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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2017/Paper II/Prehistoric Archaeology
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2017 10 Marks Model Answer Available

Neolithic Cultures of South India — 2017 Paper II

Question · 2017 · Paper II · 10 Marks

Neolithic cultures of South India.

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question:Identify the distinctive archaeological features of the South Indian Neolithic, not merely list sites; connect economy, ash-mounds, technology, settlement and chronology.
  • Structuring the Response:Locate the culture in Karnataka-Andhra-Tamil region; organise evidence under sites, subsistence, material culture, settlement/ritual and transformation into the Iron Age-Megalithic horizon.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover:Sanganakallu-Kupgal, Utnur, Piklihal, Budihal, Tekkalakota, Brahmagiri, Hallur and Paiyampalli; cattle pastoralism and ash-mounds; polished stone axes; millets/pulses; F.R. Allchin and K. Paddayya; regional variability.

Model Answer

The South Indian Neolithic (approx. 2500 BCE – 1000 BCE) was a distinct agro-pastoral tradition concentrated in the granite hill terraces of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Robert Bruce Foote was the pioneer who discovered the first Neolithic tools here, later studied extensively by F.R. Allchin and K. Paddayya.

(Draw a rough map of South India marking: Brahmagiri, Utnur, Piklihal, Tekkalakota, Hallur)

Salient Features of South Indian Neolithic:

  • Three-Phase Chronology:
    • Phase I: True Ash mound stage, no pottery.
    • Phase II: Introduction of dull pale grey/red hand-made pottery.
    • Phase III: Copper and bronze tools appear (Chalcolithic overlap).
  • The Ash-Mound Tradition: The most unique feature. Sites like Utnur, Kupgal, and Budihal have massive mounds of burnt cattle dung. F.R. Allchin interpreted this as a ritualistic burning of dung by cattle-penning pastoralists during seasonal congregations.
  • Economy & Subsistence: It was overwhelmingly a pastoral economy (cattle, sheep, goats) with supplementary agriculture. They cultivated millets (ragi) and pulses (horse gram).
  • Settlement Architecture: Settlements were primarily on granite outcrops. Excavations at Tekkalakota reveal circular wattle-and-daub huts with thatched roofs and plastered floors.
  • Tool Typology: Dominated by ground and polished stone tools (axes, adzes) made of dolerite, alongside microliths and bone tools.
  • Burial Practices: Excavations at Brahmagiri show a clear dual burial system: urn burials for infants and extended inhumation for adults, placed right beneath the house floors, indicating ancestor veneration.

Conclusion

Unlike the agriculture-heavy Neolithic of the North or East, the South Indian Neolithic was uniquely pastoral-centric. As evidenced at sites like Hallur, it did not collapse but organically transitioned into the Megalithic Iron Age culture, laying the foundation for early historic chiefdoms in the peninsula.

 

2026 Discuss with examples, how general comparative analogy has been used in ethnoarchaeological studies in India. 2026 Make a critical appraisal of the mesolithic culture of Ganga basin with reference to artifacts, faunal and human skeletal remains excavated from different sites. 2026 Ethnoarchaeology and classical archaeology. 2026 Give the distribution of Palaeolithic sites around the Himalayan and Sub-Himalayan areas, highlighting the typo-technologies of the tools.

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UPSC Anthropology Optional 2017 — Paper II

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