The South Indian Neolithic lasted from about 3000 to 1200 BCE. Here we are particularly interested in the northern part of the modern-day Indian state of Karnataka, where Neolithic communities appear to have been small, egalitarian, and reliant on pastoralism (mostly cattle), agriculture (mostly millet and pulses), and hunting and gathering. The prevalence of cattle motifs in rock art, as well as the number of ashmounds (large mounds of burned cattle dung) dotting the landscape, point to the symbolic importance of cattle in South Indian Neolithic ideology as a whole.
[1]
Population and political organization
The presence of only minor variations in house size, design and content, as well as in mortuary practices, suggests an egalitarian society during this period.
[2]
No population estimates are provided by the literature.
[1]: (Johansen 2014, 62-65) Johansen, Peter. 2014. “The Politics of Spatial Renovation: Reconfiguring Ritual Practices in Iron Age and Early Historic South India.” Journal of Social Archaeology 14 (1): 59-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M4E9T7IR.
[2]: (Johansen 2014, 63) Johansen, Peter. 2014. “The Politics of Spatial Renovation: Reconfiguring Ritual Practices in Iron Age and Early Historic South India.” Journal of Social Archaeology 14 (1): 59-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M4E9T7IR.
| 43 P |
| Deccan - Neolithic |
| Ashmound Tradition | |
| Southern Neolithic |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| inferred present |
| absent | 2700 BCE 1701 BCE |
| unknown | 1700 BCE 1200 BCE |
| absent | 2700 BCE 1701 BCE |
| unknown | 1700 BCE 1200 BCE |
| absent | 2700 BCE 1701 BCE |
| unknown | 1700 BCE 1200 BCE |
| absent | 2700 BCE 1701 BCE |
| unknown | 1700 BCE 1200 BCE |
| absent |
| absent |
| unknown |
| absent | 2700 BCE 1701 BCE |
| unknown | 1700 BCE 1200 BCE |
| absent | 2700 BCE 1701 BCE |
| unknown | 1700 BCE 1200 BCE |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent | 2700 BCE 1501 BCE |
| unknown | 1500 BCE 1301 BCE |
| present | 1300 BCE 1200 BCE |
| absent | 1300 BCE 1200 BCE |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| inferred absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| inferred absent |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| inferred absent | 1500 BCE 1200 BCE |
| absent |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| absent |
| unknown |
| inferred absent |
| unknown |
| Year Range | Deccan - Neolithic (in_deccan_nl) was in: |
|---|---|
| (2700 BCE 1201 BCE) | Deccan |
[1]: D. Fuller, Dung Mounds and Domesticators: Early Cultivation and Pastoralism in Karnataka, in C. Jarrige, V. Lefevre (eds), South Asian Archaeology, vol. 1: Prehistory (2006), p. 121
[2]: N. Boivin, Rock Art and Rock Music: Petroglyphs of the South Indian Neolithic (2004), in Antiquity 78:299, pp. 38-53
[1]: D. Fuller, Dung Mounds and Domesticators: Early Cultivation and Pastoralism in Karnataka, in C. Jarrige, V. Lefevre (eds), South Asian Archaeology, vol. 1: Prehistory (2006), p. 121
[2]: N. Boivin, Rock Art and Rock Music: Petroglyphs of the South Indian Neolithic (2004), in Antiquity 78:299, pp. 38-53
levels.
Sanganakallu first permanent settlement in South India dating to 3000 BCE? -- need to check
Sanganakallu-Kupgal
Bellary District archaeological projectEXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~tcrndfu/web_project/intro.html
NOTE: Three types of sites exist from this period: permanent settlements, long-stay encampments, and short-stay encampments
[1]
. They could be ordered into a hierarchy in terms of size, but, considering the widespread evidence for egalitarianism at the time
[2]
, perhaps it would be wrong to describe the relationship between differently-sized sites as "hierarchy"?
"The archaeological record of the Neolithic Period (2700-1200 BC) in northern Karnataka and western Andhra Pradesh documents a regional social landscape of small village communities where relatively egalitarian social relations appear to have been a common practice. Neolithic settlements consisted of small circular wattle-and-daub houses grouped together in villages and camps, in some cases together with stock enclosures, communal butchering, and tool-making areas (Fuller et al., 2007; Paddayya, 1998, 2001). Where adequately documented, settlements contain houses with little variation in size, design, or content. The only significant dimension of variability observed in mortuary practices is that between adult and subadult burials (and perhaps in more limited terms sex), suggesting that the transition to adulthood was an important measure of difference and likely rank within Neolithic society (Bauer et al., 2007). Other than this, there is no evidence for Neolithic social differences or ranking in the archaeological record."
