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All Toba Tephra Occurrences across Peninsular India Belong to the 75,000 yr B.P. Eruption

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John A. Westgate ,
Philip A.R. Shane ,
Nicholas J.G. Pearce ,
William T. Perkins ,
Ravi Korisettar ,
Craig A. Chesner ,
Martin A.J. Williams  and
Subhrangsu K. Acharyya
John A. Westgate
Affiliation:
Physical Sciences Division, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada
Philip A.R. Shane
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Nicholas J.G. Pearce
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, SY23 2DB, United Kingdom
William T. Perkins
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, SY23 2DB, United Kingdom
Ravi Korisettar
Affiliation:
Department of History and Archaeology, Karnatak University, Dharwad, 580 003, India
Craig A. Chesner
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois, 61920
Martin A.J. Williams
Affiliation:
Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Subhrangsu K. Acharyya
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of India, Calcutta, 700016, India
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Abstract

A controversy currently exists regarding the number of Toba eruptive events represented in the tephra occurrences across peninsular India. Some claim the presence of a single bed, the 75,000-yr-old Toba tephra; others argue that dating and archaeological evidence suggest the presence of earlier Toba tephra. Resolution of this issue was sought through detailed geochemical analyses of a comprehensive suite of samples, allowing comparison of the Indian samples to those from the Toba caldera in northern Sumatra, Malaysia, and importantly, the sedimentary core at ODP Site 758 in the Indian Ocean—a core that contains several of the earlier Toba tephra beds. In addition, two samples of Toba tephra from western India were dated by the fission-track method. The results unequivocally demonstrate that all the presently known Toba tephra occurrences in peninsular India belong to the 75,000 yr B.P. Toba eruption. Hence, this tephra bed can be used as an effective tool in the correlation and dating of late Quaternary sedimentary sequences across India and it can no longer be used in support of a middle Pleistocene age for associated Acheulian artifacts.

Keywords

Toba tephravolcanic glassmajor and trace elementsfission-track ageAcheulian artifactsIndia
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , July 1998 , pp. 107 - 112
Copyright
University of Washington

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