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South Asian Stone Age

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The South Asian Stone Age spans the prehistoric age from the earliest use of stone tools in the Paleolithic period to the rise of agriculture, domestication, and pottery in the Neolithic period across present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Like in all parts of the world, in South Asia, the divisions of the stone age into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods do not carry precise chronological boundaries; instead, they describe broad phases of technological and cultural development based on the tools and artifacts found at various archaeological sites.[1]

The Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) in South Asia began as early as 2.6 million years ago (Ma) based on the earliest known sites with hominin activity, namely the Siwalik Hills of northwestern India.[2] The Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) is defined as a transitional phase following the end of the Last Glacial Period, beginning around 10000 BCE. The Neolithic (New Stone Age), starting around 7000 BCE, is associated with the emergence of agriculture and other hallmarks of settled life or sedentism, as opposed to hunter-gatherer lifestyles.[3] The earliest South Asian neolithic sites include Mehrgarh in present-day Pakistan dated to 6500 BCE[1] and Koldihwa, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India, where domesticated rice has been radiocarbon dated to around 7000–6000 BCE.[4]

Paleolithic

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The Paleolithic in South Asia is also traditionally divided into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic periods. The Paleolithic falls within the larger geologic Pleistocene Epoch, which spans from about 2.58 Ma to 11.7 Ka.[5] As such, the terms Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene are often applied as overlapping geological timeframes in discussions about the Paleolithic.

Lower Paleolithic

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The Lower Paleolithic period in South Asia represents the earliest phase of hominid activity in the region and chronologically corresponds with the Early Pleistocene. This archeological record, spanning 2.6 Ma[2] -2.5 Ma[6] to approximately 300 Ka, is marked by evidence of lithic technology, including those characterized as the Acheulean industry, (which are often attributed to early hominids such as Homo erectus), the Soanian industry,[7] named after the Soan River, a tributary of the Indus, as well as distinct Pre-Acheulean lithic assemblages.

Siwalik Hills (Pre-Acheulean)

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The Masol site, located in the Siwalik Frontal Range north of Chandigarh, India was surveyed between 2009 and 2011 by an Indo-French research program patroned by Professor Yves Coppens, the College of France and Academy of Sciences and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[8]

The site yielded over 1,469 fossils within a stratigraphic layer confirmed by paleomagnetic dating to 2.6 Ma, including 45 fossils with green fractures, 12 with carnivore traces, and 3 with cut marks, found on a tibia shaft from a large herbivore, a bovid shaft, and a rib from a Stegodon (Stegadon insignis).[9] Although critics have attributed similar types of bone markings elsewhere to large predators or trampling,[10] in this case, researchers concluded the "anthropic origin can be in no doubt" based on several lines of evidence. Foremost, the markings closely matched experimental cut marks made by quartzite edges.[2] Furthermore, the taphonomic analysis of the Masol site does not suggest dispersal by a natural disaster nor does it provide evidence for animal predation of such large prey.[9] Finally, statistically, researchers noted a relatively high frequency of sharp cut marks—3 out of 1,469 fossils[9] —compared to other sites, such as Java, Indonesia, where only 5 bones out of 30,000 showed similar marks in a locale with substantial fossil evidence of a Homo erectus.[11]

Evidence of anthropic cut marks on fossilized bone in the Himalayan foothills (2.6 Ma)[2] positions South Asia closer to the center of hominin evolution than ever before, suggesting the region was witness to early scavenging behaviors, similar to those observed at sites like Dikika, Ethiopia (3.4 Ma)[12] and Lomekwi, Kenya (3.2 Ma),[13] both earlier and further from Africa than previously considered.[14]

Pothohar Plateau (Pre-Acheulean)

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While the Masol site provides evidence of quartzite cut marks, other sites in the region reveal evidence of stone tools capable of producing such cut marks. Riwat, located in the Pothohar Plateau is one of the earliest sites containing Pre-Acheulean stone tools dated to around 2.5 Ma.[6] Similarly, the Pabbi Hills in Northern Pakistan have produced stone tools dated to 2.2 to 0.9 Ma.[15] The stone tools found at these sites, including light and heavy-duty tools like simple end-choppers, represent a distinct, older lithic technology separate from the Acheulean and Soanian traditions.[16]

