Understanding the Megalithic Landscape of Ubali, Kalmeshwar Taluk, District,

Oishi Roy1 and K. Krishnan2

1. Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, (Email: [email protected]) 2. Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India (Email: [email protected])

Received: 19 August 2016; Accepted: 13 September 2016; Revised: 01 October 2016 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 4 (2016): 86-104

Abstract: The paper constructs a co-relation between the funerary monuments and its neighboring landscape within the context of the Vidarbhan Megaliths, with special reference to the site of Ubali. It further assesses the Man-Land relationship within the context of Vidarbha from the time of Megalithic Culture to the contemporary times. It looks at the significance and the need to study the cultural assemblage in general and lithic assemblage in particular from the Megalithic sites as they reveal the land use pattern over a period of time.

Keywords: Vidarbha, Ubali, Megaliths, Lithics, Landscape, Man-land Relationship, Social Groups

Introduction This paper attempts to understand the relationship between the monuments and landscape within the Vidarbhan Megalithic context with special reference to the site ‘Ubali’. The traditional landscape theories suggest that the artificial landscape is a marker of social formations (Sanders 1977, Carneiro 1970, Steward 1955, Willey, 1953), while Barrett (1999) states that the artificially altered landscape is a signifier of cultural values. Whereas Alcock (1993) and Bradley (1993) attribute landscape as a place which was actively inhabited and served as a platform for ritualistic and ceremonial activities, which provides a close link between the human element inhabiting the select regions of the landscape and its surroundings. This inter-relationship, between cultural groups and land is defined by Crumley (1994) as “the material manifestation of the relation between humans and the environment”. In general it may be noted that the elements of Man-Land relationship is usually reflected in the pattern of landscape usage. To a great extent this concept of Man-Land relationship has led to some aspects of the development of geographical determinism in archaeology.

In this context, it is interesting to note that the Megalithic sites in Vidarbha follow a Roy and Krishnan 2016: 86-104 pattern, which was primarily focused on the availability of raw materials and topography. The Megalithic community preferred to use the Deccan Trap formation, as Basalt rock formed a significant part of building material for their sepulchral architecture. Besides, the inter-trappeans were utilized as raw material for their other industries, for instance, bead manufacturing.

The site of Ubali (21°16 ̍ 32.43 N̎ 78° 51 ̍ 30.61 ̎ E Elevation: 356 m above sea level) is located on the north-western side of the main Ubali village (Figs. 1 & 2), Kalmeshwar taluka, . It is located on the Kalmeshwar – Road. It lies on the eastern fringe of the Deccan trap formation in the Chandrabhaga River basin, which also falls under the jurisdiction of Kalmeshwar taluka. The site is located in a region which is traversed by a dense network of water channels. The channel which passes through Ubali joins the Chandrabhaga River, east of Dhapewara Khurd. It is a semi-arid region with minimal or no soil cover. The annual precipitation over the entire Nagpur District ranges between 1000 mm and 1200 mm, however, the amount of rainfall varies from east to west. Rainfall reduces towards western part of the district (985.4 mm in taluka) and increases towards the eastern zone (1213.6 mm in Umrer taluka), the centre being Nagpur. Ubali falls in the western zone of the district and shares border with Katol taluka (Central Ground Water Body, 2003). Due to the extreme climatic conditions, most of the wells go dry during summer (March-July) leading to acute water shortage. Due to the infertile nature of the soil and acute shortage of water for irrigational activity, the Stone Circles (Figs. 3 & 4) reported here are devoid of later cultural intervention.

