Hukay

Microlithic Sites of Mandla 83SitesDelineating the boundary of a prehistoric site may not be an easyjob particularly when archaeological remains are found to be distributedin several clusters at different proximities. Foley (1981:163) has arguedthat the “archaeological record…should be viewed not as a system ofstructured sites, but as a pattern of continuous artefact distribution anddensity.” Precise geographical location of a tool assemblage is, however,an unfailing requirement to begin with any archaeological investigation.A total of 17 sites have been discovered in Mandla (Roy 2003, 2008, 2009)(Figures 1 and 2; Table 1). In this context, the term ‘site’ has been used forthe location of archaeological remains found within a village jurisdictioneither as scattered distribution or as a single or more than one cluster. Aproblem encountered in this practice is that in some cases adjacent siteshave been recorded as separate sites, for being located in separate villageareas. For example, the microlithic sites of Babaiha and Gadhar areseparated by the Mandla-Jabolpur road that passes bisecting them.Discussion on archaeological sites without reference to functionalecology would be same as discussing bare bone without flesh. Parkington(1980:73) introduced the concept of “place” as “the set of opportunitiesFigure 1. Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh where “Mandla” is located.