Earliest Acheulean Sites

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The Attirampakkam site, located near Chennai, was first identified by the British geologist Robert Bruce Foote in the 1860's.[17] It has produced some of the oldest known Acheulean tools in not just South Asia, but the entire world, indicating that homonins inhabiting the Indian subcontinent were already familiar with bifacial tools, handaxes and cleavers approximately 1.5 Ma. This dating, confirmed by both paleomagnetic and 26Al/10Be burial dating, means that India's oldest Acheulean tools were contemporary to those in Africa and Central Asia and thus challenges the traditional view of Acheulean colonization, suggesting either an earlier spread or independent development of these lithic technologies across several continents.[18]

Isampur in Karnataka, India, is one of 200 some Lower Paleolithic Acheulian sites in the Hunasagi and Baichbal valleys, and is dated to about 1.27 Ma.[19] Although older assemblages have been found in Attirampakkam and Bori, Maharashtra (1.4 Ma),[20] Isampur is a unique archeological site in that it is a quarry - a site of lithic manufacturing where over 15,000 artifacts have been uncovered. The site has provided insights into a full spectrum of early hominin tool-making processes, from the process of selecting limestone slabs, removing large flakes, and shaping tools into bifaces such as handaxes and cleavers through secondary flaking.[21]

Acheulean Assemblages and Homo erectus in South Asia

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The presence of Homo erectus in South Asia is largely inferred on the basis of lithic assemblages within the appropriate temporal range of the species duration and commonly, via the association between Acheulian tools and Homo erectus, which has been established at other global sites including in other parts of Asia.[22][11]

Acheulean assemblages have been widespread across South Asia,[23] including the Kortallayar Valley in Tamil Nadu, Hunsgi-Baichbal Valleys in Karnataka (e.g. Isampur), Chirki-Nevasa in Maharashtra, Didwana in Rajasthan, Bhimbetka's rock shelters and its surrounding open-air sites in the Vindhya hills of Madhya Pradesh. These discoveries indicate that Acheulean technology was not confined to a single area but was widespread across the Indian subcontinent, suggesting that associated early hominins like Homo erectus had a broad geographical distribution throughout the region.[24]

Middle Paleolithic

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Stone tools discovered at the prehistoric site of Attirampakkam in South India, among the earliest examples of Levallois technique outside of Africa. **Image credit: Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, India/Nature**.

The transition to the Middle Paleolithic in South Asia has been uniquely informed by Attirampakkam, an open-air site with evidence of lithic industry spanning over a millennium. This quarry site has preserved not only the earliest Acheulean assemblages in South Asia (1.5 Ma), but also the earliest Middle Paleolithic assemblages, dated to 385 Ka.[25]

The discovery of over 7,000 artifacts, bearing evidence of the Levallois technique at Attirampakkam, was published in Nature in 2018 by a research team led by Shanti Pappu, which challenges some long-held assumptions about the Out of Africa migration theory.[26] Levallois tools have been traditionally associated with Neanderthals[27] and early Homo sapiens,[28] however the Attirampakkam findings are dated to 385 Ka, making them not only the earliest examples of this technology outside of Africa, but archaeologically contemporaneous to the earliest known African Levallois point, dated to 400 Ka, in East Africa's Kapthurin Formation.[29] This far predates the previous figure of 130 Ka for when modern humans were thought to have migrated from Africa into Eurasia.[30]

The larger implications of the findings remain open to debate. Shanti Pappu, a lead author on the 2018 Nature article, has been careful not to attribute the tools to any particular hominin species, but speculates that the tools could indicate an earlier arrival of Homo sapiens to India, which would support a more complex non-linear migration pattern out of Africa.[31] Paleoanthropologist John Hawks, also not involved in the study, commented that the Attirampakkam data dismantle previous notions that modern humans spread from Africa due to a significant technological superiority over archaic, less intelligent human species.[32] Independent pre-publication peer reviewer, Michael Petraglia, described the discovery as a "marvellous" contribution to understanding human history in South Asia, noting that it fills knowledge-gap from 400 Ka to 175 Ka.[32] Petraglia considers these artifacts as evidence of an independent advancement made by early humans in Attirampakam:

"Rather than equating technologies from Europe to Africa to South Asia, you can also recast it as independent invention by large-brained early humans."[32]

Whether the Attirampakam Levallois tools were made by early modern humans living in India long before the accepted migration out of Africa or by earlier hominin species such as Homo heidelbergensis remains unresolved in the absence of DNA or fossil evidence.[33]

Homo sapiens

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Analysis of mitochondrial DNA dates the immigration of Homo sapiens into the subcontinent to 75,000 to 50,000 years ago.[34][35] Cave sites in Sri Lanka have yielded non-mitochondrial record of Homo sapiens in South Asia, dated to 34,000 years ago.(Kennedy 2000: 180) Microlithic assemblages at the sites of Mahadebbera and Kana, West Bengal, India, have been dated to between 42,000 and 25,000 years ago using Optically Stimulated Luminescence, indicating an earlier presence of homo sapiens, and more specifically, microlithic technology, in South Asia than previously documented.[36] For finds from the Belan in southern Uttar Pradesh, India radiocarbon data have indicated an age of 18,000-17,000 years.

