Archaeology

“The existence of a unique, preAryan [sic] populace with a distinct cultural heritage and evolved literary traits has been fortified by archaeological evidence collected from the discovery of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in the early 1920s, and further substantiated by the ongoing Keezhadi excavations in Tamil Nadu. With modern day advancements in handling fragile biodegradable material from excavation sites and also high-throughput genomic sequencing, we now understand how the Indian subcontinent was populated through waves of migration.” – Ma­nu­raj Shun­mu­ga­sun­daram in “The Dravidian movement and Aryan illusions” (The Hindu, 23 July 2022)
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-dravidian-movement-and-aryan-illusions/article65672119.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=26937

Rock Art Studies (Asiatic Society Kolkata): Continuum of the art tradition “evident among pre-literate and indigenous ethnic entities” – Central India & Kerala

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Rock art studies in India is not only restricted to the Palaeolithic period, it extends even beyond it. In the Indian subcontinent the caves and rock shelters were inhabited and used by people over many periods, throughout which the rock walls were used as a convenient canvas to visually express and transmit their idea, ethos, aspirations … Read more

Kerala Folklore Theatre & Kerala Folklore Museum (Kochi) – Kerala

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Folklore Junction, Thevara, Kochi 682015 www.keralafolkloremuseum.org The museum is an enticing experience and an interesting glimpse into the yesteryear. […] Opened in 2009, the museum is home to antique masks, traditional art forms, musical instruments, old costumes, tribal art and jewellery, manuscripts, mural paintings, shadow and string puppets, wooden carvings, bronze and wooden sculptures and … Read more

Did the Indus Valley Civilisation script remain “elusive because no one has attempted to study the script using Gondi symbols and language”? – Karnataka

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New findings raise an old question: Do South Indians belong to the Indus Valley Civilisation? Around two kilometres away from the famous Vittala Temple in Hampi, Karnataka, [a]round 10 years ago, KM Metry, a Kannada University professor of Tribal Studies who was researching instances of human-bear conflict in the area and visiting sites in search … Read more

Evidence suggesting a Gondi-Harappan link (Indus Valley civilisation, 2500 B.C.–1750 BC): Pictographs deciphered with the help of a proto Dravidian tribal language – Karnataka

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The sentence emerged after a set of 19 pictographs from a cave in Hampi were deciphered using root morphemes of Gondi language, considered by many eminent linguists as a proto Dravidian language. Eleven of the Hampi pictographs resemble those of the civilisation, according to Dr. K.M. Metry, Head and Dean, Social Sciences, Kannada University, Hampi; … Read more

“The North East Indian region has never been an isolated backwater” – Food production and animal domestication since the Neolithic Revolution

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“Who lived here?”, “when did they live here?”, “what culture did they have?” and “how did their culture change?” are just some of the questions posed by Prehistory and Archaeology of Northeast India, a book that probes the origins of human settlement, culture and ecology in North East India. Written by archaeologist Manjil Hazarika, it … Read more