Sanganakallu

Sanganakallu (Kannada: ಸಂಗನಕಲ್ಲು) is an ancient archaeological site from the Neolithic period (circa 3000 BC). It is approximately 8 km from Bellary in eastern Karnataka.[1] It is a group of hills south of a horseshoe shaped valley, with Kupgal to the north.[2] It is one of the earliest settlements in South India, spread over 1,000 acres.[1] There is a layer of red-brown fossilized soil spread over Sanganakallu and Kupgal that can be dated back to 9000 BC.[3] The site is considered to be a neolithic factory site due to the surface excavation revealing large numbers of pottery, stone axes, and other stone tools.[2] The site was first majorly excavated in 1946, by Bendapudi Subbarao, on Sannarasamma hill.[2] Subbarao divided their culture into 3 phases:[2]

  • Pre-Mesolithic, the phase when Sanganakallu was first settled, had little pottery, and the people made crude microliths.
  • Mesolithic, the phase when pottery was handmade and stone axes were mass produced.
  • Neolithic, the phase when pottery and tools became more sophisticated.[2]

Sanganakallu
ಸಂಗನಕಲ್ಲು
Shown within Karnataka
Sanganakallu (India)
Coordinates15°11′5″N 76°58′13″E
History
PeriodsMesolithic • Neolithic

Sanganakallu was excavated again in 1964.[4]

Tools

The earliest tools excavated were hundreds of patinated flakes made of basalt, and quartz flakes.[3] In the later Mesolithic phase is when tool making became more abundant.[2] Stone axes, hammer stones, chisels, picks, slick-stones, and sling stones were excavated.[2] The axes were found in many different shapes. There were oval shaped, triangular shaped, or rectangular shaped axes and some were axes were rounded and some were thin.[2] The sheer number of microliths is the reason Sanganakallu is considered a factory site.[2]

Pottery

The first pottery started showing up in Mesolithic phase. The pottery was usually dull brown or black, and hand-made out of course clay.[2] Pale-gray pots made of fine clay mixed with lime and mica were also excavated.[2] The pottery from the later Neolithic period were more fine, thin, and polished.[2] They were all burnt and wheel turned.[2] The ornamental pottery was decorated in a finger groove pattern and a few shards were found painted purple.[2] A few pots were perforated and the significance of that is not yet known.[4]

1964 excavation

In this excavation, a one room Neolithic circular house was excavated.[4] The wall was made with bamboo and clay and the floor was covered in potholes.[4] There was a hearth in the center of the house, and there is evidence of it being burned.[4] Other than the house structure, a few terracotta figurines in the shape of birds or bulls were also found as well as more stone tools and pottery.[4] Animal remains were also collected, the majority of which were cow bones.[4]

Earliest agriculturists

The people who settled at Sanganakallu were early agriculturists, who cultivated small millets and pulses.[1] They kept sheep, cattle, and had separate areas for dumping dung (ash mounds).[1] It is hypothesized these ash mounds were for burning cow dung possibly in a ritual manner.

See also

See also

References
  1. "Early village unearthed". Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  2. Subbarao, Bendapudi (1948). Stone Age Cultures of Bellary. Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute: Dr. S. M. Katre.
  3. Sankalia, H. D. (1974). The Prehistory and Protohistory of India and Pakistan. Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Poona.
  4. Ansari, Zainuddin; Rao, M. S. (1969). Excavation at Sangankallu, 1964-65. Poona.
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