Geological Setting of the Region The geology, mineral deposits, flora and fauna of this region were recorded in the colonial travelogues by Voysey (1830), Jenkins (1830), Hislop (1853), Owen (1854), Rupert Jones (1854), Murray (1854), Bunburys (1854) and Blanford (1872). More than half of Nagpur district is covered by the spread of basaltic and doleritic lava. This formation has been termed as Deccan Trap. The geology of the entire Nagpur district has been divided into two parts. The western Nagpur district falling within the Deccan Trap formation and the eastern zone within the Archaean, Gondwana formations (Fig. 5). All the Megalithic sites of Vidarbha fall within the Deccan Trap formation except Naikund which falls within the Archaean Gondwana formation. The site of Ubali falls within the Deccan Trap formations. The litho-stratigraphy of Ubali comprises of Deccan Trap formation with inter-trappean beds. At the base, there is weathered Basalt, followed by inter-trappeans, the veins within the inter-trappeans have crypto crystalline silica materials (primarily chert and chalcedony). The inter-trappean bed is followed by compact Basalt which is followed by a landscape resembling the Tor landscape (Pryor, 2010). This forms the top soil .The streams draining through the Deccan trap area are the carriers of agates, jaspers and quartz pebbles. Earlier archaeological investigations in the adjoining areas (Thakuria, 2010) indicated that agate, jasper and quartz were the major raw material utilised by the Megalithic society for bead manufacturing.

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Figure 1: Map of Maharashtra state with Nagpur highlighted (Map Courtesy: Maphill)

Figure 2: Nagpur District with Ubali

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Figure 3: General View of the Site

Figure 4: Aerial View of the complete Stone Circle (Courtesy: Google Earth)

The Megalithic Site of Ubali The archaeological mound of Ubali is visible from the Kalmeshwar- Mohpa road. It is dotted with a number of cairns and cairn circles. The site was first located by Abhay Deshpande (Kellellu: Personal Communication) of Nagpur University. The present

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investigators began exploring the above mentioned area with the intention of documenting Megalithic structures and other related artefacts at the site. During the course of this exploration, Middle Paleolithic tools were also encountered within the same vicinity. A good number of them were used as a part of packing materials in the Cairn circles.

Figure 5: Map showing the different rock formations in Nagpur District (Courtesy: Directorate of Geology and Mining, Government of Maharashtra)

The Megalithic Culture of Vidarbha was dated through the excavation of the site of Pauni. At Pauni, the Megalithic Culture was preceded by the Chalcolithic Black and Red Ware Culture and succeeded by the Early Historic Vakataka period (Deo and Joshi, 1972).

The mound of Ubali is dotted with cairn circles of varying sizes. Despite intensive surveys, the habitation area could not be located within the vicinity of the burial mound. The site of Ubali (Fig. 6) is separated by four gullies; the areas on the southern side of Gully 1 and 2 had a concentration of Middle Palaeolithic tools, such as, scrapers, flakes, cores and lithic debitage (Fig. 7 , Fig. 8, Fig. 9 and Fig. 10). The

90 Roy and Krishnan 2016: 86-104 percentages of cores, flakes and lithic debitage were higher than the finished tools. This indicates that the manufacturing of the tools were probably done within this area. However, the absence of definable clusters along with the gradient of the region, suggest that erosional activities have displaced some of the artefacts from its original context. Ubali falls in the middle reaches of Chandrabhaga River. In the upper reaches of Chandrabhaga River, Middle Palaeolithic tools in fresh condition have been encountered. In the lower reaches, at Ghorad, Saptadhara River forms a tributary of the Chandrabhaga River, which flows from Ubali eastward towards Dhapewara Khurd. During the course of the exploration, Middle Paleolithic tools were found embedded in the river section, mainly within the gravel conglomerate that formed the bottom layer of the current stratigraphy of the river.

Figure 6: Distribution of Burials at the site of Ubali (B: Burials, G: Gullies, L: Locality and X: Disturbed Burials)

A B C Figure 7: Cores from Locality 1. A: Chalcedony, B and C: Red Chert

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Figure 8: Chert Core Fragments from Locality 2

Figure 9: Side Scrapers (Chert)

Lithic Analysis The Middle Palaeolithic assemblage was classified into separate groups using typology and raw material as the primary criteria. A great majority of the tools were made on Chert and Quartz. Chalcedony was also used, but in a smaller quantity. The lithics and debitage scatter were found lying on the slopes of the mound (Fig. 11) and a good number of them were profusely used for cairn fillings (Fig. 11b). The Middle Palaeolithic tool kit at Ubali comprised of a variety of scrapers, cores and debitage.

