Archaeological culture · c. 1200 BCE–200 CE; shown until c. 300 BCE, when the Sangam kingdoms appear on the map
Iron Age megalithic cultures of South India
Iron Age peoples of peninsular India who buried their dead, or their bones, in stone-built tombs: dolmens, stone circles, cists and large pottery urns, as at Hire Benakal and Adichanallur. Graves hold iron weapons and tools, black-and-red pottery and beads.
These communities of farmers, herders and craftsmen form the background to the early Tamil kingdoms of the Sangam age.
See Iron Age megalithic cultures of South India on the map in 1200 BCE
- On the map
- 1200–300 BCE
How we know
Mostly known from thousands of excavated tombs dated by radiocarbon; Tamil-Brahmi writing appears only near the end.
Sites
- Sivagalai c. 1200–700 BCE (rice from a burial urn); a claim of iron at 3345 BCE is disputed
- Adichanallur c. 1000–600 BCE (radiocarbon); earlier claims debated
- Hire Benakal c. 800–200 BCE