IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India Earliest Times to the 8th Century A.D - Chalcolithic and Early Iron Age-ii

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

India Earliest Times to the 8th Century A.D

Chalcolithic and Early Iron Age-ii

Structure

11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
1 1.2 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
1 1.4 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

11.0 OBJECTIVES

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 md millannilun 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