Evidence of river that went extinct 172000 years ago found near Thar Desert found by researchers

Evidence of an extinct river that passed through the central Thar Desert close to Bikaner city about 172000 years ago has been found by a team of researchers. The findings suggest that the river may have played a key role in sustaining life of people settled in the region eons ago.

The findings have been published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, and point towards the river activity at Nal Quarry in Rajasthan’s central Thar Desert.
As per the study by researchers from The Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, IISER Kolkata and Anna University in Tamil Nadu state that humans in the Stone Age lived in a remarkably different landscape of Thar Desert than what is seen today. The evidences, reportedly, show that the river flowed about 172000 years ago through Bikaner which is located 200 km from the closest river today.
These findings predate evidence for activity in modern river courses across the Thar Desert as well as dried up course of the Ghaggar-Hakra River. The studies also suggest that a river coursing through the central That region would have been a support to Paleolithic populations and a strong corridor for migrations.
Reportedly, studies done of satellite images depict a strong network of river channels across the Thar. However, according to a statement given by Professor Hema Achyuthan of Anna University to a news website, when these rivers and streams flowed can’t be said as of now.