors conference, Oxford, 7 November 2009.

· Petraglia, M. Human colonization of the Indian Ocean rim: an introduction. Paper presented at the Ancient Indian Ocean Corridors conference, Oxford, 7 November 2009.

· Gatti, E. Stratigraphy of the Toba super-volcanic event in the Son Valley, India, and its implication for Upper Palaeolithic human settlements. Poster presented at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland, 21 October 2009.

· Oppenheimer, C. A critical overview of the environmental, climatic and human impacts of the ~74 kyr BP Toba “super-eruption”. Paper presented at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland, 18 October 2009.

· Petraglia, M. Out of Africa: An archaeological assessment of the Indian Ocean dispersal route. Paper presented at the Society for the Study of Human Biology ‘Human Dispersals’ Symposium, Rome, 18 June 2009.

· Jones, S. The ~74 ka Toba supereruption and its impact on hominin populations in the Jurreru and Middle Son valleys of India. Paper presented to the Palaeolithic-Mesolithic Discussion Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, 5 June 2009.

· Cunningham, K., R. Korisettar, M. Kasturi Bai, N. Boivin, J. Koshy, Rama Das, M. Petraglia, D. Malar Kodi, K. Connell and M. Haslam. Public Outreach in India: An Example from the Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. Paper Presented at the Society for American Archaeology Conference, Atlanta, GA, 24 April 2009.

· Clarkson, C. and T. Smith. Toba and Beyond: Preliminary results of recent excavations at Toba ash sites, rock shelters and limestone caves in the Kurnool and Middle Son districts, Southern India. Paper presented at the Australian Archaeological Association Conference, Noosa, 6 December 2008.

· Haslam, M. Recent adventures in the Indian Palaeolithic: the 2008 Cambridge/Karnatak/Allahabad field season. Paper presented to the Palaeolithic-Mesolithic Discussion Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, 14 November 2008.

· Petraglia, M. The Late Pleistocene archaeology of South Asia: human innovations and demography from 35,000 years ago. Paper presented at the ‘Major issues on the origins and evolution of modern humans in India’ symposium, Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, 1 November 2008.

· Haslam, M. Recent Palaeolithic research in the Kurnool District, southern India. Poster presented at the ‘Major issues on the origins and evolution of modern humans in India’ symposium, Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, 1 November 2008.

· Haslam, M. Stone tool function under the microscope: recent uses of residue analysis. Paper presented to the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 23 October 2008.

· Cunningham, K. Dr. Gardner's Famous Elixir: Public or Perish - Three Field Seasons of Public Outreach in Southern India. Paper Presented at the Conference to Honor the Works of William M. Gardner, Shepardstown, WV, 26 September 2008.

· Smith, T. and C. Clarkson. Toba and Beyond: Preliminary results of recent excavations at Toba ash sites, rock shelters and limestone caves in the Kurnool and Middle Son districts, Southern India. Paper presented in the Working Papers in Archaeology series, University of Queensland, 22 August 2008.

· Cunningham, K. Public Outreach Efforts in Kanumkinday Kottala and Jwalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India. Presentation to the Archeological Society of Delaware, 10 June 2008.

· Petraglia, M.D. New investigations in the Kurnool District of India: Out of Africa dispersals and the evolution of modern human behaviors in the Late Pliestocene. Paper presented to the Palaeoanthropology Society, Vancouver, Canada, 26 March 2008.

· Cunningham, K. On the Road with the Delaware Department of Transportation’s Public Involvement Process: Archeology and Historic Preservation Initiatives from the 2003 field season in Jwalapuram and Pathapadu, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Poster presented to the Transportation Research Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, 13 January 2004.

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Public outreach:

· Haslam, M. and C. Shipton. Site Tour of the Jurreru Valley for J. Vijaya Kumar (Assistant Director in the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Govt of Andhra Pradesh), 30 January 2009.

· Boivin, N., Korisettar, R., Petraglia, M. 2008. Successfully Negotiating International Archaeological Collaboration: An East-West Example. The SAA Archaeological Record 8(2): 8-11. [pdf]

· Korisettar, R. Site Tour of the Jurreru Valley for Karnatak University, Dept. of History and Archaeology Students, 6 February 2008.

· Shipton, C. and K. Connell. Site Tour of the Billasurgam Caves for the Kottala School, 5 February, 2008.

· Connell, K., Janardhana B. and M. Haslam. Site Tour of the Jurreru Valley for the Jwalapuram School, 3 February 2008.

· Rama Das, K. Connell and K. Cunningham. Historic Preservation and Village Archeology. Presentation and Workshop to the Jwalapuram Public School, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, India, 29 January 2008.

· Rama Das and K. Cunningham. Archeology Presentation and Workshop for the Kanumkinday Kottala Public School, Kanumkinday Kottala, India, 25 January 2008.

· Rama Das and K. Cunningham. Archeology and Village Involvements. Presentation and Workshop to the Jwalapuram Public School, Jwalapuram, India, 22 January 2008.

· Bai, Kasturi and K. Cunningham. The Kurnool Archeology Project. Three Presentations to the Villagers of Jwalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India, 21 August 2004.

· Cunningham, K. Archeology in the Kurnool Valley. Presentations to ten classes at the Bharatya Vidya Bhavan's Yiogashram Public School, Hyderabad, India, 11-13 August 2004.

· Cunningham, K. and D. Ziegler. Archeology Outreach to the Villagers of Jwalapuram and Pathapadu, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, India, 9 and 11 July 2003.

· Discovering the Cultural Past of the Kurnool District [Brochure - English version]

· Discovering the Cultural Past of the Kurnool District [Brochure - Telugu version]

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Theses

· 2009 James, H. Becoming Human: The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour in South Asia. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cambridge.

· 2008 Blinkhorn, J. In which context does symbolic behaviour first become manifest in the archaeological record? A case study from Kurnool District, India. Unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge.

· 2007 Jones, S. A Human Catastrophe? The Impact of the ~74,000 Year-Old Supervolcanic Eruption of Toba on Hominin Populations in India. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cambridge.