Belilena is a well known large

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, located from the town of

Kitulgala Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. The Academy Award-winning ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' was filmed on the Kelani River near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge. Kitulgala i ...

. Evidence of prehistoric human presence as early as 32,000 years ago was recorded at the site. The skeletal remains of ten individuals were discovered by Paul E. P. Deraniyagala, who attributed them to Balangoda Man (''Homo sapiens balangodensis''). Balangoda Man is assumed to have lived as early as 32,000 years ago and occupied high altitude territories of up to above sea level.

Overview

The part of the cave beyond the lake that fills it a short way from its mouth still remains unexplored. A visit to the site requires the use of a rope or rope ladder. From 1978 to 1983 the site was scientifically excavated and researched by the ''Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka''. Rich assemblages of cultural,

faunal Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zool ...

and human remains were discovered. The results of radiometric dating confirmed deposits of cultural material from 30,000 to 9,000 years before present. These materials include bone tools, evidence of the use of fire and geometric

microlith A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 35,000 to 3,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Th ...

ic stone tools which, at 30,000 years old are of remarkable age. The site also yielded numerous remains of game animals, such as

Sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local ins ...

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

Indian muntjac The Indian muntjac or the common muntjac (''Muntiacus muntjak''), also called the southern red muntjac and barking deer, is a deer species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. In popular local l ...

, several monkey species,

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethiz ...

Indian giant squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distribution and ...

s and a large number of local reptiles and fish. Small mammals, aquatic and tree snails were prominent in the diet of Balangoda man, as were edible parts of plants such as wild

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of '' Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Phil ...

and the Kekuna nut. A trade network in salt with occupants of coastal lagoons some away had been established by 30,000 years ago. Rubble foundations that date to 16,000 years before present constitute the earliest evidence of substantial structures in South Asia. The skeletal

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s of several humans were found in 16,000 year old sediments. These were intensively analysed by an international team of anthropologists and proved to be of great value for the understanding of the

physical anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...

of Balangoda man. Belilena cave occupies a very special place in the cultural heritage of Sri Lanka and research by future generations of archaeologists with more advanced technologies and methods is expected to yield more knowledge. As such, the site has been declared an ''Archaeological Reserve'' of the Archaeological Department under the Antiquities Ordinance.

References

Bibliography

* Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, T. Disotell, W. J. Roertgen, J. Chiment and J. Sherry, ''Biological anthropology of upper Pleistocene hominids from Sri Lanka: Batadomba Lena and Beli Lena caves'', Ancient Ceylon 6: 165-265. * Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, Siran U. Deraniyagala, W. J. Roertgen, J. Chiment and T. Disotell, ''Upper Pleistocene fossil hominids from Sri Lanka'', American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 72: 441-461, 1987. * Annual Review of Anthropology: 1980 By

Bernard J. Siegel Bernard Joseph Siegel (October 26, 1917–August 19, 2003) was an American cultural anthropologist who spent most of his career at Stanford University, where he helped establish its anthropology department. He was the founder of the ''Biennia ...

- Page 403 & 416 * Propaedia: outline of knowledge and guide to the Britannica.-- 1Micropaedia: ready reference and index.-- 2 0Macropaedia: knowledge in depth. * Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, "Fa Hien Cave", in ''

Encyclopedia of Anthropology The ''Encyclopedia of Anthropology'' is an encyclopedia of anthropology edited by H. James Birx of Canisius College and SUNY Geneseo. The encyclopedia, published in 2006 by SAGE Publications, is in five volumes, and contains over 1,200 articles ...

'' ed.

H. James Birx Harry James Birx (born June 1, 1941 in Canandaigua, New York), is an American anthropologist and a professor of Anthropology at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. He is a distinguished research scholar at the State University of New York at Ge ...

(2006, SAGE Publications; ) * Kenneth A. R. Kennedy and Siran U. Deraniyagala, ''Fossil remains of 28,000-year old hominids from Sri Lanka,'' Current Anthropology, Vol. 30, No. 3. (Jun., 1989), pp. 394–399.

External links

* http://www.lankalibrary.com/geo/dera1.html * http://www.lankalibrary.com/geo/prehistory.htm * http://www.lankalibrary.com/geo/palle2.html {{Navbox prehistoric caves Prehistoric Sri Lanka Archaeological sites in Sri Lanka Populated places in Western Province, Sri Lanka

Overview

See also

References

Bibliography

External links