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History of Tamil society and archaeological discoveries: sources, the three kingdoms, excavation sites

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Key numbers

The three kingdoms compared

Cheras (Keralaputras in Asoka's edicts)Vanji; Muziris, Thondi; bow and arrow
CholasUraiyur; Kaveripoompattinam (Poompuhar, Puhar); tiger; square copper coins
PandyasMadurai; fish

Excavation sites

Arikamedu (near Puducherry)ASI excavation by Mortimer Wheeler, J.M. Casal, A. Ghosh, Krishna Deva; a planned town with a warehouse, tanks, ring wells and a street
Keeladi (near Silaiman on the Madurai - Rameswaram road, on the Vaigai)a buried Sangam town at Pallichandhai Thidal; urbanisation from the 6th century BCE, as in the Ganga plain
Kodumanal (near Erode; Kodumanam of Pathitruppaththu)more than 300 pottery inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi
Adichanallur (on the Porunai)Dr Jagor in 1876; Alexander Rea from 1899 to 1905
Sivakalaipaddy from an urn in 2019, dated 1155 BCE by Beta Laboratory; Thamirabarani culture 3200 years old
KorkaiTN Archaeology Department excavation, 1968; the old port of Sangam and Greek texts
Adichanallur, Sivakalai, Korkai32 kinds of iron tools (javelins, spears, daggers) and gold diadems

Key facts

Places with Tamil Brahmi inscriptionsmore than thirty (class 9, page 36)
Pulimankombai hero stones2006 (class 9, page 37)
Heritage laws1878, 1958, 1972 (class 9, page 38)
Akananuru poem on Yavana trade149 (class 9, page 46)
Kodumanal pottery inscriptionsmore than 300 (class 9, page 48)
Adichanallur excavations1876 (Jagor); 1899-1905 (Alexander Rea) (class 9, page 51)
Sivakalai paddy2019; 1155 BCE; 3200 years (class 9, page 51)
Korkai excavation1968 (class 9, page 51)
Kinds of iron tools32 (class 9, page 52)
Poets of the last Sangam49 (class 6, page 152)

Easy to confuse

Periplus / Natural History / GeographyGreek, unknown author; Pliny the Elder (Latin); Ptolemy
Pugalur / Mangulam inscriptionthree Chera generations; Pandyan Nedunchezhiyan
Arikamedu / Keeladinear Puducherry, Wheeler, planned port town; near Madurai, Vaigai, 6th century BCE
Kodumanal / Adichanallur, Sivakalainear Erode, Pathitruppaththu; on the Porunai
Keeladi urbanisation / Sivakalai paddy6th century BCE; 1155 BCE
Pulimankombai / PorpanaikkottaiTheni district, 2006; Pudukkottai district
ASI / TN Archaeology DepartmentUnion; state
The full note

Four kinds of sources

Classical Tamil literature, inscriptions, archaeological excavations and non-Tamil and foreign accounts. Most scholars date Sangam literature between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. By the textbook's time line the Iron Age (megalithic) is about 1300 to 300 BCE, Tamil Brahmi appears about 400-300 BCE, and the post-Sangam age is about 300-500 CE.

Inscriptions and hero stones

Tamil was first written in Tamil Brahmi; the Brahmi of Asoka's edicts is Asokan Brahmi. Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions. Tamil Brahmi inscriptions are found at more than thirty places, on rocks and in caves mostly lived in by Jain monks (Mangulam, Pugalur, Arachalur, Jambai). Hero stones (nadukal) honoured those who died in battle or in cattle raids; Tholkappiyam describes how they were set up. Sangam hero stones with Tamil Brahmi letters are at Pulimankombai and Thathapatti (Theni district) and Porpanaikkottai (Pudukkottai district); they carry no figures. Those at Pulimankombai in the Vaigai valley were found in 2006.

Names on pottery, and coins

Pots inscribed with people's names in Tamil Brahmi come from Arikamedu, Azhagankulam, Kodumanal and Keeladi; some names are in Prakrit, the common speech of North India in Mauryan times. Such sherds have also been found at Berenike and Quseir al-Qadim in Egypt and Khor Rori in Oman. Coins first came into use as currency in the Sangam age; punch-marked coins come from Kodumanal and Bodinayakkanur. Roman coins cluster in the Coimbatore region and also come from Azhagankulam, Karur and Madurai. Gems carved in relief are cameos; carved hollow, intaglios.

Foreign accounts

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Greek work by an unknown author (periplus means sea guide), names Muziris, Thondi, Kumari and Korkai and the Chera and Pandya kings. Pliny the Elder's Natural History, in Latin, says Rome's wealth drained away in the pepper trade with India. Ptolemy's Geography names Kaveripoompattinam, Korkai, Kanyakumari and Muziris. The Peutinger Table is a road map of the Roman Empire; the Vienna Papyrus, a 2nd-century Greek document, records a trade agreement made at Muziris. Greeks, Romans and West Asians were called Yavanas, from Ionia. Akananuru poem 149 tells of Yavana ships bringing gold to Muziris and carrying away pepper; a touchstone inscribed Perumpathan kal was found at Khuan Luk Pat in Thailand.

The three kings and the Velir

The three crowned kings (Chera, Chola, Pandya) led the Sangam rulers; the Velir were chieftains. The seven last patrons were Pari, Kari, Ori, Nalli, Pegan, Aai and Athiyaman. Karikala Chola used the Kaveri for irrigation; Kadiyalur Uruththirangannanar wrote Pattinappalai on Kaveripoompattinam. The Pugalur inscriptions near Karur record three generations of Chera kings; Pathitruppaththu is about the Chera kings. The Mangulam inscriptions name Pandyan Nedunchezhiyan.

