Neolithic Ashmounds (India)
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Neolithic ashmounds (sometimes termed as cinder mounds) are man-made landscape features found in some parts of southern India (chiefly around
Bellary Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of South Ind ...
) that have been dated to the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
period (3000 to 1200 BC). They have been a puzzle for long and have been the subject of many conjectures and scientific studies. They are believed to be of ritual significance and produced by early pastoral and agricultural communities by the burning of wood, dung and animal matter. Hundreds of ashmound sites have been identified and many have a low perimeter embankment and some have holes that may have held posts.


Description

These ashmounds were traditionally given mythological explanations as the burnt remains of
rakshasa Rākshasa (, , ; ; "preservers") are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as ...
s described in epics like the ''Mahabharata''. A scientific explanation was first attempted by T. J. Newbold who sent notes on Būdigunta, one of the largest such mounds, to
James Prinsep James Prinsep (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, Orientalism, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharost ...
who published it in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1836. Newbold suggested that these were volcanic
scoria Scoria or cinder is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock formed by ejection from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains called clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackso ...
e as the masses had a glassy surface and gave a hollow sound when struck. He was initially of the opinion that it appeared as if of volcanic origin although lacking any other evidence for it. He also pointed out that furnaces around the country did not produce such scoriae or slag. Newbold also pointed to Buchanan Hamilton's notes on the Rajmahal hills where he had described calcareous remains that the locals referred to as ''asurhar'' or giant's bones. Cavelly Venkata Lachmia (one of
Colin Mackenzie Colonel Colin Mackenzie (1754–8 May 1821) was a Scottish army officer in the British East India Company who later became the first Surveyor General of India. He was a collector of antiquities and an orientalist and an indologist. He sur ...
's fellow researchers and president of the Madras Hindu Literary Society) wrote to Newbold that he had gathered theories these were remains of religious sacrifices made in the past or from funerals of past battles. Lachmia also pointed out that he had seen many other places around Mysore and many of these other places like Budihal and Buditippa had the prefix ''būdi'' referring to "ash". Budigunta near Bellary was said to be the largest and recorded as being 46 feet in height and 420 feet in circumference. Robert Sewell conjectured that the region was once densely forested and considered several possible explanations including furnaces. He also had the material examined and it was declared that it could not have come from furnaces or brick kilns. The burning of animal matter was considered as one possible source. He also pointed out that these could have been the result of large pyres where the wives of kings committed ''
sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...
''.
Robert Bruce Foote Robert Bruce Foote (22 September 1834 – 29 December 1912) was a British geologist and archaeologist who conducted geological surveys of prehistoric locations in India for the Geological Survey of India. For his contributions to Indian archaeolo ...
examined Budikanama in 1872 and suggested that these mounds were produced by burning dung and suggested a similarity to zaribas in Africa. Around the same time two amateur archaeologists dug a mound in Kupgal and found bones, pottery, stone axes and other artefacts. Allchin in 1963 made an analysis of all the theories and pointed out that rainfall was higher in the region during the Neolithic and that these may have been forested regions which were burnt down for livestock. Archaeological studies have continued into recent times. Some of the plant remains have been identified and millet cultivation may have been important. Two staple millets ''Brachiaria ramosa'' and ''Setaria verticillata'' which are not common in modern cultivation were found in several sites while the commonest legumes were ''
Vigna radiata The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the Fabaceae, legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-E ...
'' and ''
Macrotyloma uniflorum ''Macrotyloma uniflorum'' (horsegram, also known as horse gram, kulthi bean, gahat, hurali, or Madras gram) is a legume native to tropical southern Asia, known for its distinct taste and texture, widely used legume in many cuisines. It is also kno ...
''. The animal remains are mainly of cattle, buffalo and pig (whether wild or domesticated, is not easy to determine). In 2024, a few Neolithic ashmounds in
Ballari Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Steel, JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of ...
were destroyed in the process of development projects due to historical ignorance.


References

{{reflist Ashmounds Archaeology of India