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Archaeological
excavations in Karnataka have brought out cultural relics
of great antiquity which reflect the life of man in the
dim dawn of civilization. The first evidence of the stone
age culture in Karnataka surfaced as early as in 1842 when
Primrose discovered a polished stone axe at Lingsugur in
Raichur district. But the systematic exploration of pre-historic
sites was conducted by Robert Bruce Foote of the Geological
Survey of India, who has been rightly regarded as the Father
of Indian Pre-History. His good work was continued in Karnataka
by a galaxy of earnest scholars which include Dr. R. V.
Joshi, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Sampath Iyengar, Dr. Allchin,
Dr. M. H. Krishna, Dr. M. Sheshadri, Dr. M. S. Nagaraja
Rao, Dr. A. Sundara and Dr. B. K. Gururaja Rao.
Rivers
have been a sustaining force of cultures in their earlier
phases of growth. Providing food, water and transport facilities,
the rivers have nursed the man groping up the ladder of
civilization. The primitive man also used the pebbles in
the rivers to make his crude, simple weapons and instruments.
Many sites on the river banks have yielded weapons of the
primitive man. The Hampasagara in the Tungabhadra or several
sites along the Malaprabha basin may be mentioned as examples.
Robert
Bruce Foote had discovered Early Stone Age (Paleolithic)
tools at some sites like Lingadahalli and Nidaghatta in
Chikkamagalur district, Halakundi in Bellary district, Talya
in Chitradurga district and Nyamati in Shimoga district.
Dr. R. V. Joshi excavated 21 Early Stone Age sites on the
banks of the river Malaprabha, which include Manasgi and
Khyad. At Hunasigi in Gulbarga district Dr. K. Paddayya
conducted excavations in1974, and many implements of lime
stone have been discovered.
The
Stone Age implements found at different sites include hand-axes
and cleavers. Wooden scrapers have also been found at Kibbanahalli.
The life of the primitive man in Karnataka was evidently
unenviable. He was a nomad; a gatherer of food; he hunted
animals, did fishing, collected fruits, nuts and tubers
from the forests and lived a precarious existence in the
caves or in other natural shelters. Archaeologists have
found evidences to surmise that many Paleolithic sites were
destroyed by the change in the course of rivers. Obviously,
that was the price the primitive man had to pay for his
over-dependence on rivers.
A
number of Neolithic sites have been excavated in Karnataka,
although some of them have been listed as Microlithic or
Mesolithic sites. Tekkalakota and Sanganakallu in Bellary
district, Piklihal and Maski in Raichur district, Hallur
in Dharwad district, T. Narsipur and Hemmige in Mysore are
the most important among them. The Neolithic man was not
just happy to remain a gatherer of food. He chose to settle
down in a place to raise crops, domesticate animals and
enjoy a more secure life. Excavations have brought out the
evidence of ragi and paddy at Hallur and of Horse-gram at
Tekkalakota. The domesticated animals included cow, goat,
dog, buffalo, horse and sheep. The bone of a buffalo has
been found at T. Narsipur, while at Sanganakallu, the bone
of a horse has been unearthed.
The
Neolithic man emerged from the shelter of caves to build
thatched huts for his residence. Sometimes, huts were constructed
on a single post, which resembled an umbrella. Such huts
were constructed at Hallur and Tekkalakota. In places like
Brahmagiri and Sanganakallu, remains of square, mud-walled
huts have been discovered. The Neolithic pottery in Karnataka
is mostly hand-made, although wheel-turned wares have been
found. Large pots were made to store grains. They were also
used in burial. Red, Grey and black colours were used in
pottery, which have also been engraved or painted with a
variety of designs.
In
Karnataka, the Neolithic Age is not quite distinctly marked
from the Chalcolithic (Copper Stone Age) or Megalithic (
Big Stone Age) Age. Large number of stone-axes have been
found at Sanganakallu. Bone implements have been found at
Maski, while an arrow-head made of deer's horn has been
discovered at Hallur. Copper axes have been unearthed at
Tekkalakota and Hallur and many other varieties of copper
and bronze weapons have come to light at Brahmagiri. Ornaments
of different kinds made of stone, bone, ivory, copper and
gold were in use. Copper ornaments have been found at Maski
and Brahmagiri, and ear-rings of gold have been found at
Tekkalakota. Semi-precious stones like Jasper and Agate
were used in ornaments.
The
Neolithic man in Karnataka buried their dead generally with
their head laid towards the North or East. Their belief
in life after death is reflected in their practice of burying
vessels, jewels, weapons, food-grains and other things along
with the dead. Small children were buried in urns, as seen
at Brahmagiri.
Scholars
believe that Karnataka had commercial contacts with the
people of the Indus Valley in C. 3000 B. C. it is pointed
out that the gold found in the Harappan sites was imported
from the gold mines of Karnataka. The hypothesis cannot
be summarily ruled out.
It
has also been argued that the advent of the early Neolithic
settlers in Karnataka must have been the result of mass
movement and immigration. Towards the end of the upper Neolithic
period, there are indications of an intrusion into this
region from the north. The painted pottery discovered at
Sanganakallu and Piklihal is said to be indicative of the
impact of the northern people who migrated to the south.
The
last phase of the Neolithic Age has been marked by the Megalithic
culture, during which period the use of iron became popular.
Axes, hammers, spikes, arrow-heads, swords and sickles made
of iron were found at different sites in Karnataka. The
period is also marked by the construction of stone chamber
tombs.
The pre-historic art and particularly the paintings of the
Neolithic man in Karnataka, have been found at Piklihal,
Hirebenakal, Tekkalakota and other places. Figures of men
and animals, hunting scenes or other themes are depicted.
Dr. A. Sundara feels that the Pre-historic artist "should
be unquestionably credited with the laying of the foundation
of the Art-tradition in Karnataka".
to
be continued...
Mr.
Arthikaje
Mangalore.
Click
here if you would like to Contribute or send a feedback.
Click
here to read more about the History
of Karnataka.
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