UNIT 11 CHALCOLITHIC AND EARLY IRON AGE -11 Structure 11.0 Objectives 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Early Farming Settlements 11.2.1 Cultural Phases 11.2.2 Subsistence Economy 11.2.3 Material Culture 11.2.4 Burial Practices 11.3 Neolithic Surface Finds 11.4 Iron Age in South India 11.4.1 Megalithic Cultures 11.4.2 Origins of the Megalithic Cultures 11.4.3 Material Culture 11.4.4 Subsistence Economy 11.5 Letussumup 11.6 Keywords 11.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises This unit deals with the early farming communities and the subsequent Iron Age in the region of South India. After reading this unit, you will be able to know about: the successive phases of the early farming culture of southern India and their salient features, the nature of settlements, economy and other traits of these cultures, and the characteristic features of the Early Iron Age in this region. 11.1 INTRODUCTION By now you mwt be well familiar with the evolution of human beings hm hunter-gatherers into settled agricultural wmmunltia, You have also learnt about the &tence of the Harappan Civilhation and the various upectn relatgd to it. In the preview unit you have wnn how different cultura emerged ibllowing the decline of the HBtBppan CivUiaation, covering the time span from the mdmillannilun B.C. to flrst millennium B.C. In this' unit, we will review the developments in south India during the same period. The focus of the eNdy will be on the nature of the change8 that came about in thie period in material culture, in settlement patterns and social organisation. 11.2 EARLY FARMING SETIZEMENTS Settlements of the early farming communities in south India make a rather sudden appearance in the third millennium B.C. There is no evidence to discem a gradual evolution (as in West Asii) from a hunting-gathering economy to a food producing economy. The evidence for this region indicates some sort of colonization of favourable habitats in the Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Penneru and Kaveri river systems. These settlements, in majority of the cases, are scattered in the semi-arid, low rain fall and sandy loamy regions which are suitable for dry farming and pastoralism (cattle, sheep and goat). The distinguishing features of these settlements are: i) Sedentary village settlements with semi-permanent to permanent structures, the latter consisting of wattle and daub. ii) Stone axes (made of Bard rocks like dolerite and basalt) manufactured by grinding and polishing. Because of this technique the stone tool industry of these early farming cultures is referred to as the polished stone axe industry. iii) Long and thin blades made of hegrained rocks like chert, jasper, chalcedony and agate. These artefacts have a sheen on the cutting edge, indicating that they were used for harvesting crops. iv) Pottery which is hand made in the early stages and wheel made ih the later stages. v) An economy based on millet farming, and cattle and sheep/goat pastoralism. The economy, thus, is basically ago-pastoral. vi) The dietary needs are supplemented by wild game. Important Neolithic-Chalcollthie sitee in South India 11.2.1 Cultural Phases c On the basis of the overall evidence, we can distinguish three broad phases in the growth of the early farming communities in south India. I Phase I: The earliest settlements of these farming communities represent this phase. I * These were made on tops of granitoid hills, or on levelled terraces on hill sides, or in 1 the valleys between two or more hills. The material culture consists of a polished stone axe industry, blade industry and handmade pottery. 1 In pottery, grey or buff-brown ware is most common. A ware, which is less common, has a black or red burnished slip, often with purple painted decorations. These earliest settlements are associated with ash mounds some of which were excavated. TI.,,, TI.,,, --,,.., 6-2 ,,L ,-..-A -:A^- 1:1_- T~L-__- v___--1 TI- >-l.-l n-11- -.a 1.. I Evolotlon of Euly hd&n Maski and Brahmagiri have all revealed the first phase of settlements of these Sodely: 2400 B.C. to can 1000 B.C. agro-pastoral communities. This phase be ascribed between 2500-1800 B.C. on the basis of radiocarbon dates. Phase II: The settlement pattern of Phase-I continues without any change: settlements were still made on top of granitic hills, or on levelled surfaces on the hillsides. Nonetheless, there are some important developments. The settlements had circular hutments of wattle and daub on wooden frames with mud floors. SomC of the larger pits at Naga rjuna-Konda (in coastal Andhradesa) which are circular, oval, oblong and irregular, with post holes are interpreted as semi-subterranean pit dwellings. Pit dwellings were also found at Paiyampalli and Veerapuram. In this phase new pottery types like the perforated and spouted vessels