[3]
[1]: D. Fuller, Dung Mounds and Domesticators: Early Cultivation and Pastoralism in Karnataka, in C. Jarrige, V. Lefevre (eds), South Asian Archaeology, vol. 1: Prehistory (2006), pp. 121-123
[2]: P. Johansen, The politics of of spatial renovation: Reconfiguring ritual practices in Iron Age and Early Historic South India (2014), Journal of Social Archaeology 0(0): 1-28
[3]: P. Johansen, The politics of of spatial renovation: Reconfiguring ritual practices in Iron Age and Early Historic South India (2014), Journal of Social Archaeology 0:0, pp. 1-28
levels.
Beyond differences in mortuary treatment between adults and sub-adults, "there is no evidence for Neolithic social differences or ranking in the archaeological record"
[1]
.
[1]: P. Johansen, The politics of of spatial renovation: Reconfiguring ritual practices in Iron Age and Early Historic South India (2014), Journal of Social Archaeology 0:0, pp. 1-28
Regarding the granitic hills of Northern Karnataka: "Although, from below, their stony landscapes make the hills appear rather inhospitable, those who make the effort to climb them are often rewarded with the discovery of surprisingly sizeable and protected plateaux that are invisible from the lower reaches. It is here, on the hill-top plateaux, that we find the most substantial evidence for Neolithic habitation [...] [The inhabitants] almost certainly benefited from the commanding views these sites provided over very large stretches of terrain" [1] . NOTE, however, that the author does not explicitly say that these settlements were built in these locations for defensive purposes.
[1]: N. Boivin, Landscape and Cosmology in the South Indian Neolithic: New Perspectives on the Deccan Ashmounds (2004), in Cambridge Archaeological Journal 14:2, pp. 235-257
Regarding the granitic hills of Northern Karnataka: "Although, from below, their stony landscapes make the hills appear rather inhospitable, those who make the effort to climb them are often rewarded with the discovery of surprisingly sizeable and protected plateaux that are invisible from the lower reaches. It is here, on the hill-top plateaux, that we find the most substantial evidence for Neolithic habitation [...] [The inhabitants] almost certainly benefited from the commanding views these sites provided over very large stretches of terrain" [1] . NOTE, however, that the author does not explicitly say that these settlements were built in these locations for defensive purposes.
[1]: N. Boivin, Landscape and Cosmology in the South Indian Neolithic: New Perspectives on the Deccan Ashmounds (2004), in Cambridge Archaeological Journal 14:2, pp. 235-257
Indian iron smiths invented the ’wootz’ method of steel creation between 550-450 BCE. The Greek physician Ctesias of Cnidus commented on an Indian steel sword in the possession of Artaxerxes II of Persia (c400 BCE). [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 102) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
First finds of iron weapons in northern India earlier than 1000 BCE and from at least 1000 BCE in Karnataka in south India where iron arrowheads, spears and swords have been found. [1]
[1]: (Tewari 2010) Tewari, Rakesh. 2010. Updates on the Antiquity of Iron in South Asia. in Man and Environment. XXXV(2): 81-97. Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies.
First finds of iron weapons in northern India earlier than 1000 BCE and from at least 1000 BCE in Karnataka in south India where iron arrowheads, spears and swords have been found. [1]
[1]: (Tewari 2010) Tewari, Rakesh. 2010. Updates on the Antiquity of Iron in South Asia. in Man and Environment. XXXV(2): 81-97. Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies.
First finds of iron weapons in northern India earlier than 1000 BCE and from at least 1000 BCE in Karnataka in south India where iron arrowheads, spears and swords have been found. [1]
[1]: (Tewari 2010) Tewari, Rakesh. 2010. Updates on the Antiquity of Iron in South Asia. in Man and Environment. XXXV(2): 81-97. Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies.
First finds of iron weapons in northern India earlier than 1000 BCE and from at least 1000 BCE in Karnataka in south India where iron arrowheads, spears and swords have been found. [1]
[1]: (Tewari 2010) Tewari, Rakesh. 2010. Updates on the Antiquity of Iron in South Asia. in Man and Environment. XXXV(2): 81-97. Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies.
