KEELADI

1. Context

Keeladi is a tiny hamlet in the Sivaganga district in south Tamil Nadu. It is about 12 km southeast of Madurai's temple city and is located along the Vaigai river. The excavations here from 2015 prove that an urban civilization existed in Tamil Nadu in the Sangam age on the banks of the Vaigai river.

2. How Keeladi linked to sangam age?

The Sangam age is a period of history in ancient Tamil Nadu that was believed to be from the third century BCE to the third century CE.
Excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department (TNSDA) had pushed the Sangam age further back.
In 2019, a TNSDA report dated the unearthed artifacts from Keeladi to a period between the sixth century BCE and the first century BCE. One of the six samples collected at a depth of 353 cm, sent for carbon dating in the U.S., dated back to 580 BCE.
The findings in the TNSDA report placed Keeladi artifacts about 300 years earlier than the previously believed third century BCE.
Keeladi could also provide crucial evidence for understanding the missing links of the Iron Age (12th century BCE to sixth century BCE) to the Early Historic Period (sixth century BCE to fourth century BCE) and subsequent cultural developments.

3. Links to Indus Valley Civilisation

The unearthed Keeladi artifacts have led academics to describe the site as part of the Vaigai Valley Civilisation.
The findings have also invited comparisons with the Indus Valley Civilisation while acknowledging the cultural gap of 1,000 years between the two places.
Till now, the gap is filled with Iron Age material in south India, which serves as residual links. However, some of the symbols found in pot sherds of Keeladi bear a close resemblance to Indus Valley signs.
A lot of digging and study has to be done to establish the links between these two civilizations.

Image Source: The Hindu

4. About Sangam Age

The word ‘Sangam’ is the Tamil form of the Sanskrit word Sangha which means a group of persons or an association.
The Tamil Sangam was an academy of poets who flourished in three different periods and in different places under the patronage of the Pandyan kings.
The Sangam literature, largely consolidated from the third Sangam, throws information on the conditions of life of people around the beginning of the Christian era.
It deals with the secular matter relating to public and social activities like government, war charity, trade, worship, agriculture, etc.
Sangam literature consists of the earliest Tamil works (such as the Tolkappiyam), the ten poems (Pattupattu), the eight anthologies (Ettutogai) and the eighteen minor works (Padinenkilkanakku), and the three epics.

5. About Vaigai River

It is an east-flowing river.
The Vaigai river basin is an important one among the 12 basins between the Cauvery and Kanyakumari.
This basin is bounded by the Cardamom Hills and the Palani Hills on the West and by the Palk Strait and Palk Bay on the East.

6. What has been unearthed so far?

In the eight rounds of excavations, including the first three by the ASI, over 18,000 artifacts have been unearthed from the site and the unique artifacts will be on display at the museum to the opened soon.
The unearthing of heaps of pottery suggests the existence of a pottery-making industry, mostly made of locally available raw materials. Over 120 potsherds containing Tamil Brahmi inscriptions have been found.
Keeladi, along with other Tamil Nadu sites which have over a thousand inscribed potsherds, clearly suggest the long survival of the script.
Gold ornaments, copper articles, semi-precious stones, shell bangles, ivory bangles, and ivory combs reflect the artistic, culturally rich, and prosperous lifestyle of the Keeladi people.
Agate and carnelian beads suggest import through commercial networks while terracotta and ivory dice, gamesmen, and evidence of hopscotch have been unearthed revealing their pastime hobbies.

Previous year question

1.Which one of the following statements about Sangam literature in ancient South India is correct? (UPSC 2022)

A. Sangam poems are devoid of any reference to material culture.

B. The social classification of Varna was known to Sangam poets.

C. Sangam poems have no reference to the warrior ethic.

D. Sangam literature refers to magical forces as irrational.

Answer: B

For Prelims

For Prelims: Keeladi, Sangam age of Tamil Nadu, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department (TNSDA), Vaigai Valley Civilisation, Indus Valley Civilisation, Iron Age, Tolkappiyam, Pattupattu, Ettutogai, Padinenkilkanakku, Cardamom Hills, Palani Hills, and Vaigai River.

Source: The Hindu

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