appeared. The discovery of such pottery types reveals contacts with regions in the north as similar pottery types have been found there. The technique of roughening the outer surface of pottery during this phase is reminiscent of technique employed in the early Harappan period. The polished stone axe and Made industries proliferated in this phase. Copper and bronze objects were also discovered for the first time and their numbers increased towards the end of this phase. Some of the sites where the Phase-I1 settlements were discovered are Piklihal, Brahmagiri, Sanganakallu, Tekkalakota, Hallur and T. Narsipur. The available radiocarbon dates for this phase suggest a timespan covering 1800-1500 B.C. Phase III: The important development in this phase is the increase in the number of copper and bronze tools. Such an increase is seen at Tekkalakota, Hallur, Piklihal, Sanganakallu, Brahmagiri and Paiyampalli. The stone axe and blade industries continue. In pottery a new grey and buff ware with a harder surface becomes common. Another ceramic type which is wheel made, unburnished and with purple paint also appears. This ware has affinities to the chalcolithic Jorwe ware of Maharashtra. On these grounds this phase can be ascribed to the period 1400-1050 B.C. 1 These three phases reveal how gradually the early farming-cum-pastoral settlements in south India emerged and expanded. There is continuity of occupation from Phase I to Phase 111 (as revealed at some sites in the excavations) and with no significant change in the economy. The only important difference is the absence of copper/bronze tools in Phase I. As the occupation of Pham I1 and I11 have yielded these metal tools, they are designated as Neolithic-Chalcolithic. From the distribution of these settlements, it can be seen that the preferred landforms' are low hill ranges away from major watersheds but in proximity to streams; the soil zones are tropical black clays, tropical red and black sandy loams, sandy or sandy loamy fermginous tropical soils, and deltaic alluvium. The average annual rainfall in which these settlements are located, as at present, falls in the range of 600-1200 mrn. , These sites are commonly dispersed in the castlellated hills and the habitations are usually on the tops of hills or at the foot of hills. 11.2.2 Subsistence Economy In view of the location of the sites in relation to physiography, it would appear that areas which were suited largely for gravity flow irrigation were generally colonised. However, there are some sites like Veerapuram on the bank of Krishna, Hahon r the Tungabhadra, T. Narsipur at the codhence of the Kaveri and Kapila and those in the alluvial zones of the Krishna, where there is scope for water management through canal irrigation. The available archaeobotanical evidenc~,indicates that millets and pulses were the main cultivated crops. These are various kinds of millet, horse gram, green gram and . 4 black gram. Hyacinth bean and barley have been recently identified at Ramapuram. Coming to the fauna, almost all the excavated Neolithic-Chalcolithic sites yielded remains which belong to both domesticated and wild species. The domesticated species consist of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, dog and fowl. Cattle predominate at the majority of the sites indicating its importance in the economy of these communities. For instance in the Neolithic levels at Veerapuram, the faunal remains of which were subjected to meticulous study, cattle represent 48.68% of the domesticated animals whereas sheep/goat form only 5.4.9'0. If such was the case at Veerapuram situated on the right bank of the Krishna with potential for irrigation agriculture, then one should expect cattle pastoralism to have played a major role in the scores of sites located in the uplands. As the economy of these communities was a combination of agriculture and &al husbandry (cattle predominantly and sheep/goat to some extent), it can be termed agro-pastoral. In addition to these domesticated species these settlements have also yielded remains of wild game.These wild species are porcupine, black naped hare, nilgai, chinkara, blackbuck, sarnbar and chital. This would indicate that their meat requirements were supplemented by wild game. 11.2.3 Material Culture The material remains of this period include pottery, stone artefacts, copper/bronze object and other objects. i) Pottery Pottery in Phase I (2500-1800 B.C.) was predominantly handmade, grey or buff-brown. This grey ware is characterized by the use of bands of red ochre, applied after firing. What is interesting is that some of these pottery forms have applied ring feet and hollow pedestals which recall the pre-Harrappan types known from Amri and Kalibangan. The other ceramic type of Phase I had a black or red burnished slip, with a purple painted decoration.