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Double Sided Scraper (Chert) End Scraper (Chert) Figure 10: Scrapers from Locality 1 and locality 2

Figure 11: Debitage scatter along with tools at Ubali

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Figure 12: Section of a Cairn Circle filling (Exposed due to recent quarrying activity)

Table 1 shows the variety in lithic assemblage found at the site of Ubali. Nearly 20% of the lithics that were encountered within the cairn fillings were Middle Palaeolithic tools and its debitage. Besides, six blades were also reported from the site. The blades are mostly micro-blades. The Middle Paleolithic people utilised the easily available crypto-crystalline silica material available within the vicinity of Ubali. Small scale quarrying activities and debitage scatters in the area made subtle changes in the landscape. The available data does not permit us to assign even relative dates to any of these landform changes, however, one can propose that the cultural activities played a greater role in modifying the landscape in the region.

Table 1: Characteristics of the Lithic Assemblage of Ubali Sl. Type Length Breadth Thickness Raw Description No. (mm) (mm) (mm) Material 1 Flake 61.24 29.60 13.45 White Chert Struck from a core with a prepared platform. 2 Flake 56.87 37.91 16.01 Brown Chert Primary flake struck on (Chunky) unprepared core. Partial cortex visible on the dorsal surface. 3 Notched Core 32.26 30.21 10.36 Brown Flake scar visible on the (Fragment) Chert surface. 4 Side Scraper 26.92 19.71 5.38 Brown Cutting edge on both Chert the sides with one side retouched. 5 Blade Core 39.30 23.25 11.14 Chert 50% Cortex is visible on Fragment the surface and blade scars is visible on the surface.

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6 Notched 22.74 37.08 6.27 Chert Notching is done at the Flake proximal end 7 Double Sided 25.95 24.49 9.42 White Chert The retouches are Scraper visible on both the lateral edges and it is made on a core fragment. 8 Semi Circular 19.96 25.63 10.95 Brown Chert Retouches are done Scraper from the proximal till the distal end in a semi- circular manner. 9 Notched 28.47 20.56 5.90 Quartz Made on an end-struck Flake flake. Use wear marks along the left lateral edge on the dorsal surface and deliberate notch on the ventral surface on the left lateral edge. 10 Flake 61.24 29.60 13.45 White Chert The flake has been struck from a prepared core. 11 Side Scraper 30.79 23.17 6.67 Chert Retouches are done along one lateral edge 12 Side Scraper 29.67 35.32 5.45 Chert Retouches are done along one lateral edge 13 Core 28.60 20.46 15.43 Chert The surface has 6 flake scars 14 Multiple 23.55 25.55 12.04 Chert It is made on a primary Sided Scraper flake. 15 Flake 29.17 22.53 11.47 Chert Flake 16 Core 19.32 19.80 17.94 Chert 10% of the core is covered by Cortex. 17 Flake 21.84 16.65 3.97 Chert It is an end struck flake. Struck from a double platform core. 20% of the dorsal surface covered by cortex. 2 flake scars visible on the dorsal surface. 18 Core 24.68 17.09 7.70 Chert It has a prepared Fragment platform. 3 flake scars visible on the surface. 19 Core 24.68 17.09 7.70 Chert It has a prepared Fragment platform. 3 flake scars visible on the surface. 20 Flake 36.82 23.06 6.64 Chert It is an end struck flake with prominent bulb of percussion.

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21 Core 30.04 18.29 Chalcedony 30% of the surface is 13.8 covered by Cortex 22 Core 28.05 18.52 10.46 Chalcedony The raw material was Fragment subjected to heat treatment. 23 Core 28.05 18.52 10.46 Chalcedony The raw material was Fragment subjected to heat treatment. 23a Parallel sided 17.72 20.15 4.46 Chert It is an end struck flake Blade broken from the distal end. Retouching along the right lateral edge on the ventral surface. 23b End Scraper 23.74 15.84 6.65 Chert Retouches are done on the distal end 23c Flake - - - Chert Distal end is broken. Primary flake identified by the cortex. 24 Core 23.14 16.85 5.32 Chert Cortex covers 50% of Fragment the surface. Given heat treatment. 25 Side Scraper 73.91 47.49 20.87 Green Chert 5% Cortex on dorsal on end struck surface along the distal flake end. Retouches on the left side of the proximal end, Struck from a core with prepared platform. It is a chunky flake tool. 3 flake scars from earlier flaking. 26 Double Sided 51.26 37.20 20.48 Brown Chert Cortex visible on both Scraper proximal and distal end. Raw material has veins with impurity formations. Chunky flake tool. Irregular retouches along the right lateral edge on dorsal surface and along the left lateral edge on the ventral surface. 27 Side-struck 35.27 46.12 13.02 Brown Chert Half broken due to step flake termination. The step termination suggests that it was broken during the manufacturing process. 28 Utilized End 24.13 20.15 5.32 Brown Chert Made on end-struck struck Flake flake broken along the

