Prehistory of Sri Lanka
Encyclopedia
The Prehistory of Sri Lanka dates back to about 125,000 BP
and possibly even as early as 500,000 BP and covers the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic
and early Iron age
s until the ancient history of Sri Lanka
. Evidence of a transition between the Mesolithic and the Iron Age is scant.
Fluctuations in sea level
led to Sri Lanka
being linked to the Indian subcontinent
from time to time over the past million years. The last such link occurred about 5000 BC.
indicate that there were Paeolithic people in Sri Lanka as early as 300,000 BP. There is definite evidence of settlements by prehistoric peoples in Sri Lanka by about 125,000 BP. These people made tools of quartz
and chert
which are assignable to the Middle Palaeolithic period.
hunter gatherers who lived in caves. Fa Hien Cave
has yielded the earliest evidence (at c. 34,000 BP) of anatomically modern humans in South Asia
.
Several of these caves including the well known Batadombalena
and the Fa Hien Cave
have yielded many artefacts that points to them being the first modern inhabitants of the island. There is evidence from Beli-lena that salt
had been brought in from the coast earlier than 27,000 BP
Several minute granite tools of about 4 centimetres in length, earthenware and remnants of charred timber, and clay burial pots that date back to the Stone Age Mesolithic
people who lived 8000 years ago have been discovered during recent excavations around a cave at Varana Raja Maha vihara
& also in Kalatuwawa area.
It is suspected that the hunter gatherer people known as the Wanniyala-Aetto
or Veddas, who still live in the Central, Uva and North-Eastern parts of the island may be descendants of the Balangoda people.
The skeletal remains of dogs from Nilgala
cave and from Bellanbandi Palassa, dating from the Mesolithic era, about 4500 BC, suggest that Balangoda People may have kept domestic dog
s for driving game. The Sinhala Hound
is similar in appearance to the Kadar Dog, the New Guinea Dog and the Dingo
. It has been suggested that these could all derive from a common domestic stock. It is also possible that they may have domesticated jungle fowl, pig
, water buffalo
and some form of Bos
(possibly the ancestor of the Sri Lankan neat cattle
which became extinct in the 1940s.)
The Balangoda Man appears to have been responsible for creating Horton Plains
, in the central hills, by burning the trees in order to catch game. However, evidence from the plains suggests the incipient management of Oats
and Barley
by about 15,000 BC.
found at Godavaya
in the Hambantota
district, provisionally dated back to 3000 - 5000 BC was accompanied by tools of animal-bone
and stone.
However, evidence from Horton Plains indicates the existence of agriculture
by about 8000 BC, including herding
of Bos and cultivation of oats and barley. Excavations in the cave of Dorawaka-kanda near Kegalle
indicate the use about 4300 BC of pottery, together with stone stools, and possibly cereal cultivation.
Slag
found at Mantai dated to about 1800 BC could indicate the knowledge of copper
-working.
Cinnamon
, which is native to Sri Lanka, was in use in Ancient Egypt
in about 1500 BC, suggesting that there were trading links with the island. It is possible that Biblical Tarshish
was located on the island (James Emerson Tennent
identified it with Galle
).
appears to have been founded before 900 BC at the site of Anuradhapura
where signs of an Iron Age
culture have been found. The size of the settlement was about 15 hectare
s at that date, but it expanded to 50 ha, to 'town' size within a couple of centuries. A similar site has been discovered at Aligala in Sigiriya
.
The earliest chronicles the Dipavamsa
and Mahavamsa
say that the island was inhabited by tribes of Yakkha
s (demons), Nagas (cobras) and devas (gods). These may refer to totem
ist Iron Age autochthones.
Pottery
dating back to 600 BC has been found at Anuradhapura
, bearing Brāhmī script
(among the earliest extant examples of the script) and non-Brahmi writing, which may have arisen through contact with Semitic
trading scripts from West Asia.
The emergence of new forms of pottery at the same time as the writing, together with other artifacts such as red glass beads, indicate a new cultural impulse, possibly an invasion from North India
. The Brahmi writing appears to be in Indo-Aryan
Prakrit
and is almost identical to the Asokan script some 200 years later); none appears to be in Dravidian - corroborating the view that Indo-Aryan was pre-dominant from at least as early as 500 BC in Sri Lanka. Following ancient ethnic groups are attested from the ancient cave inscriptions found from different regions of Sri Lanka.
& Sarasin F.
"Ergebnisse naturwissenschaftlicher Forschungen auf Ceylon". ["Results of Natural History Research in Ceylon."] Wiesbaden. (1908). "Band 4: Die Steinzeit auf Ceylon". [Volume Four: The Stone Age of Ceylon.] translated by David Bulbeck: English translation PDF.
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
and possibly even as early as 500,000 BP and covers the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
and early Iron age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
s until the ancient history of Sri Lanka
Ancient history of Sri Lanka
The Ancient history of Sri Lanka begins with the gradual onset of historical records in the final centuries BC, ending the prehistoric period....
