Ancient tools, weapons unearthed in Odisha's Bargarh district

SAMBALPUR: The recent archaeological excavations carried out by the Sambalpur University in Odisha's Bargarh district has unearthed stone tools, weapons and artifacts made by early humans, centuries ago, a senior professor of the institute has said.

The excavation site located in the upper Danta stream, a tributary of the River Jira, near Torajunga village of the district, is a "storehouse of treasure", the associate professor of the university's history department, P K Behera, said.

"This discovery will help us in understanding migration and subsequent colonisation by human beings in this part of India," Behera told PTI.

The tools bear striking similarities with those found in Eastern and Southern Africa. Most of them were designed for hunting large animals, he said.

"The equipment and artifacts are a witness to the potential skills of early humans. We have recovered projectile points, hand axe, core among other things. The soil samples collected from stream will be sent to different geophysical laboratories of the country for carbon dating," he said.

Besides, scientific investigations will also be carried out in the area to find out more about the environmental conditions in which the early humans thrived, he added.