SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The text of the thesis is divided into two volumes. The first (Chs, I - V) contains a geographical account of the environment, a gazetteer of sites previously reported in the district and an account of such other archaeological research in peninsular India as has hearing on Raichur District. It also includes a lengthy account of my explorations in the district and of the excavations I conducted at Piklihal, near Mudgal. Finally, Ch. V is a straight forward analysis of the pottery sequence revealed by excavation and exploration in the district. Volume II is an attempt to synthesize the evidence (both new and old) collected in the first volume with whatever other evidence appears relevant. The aim is twofold; to produce the fullest account possible today of the various elements of the cultures of Raichur District, employing evidence from outside the district to reinforce those details which are still little known within, for example of the Southern Iron Industry and Grave Complex. The culture sequence begins with the earliest settlements known (the Neolithic) and ends with the Medieval Culture which is essentially that of the villages today. The second aim is to link the culture sequence in space and time with that of the North Kannada region, and to compare it with that of the adjoining regions of Peninsular India (Ch. XI). Finally a tenuous outline for the comparable culture sequence of Northern India is suggested as showing the lines along which similar research should proceed in that area. Certain key terms are used throughout the thesis in a sense not common in modern archaeological works (particularly 'culture' and 'industry'). These and a number of new terms coined for this work are discussed in the Introduction.