Southern Neolithic Culture of India: People, Plants, and Animals

The Neolithic culture of Indian subcontinent can be broadly categorised into eight geographical zones flourished during 8000–1200 BCE (Baluchistan and Indus basin, Himalayan region, Ganga Basin, North-eastern Himalayas, Eastern India, Northern Gujarat and Rajasthan, Western Deccan (Chalcolithic) and Southern Deccan). Further based on early agricultural origin and crop diversity, these zones are identified into thirteen traditions, and one of them is southern Neolithic (South India) carrying the ashmound tradition spanning across the southern India during 3200–1200 BCE. South India occupies a major part of the Indian Peninsula, bordering offshores of Arabian sea in the west and Bay of Bengal in the east. Further bordered with high hill ranges of Western Ghats in the west and Eastern Ghats in the east. A tract of landscape within these two hill ranges is the Deccan Plateau; the central and southern part of the plateau has high density of Neolithic sites of various categories such as the ashmounds, habitation/settlements, stone tool workshop sites, rock art sites and combination of these cultural signatures in one site (Figs. 4.1 and 4.2). Such diversity of full-fledged site types and the occurrence of the oldest dates from them makes the central-southern part of the Deccan Plateau as core Neolithic zone. This chapter takes the reader on each distinct aspects of southern Neolithic culture, ranging from its archaeological studies to detailing their site types, diet, crops, animals, art, tools, ceramics, mortuary practices and land use patterns.