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distal end. Struck from a core with prepared platform. Use wear marks on left lateral edge on dorsal surface and on right lateral edge on ventral surface. 29 Flake 25.50 44.05 8.67 Brown Chert It is a side struck flake 30 Flake 19.86 54.89 11.25 Brown Chert It is a side struck flake 31 Blade Core 12.86 13.60 8.22 Chalcedony It has a prepared (Broken) platform and 5 blade removal scars on the surface. 32 Parallel sided 25.19 11.91 4.67 Chert Broken at the distal end. blade Struck from a core with a prepared platform. Irrailure scar on the ventral surface on the bulb of percussion denotes indirect percussion technique was employed for manufacturing microliths 33 Side Struck 10.44 13.54 2.90 Chalcedony It is broken at the distal Flake end. 34 Blade 14.99 8.20 3.18 Chalcedony Broken from both ends 35 Flake 23.66 16.99 5.81 Chert It is an end struck flake. Broken from distal end. Flake scars on dorsal surface. 36 Micro Blade 7.09 7.43 2.95 Chalcedony Retouches along both frgt the lateral edges 37 Debitage 6.09 5.32 1.96 Chert Waste 38 Debitage 5.07 4.37 2.12 Chert Waste 38a Bipolar Core 32.11 42.27 24.78 Chert 10% cortex visible on the surface. 9 flake scars visible on the surface. 39 Core 41.86 33.41 18.13 Reddish It has multiple Brown Chert platforms. 2% cortex visible on the surface. 6 blade scars and multiple flake scars visible on the surface. 40 Unipolar 35.69 28.32 20.38 Chert Unprepared platform. 7 Core flake scars on the surface. 41 Core 34.27 28.24 13.21 White Chert It has 7 flake scars on Fragment the dorsal surface. Cortex visible on the

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dorsal surface. Incomplete retouching visible. Attempt to make an end scraper. 42 Blade core 23.10 23.60 8.46 Milky 3 blade scars on the Fragment Quartz surface. 43 Side Scraper 69.82 39.41 15.51 Milky Made on end struck Quartz flake. Cortex near the proximal end. Irregular retouching done along the left lateral edge on the ventral surface. 44 End Scraper 38.71 45.86 5.85 Milky Made on a side struck Quartz flake. Irrailure bulb visible on the ventral surface. Regular retouches along the distal end on both ventral and dorsal surface. Earlier flake scars on dorsal surface 45 Core 30.11 33.67 17.52 Chert Unipolar. 8 flake scars Fragment on the surface. 46 Core 30.28 29.20 15.27 Chert 2-3 flake scars on the Fragment surface. 47 Double Sided 22.07 19.92 5.95 Chert Made on an end-struck Scraper flake. Retouches along both the lateral edges on the dorsal surface. 47a Exhausted 14.16 8.95 6.17 Chert Multiple flake scars on Core the surface with no platform left. 48 Core 31.99 26.23 20.95 Milky Prepared Unipolar. 3 Quartz flake scars on the surface. 49 Core 30.20 34.80 27.22 Chert It has multiple platform. 10 flake scars on the surface. 50 Core (Broken) 37.01 30.31 20.74 Chert It has multiple platform. 51 End Scraper 32.11 22.15 15.91 Chert The prepared platform is visible. 2% cortex visible on the dorsal surface. Retouched along the distal end on the dorsal surface. 52 Chunky Flake 34.21 29.34 15.37 Chert Struck from a core with prepared platform. 5 flake scars on the dorsal surface.

