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Megalithic Society

A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones.

The beginning megalithic culture can be traced to 1000 BC. In 2^nd century BC, the upland portions of the peninsula were inhabited by people called Megalith builders. 104 sites have been excavated so far, they are more concentrated in the eastern Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

They were known for their funerary structures.The graves were encircled by large piece of stone called megaliths

People were buried with artifacts like pottery and iron objects as it was believed the dead would need all these in the next world.

These goods gave us an idea of their sources of livelihood. Arrow head, spearheads, sickles and hoes made of iron have been excavated.

Tridents which later came to be associated with Shiva, have also been found in the megalith.

In comparison, to the number of agricultural tool that were buried, those meant for fighting and hunting are large in number. This indicate that megalithic people didn’t practice advanced type of agriculture.

The megalithic people produced paddy and ragi, apparently area of cultivable land were limited and they generally did not settle on the plains or lowland due to their thick forest cover.

The cholas, pandyas and cheras mentioned in Ashokan inscriptions were probably in the late megalithic phase of material culture.

Some of them also practiced urn burial where the skeleton of the dead is buried in urn made of red pottery pits.