Recent findings from Mayiladumparai site

Why in news?

• Carbon dating of excavated finds in Tamil Nadu pushes evidence of iron being used in India back to 4,200 years ago.

About recent findings:

• The latest evidence of iron usage dates the findings from Tamil Nadu to 2172 BCE.
• The excavations are from Mayiladumparai near Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu.
• Mayiladumparai is an important site with cultural material dating back between the Microlithic (30,000 BCE) and Early Historic (600 BCE) ages.
• The site is situated in the midst of several archaeological sites such as: Togarapalli, Gangavaram, Sandur, Vedarthattakkal, Guttur, and Kappalavadi.

Use of Iron in India:

• In 1979, use of iron was traced to 1300 BCE at Ahar in Rajasthan.
• It was shifted to 1900-2000 BCE based on investigations in sites at Malhar, Varanasi and Brahmagiri in North Karnataka.
• A series of dating results on finds from various parts in India have shown evidence of iron-ore technology before 1800 BCE.
• The earliest evidence of iron use for Tamil Nadu was from Thelunganur and Mangadu near Mettur, dating back to 1500 BCE.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Mayiladumparai archeological site, recently seen in news, is located in:

(a) Kerala

(b) Karnataka

(c) Tamil Nadu

(d) Andhra Pradesh

Answer