VAID'S ICS – Best UPSC Anthropology Coaching in Delhi Since 1985

Comprehensive Classroom Course · Admissions openRegister now
+91 93113 37737
  • +91-93113 37737, +91-99999 46748
  • 73(FF), Old Rajender Nagar Market, Delhi - 110060
  • MON to SUN 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
Facebook Youtube Instagram
Menu
Enquire Now
Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2022/Paper II/Prehistoric Archaeology
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2022 20 Marks Model Answer Available

Megalithic Tradition in India and North-East India — 2022 Paper II

Question · 2022 · Paper II · 20 Marks

Make a critical appraisal of Megalithic tradition in India with special reference to North-East India.

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Provide a comprehensive overview of Indian megalithism, heavily emphasizing the unique "living" traditions of North-East India, followed by a critical academic appraisal of their meanings, origins, and linkages.
  • Structuring the Response: Define megaliths; briefly outline Peninsular/Central Indian Iron Age traditions; deep-dive into NE India (Tribes, Terminology, Feasts of Merit); critically appraise the diffusionist theories and the mortuary vs. memorial dichotomy; conclude.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Brahmagiri/Junapani; Khasi, Jaintia, Naga, Karbi traditions; Mawbynna, Nartiang complex; Feasts of Merit; Haimendorf's diffusion theory; ethnoarchaeological analogy vs. independent origin.

Model Answer

Introduction: Megaliths (from Greek megas = large, lithos = stone) are large stone structures erected as burials or memorials. India presents a unique global paradigm for megalithic studies because it hosts both a "dead" prehistoric archaeological tradition (mostly in Peninsular India) and a "living" ethnoarchaeological tradition (in North-East India and among specific tribes like the Gonds).

General Indian Megalithic Tradition (Peninsular & Central):

  • Chronology and Context: Primarily associated with the Iron Age (c. 1000 BCE to 300 CE).
  • Typology: Includes Dolmens, Cists, Cairn circles, Menhirs, and Urn burials. Major sites include Brahmagiri (Karnataka), Junapani (Vidarbha), and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu).
  • Characteristics: These are predominantly mortuary (sepulchral), containing actual skeletal remains alongside rich grave goods like Black-and-Red Ware (BRW), iron implements, and horse trappings, indicating belief in the afterlife and social stratification.

Special Reference: The Living Megalithic Tradition of North-East India Unlike the South, the North-East Indian tradition (found in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, and Manipur) is largely a contemporary or historically recent phenomenon.

  • 1. Commemorative, Not Mortuary: Unlike Peninsular graves, NE megaliths are primarily memorials (cenotaphs) erected in honor of ancestors or to commemorate clan events, rather than actual burial sites holding bodies.
  • 2. Khasi and Jaintia Traditions (Meghalaya):
    • Mawbynna: The Khasis erect memorial stones called Mawbynna. These are highly gendered, consisting of upright stones representing males (Maw shynrang) and horizontal flat stones representing females (Maw kynthei).
    • Nartiang Monoliths: The Jaintia Hills host the Nartiang complex, containing some of the tallest menhirs in the world, erected to commemorate the Jaintia Kings.
  • 3. Feasts of Merit (Naga and Kukis): As documented by J.H. Hutton and J.P. Mills, erecting a megalith in Naga society is intimately tied to the Feast of Merit (Genna). A wealthy individual sponsors a massive community feast. In return, the community provides the labor to drag and erect a megalith in his honor. Thus, the stone materializes wealth redistribution, political prestige, and social mobility.
  • 4. Collective Memory and Territory: Among the Karbis and Maram Nagas, stones act as territorial markers, repositories of clan history, and sites for fertility rituals.

Critical Appraisal of the Megalithic Tradition:

  • 1. The Diffusionist Controversy (Haimendorf’s Thesis):
    • Anthropologist Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf argued for a diffusionist model, suggesting that NE megalithism was brought by Austroasiatic language speakers migrating from Southeast Asia, completely distinct from the Dravidian/South Indian megalithic wave.
    • Critique: Modern archaeologists caution against simplistic migration theories. Similar stone monuments can arise through independent local innovation based on similar ecological and social needs (structural-functionalism) rather than direct migration.
  • 2. The Danger of Simplistic Analogy: Because NE India has a "living" tradition, scholars often use it to interpret the "dead" South Indian megaliths (Ethnoarchaeology). However, projecting contemporary Khasi/Naga motives (feasts of merit) directly onto 3000-year-old Iron Age societies in Vidarbha is chronologically and culturally perilous.
  • 3. Shifting from 'Culture' to 'Behavior': Earlier archaeologists searched for a homogenous "Megalithic People." Modern critical archaeology recognizes that megalith-building is not a single culture, but a shared behavior—a mechanism for labor mobilization, status assertion, and memory-making that was adopted by vastly different ethnic groups.

Conclusion: The Indian megalithic tradition defies a monolithic explanation. While Peninsular archaeology reveals the socio-economic complexities of early Iron Age societies, the North-East provides a vibrant, living window into the anthropological "why" and "how" behind monument building. Together, they demonstrate that raising stones is a profound human response to mortality, memory, and the desire for social immortality.

2026 Thermoluminescence dating method. 2026 Write a detailed note on the characteristic features, chronology, geographical distribution, tool types and lifeways of Magdalenian cultural tradition of Europe. 2026 What are the evidences available regarding crops and domesticated animals of Indus Valley Civilization? What are the views of the scholars regarding Indus script? 2026 Discuss with examples, how general comparative analogy has been used in ethnoarchaeological studies in India.

Want feedback on your answer?

Join the Anthropology workshop or get structured answer-writing guidance from VAID ICS.

Join Workshop Contact VAID ICS

UPSC Anthropology Optional 2022 — Paper II

28 questions

5(e) Austroasiatic languages

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 2. Demographic profile of India > Linguistic elements
2022Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

1(c) Dharma versus Religion

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 3.1 Structure and nature of traditional Indian social system > Dharma
2022Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

1(a) Pit-dwellers of Kashmir

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Neolithic > Burzahom
2022Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(b) Varna and Buddhism

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 3.4 Impact of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity on Indian society
2022Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

1(e) Westernisation and Modernisation

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 5.3 Indigenous and exogenous processes of socio-cultural change
2022Paper IIVillage India, Urbanisation & Social ChangeModel answer available