"The people of the South Indian Neolithic Culture (1700-1100 BCE) "used polish stone celts and axes on a larger scale than was the case in the Deccan Chalcolithic. ... produced slender chalcedony blades ... The use of copper was on a restricted scale." [1] Copper swords associated with the Chalcolithic culture of the Karnataka region "with the time when ’Jorwe’ influences were reaching there from the north. This we suggested dated from 1400-1500 BC.’" [2] Reference for Vedic-period India (mostly Ganges valley but may also be relevant further south) mentions copper armour: "No material evidence exists to prove the use of body-armour, helmets and shields by the people of the Indus valley. It has been suggested, however, that domed pieces of copper, each pierced by two holes, were stitched on to a piece of cloth and used as a coat of mail." [3]
[1]: (Shinde and Deshpande 2002, 345) Vasant Shinde. Shweta Sinha Deshpande. South Indian Chalcolithic. Deccan Chalcolithic, South Indian Neolithic. Peter N. Peregrine. Melvin Ember. eds. 2002. Encyclopedia of Prehistory. Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia. Springer. Boston. pp 344-360.
[2]: (Allchin 1979, 114) F R Allchin. A South Indian Copper Sword and Its Significance. J E Van Lohuizen-De Leeuw. 1979. South Asian Archaeology 1975. From the third international conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe held in Paris. E J BRILL. Leiden.
[3]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
No bronze age in southern India but they may have imported bronze. Copper and sometimes bronze weapons found in hoards at Kallur (Hyderabad in the Deccan) among non-Aryan populations. [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. According to Jaina texts, Ajatashatru, a 5th century BCE king of Magadha in North India, used a catapult "capable of hurling huge pieces of stone". [1] Ancient Indian armies had siege engines that could "fling stones and lead balls wrapped up in burning materials. The Mahabharata mentions an Asma-yantra (a stone-throwing machine) in the battle with Jarasandha and we have further records that such engines were used in later periods to set enemy fortifications alight and that ’liquid fires’ containing naphtha were in use in ancient India." [2]
[1]: (Singh 2008, 272) Upinder Singh. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Longman. Delhi.
[2]: (Forbes 1959, 88-89) Robert James Forbes. 1959. More studies in early petroleum history. Brill Archive.
Much later, Byzantines or possibly Chinese were the first to use sling siege engines
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Present for the Indus Valley Civilization: "Commonest among the weapons of offence and defence in the Indus valley are sling pellets of baked clay." [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 90) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
Rock-art dated to the South Indian Neolithic, for example at the site of Kupgal, in Northern Karnataka, occasionally depicts anthropomorphic figures equipped with bows and arrows: these may have been "cattle raiding" scenes. [1] . NOTE: Bow type not specified.
[1]: N. Boivin, Rock Art and Rock Music: Petroglyphs of the South Indian Neolithic (2004), in Antiquity 78:299, pp. 38-53
NB: The following likely refers to a later period. Copper and sometimes bronze weapons found in hoards at Kallur (Hyderabad in the Deccan) include barbed spears and harpoons. [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Known to Chinese in the first millennium BCE but Vedic literature does not describe anything like a crossbow although Pant suggests "the weapon mentioned as the nalika in ancient Sanskrit literature was a crossbow." [1] "The hand crossbow was usd on Indian battlefields probably from the third century A.D. It was mainly used as an infantry weapon and occasionally as a cavalry weapon. A Sanskrit inscription at Avanthipuram, in South India, reads: ’... Of him who has the name of Ananta impelled with speed and skillfully discharged from the machines of his bow fitted with the well stretched string....’ Obviously, the machine referred to was a hand crossbow." [1]
[1]: (Phillips 2016) Henry Pratap Phillips. 2016. The History and Chronology of Gunpowder and Gunpowder Weapons (c.1000 to 1850). Notion Press.
’From the Kushans, the Indians learnt the use of composite bows. The Sanchi sculptures which can be dated to the first century BC show many soldiers carrying strung and unstrung composite bows. Murray B. Emeneau writes that the Guptas used Sassanian types of composite bows.’ [1]
[1]: (Roy 2013, 23) Kaushik Roy. 2013. Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Routledge. London.
Weapon that has only been found in the New World.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Copper swords associated with the Chalcolithic culture of the Karnataka region "with the time when ’Jorwe’ influences were reaching there from the north. This we suggested dated from 1400-1500 BC.’" [1] Copper and sometimes bronze weapons found in hoards at Kallur (Hyderabad in the Deccan) include swords (among non-Ayran populations). [2]
[1]: (Allchin 1979, 114) F R Allchin. A South Indian Copper Sword and Its Significance. J E Van Lohuizen-De Leeuw. 1979. South Asian Archaeology 1975. From the third international conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe held in Paris. E J BRILL. Leiden.