Bhimbetka rock painting, Madhya Pradesh, India
Ketavaram rock paintings, Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh (6000 BCE)
Stone Age writing of Edakkal Caves in Kerala, India (6,000 BCE)

At the rock shelters of Bhimbetka there are cave paintings dating to c. 30,000 BCE,[37][38] and there are small cup like depressions at the end of the Auditorium Rock Shelter, which is dated to nearly 100,000 years;[39] the Sivaliks and the Potwar (Pakistan) region also exhibit many vertebrate fossil remains and paleolithic tools. Chert, jasper and quartzite were often used by humans during this period.[40]

Neolithic

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In northern India the aceramic Neolithic (Mehrgarh I, Baluchistan, Pakistan, also dubbed "Early Food Producing Era") lasts c. 7000 - 5500 BCE. The ceramic Neolithic lasts up to 3300 BCE, blending into the Early Harappan (Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age) period. One of the earliest Neolithic sites is Lahuradewa in the Middle Ganges region and Jhusi near the confluence of Ganges and Yamuna rivers, both dating to around the 7th millennium BCE.[41][42] Recently another site along the ancient Saraswati riverine system in the present day state of Haryana in India called Bhirrana has been discovered yielding a dating of around 7600 BCE for its Neolithic levels.[43]

In South India the Neolithic began after 3000 BCE and lasted until around 1000 BCE.[44] South Indian Neolithic is characterized by Ashmounds since 2500 BCE in the Andhra-Karnataka region that expanded later into Tamil Nadu. Comparative excavations carried out in Adichanallur in the Thirunelveli District and in Northern India have provided evidence of a southward migration of the Megalithic culture.[45] The earliest clear evidence of the presence of the megalithic urn burials are those dating from around 1000 BCE, which have been discovered at various places in Tamil Nadu, notably at Adichanallur, 24 kilometers from Tirunelveli, where archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India unearthed 12 urns containing human skulls, skeletons and bones, husks, grains of charred rice and Neolithic celts, confirming the presence of the Neolithic period 2800 years ago. Archaeologists have made plans to return to Adhichanallur as a source of new knowledge in the future.[46][47]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Coningham, Robin (2015). The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c. 6500 BCE–200 CE. Cambridge University Press. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-0-521-84697-4.
  2. ^ a b c d Dambricourt Malassé, Anne; Moigne, Anne-Marie; Singh, Mukesh; Calligaro, Thomas; Karir, Baldev; Gaillard, Claire; Kaur, Amandeep; Bhardwaj, Vipnesh; Pal, Surinder; Abdessadok, Salah; Chapon Sao, Cécile; Gargani, Julien; Tudryn, Alina; Garcia Sanz, Miguel (2016). "Intentional cut marks on bovid from the Quranwala zone, 2.6 Ma, Siwalik Frontal Range, northwestern India". Comptes Rendus Palevol (in French). 15 (3–4): 317–339. Bibcode:2016CRPal..15..317D. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.019.
  3. ^ "Neolithic". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ Singh, Purushottam (2008). Srivastava, Vinod Chandra (ed.). History of Agriculture in India, up to c. 1200 AD. Concept Publishing. p. 6. ISBN 9788180695216.
  5. ^ "Major divisions | Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy". Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  6. ^ a b Dennell, R.W. (1998). "Grasslands, tool-making and the Hominid colonization of southern Asia: a reconsideration". In Petraglia, M.D.; Korisettar, R. (eds.). Early Human Behaviour in Global Context. London: Routledge. pp. 280–303.
  7. ^ Gwen Robbins Schug; Subhash R. Walimbe (13 April 2016). A Companion to South Asia in the Past. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-1-119-05547-1. Quote: “Soanian and Soanian‐like assemblages are known throughout the entire Siwalik or Sub‐ Himalayan region, from Pakistan to northeast India including Nepal...”
  8. ^ Dambricourt Malassé, Anne; Moigne, Anne-Marie; Singh, Mukesh; Calligaro, Thomas; Karir, Baldev; Gaillard, Claire; Kaur, Amandeep; Bhardwaj, Vipnesh; Pal, Surinder; Abdessadok, Salah; Chapon Sao, Cécile; Gargani, Julien; Tudryn, Alina; Garcia Sanz, Miguel (2016). "Intentional cut marks on bovid from the Quranwala zone, 2.6 Ma, Siwalik Frontal Range, northwestern India". Comptes Rendus Palevol (in French). 15 (3–4): 317–339. Bibcode:2016CRPal..15..317D. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.019.
