Age of the Vindhyan Supergroup: A review of recent findings

Abstract

The Vindhyan Supergroup of India is one of the largest and thickest sedimentary successions of the world. Deposited in an intra-cratonic basin, it is composed mostly of shallow marine deposits. It is believed to have recorded a substantial portion of Proterozoic time and therefore, likely to contain valuable information on the evolution of the atmosphere, climate, and life on our planet. It also contains some of the most disputed fossils of earliest animal life. Despite their importance, the absolute age of these rocks had remained unknown until recently. In this work I evaluate all the recent chronological information and discuss their implications. From the present findings it appears that the issues surrounding the age of the Lower Vindhyans in the Son valley are now resolved, whereas problems with the age of the Upper Vindhyans and that with the stratigraphic correlations remain to be answered. © Printed in India.