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53 Side and End 45.69 25.58 19.38 Chert Struck from a core with Scraper a prepared platform. Retouches along the right lateral edge (near the distal end) on the dorsal surface and on the distal end on the dorsal surface. 3 flake scars on the dorsal surface. 54 Blade Core 21.62 23.17 15.53 Chalcedony It has a prepared platform. 55 Flake 35.55 25.96 13.10 Chert Struck from a core with a prepared platform. 56 Double-Sided 35.96 27.43 12.02 Chert It has an irrailure bulb Scraper on the ventral surface indicating indirect percussion technique was employed. 4 flake scars on the dorsal surface. Regular retouches along both the lateral edges right till the distal end on the dorsal surface. 57 Core 23.55 16.97 16.52 Quartz It is bi-polar. 10% cortex visible on the surface. 3 blade scars. 58 Core 34.68 30.80 22.83 Chert It is uni-polar and has 8 flake scars on the surface. 59 Utilized Flake 28.87 27.22 6.68 Chert It has a positive bulb on the dorsal surface. Use marks are visible. 60 Flake 36.79 23.42 10.80 Chert Flake 61 Side Scraper 36.57 18.26 7.20 Chert Made on an end struck flake. Retouches along the right lateral edge on the ventral surface. 62 Side Scraper 36.23 25.14 11.50 Chert Retouches along left lateral edge on the dorsal surface. 63 Side Scraper 32.82 20.84 7.21 Chert Retouches along left lateral edge on the dorsal surface 64 Flake 32.39 21.49 9.01 Milky 95% cortex is there on Quartz the surface. It is a primary flake. 65 Flake 18.08 12.17 4.95 Chert Retouches along both the lateral edges.

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66 Blade 18.11 11.27 5.90 Agate Broken from the distal Fragment end. 67 Flake 43.92 26.85 13.29 Chert It is a side struck flake 68 Flake 20.19 29.10 4.78 Chert It is a side struck flake 69 Side Scraper 30.18 16.01 9.06 Made on end struck flake. Retouching along the left lateral edge on the ventral surface. 70 Core 28.96 19.45 10.64 Milky 50 % cortex cover on the Fragment Quartz surface. 71 Flake 23.83 20.45 5.96 Milky It is an end struck flake Quartz 72 Exhausted 17.11 14.97 9.88 Milky 6 flake scars on the Core Quartz surface. 73 Core 23.42 23.37 17.67 Milky The raw material has lot Quartz of impurities. Only 3 flake scars 74 Flake 21.32 19.57 12.67 Chert Broken from the distal end 75 Blade 13.58 14.19 4.77 Chalcedony Parallel sided blade. Fragment Broken from distal end. Use wear marks visible along the lateral edges. 76 Irregular 53.26 55.59 31.90 Chert 70% Cortex visible on core/ the surface. There are Modified impurities in the raw chunk material. It was discarded after removing 5 flakes. 77 Core 55.63 44.94 18.49 Chert It was in later use. It Fragment/ seems relatively fresh. Chunk 78 Double Sided 25.08 23.92 11.02 Chert It is retouched along the Scraper right lateral edge on the ventral surface and along the left lateral edge on the dorsal surface. 79 Side Scraper 45.06 25.37 13.16 Chert It is retouched along the and end left lateral edge on the scraper dorsal surface and continuing till the distal end. 80 Flake 36.84 25.62 8.29 Chert It is a primary flake as cortex covers the entire dorsal surface. 81 Utilized Flake 30.26 28.10 7.53 Chert Use wear marks along the lateral edge, 82 Flake 27.23 20.20 8.19 Chert It is a side struck flake