  9. ^ a b c Moigne, Anne-Marie; Dambricourt Malassé, Anne; Singh, Mukesh; Kaur, Amandeep; Gaillard, Claire; Karir, Baldev; Pal, Surinder; Bhardwaj, Vipnesh; Abdessadok, Salah; Chapon Sao, Cécile; Gargani, Julien; Tudryn, Alina (2016). "The faunal assemblage of the paleonto-archeological localities of the Late Pliocene Quranwala Zone, Masol Formation, Siwalik Range, NW India". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 15 (3–4): 359–378. Bibcode:2016CRPal..15..359M. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.016. ISSN 1631-0683.
  10. ^ "Butchery or trampling? Controversy marks ancient animal bones". www.earthmagazine.org. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  11. ^ a b Choi, K. (2003). Subsistence and tool use behavior of Homo erectus in Java: An experimental and taphonomic approach (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Wisconsin-Madison).
  12. ^ Fornai, Cinzia; Bookstein, Fred L.; Weber, Gerhard W. (2015-08-01). "Variability of Australopithecus second maxillary molars from Sterkfontein Member 4". Journal of Human Evolution. 85: 181–192. Bibcode:2015JHumE..85..181F. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.05.013. ISSN 0047-2484. PMID 26163295.
  13. ^ Harmand, Sonia; Lewis, Jason E.; Feibel, Craig S.; Lepre, Christopher J.; Prat, Sandrine; Lenoble, Arnaud; Boës, Xavier; Quinn, Rhonda L.; Brenet, Michel; Arroyo, Adrian; Taylor, Nicholas; Clément, Sophie; Daver, Guillaume; Brugal, Jean-Philip; Leakey, Louise (May 2015). "3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya". Nature. 521 (7552): 310–315. Bibcode:2015Natur.521..310H. doi:10.1038/nature14464. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 25993961.
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  15. ^ Dennell, Robin; Coard, Ros; Turner, Alan (2006-05-18). "The biostratigraphy and magnetic polarity zonation of the Pabbi Hills, northern Pakistan: An Upper Siwalik (Pinjor Stage) Upper Pliocene–Lower Pleistocene fluvial sequence". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 234 (2): 168–185. Bibcode:2006PPP...234..168D. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.10.008. ISSN 0031-0182.
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  19. ^ Paddayya, K. (2002). "Recent findings on the Acheulian of the Hunsgi and Baichbal valleys, Karnataka, with special reference to the Isampur excavation and its dating". Current Science. 83 (5): 641–647.
  20. ^ Korisettar, R.; Sheila, Mishra; Rajaguru, S. N.; Gogte, V. D.; Ganjoo, R. K.; Venkatesan, T. R.; Tandon, S. K.; Somayajulu, B. L. K.; Kale, V. S. (1988). "Age of the Bori Volcanic Ash and Lower Palaeolithic Culture of the Kukdi Valley, Maharashtra". Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute. 47/48: 135–137. ISSN 0045-9801. JSTOR 42930220.
  21. ^ Paddayya, K.; Jhaldiyal, Richa; Petraglia, M. D. (December 2000). "Excavation of an Acheulian workshop at Isampur, Karnataka (India)". Antiquity. 74 (286): 751–752. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00060269. ISSN 0003-598X.
  22. ^ "Oldowan and Acheulean Stone Tools". Museum of Anthropology, University of Missouri. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  23. ^ Chauhan, P.R., "The South Asian Paleolithic Record and Its Potential for Transitions Studies," in *Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions: Methods, Theories, and Interpretations*, M. Camps and P.R. Chauhan, Editors. 2009, Springer New York. pp. 121-140.
  24. ^ Misra, V. N. (2001). Acheulian culture in Peninsular India: An ecological perspective. In Paddayya, K. (Ed.), Recent Studies in Indian Archaeology (pp. 491-531). Pune: Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute.
  25. ^ Akhilesh, Kumar; Pappu, Shanti; Rajapara, Haresh M.; Gunnell, Yanni; Shukla, Anil D.; Singhvi, Ashok K. (February 2018). "Early Middle Palaeolithic culture in India around 385–172 ka reframes Out of Africa models". Nature. 554 (7690): 97–101. Bibcode:2018Natur.554...97A. doi:10.1038/nature25444. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 29388951.
