Current State of Megalithic Research in Kerala, India

Summary

Megalithic studies in Kerala started with the discovery, excavation and publication of burial site at Chattaparamba in Kozhikode district by James Babington in 1819. While a number of archaeological investigations on Megaliths in Kerala have been carried out since then, very few of them document the location, distribution and nature of these monuments. Megalithic burials are highly visible on the landscape and are often subject to excavation, yet, we currently lack an understanding of the society and the people who constructed these monuments. In recent years, large-scale construction projects and rapid growth in house construction throughout Kerala has led to the destruction of large number of Megaliths. In this context, the Department of Archaeology at the University of Kerala in collaboration with the University of Kansai (Japan) and Memorial University (Canada) is preparing a gazetteer of reported Megalithic sites in Kerala. In this paper, we discuss the Kerala Megalithic Gazetteer Project, the available archaeological data, and excavations and explorations undertaken under the project. We present preliminary efforts to better understand the density and distribution pattern of Megaliths in Kerala in relation to their physical and social landscapes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Archaeology of India

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16845