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83 Scraper 25.06 32.22 12.67 Chert End Scraper made on a side struck flake. Retouched along the distal end on the dorsal surface. 84 Flake 33.26 23.14 9.92 Chert End struck Flake 85 Flake 34.80 30.64 12.26 Chert End struck Flake 86 Flake 22.40 23.73 10.46 Chert End struck Flake 87 Side Scraper 19.20 27.31 9.05 Chert Retouched along the left lateral edge on the dorsal surface. 88 Side Scraper 23.34 22.70 12.77 Chert Retouched along the left lateral edge on the ventral surface. 89 Utilized Flake 20.47 26.16 10.89 Chert Use wear marks along the lateral edges, 90 Debitage 13.26 15.18 8.29 Chalcedony Waste of lithic knapping. 91 Flake 16.62 30.83 9.03 Chert It is a side-struck flake. 92 Side Scraper 22.03 17.99 6.10 Chert Retouched along the left lateral edge on the dorsal surface. Broken from the distal end.

Spatial Distribution of Stone Circles and Cairns at Ubali In this paper, it is assumed that the Megaliths at Ubali are funerary in character. The modifications that the Megalithic community made on the landscapes for disposal of the dead by creating circles and cairns by using the available raw materials within the geographical region of Ubali suggest that the boundaries of each burial were to be defined, probably to establish a social norm. Once the boundaries are defined, the human behaviour within these bounded regions also gets defined. This signifies the ‘dead’, the traditions and social practices to which the ‘dead’ belonged to. It is such practices that later on develop into traditions and eventually become a societal norm.

The distance between the Megalithic monuments at Ubali were widely varying; approximately between 3 m and 6 m, while the diameter of the monuments also varied (Table 2). Some of the Stone Circles are interlinked and form intersecting rings. Such instances probably represent burials of individuals bound by kinship ties. When the spatial distribution of the burials along with their sizes is linked with the landscape, it is possible to assume that the distribution of burials at different gradients of the same landscape points to some form of social hierarchy. In other words, the natural elevation of the area was utilized to construct and represent a social ladder, with the burials of less significant individuals at the basal level of the mound, followed by burials of larger diameter of individuals of comparatively higher social status with the individual of the highest social status having a burial on higher gradient. However, these

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propositions can be validated only through excavations and understanding of the varieties of burial goods within each burial.

Figure 12: Menhirs within a Pradhan’s House

Figure 13: Menhirs and Dolmens in community erection area

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Table 2: Dimensions and Characteristic Features of the Megalithic Burials

Burial No. N-S (m) E-W (m) No of Boulders State of Preservation 1 15.22 16.55 21 Complete 2 NA NA 8 (inner circle) 4 Incomplete Double Stone (outer circle) circle 3 12.9 9.8 13 Complete 4 17.15 17.54 30 Complete 5 15.55 16.60 26 Complete 6 NA NA 17 Incomplete 7 18 19 38 Complete 8 14.75 13.65 19 Complete 9 NA NA 10 Incomplete 10 NA NA NA Elevation visible, however no stones on the periphery. Either they are embedded or destroyed. 11 NA NA 43 Incomplete 12 16.27 15.44 26 Complete 13 NA NA 17 Incomplete 14 11.58 12.50 22 Complete 15 14.23 13.85 31 Complete 16 14.40 15.58 36 Complete 17 NA NA 12 Incomplete 18 20 22 58 Complete 19 NA NA 5 Incomplete 20 NA NA NA Incomplete no clear boundary

In support of the above proposition an ethnographic analogy can be mentioned here. While undertaking archaeological surveys in the aforesaid region, an ethnographic study of disposing the dead within the tribe; ‘Gondi’ was undertaken. The Gondi tribes inhabit the area of Gadchiroli District, Vidarbha region, Maharashtra. The Gondis are primarily forest dwellers and engage in toddy tapping and iron smithery. There are two clans among the Gondis, namely Pradhan Marias and Marias. Within the Gondis, the Pradhan Marias is considered as socially higher. While the Pradhan Marias are allowed to erect the Menhirs and Dolmens within the compound of their house during the disposal of the dead (Fig. 12), the Marias have a designated area outside their settlement to erect the Menhirs and Dolmens (Fig. 13). This ethnographic observation suggests that the choice of land for burial and even the burial practices are depended on the social stratification. Within the light of these observations, the aforesaid propositions appear to be valid, however, needs to be validated through excavations and analysis of burial goods.

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