Kandiyur celt with Sarasvati hieroglyphs and Bharatam civilization studies
Karkotaka > Krakatoa and maritime migrations creating Hindu civilization
Mleccha
Legacy of mleccha
Zoroaster -- Politician or Witch-doctor? (W. Henning, G. Gnoli)
Art heritage of Orissa
Vikramkhol (Bikramkhol) rock art and cave lithography: legacy of Sarasvati hieroglyphs?
Ligatured boat as a hieroglyph
pipis'e in RIgveda as an example of proto-vedic continuity of Bharatiya languages
Ligature as an orthographic style in cryptography: mleccha writing system
Continuity of lost-wax casting technology
ANCIENT PORTS AND MARITIME TRADE CENTERS IN TAMILNADU AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE PRESENTATION by T.S. SRIDHAR, IAS Special Commissioner, Department of Archaeology, Government of TAMILNADU (File)
A power point presentation on Underwater Archeology in India by Dr. Alok Tripathi'
Arikamedu
Maritime Asian History The Pre-Modern East Asian Maritime Realm: An Overview of European-Language Studies Geoff Wade (2003)
Gateway to the Indian Ocean
The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia by Himanshu Prabha Ray, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Mariners, Merchants and Oceans: Studies in Maritime History. (book reviews)
Asian Perspectives: the Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific, September, 1997 by Smith, Monica L.
Indian shipping: a history of the sea-borne trade and maritime activities of the Indians from the earliest times: Radhakumud Mookerjee, 1912
Archaeology and maritime Orissa
Ancient India: ship-building and navigation (Sudheer Birodkar)
An illustrated maritime History of Indian Ocean: OK Nambiar (Cholas, Andhras, Satavahanas, Calukyas, Andhra coastline)
Burial urn. Cemetery H. Harappa. National Museum, India.
Harappa. Burial urn. Kenoyer Slide 164.
A series of motifs showing a woman, paddy, a crane, a deer, a crocodile, and a lizard, found on broken pieces of a burial urn at Adichanallur, Tamil Nadu. July 25, 2004. The archaeological surprises thrown up at the Iron Age urn-burial site at Adichanallur (near Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu) do not seem to end. The latest: some stunningly beautiful motifs in appliqué designs on pieces of an urn inside a full urn.
Figure of a person is ligatured within the body of the peacock with a wavy plume (first peacock on the right); The person shown within the circle is probably the depiction of the departed a_tman, who has, after cremation, become an ancestor. The stylized depiction of the arms is paralleled by the stylized depiction of arms (or horns?) of the copper anthropomorphs found in Copper Hoard Culture.
The Munda word for peacock *mara'k/mara "cryer > peacock", later Sanskrit ma_ra (and Pali etc) 'death, God Death', the Munda peacock symbol = death, and the Cemetery H peacock pictures on urns with cremated bodies.
Peacock and heaven (marak = peacock; merxa_ = sky, heaven ?may the soul go to heaven); Parji. marp- (mart-)= to lighten; Kurux. merxa_ = sky, heaven; Malto. mergu = sky, heaven; see Te. mer_umu = flash of lightning.
(marak = peacock; sma_raka = remembrance; ji_van-ji_vaka = cry of the peacock, peacock; living, the dead goes with life)
The motifs were apparently made on a full urn. Subsequently, its broken pieces were placed inside the full urn which contained a human skeleton.
The series of motifs show a tall, majestic looking woman; a swathe of standing paddy next to her; a crane; a deer; a crocodile and a lizard too.
These motifs resemble prehistoric cave paintings found in Erode and Dharmapuri districts of Tamil Nadu.
Pictorial code
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle, made the discovery this month in one of the six trenches it dug at Adichanallur. The woman who is standing holds what looks like an oval-shaped anklet in her right hand. The deer has long, straight horns and an upturned tail. The crane is perched on some vegetation. The crocodile looks as if it is crouching. It is virtually a pictorial ode. A small, thin rope was obviously used to bring about a serrated effect on the deer's horns, the sheaf of paddy, etc.
A UNIQUE FIND: A broken pot with a leaf-like decoration running around its middle.
The ASI has also discovered two urns, fully intact, with beautiful decorations on them. One has a garland-like impression running below its rim, created by a thumb impression. Another urn has two necklace-like ornamentation, cutting each other. A flat, thin knob protrudes from one of these decorations. A third broken pot has a leaf-like design running all round its middle.
T. Satyamurthy, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai Circle, who is the director of the excavations at Adichanallur, called the motifs "a unique find because no such motifs have been seen so far found on burial potteries in Tamil Nadu. These motifs resemble prehistoric cave paintings found in central Tamil Nadu including Erode and Dharmapuri districts."
Dr. Satyamurthy felt that the decorations on the two "intact" urns might signify the mark of a particular clan. According to G. Thirumoorthy, Assistant Archaeologist, ASI, the discovery of the motifs "is no doubt a unique find in the Iron Age culture of south India." The motifs "show the artistic knowledge of the prehistoric people of Tamil Nadu."
Mother-goddess cult?
The motifs have triggered a debate among archaeologists whether they signify the mother-goddess cult. According to them, the Iron Age urn burial site at Adichanallur is datable between 700 B.C. and 500 B.C.
During its excavation from February 4 to July 5, the ASI unearthed 150 urns. Of these, 50 are intact, and 15 had human skeletons. One had the skeleton of a child, with a small copper earring inside. The ring obviously belonged to the child. Copper bangles too were found at the site. Many urns with skeletons had small grave pots inside, and some had paddy and husk too.
Outside, around the urns, ritual pots were kept. The artefacts found include a broken arrowhead, a rusted dagger, a rusted iron spearhead, varieties of iron implements, Neolithic Celts, and a huge amount of exquisite potsherds.
Three-tier marvel
The "engineering marvel" at the Adichanallur burial site is its three-tier system. The earliest generation buried the dead in urns at a depth of about 10 feet. The next two generations buried them in urns in two tiers above. Urns were inserted by cutting a rocky hillock. Agriculture land was not used. Mr. Thirumoorthy said: "The three-tier system of burial shows their intention, with foresight, to accommodate future burials. Adichanallur shows the importance given to the dead in the early Tamil society in the mode of burial practice, and that society's socio, economic and religious beliefs." http://www.hindu.com/2004/07/25/stories/2004072500421100.htm
Sabha Parva, ch. 31, vv. 66-8 notes how Sahadeva reached several islands in the sea and subjugated the Mleccha inhabitants. This is consistent with a mention elsewhere in the text of mleccha as dvi_pava_sinah, island dwellers.
Engraved celt tool of Sembiyan-kandiyur
Sarasvati hieroglyphs and inscribed celt tool of Sembian-kandiyur
Vais'ali terracotta seal (Links: http://tinyurl.com/gotrq (see Fig.5); reference article at: http://tinyurl.com/n9b4r )
Mudra, aks.ara mus.t.ika kathana
S'rivatsa on the chest of a Tirthankara
S'rivatsa as a hieroglyph for sangha, dharma, puja
Dharma -- universal ordering principle
Para_s'ariya Dharma s'a_stra: Shamrao Vithal, 1908, Journal of the Bombay Branch of Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XXII, pp. 324-378
Gautama the Buddha, a Hindu; Bauddham in dharma-dhamma continuum; a new look at the history of thought and social evolution
Rural areas of Bharatam in crisis: farmers' suicides for want of a National Water Grid