. Evidence of a transition between the Mesolithic and the Iron Age is scant.
Fluctuations in sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
led to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
being linked to the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
from time to time over the past million years. The last such link occurred about 5000 BC.
Palaeolithic
Findings at IranamaduIranamadu
Iranamadu is a village in Kilinochchi District, Sri Lanka. It consist a lake that provides water to the paddy fields in the region. Sri Lankan Army claimed in early 2009 that they captured an Air Tiger Airstrip in the area.- External links :...
indicate that there were Paeolithic people in Sri Lanka as early as 300,000 BP. There is definite evidence of settlements by prehistoric peoples in Sri Lanka by about 125,000 BP. These people made tools of quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
and chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
which are assignable to the Middle Palaeolithic period.
Mesolithic
The island appears to have been colonised by the Balangoda Man (named after the area where his remains were discovered) prior to 34,000 BP. They have been identified as a group of MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
hunter gatherers who lived in caves. Fa Hien Cave
Fa Hien Cave
Fa Hien Cave is a cave in the district of Kalutara, Western Province, Sri Lanka, named after the Buddhist monk Faxian . The cave is important for the Late Pleistocene human skeletal remains discovered there in the 1960s and 1980s....
has yielded the earliest evidence (at c. 34,000 BP) of anatomically modern humans in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
.
Several of these caves including the well known Batadombalena
Batadombalena
Batadombalena is an archaeological site with evidence of habitation from 8,000 BCE, Balangoda Man, located 85 km from Colombo in Sri Lanka, a two hour drive from Colombo....
and the Fa Hien Cave
Fa Hien Cave
Fa Hien Cave is a cave in the district of Kalutara, Western Province, Sri Lanka, named after the Buddhist monk Faxian . The cave is important for the Late Pleistocene human skeletal remains discovered there in the 1960s and 1980s....
have yielded many artefacts that points to them being the first modern inhabitants of the island. There is evidence from Beli-lena that salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
had been brought in from the coast earlier than 27,000 BP
Several minute granite tools of about 4 centimetres in length, earthenware and remnants of charred timber, and clay burial pots that date back to the Stone Age Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
people who lived 8000 years ago have been discovered during recent excavations around a cave at Varana Raja Maha vihara
Vihara
Vihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....
& also in Kalatuwawa area.
It is suspected that the hunter gatherer people known as the Wanniyala-Aetto
Wanniyala-Aetto
Veddas or Veddahs , are an indigenous people of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. They amongst other self identified native communities such as Coast Veddas and Anuradhapura Veddas are accorded indigenous status...
or Veddas, who still live in the Central, Uva and North-Eastern parts of the island may be descendants of the Balangoda people.
The skeletal remains of dogs from Nilgala
Nilgala
Nilgala is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province.-External links:*...
cave and from Bellanbandi Palassa, dating from the Mesolithic era, about 4500 BC, suggest that Balangoda People may have kept domestic dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s for driving game. The Sinhala Hound
Sinhala Hound
The Sinhala Hound or Sinhalese Hound is a breed of dog from Sri Lanka.The skeletal remains of dogs from Nilgala cave and from Bellanbandi Palassa, dating from the Mesolithic era, about 4500 BC, suggest that Balangoda Man may have kept domestic dogs for driving game. The Sinhala Hound is similar in...
is similar in appearance to the Kadar Dog, the New Guinea Dog and the Dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
. It has been suggested that these could all derive from a common domestic stock. It is also possible that they may have domesticated jungle fowl, pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
, water buffalo
Water buffalo
The water buffalo is a domesticated bovid widely kept in Asia, Europe and South America.Water buffalo can also refer to:*Wild water buffalo , the wild ancestor of the domestic water buffalo...
and some form of Bos
Bos
Bos is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. Bos can be divided into four subgenera: Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus, but these divisions are controversial. The genus has five extant species...
(possibly the ancestor of the Sri Lankan neat cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
which became extinct in the 1940s.)
The Balangoda Man appears to have been responsible for creating Horton Plains
Horton Plains National Park
Horton Plains National Park is a protected area in the central highlands of Sri Lanka and is covered by montane grassland and cloud forest. This plateau at an altitude of is rich in biodiversity and many species found here are endemic to the region. This region was designated a national park in...
, in the central hills, by burning the trees in order to catch game. However, evidence from the plains suggests the incipient management of Oats
OATS
OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...
and Barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
by about 15,000 BC.
