Maansi26 at 12:37, 4 May 2026

2026-05-04T12:37:36Z

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{{Short description|Indian archeological artifact}}
[[File:Sandstone_deposits,_Near_Allahabad,_Uttar_Pradesh,_India.jpg|thumb|The type of sandstone from which the Baghor stone was made. Uttar Pradesh, India]]

'''Baghor stone''' is an [[Upper Paleolithic]] archaeological object that was found in the [[Son river]] valley near the village of Medhauli, in the [[Sidhi District]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], India. The stone was found at the site of Baghor I, which is located near the base of the [[Kaimur Range|Kaimur Escarpment]]. It was first excavated in 1980.

Baghor stone is a natural triangular piece of local sandstone; it is colourful, and decorated with yellow pigment. These types of stones may be found on top of the escarpment. The Baghor site, with all its many lithic artefacts, was probably formed between 9000 BC and 8000 BC. Researchers dated the Upper Paleolithic small blade industry at the site to be approximately 11,870 years old (± 120 [[YBP]]) or possibly older than 10,000 BC. The research team mentioned in 1983 that there is a very strong possibility that the stone represents a shrine to [[Shakti]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kenoyer|first1=J. M.|last2=Clark|first2=J. D.|last3=Pal|first3=J. N.|last4=Sharma|first4=G. R.|date=1983-07-01|title=An upper palaeolithic shrine in India?|journal=Antiquity|volume=57|issue=220|pages=88–94|doi=10.1017/S0003598X00055253|s2cid=163969200 |issn=0003-598X|url=https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Kenoyer1983_An%20Upper%20Palaeolithic%20Shrine%20in%20India.pdf}}</ref>

==Site description==
The site was first excavated under the direction of archaeologists [[G. R. Sharma]] of [[Allahabad University]] and [[J. Desmond Clark]] of [[University of California, Berkeley|University of California]], and assisted by [[Jonathan Mark Kenoyer]] and J.N. Pal.

This was determined as a short-term occupation site. The floor was composed of rubble, and there was a lot of manufacturing waste from stone tool manufacture. Many varieties of [[Blade (archaeology)|backed blades]] and geometric microliths were found, as well as grinding stones and ring stones.

Later, as a lot of material was removed, a stone platform was identified, with the Baghor triangular stone in the center. This platform was interpreted as a site for ritual ceremonies.

Archaeologists required a lot of time and analysis to determine the original role and meaning of the Baghor stone.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt3f59n89f;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=d0e11490&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e11202&brand=calisphere|title=An Archaeologist at Work in African Prehistory and Early Human Studies: Teamwork and Insight – Interview with archaeologist J. Desmond Clark|website=www.oac.cdlib.org|access-date=2017-04-11}}</ref>

==Shakti worship==
Numerous ethnographic comparisons have been made between the palaeolithic site of Baghor I and some of the other sites in the area that are still being honoured today by local peoples. Thus, Baghor site has been interpreted as the earliest mother goddess shrine in the subcontinent.<ref name="JamesPetraglia2005">{{cite journal|last1=James|first1=Hannah V.A.|last2=Petraglia|first2=Michael D.|title=Modern Human Origins and the Evolution of Behavior in the Later Pleistocene Record of South Asia|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=46|issue=S5|year=2005|pages=S3–S27|issn=0011-3204|doi=10.1086/444365|hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002B-0DBC-F|s2cid=12529822 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> [[Shakti]] worship is one of the local personifications of this tradition.

Researchers state that the significance of the central triangular stone became clear when considering current local practices, as inhabitants use similar stones with concentric geometric laminations, often triangular, as a symbol of the mother goddess. Specifically, the tribal groups [[Kol people|Kol]] and [[Baiga tribe|Baiga]] have been mentioned. Their primary subsistence has traditionally been hunting and gathering, and they currently worship at the sites rather similar to Baghor. These tribes have [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] affinities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kenoyer|first1=J. M.|last2=Clark|first2=J. D.|last3=Pal|first3=J. N.|last4=Sharma|first4=G. R.|date=1983-07-01|title=An upper palaeolithic shrine in India?|journal=Antiquity|volume=57|issue=220|pages=88–94|doi=10.1017/S0003598X00055253|s2cid=163969200 |issn=0003-598X|url=https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Kenoyer1983_An%20Upper%20Palaeolithic%20Shrine%20in%20India.pdf}}</ref> A 2020 genetic study, however, on the Kol tribe found genetic and linguistic non-correspondence. The Kol share their more recent common ancestry with both the Dravidian and [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] speaking populations, and are genetically closer to the latter.<ref name="KolDNA2020">{{cite journal|last1=Srivastava|first1=Anshika|last2=Singh|first2=Prajjval P.|last3=Bandopadhyay|first3=Audditiya|last4=Singh|first4=Pooja|title=Genetic and linguistic non-correspondence suggests evidence for collective social climbing in the Kol tribe of South Asia|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=10|year=2020|doi=10.1038/s41598-020-61941-z|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340232651_Genetic_and_linguistic_non-correspondence_suggests_evidence_for_collective_social_climbing_in_the_Kol_tribe_of_South_Asia|doi-access=free|pmc=7101412}}</ref>

The living shrine at which it was found is currently used as a place for worshipping [[Devi]] by [[Hindus]]. The triangular shape of the stone is that of the [[Kali]] [[Yantra]] which is also still in use across India. The Kol and Baiga tribes consider the triangular shape to symbolize the mother goddess 'Mai', variously named Kerai, Kari, Kali, [[Kali]]ka or Karika.<ref name="AdheerSom2023">{{cite news|last=Som|first=Adheer|title=Baghor Kali: The timeless roots of Sanatana Dharma|year=2023|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/baghor-kali-the-timeless-roots-of-sanatana-dharma/articleshow/105089867.cms|publisher=The Times of India|access-date=November 11, 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Yantra]]
*[[South Asian Stone Age]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal|last1=Chattopadhyaya|first1=Indrani|title=Living Tradition: A Study of Prehistoric Rock-paintings and Indigenous Art from District Sonbhadra, Southern Uttar Pradesh, India|journal=Athens Journal of Humanities and Arts|volume=3|issue=4|year=2016|pages=251–270|issn=2241-7702|doi=10.30958/ajha.3.4.3|doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Misra|first1=V. N.|title=Prehistoric human colonization of India|journal=Journal of Biosciences|volume=26|issue=4|year=2001|pages=491–531|issn=0250-5991|doi=10.1007/BF02704749|pmid=11779962 |s2cid=26248907 }}
*{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Sacha C.|last2=Pal|first2=J.N.|title=The Palaeolithic of the Middle Son valley, north-central India: Changes in hominin lithic technology and behaviour during the Upper Pleistocene|journal=Journal of Anthropological Archaeology|volume=28|issue=3|year=2009|pages=323–341|issn=0278-4165|doi=10.1016/j.jaa.2009.05.003}}

==External links==
*[https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spirituality_in_India_-_A_Cultural_Perspective/Roots_of_Indian_spirituality Spirituality in India - A Cultural Perspective/Roots of Indian spirituality]

[[Category:Archaeological sites in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Shaktism]]
[[Category:Sidhi district]]

Baghor stone - Revision history

Maansi26 at 12:37, 4 May 2026