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Priyadarsini Parimadathil, University of Calicut, IndiaAbstract
Megaliths are undressed burial stones belonging to pre-historic Kerala, in India during 1000 BCE to 500 CE. Originally excavated by J. Babington, in Kerala, the term megaliths derives its origin from the Greek words “Mega” (big) and “Lithos” (stone). In this period, Kerala was inhabited by agro-pastoral communities skilled in iron metallurgy. The objective of the paper is to study the cultural and sepulchral practices of the society with the help of the material vestiges left by them. It also intends to explore the nature of the exchange/trade economy boosted by their skill in iron metallurgy. Further, it analyses burial practices adopted by these communities to understand how they commemorated their ancestors. This qualitative study adopts a critical and descriptive approach in analysing both primary and secondary data along with the author's personal observations and inferences. The primary data are the Archaeological Survey of India's excavation reports and the secondary data include the classical literature belonging to the period. The key research questions of this study are “Whether these structures evidences settlements in these areas?” and “Were these sepulchral practices evidences of social stratification?” The study found that are nine types of megaliths-Urn burials, Cap Stones, Hat Stones, Dolmens, Menhirs, Stone Circles, Cists, Rock Cut Chambers and Sarcophagus. They were made of locally available granite, laterite and terracotta. Grave goods found in assemblages inside or beneath these structures consisted of pottery, metal implements, beads and bones. These findings evidences agro-pastoral communities attempting to settle with their diverse skills and proficiency in myriad occupations.
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Conference: BAMC2025Stream: History/Historiography
This paper is part of the BAMC2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Parimadathil P. (2025) A Study on the Early Historic Society of Kerala, Its Society, Trade and Burial Practices Through the Megaliths (1000 BCE–500 CE) ISSN: 2435-9475 – The Barcelona Conference on Arts, Media & Culture 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 97-106) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-9475.2025.9
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-9475.2025.9
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