Mesolithic-Iron age transition
The transition in Sri Lanka from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age has not been adequately documented. A human skeletonHuman skeleton
The human skeleton consists of both fused and individual bones supported and supplemented by ligaments, tendons, muscles and cartilage. It serves as a scaffold which supports organs, anchors muscles, and protects organs such as the brain, lungs and heart....
found at Godavaya
Godavaya
Godavaya or Godawaya is a small fishing hamlet located at the mouth of the Walawe river, between Ambalantota and Hambantota in the Hambantota District in southern Sri Lanka....
in the Hambantota
Hambantota
Hambantota is a coastal city in the south of Sri Lanka. It is the capital of the Hambantota District...
district, provisionally dated back to 3000 - 5000 BC was accompanied by tools of animal-bone
Bone tool
Bone tools have been documented from the advent of Homo sapiens and are also known from Homo neanderthalensis contexts or even earlier. Bone is a ubiquitous material in hunter-gatherer societies even when other tool materials were not scarce or unavailable...
and stone.
However, evidence from Horton Plains indicates the existence of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
by about 8000 BC, including herding
Herding
Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. While the layperson uses the term "herding", most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock" or...
of Bos and cultivation of oats and barley. Excavations in the cave of Dorawaka-kanda near Kegalle
Kegalle
Kegalle is a town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo - Kandy road. Its 48 miles/78 km away from Colombo and 24 Miles/40 km away from Kandy. It is the Capital City of the Kegalle District which is one of the two districts belonging to Sabaragamuwa province...
indicate the use about 4300 BC of pottery, together with stone stools, and possibly cereal cultivation.
Slag
Slag
Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. It can usually be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form...
found at Mantai dated to about 1800 BC could indicate the knowledge of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
-working.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, which is native to Sri Lanka, was in use in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
in about 1500 BC, suggesting that there were trading links with the island. It is possible that Biblical Tarshish
Tarshish
Tarshish תַּרְשִׁישׁ occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings:*One of the sons of Javan .* In the Bible Solomon set up a trade with Tarshish and received ivory, apes, and peacocks from Tarshish which are all native to the jungles in India. India's state bird for example is the...
was located on the island (James Emerson Tennent
James Emerson Tennent
Sir James Emerson Tennent, 1st Baronet FRS , born James Emerson, was an Irish politician and traveller. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 5 June 1862....
identified it with Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
).
Early Iron age
A large settlementCity
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
appears to have been founded before 900 BC at the site of Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura, , is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization.The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic...
where signs of an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
culture have been found. The size of the settlement was about 15 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s at that date, but it expanded to 50 ha, to 'town' size within a couple of centuries. A similar site has been discovered at Aligala in Sigiriya
Sigiriya
Sigiriya is a large stone and ancient rock fortress and palace ruin in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures...
.
The earliest chronicles the Dipavamsa
Dipavamsa
The Dipavamsa, or "Deepavamsa", is the oldest historical record of Sri Lanka.It means Chronicle of the Island. The chronicle is believe to be compiled from Atthakatha and other sources around the 3-4th century. Together with Mahavamsa, it is the source of many accounts of ancient history of Sri...
and Mahavamsa
Mahavamsa
The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...
say that the island was inhabited by tribes of Yakkha
Yakkha
Yakkha is an indigenous ethnic group of Nepal . It is one of the progenies of Nepal's prehistoric Kirat dynasty of around 100 BC.-Etymology:...
s (demons), Nagas (cobras) and devas (gods). These may refer to totem
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
ist Iron Age autochthones.
Pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
dating back to 600 BC has been found at Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura, , is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization.The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic...
, bearing Brāhmī script
Brāhmī script
Brāhmī is the modern name given to the oldest members of the Brahmic family of scripts. The best-known Brāhmī inscriptions are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka in north-central India, dated to the 3rd century BCE. These are traditionally considered to be early known examples of Brāhmī writing...
(among the earliest extant examples of the script) and non-Brahmi writing, which may have arisen through contact with Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
trading scripts from West Asia.
The emergence of new forms of pottery at the same time as the writing, together with other artifacts such as red glass beads, indicate a new cultural impulse, possibly an invasion from North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
. The Brahmi writing appears to be in Indo-Aryan
Indo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...
Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
and is almost identical to the Asokan script some 200 years later); none appears to be in Dravidian - corroborating the view that Indo-Aryan was pre-dominant from at least as early as 500 BC in Sri Lanka. Following ancient ethnic groups are attested from the ancient cave inscriptions found from different regions of Sri Lanka.
External links
Further reading
Sarasin P.Paul Sarasin
Paul Sarasin, full name Paul Benedict Sarasin was a Swiss naturalist and he is known as founder of National parks in Switzerland....
& Sarasin F.
Fritz Sarasin
Fritz Sarasin, full name Karl Friedrich Sarasin was a Swiss naturalist.He was a second cousin of Paul Sarasin. They made a scientific expedition to Celebes .- Bibliography :...
"Ergebnisse naturwissenschaftlicher Forschungen auf Ceylon". ["Results of Natural History Research in Ceylon."] Wiesbaden. (1908). "Band 4: Die Steinzeit auf Ceylon". [Volume Four: The Stone Age of Ceylon.] translated by David Bulbeck: English translation PDF.