Bangladesh: A Potential Prehistoric Corridor between South and Southeast Asia

Abstract

Bengal Delta has been a favorable land for dense vegetation and diverse fauna, which were vital for the survival of prehistoric human groups. Although there is a lack of large-scale archaeological exploration, records of stone tools from a series of locations including Sitakunda hill of Chittagong, Chhagalnaiya of Feni, Lalmai-Mainamati region of Comilla, Wari-Bateshwar area of Narsingdi, and Chaklapunji of Habiganj indicate the movements of prehistoric people along the elevated topographic lands of Bangladesh. There are also records of a large number of prehistoric locations in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam, Bihar and West Bengal of India, some of them are very close to and often share equal palaeo-geographical settings with Bangladesh. Particularly over forty prehistoric locations in the neighboring Garo Hills and Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, and over two hundred Palaeolithic locations in Bardhaman, Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and Midnapur districts of West Bengal signify the busy movements of archaic human groups across Bengal Delta. Besides, the prehistoric tools of east and southeastern Bangladesh demonstrate strong techno-typological resemblances with prehistoric assemblages of the Irrawaddy valley of Myanmar. Presenting some vital palaeo-environmental and archaeological records, this study primarily aims to present the hypothesis that, during the sea level fluctuations in the Pleistocene, the deltaic arcs of Bengal Basin were parts of a possible route for archaic human groups’ dispersal across South and Southeast Asia. It also highlights the importance of large-scale systematic explorations and recording of prehistoric locations in Bangladesh, particularly to understand its potentials in world prehistory.