India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa and into Asia and Oceania. Here we report evidence for long-term human occupation, spanning the last ~80 thousand years, at the site of Dhaba in the Middle Son River Valley of Central India. An unchanging stone tool industry is found at Dhaba spanning the Toba eruption of ~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology ~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.

Fig. 4: Key artefact types at Dhaba from 80 to 25 ka.
Fig. 4: Key artefact types at Dhaba from 80 to 25 ka.: a–c Levallois flakes, Dhaba 1 and 2. d, e Levallois blades, Dhaba 1. f, g Ochre, Dhaba 1. h, i Microblade cores, Dhaba 3. jNotched scraper, Dhaba 1. k–m Levallois points, Dhaba 1 and 2. n, o Agate and chert microblades, Dhaba 3. p–sRecurrent Levallois cores, Dhaba 1–3. t, u Backed microliths, Dhaba 3. White arrows indicate scar directions. Black arrows with circles indicate impact points.
Fig. 3: Dhaba stratigraphy and chronology.
Fig. 3: Dhaba stratigraphy and chronology. a Dhaba 1 profile showing location of IRSL ages and cryptotephra shards. The upper 7.88 m of Dhaba 1a are not shown. Note all glass shards are found at or below the boundary between the yellow-brown clay-rich layer and the overlying light yellowish brown silt layer and are bracketed by ages of 78 and 71 ka. b Dhaba 1 sediment log. c Dhaba 2 sediment log and IRSL ages. d Dhaba 3 sediment log and IRSL ages. Cl = clay, Si = silt, Sa = sand (F, M and C are fine, medium and coarse, respectively), Gr = gravel, mbs = metres below surface. Alphabetial references are to stratigraphic layers. Refer to Supplementary Table 1 for detailed sedimentary descriptions.
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