  26. ^ Becker, Rachel (2018-01-31). "Discovery of ancient stone tools rewrites the history of technology in India". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  27. ^ Moncel, Marie-Hélène; Ashton, Nick; Arzarello, Marta; Fontana, Federica; Lamotte, Agnès; Scott, Beccy; Muttillo, Brunella; Berruti, Gabriele; Nenzioni, Gabriele; Tuffreau, Alain; Peretto, Carlo (2020-02-01). "Early Levallois core technology between Marine Isotope Stage 12 and 9 in Western Europe". Journal of Human Evolution. 139: 102735. Bibcode:2020JHumE.13902735M. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102735. hdl:11392/2415025. ISSN 0047-2484. PMID 32078934.
  28. ^ Richter, Daniel; Grün, Rainer; Joannes-Boyau, Renaud; Steele, Teresa E.; Amani, Fethi; Rué, Mathieu; Fernandes, Paul; Raynal, Jean-Paul; Geraads, Denis; Ben-Ncer, Abdelouahed; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; McPherron, Shannon P. (June 2017). "The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age". Nature. 546 (7657): 293–296. Bibcode:2017Natur.546..293R. doi:10.1038/nature22335. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 28593967.
  29. ^ Shipton, Ceri (2022-02-12). "Predetermined Refinement: the Earliest Levallois of the Kapthurin Formation". Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology. 5 (1): 4. Bibcode:2022JPalA...5....4S. doi:10.1007/s41982-021-00109-1. ISSN 2520-8217.
  30. ^ Templeton, A.R. (2015). Chapter 5 - World Dispersals and Genetic Diversity of Mankind: The Out-of-Africa Theory and Its Challenges. In: Theodorou, M., ed., *Human Evolutionary Genetics*, 1st ed. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-420190-3.00005-3
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  32. ^ a b c Greshko, Michael (28 January 2018). "Ancient stone tools hint at 'ghost' human species in India". National Geographic. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Human migration history: What the stone tools at Attirampakkam tell us". Research Matters. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  34. ^ Alice Roberts (2010). The Incredible Human Journey. A&C Black. p. 90.
  35. ^ James & Petraglia 2005, S6.
  36. ^ Basak, Bishnupriya; Srivastava, Pradeep (Fall 2017). "Earliest Dates of Microlithic Industries (42-25 ka) from West Bengal, Eastern India: New Light on Modern Human Occupation in the Indian Subcontinent". Asian Perspectives: The Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific. 56 (2): 237+. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  37. ^ Doniger, Wendy (2010) [First published 2009]. The Hindus: An Alternative History. Oxford University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-19-959334-7.
  38. ^ Jarzombek, Mark M. (2014) [First published 2013]. Architecture of First Societies: A Global Perspective. John Wiley & Sons. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-118-42105-5.
  39. ^ Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India. "World Heritage Sites - Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka". Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  40. ^ "Chert: Sedimentary Rock - Pictures, Definition, Formation". geology.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  41. ^ Fuller, Dorian (2006). "Agricultural Origins and Frontiers in South Asia: A Working Synthesis" (PDF). Journal of World Prehistory. 20: 42. doi:10.1007/s10963-006-9006-8. S2CID 189952275.
  42. ^ Tewari, Rakesh et al. 2006. "Second Preliminary Report of the excavations at Lahuradewa, District Sant Kabir Nagar, UP 2002-2003-2004 & 2005-06" in Pragdhara No. 16 "Electronic Version p.28" Archived 2007-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
  43. ^ "Haryana's Bhirrana oldest Harappan site, Rakhigarhi Asia's largest: ASI". Times of India. 15 April 2015.
  44. ^ Murphy, C.; et al. (2017). "The Agriculture of Early India". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.013.169. ISBN 978-0-19-938941-4.
  45. ^ Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta (1976). A History of South India. Oxford University Press. pp. 49–51. ISBN 978-0-19-560686-7.
  46. ^ Subramanian, T. S. (2004-05-26). "Skeletons, script found at ancient burial site in Tamil Nadu". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2004-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
  47. ^ Zvelebil, Kamil A. (1992). Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature. Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-90-04-09365-2. The most interesting prehistoric remains in Tamil India were discovered at Adichanallur ... There is a series of urn burials ... seem to be related to the megalithic complex.

References

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