Asia, South: South India and Sri Lanka

Abstract

South India and the island of Sri Lanka together constitute a geographically and culturally complex region with shared aspects of geology, ecology and ancient cultural phases. The region is characterized by a long history of interactions between local traditions and the wider South-(East) Asian, Near Eastern and East African regions; equally important in shaping its cultural traditions are the continuous local adaptations to changing environments. Starting from the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, this concise overview summarizes the most recent archaeological reconstructions of the (cultural) landscape of the Deccan throughout the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Iron Age, and Early Historic periods. The geographic setting—notably important in shaping past cultural traditions—is outlined, alongside a linguistic reconstruction of the Dravidian Language Family, which is a product of past human migrations in the region, before addressing major transitions in lithic technology, the Neolithic and food production, the construction of megalithic tombs in the Iron Age, and the Early Historic period as the region became increasingly entangled with northern India, both culturally and politically.