Sanganakallu is an ancient archaeological site from the Neolithic period (circa 3000 BC).
It is approximately 8 km from Bellary in eastern Karnataka. It is a group of hills south of
a horseshoe shaped valley, with Kupgal to the north It is one of the earliest settlements
in South India, spread over 1,000 acres There is a layer of red-brown fossilized soil
spread over Sanganakallu and Kupgal that can be dated back to 9000 BC The site is
considered to be a neolithic factory site due to the surface excavation revealing large
numbers of pottery, stone axes, and other stone tools The site was first majorly
excavated in 1946, by Bendapudi Subbarao, on Sannarasamma hill Subbarao divided
their culture into 3 phases:
• Pre-Mesolithic, the phase when Sanganakallu was first settled, had little pottery, and the
people made crude microliths.
• Mesolithic, the phase when pottery was handmade and stone axes were mass produced.
• Neolithic, the phase when pottery and tools became more sophisticated.
EARLIEST AGRICULTURE
The people who settled at Sanganakallu were early agriculturists, who cultivated
small millets and pulses.[1] They kept sheep, cattle, and had separate areas for dumping dung
(ash mounds).[1] It is hypothesized these ash mounds were for burning cow dung possibly in a
ritual manner.
1965 EXCAVATION
In this excavation, a one room Neolithic circular house was excavated. The wall was made with
bamboo and clay and the floor was covered in potholes. There was a hearth in the center of the
house, and there is evidence of it being burned. Other than the house structure, a
few terracotta figurines in the shape of birds or bulls were also found as well as more stone
tools and pottery. Animal remains were also collected, the majority of which were cow bones.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEOLITHIC AGE
Domesticated sheep and goats were raised, people lived in mud homes, and wheat and
barley were grown. Several significant Neolithic sites can be found in India, including
Mehrgarh, the oldest Neolithic site in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, Burzahom in
Kashmir, Chiron in Bihar, and Uttar in Andhra Pradesh.
• The principal crops grown were ragi, horse gram, cotton, rice, wheat, and barley. During
this time, domestic cattle, sheep, and goats were created.
• They lived in pits adjacent to a lake and relied on hunting and fishing for their
livelihood.
• The inhabitants also employed microlithic blades in addition to tools composed of
polished stones and bones.
• There were axes, adzes, chisels, and celts used.
• It was when mat-impressed, black-burnished, and grey ware ceramics first debuted.
• Neolithic megalithic architecture is fascinating.
THE SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE OF CATTLE
The sequence of local domestications and species introductions, it is clear
that one species in particular held pre-eminent symbolic status in the Southern
Neolithic: the zebu. This can be discerned from several lines of evidence. Firstly,
zebus overwhelmingly dominate the rock art images that concentrate on and around
Southern Neolithic sites (Allchin & Allchin 1994-1995, Boivin 2004b). Bulls in
particular are frequently depicted, and their humps and horns are commonly
accentuated, whatever the style employed (Figures 3 and 4). Cattle also dominate the
assemblages of terracotta figurines found at Southern Neolithic sites, most of which
depict animals of one sort or another. Here too we find an emphasis on the hump and
horns, and as with cattle figurines produced by modern-day pastoralists in southern
Sudan (Evans-Pritchard 1940), these are sometimes virtually reduced to these key
features.