[2]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
"The people of the South Indian Neolithic Culture (1700-1100 BCE) "used polish stone celts and axes on a larger scale than was the case in the Deccan Chalcolithic. ... produced slender chalcedony blades ... The use of copper was on a restricted scale." [1]
[1]: (Shinde and Deshpande 2002, 345) Vasant Shinde. Shweta Sinha Deshpande. South Indian Chalcolithic. Deccan Chalcolithic, South Indian Neolithic. Peter N. Peregrine. Melvin Ember. eds. 2002. Encyclopedia of Prehistory. Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia. Springer. Boston. pp 344-360.
At a "megalithic habitation site" in Tamil Nadu, rock-art has been found depicting "two horse riders fighting each other with poles" [1] As cavalry absent, but don’t know whether horses were used as a pack animal. Probably absent if warfare not large scale.
[1]: U. Singh, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2008), p. 253
In ancient India the buffalo, bullock, yak, goat, camel, elephant, horse, ass and the mule were all used for transport [1] [2] in different regions according to local conditions. [2]
[1]: (Mishra 1987, 83) Kamal Kishore Mishra. 1987. Police Administration in Ancient India. Mittal Publications. Delhi.
[2]: Prakash Charan Prasad. 1977. Foreign Trade and Commerce in Ancient India. Abhinav Publications. New Delhi.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Reference for Vedic-period India (mostly Ganges valley but may also be relevant further south): "No material evidence exists to prove the use of body-armour, helmets and shields by the people of the Indus valley. It has been suggested, however, that domed pieces of copper, each pierced by two holes, were stitched on to a piece of cloth and used as a coat of mail. And a few pictographs of the Indus script may represent men holding shields." [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Reference for Vedic-period India (mostly Ganges valley but may also be relevant further south): "No material evidence exists to prove the use of body-armour, helmets and shields by the people of the Indus valley. It has been suggested, however, that domed pieces of copper, each pierced by two holes, were stitched on to a piece of cloth and used as a coat of mail. And a few pictographs of the Indus script may represent men holding shields." [1] By the time of Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, there is mention of "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor and a leather shield. [2]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
[2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Reference for Vedic-period India (mostly Ganges valley but may also be relevant further south) mentions a coat of mail but the description reads more like scaled armor: "No material evidence exists to prove the use of body-armour, helmets and shields by the people of the Indus valley. It has been suggested, however, that domed pieces of copper, each pierced by two holes, were stitched on to a piece of cloth and used as a coat of mail." [1] According to a military historian: "In India, protective body armor was in use around 1600 B.C.E. The Vedic Epics use the word varman to describe what was probably a coat of mail, probably a leather garment or coat reinforced with brass plates at critical points." [2] - do Indian specialists agree with this statement?
[1]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
[2]: (Gabriel 2007, 79) Richard A Gabriel. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Ancient World. Greenwood Press. Westport.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor and a leather shield. [1]
[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Reference for Vedic-period India (mostly Ganges valley but may also be relevant further south): "No material evidence exists to prove the use of body-armour, helmets and shields by the people of the Indus valley. It has been suggested, however, that domed pieces of copper, each pierced by two holes, were stitched on to a piece of cloth and used as a coat of mail. And a few pictographs of the Indus script may represent men holding shields." [1] By the time of Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, there is mention of "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor and a leather shield. [2] According to a military historian: "In India, protective body armor was in use around 1600 B.C.E. The Vedic Epics use the word varman to describe what was probably a coat of mail, probably a leather garment or coat reinforced with brass plates at critical points." [3] - do Indian specialists agree with this statement?
[1]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
[2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Gabriel 2007, 79) Richard A Gabriel. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Ancient World. Greenwood Press. Westport.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Reference for Vedic-period India (mostly Ganges valley but may also be relevant further south) mentions a coat of mail but the description reads more like scaled armor: "No material evidence exists to prove the use of body-armour, helmets and shields by the people of the Indus valley. It has been suggested, however, that domed pieces of copper, each pierced by two holes, were stitched on to a piece of cloth and used as a coat of mail." [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi.
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor and a leather shield. [1]
[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Chalukyas, Pallavas and the Cholas are noted for their naval forces."
[1]
It can be inferred that no other state had a significant naval force and there were no states in this period.
[1]: (Eraly 2011, 163) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.