Masol is a paleontological-archaeological site in the Shivalik Frontal Range of the sub-Himalayan foothills of northwestern India, in the state of Punjab, a few kilometers north of Chandigarh. It dates from the end of the Pliocene. The fossiliferous formation called "Quranwala zone"(upper limit around 2.7 million years, lower limit 2.95 million years ago)[1] provides stone tools (choppers, flakes), some in situ with cut marks and percussion marks on fossil bones in the lower layers.[2][3][4] It represents the oldest paleontological record of hominin activities located outside of Africa.[5]
The majority of the site is composed of sandstone, sand, and silt, which, through time, has eroded due to wind and water action.[6] Such geological action has contributed significantly to the natural excavation of the area.
^Chapon Sao, Cécile; Tudryn, Alina; Dambricourt Malassé, Anne; Moigne, Anne-Marie; Gargani, Julien; Singh, Mukesh; Abdessadok, Salah; Voinchet, Pierre; Cauche, Dominique; Karir, Baldev; Pal, Surinder (January 2024). "Magnetostratigraphy of the Pliocene Masol Formation, Siwalik Frontal Range, India: Implications for the age of intentional cut-marked fossil bones". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 259: 105884. Bibcode:2024JAESc.25905884C. doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2023.105884.