Faculty at School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Devara Anilkumar

Devara Anilkumar

Assistant Professor

School of Humanities and Social Sciences


Contact Information

Dr. Devara Anil is an archaeologist specializing in Palaeolithic archaeology, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, and human–environment interactions during the Late Pleistocene, with extensive field and analytical experience in South Asia. His research interests include Palaeolithic archaeology, Field archaeology, Luminescence Chronology, Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, Palaeontology, lithic technology, and Geoarchaeology. He was awarded the U.G.C. Junior Research Fellowship and the U.G.C. Senior Research Fellowship for the perusal of his PhD research. He is also the recipient of the Early Career Grant (2018) awarded by the National Geographic Society, the Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (2020) and post PhD grant (2025) by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Research Grant by the Leakey Foundation, Advanced Research grant (2025) from ANRF, Government of India and the Small Study and Research Grant (2017), Nehru Trust for the Indian Collections at the Victoria, and Albert Museum. He has participated in several explorations and excavations by various organizations in South Asia. He directed one season of excavations at a Upper Palaeolithic (Ardhaveedu) site and two seasons of excavations at another Middle and Upper Palaeolithic site (Motravulapadu) in India and step trenching/trail trenching at several other sites in Southeast India and Western India.

His research interests include Palaeolithic archaeology, Field archaeology, Luminescence Chronology, Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, Palaeontology, lithic technology, and Geoarchaeology

Post-Graduation

(M.A. Ancient

History, Culture and

Archaeology)

Department of Archaeology and

Ancient History, the Maharaja

Sayajirao University of Baroda

2016

Ph.D. (Archaeology

and Ancient

History)

The Maharaja Sayajirao University

of Baroda, Vadodara

2024

8th June 2026 onwards: Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Archaeology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University

03 April to 12 December 2025: Assistant Research Professor (Contractual) in the Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar

02 August 2021 to 31 March 2025: Assistant Professor (Temporary) in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.

2025e Devara Anil, Monika Devi, Prabhin Sukumaran, BV Lakshmi, K Deenadayalan, Sunil Kumar, Ambili Anoop, Zakir Khan, Vrushab Mahesh, Gopesh Jha, P. Ajith Prasad, Naveen Chauhan. 2025. Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) beds as a Late Pleistocene Isochron in the Indian Subcontinent? New Geochronological and Sedimentological Insights. Journal of Quaternary Science, 1-15.

2024 Devara Anil, Monika Devi, Zakir Khan, Vrushab Mahesh, P. Ajithprasad, Naveen Chauhan, Gopesh Jha. Deep-rooted south Asian middle Palaeolithic: Terminal Middle Pleistocene Lithic Assemblage from Retlapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India. POLS ONE, 19(8): e0302580

2023b Devara Anil, Monika Devi, Neha Ati, Mukesh., C.P., Zakir Khan, Vrushab Mahesh, P. Ajithprasad, Naveen Chauhan, Akash Pandey, Gopesh Jha. Diversity of M.I.S. 3 Levallois technology from Motravulapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India: Implications of M.I.S. 3 cultural diversity in South Asia. Front. Earth Sci. 11:1302419.

2023a Devara Anil, Monica Devi, James Blinkhorn, Victoria Smith, Satish Sangode, Zakir Khan, Vrushab Mahesh, P. Ajithprasad and Naveen Chauhan. The youngest Toba Tuff deposits from the Gundlakamma river basin, Andhra Pradesh, and their role in Evaluating the Late Pleistocene Hominin behaviour in South Asia. Quaternary Research, 115: 134-145.

2022c Devara Anil, P. Ajithprasad, Vrushab Mahesh and Zakir Khan. Acheulian to Middle Palaeolithic Transition at Anandapuram Agraharam Complex, Eastern Foothilld of Velikonda Range, Andhra Pradesh. In Ravi Korisettar (Eds.) Beyond Stones and More Stones, Volume III. Pp. 1-32. Mythic Society, Benguluru.

2022b Devara Anil, Ajithprasad Pottentavida and Vrushab Mahesh. Palaeolithic assemblages associated with Youngest Toba Tuff deposits from the upper Gundlakamma River basin, Andhra Pradesh, India. Quaternary Geoarchaeology of India (N. Tiwari, V. Singh, and S.B. Mehra). London: Geological Society, Special Publications, 515, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP515-2020-187.

2025 South Asian Middle Palaeolithic: Indigenous or Introduced? in the International Conference of UISPP held at Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia, October - November 2025

2025    Applications of Luminescence Dating in South Asian Palaeolithic Studies with Special Reference to Southeast India in the International Conference of UISPP held at Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia, October - November 2025.

2023 MIS 3 Palaeolithic Assemblages from the Gundlakamma and Adjoining River Basins, Prakasam District Implications on the post-Middle Palaeolithic Cultural Developments in South Asia in the National Seminar held at Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. March 12th, 2023.

2022    Presented a paper (jointly with P, Ajithprasad, Vrushab Mahesh, Zakir Kha) entitled “Late Acheulian-Middle Palaeolithic Transitions and Origins of Mode 3 Technologies in Southeast Andhra Pradesh, India: Preliminary Observations at the European Association for South Asian Archaeology

Ongoing

  • 2025 “Late Pleistocene Wildfires in Peninsular India: Investigating Climate Stress, FaunalChange, and Hominin Adaptation” funded by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) – INR 91,00,000 (⁓ $100,000) (Principal Investigator)
  • 2025 “The Initial Upper Palaeolithic in India and its relation to the Levant: Implications for Human Dispersal and Regional Variability” funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, funds allocated - $24,900 (Principal Investigator)

Completed

  • 2025 “Rethinking Deep Time: Debating Transitions, Origins, and Identities in South Asian Palaeolithic Archaeology” conference grant funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, funds allocated - $19.300 (Convener)
  • 2023 “Continuing Excavations at Motravulapadu, Andhra Prdesh, India” funded by the Leakey Foundation, funds allocated- $ 10,000 (Principal Investigator).
  • 2022 ‘Investigating multiple fossil beds from Motravulapadu, Andhra Pradesh Implications for faunal responses to climatic, volcanic, and anthropogenic-driven changes during the Late Pleistocene in South Asia’, funded by the Leakey Foundation, Funds allocated- $ 19,900 (Principal Investigator).
  • 2020 ‘Archaeological remains from Underlying and Overlying the Youngest Toba Tuff deposits, Manneru river basin, Andhra Pradesh” funded by the Wenner-Gren foundation, Funds allocated- $ 15,100 (Principal Investigator).
  • 2018-2019 ‘Investigating Palaeolithic sites Associated with Youngest Toba Tuff deposits, Southeast India’ funded by the National Geographic Society, Funds allocated-$10,000/- (Principal investigator).
  • “Prehistoric surveys in Paleru river valley,Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh” funded by the Nehru Trust for Indian Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum as Small Study Research Grant, funds allocated $ 750 (Principal Investigator)