Society and crafts

The caste order of North India did not take root in Sangam Tamilakam; social groups formed around the five landscapes and occupations. Tholkappiyar names the deities of the five thinai: Murugan (kurinji), Thirumaal (mullai), Indiran (marutham), Varunan (neidhal), Kotravai (paalai). Vennikkuyaththiyaar of Venni was a woman poet; Sangam verses tell of Umanar women selling salt (salt traders were Umanar). Paddy has been found with urns at Adichanallur and Porundhal; shifting cultivation in forests was punam. Iron furnaces were found at Kodumanal and Kuttur, glass-bead workshops at Arikamedu and Kudikkadu; conch-bangle making flourished at Pamban; a pearl was found at Keeladi; spindles and cloth bits at Kodumanal.

First urbanisation and ancient cities

Towns first took shape in Tamil Nadu in the Sangam age: the ports Arikamedu, Kaveripoompattinam, Azhagankulam and Korkai; the inland centres Kanchipuram, Uraiyur, Karur, Madurai and Kodumanal. Poompuhar (Puhar, Kaveripoompattinam) was the Chola port. In Silappathikaram Kannagi's father is Maanaaigan (great sea trader) and Kovalan's father Maasaaththuvan (great merchant). The last Sangam had 49 poets; with night and day markets (allangaadi, naalangaadi) Madurai was the city that never sleeps. Kalidasa called Kanchi the best of cities; Thirunavukkarasar called it boundless in learning; Xuanzang came to its ghatika. Chozha naadu sorudaiththu, Paandiya naadu muththudaiththu, Chera naadu vezhamudaiththu, Thondai naadu saandrorudaiththu.

Archaeology departments and laws

The Archaeological Survey of India works under the Union government, the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department under the state. Three laws protect antiquities: the Indian Treasure Trove Act (1878), the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites Act (1958) and the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act (1972). Pair them as Union - ASI, state - TN department; the state department dug Korkai in 1968.

Source: சமூக அறிவியல், ஒன்பதாம் வகுப்பு, தமிழ் வழி (Social Science, Standard IX, Tamil medium; Samacheer Kalvi) (9ஆம் வகுப்புச் சமூக அறிவியல், வரலாறு அலகு 3 (தொடக்ககாலத் தமிழ்ச் சமூகமும் பண்பாடும்), பக்கம் 35-53; 6ஆம் வகுப்பு முதல் பருவம், வரலாறு அலகு 4 (தமிழ்நாட்டின் பண்டைய நகரங்கள்), பக்கம் 149-154)

PYQ (2018-2025 papers)

Free questions

  1. Question 1

    Which second-century Greek document describes a trade agreement made at Muziris?

    1. A. The Peutinger Table
    2. B. The Vienna Papyrus
    3. C. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
    4. D. Natural History
    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. The Vienna Papyrus

    The Peutinger Table is a road map of the Roman empire; the Vienna Papyrus, a second-century Greek document, describes a trade agreement at Muziris.

    Source: சமூக அறிவியல், ஒன்பதாம் வகுப்பு, தமிழ் வழி (Social Science, Standard IX, Tamil medium; Samacheer Kalvi) (வரலாறு அலகு 3 தொடக்ககாலத் தமிழ்ச் சமூகமும் பண்பாடும், p. 40 (PDF p. 46))

  2. Question 2

    In which script was the Tamil language first written?

    1. A. Vatteluthu
    2. B. Asokan Brahmi
    3. C. Grantha
    4. D. Tamil Brahmi
    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: D. Tamil Brahmi

    Tamil was first written in the script called 'Tamil Brahmi'.

    Source: சமூக அறிவியல், ஒன்பதாம் வகுப்பு, தமிழ் வழி (Social Science, Standard IX, Tamil medium; Samacheer Kalvi) (வரலாறு அலகு 3 தொடக்ககாலத் தமிழ்ச் சமூகமும் பண்பாடும், p. 35 (PDF p. 41))

  3. Question 3

    What is the study of inscriptions called?

    1. A. Numismatics
    2. B. Epigraphy
    3. C. Archaeology
    4. D. Linguistics
    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Epigraphy

    The study of inscriptions is epigraphy; Tamil Brahmi inscriptions are found at more than thirty places in Tamil Nadu.

    Source: சமூக அறிவியல், ஒன்பதாம் வகுப்பு, தமிழ் வழி (Social Science, Standard IX, Tamil medium; Samacheer Kalvi) (வரலாறு அலகு 3 தொடக்ககாலத் தமிழ்ச் சமூகமும் பண்பாடும், p. 36 (PDF p. 42))

  4. Question 4

    What was set up in memory of those who died heroically in battle?

    1. A. Hero stones (nadukal)
    2. B. Urns
    3. C. Touchstones
    4. D. Punch-marked coins
    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A. Hero stones (nadukal)

    Hero stones were set up for those who died in battle and in cattle raids; the Tolkappiyam describes how they were set up.

    Source: சமூக அறிவியல், ஒன்பதாம் வகுப்பு, தமிழ் வழி (Social Science, Standard IX, Tamil medium; Samacheer Kalvi) (வரலாறு அலகு 3 தொடக்ககாலத் தமிழ்ச் சமூகமும் பண்பாடும், p. 37 (PDF p. 43))

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