Theme 14. Pre-Modern Kerala:
Economy, Society and Polity
Sources
Archaeological relics Roman and chera coins Epigraphic evidences Literary sources
Beginning of human life in Kerala
Kerala is a narrow strip of land lying between Arabian Sea in the west and Western Ghats in the east.
Geographically, Kerala has been divided into three parts-highland, middle land and coastal plains.
The beginning of human life in the geographical area can be traced back to the Stone Age.
Stone Age
Paleolithic Age M esolithic Age Neolithic Age
Hunting and food gathering Hunting, food gathering and fishing Agriculture.
The earliest people lived in the rockshelters.Pre-historic artistic creations have been found at
* M arayaur (Idukki)
* Edakkal and Toveri (Wayanad)
* Ankode (Thiruvananthapuram)
* Tenmala (Kollam)
Early historic Phase or Iron Age (300 BCE to 500 CE)
The earliest known phase of Kerala is the Megalithic phase or Iron Age and the early historic period.
S ources
* Burial monuments like rock cut chambers, kudakkals, toppikkals, dolmens, cists, burial urns, sarcophagus, menhirs etc.
* Burial goods such as potteries, iron objects stone beads and bone fragments.
* Sangam Literature
* The early Tamil Brahmi inscriptions
* Greeco-Roman classical accounts
* Punch marked and Roman coins.
Megaliths
* M egalith means big stone.
* Burial monuments are known as M egaliths.
* All burial monuments are not megaliths. For example urn and sarcophagus made of clay
* Scholars differ regarding the chronology of the megaliths of Kerala.
* The period of megaliths is in between 300 BCE and 500 CE.This period is generally considered as the Iron Age and
Early historic period in Kerala.
* During this period, Kerala was a part of Tamizhakam extended from venkatam in the north to kanyakumari in the south
Multiple subsistence
* The people during this period practiced multiple subsistence form such as hunting, food gathering, cattle rearing,
plunder, slash and burn cultivation, wetland cultivation, pottery making, metal smelting, fishing, salt making
Sujith.K,HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor,Kasargod .
1
, The Sangam period in Kerala history
This period can be dated from the beginning of the Common Era to the middle of the 7th century .
Tinai Concept -Aintinai (Five Tinais)
T he ant hologies of ancient T amil p oet ry p opularly referred t o as Sangam lit erat ure ment ions
five T inais or eco z ones . A ccording t o it , T amiz hakam w as divided int o five z ones
Tinai Eco zone Occupation Inhabitants
Kurinchi Hilly forest region Hunting and food gathering Kuravar,Kanavar,Vetar
M ullai Pastoral region Cattle rearing Idayar,Ayar
Palai Dry land Plunder M aravar,Kalavar
M arutham Wet plains Agriculture Uzhavar,Thozhuvar
Neital Coastal area Fishing and salt making Paratar,M eenavar
S ocial order (S angam period)
* The Sangam society was divided on the basis of eco-zones (Tinai) and occupation.
* The Sangam period witnessed the emergence of specialized craft groups.
* Sangam works mentioned different occupational groups.
* Kuti was the kin based occupational group. They were called as Kutimakkal.
* Ur was the basic kin based settlement unit. It consisted of a number of kutis.
* Nadu was the wider resourceful settlement area.
* The megaliths and burial goods indicate that people believed in life after death.
* They had separate space for the disposal of dead near their settlement area.
* M animekhalai refers to different forms of burial practices such as body cremation, exposure, pit burial etc.
Exchange during the S angam period
* There were three kinds of exchanges: local, long distance and overseas.
Local trade
* The chieftains redistributed the paddy among various tribal groups.
* The goods of each Tinai were exchanged with those of other regions.
* The local exchange centres were known as Cantai, Angadi etc.
Long distance trade
* Fish and salt from coastal area were frequently moved to the long distance places.
* The Umanar (salt merchants) were the professional specialists in long distance trade.
* They were accompanied by a group of warriors called M aravar for giving protection.
* Tamil Brahmi inscription refers to specialist merchants such as Ponvanikan (gold merchant), Aruvai Vanikan (textile
merchant) Kozhuvanikan (plough merchant), Uppuvanikan (salt merchant) and Panithavanikan (toddy merchant).
* The discovery of punch marked coins (kottayam and Eyyal) and semi-precious stones (Pattanam) give information
about the trade between north India and South India.
Overseas trade
* Periplus of Erythrean Sea of an anonymous author refers to the port cities of Kerala coast like Naura, Tyndis, M uziris,
Becare, Nelcynda, and Belita.etc
* Traders from M editerranean region particularly Greeks and Romans frequently visited Kerala coast for collecting the
spices.
* M uziris (present kodungalloor) was one of the important coastal port towns during the period.
* Recent pattanam excavation furnished a large amount of archaeological remains of the Indo-Roman and west Asian
trade.
* The Roman gold coins discovered from Valluvally (Eranakulam dist.), Eyyal (Thrissur dist.)and kottayam poil (Kannur
dist.) also provide instances of Roman trade with Kerala coast.
Formation of early chiefdom
* The redistribution process led to the development of chiefdom in the Sangam society.
* The tribal chiefs redistributed the plundered items among the members of the tribe.
* The Sangam poems mention about three layers of chieftains in the early period such as Kizhar,Vlir and Ventar.
* Kizhars were the hunter chiefs in the Ur known as Ur-kizhar or Ur –mannar.
* Velir were the hill chieftains who controlled the kurinji and M ullai regions.
* Ventar represented the three major chiefly lineages of early Tamizhakam-Chera, Pandya and Chola(M uventar or
M uvar).
* During the period, Tamizhakam was under the control of two Velir chiefs-the Nannan of Ezhimala in the north and Ays
in the South and the Ventar Chera in the middle.
* The patittupattu and Purananuru mention chera lineages.
* The core area of the chera chief was Karur.M uciri was important centre of Cheras .
Sujith.K,HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor,Kasargod .
2
Economy, Society and Polity
Sources
Archaeological relics Roman and chera coins Epigraphic evidences Literary sources
Beginning of human life in Kerala
Kerala is a narrow strip of land lying between Arabian Sea in the west and Western Ghats in the east.
Geographically, Kerala has been divided into three parts-highland, middle land and coastal plains.
The beginning of human life in the geographical area can be traced back to the Stone Age.
Stone Age
Paleolithic Age M esolithic Age Neolithic Age
Hunting and food gathering Hunting, food gathering and fishing Agriculture.
The earliest people lived in the rockshelters.Pre-historic artistic creations have been found at
* M arayaur (Idukki)
* Edakkal and Toveri (Wayanad)
* Ankode (Thiruvananthapuram)
* Tenmala (Kollam)
Early historic Phase or Iron Age (300 BCE to 500 CE)
The earliest known phase of Kerala is the Megalithic phase or Iron Age and the early historic period.
S ources
* Burial monuments like rock cut chambers, kudakkals, toppikkals, dolmens, cists, burial urns, sarcophagus, menhirs etc.
* Burial goods such as potteries, iron objects stone beads and bone fragments.
* Sangam Literature
* The early Tamil Brahmi inscriptions
* Greeco-Roman classical accounts
* Punch marked and Roman coins.
Megaliths
* M egalith means big stone.
* Burial monuments are known as M egaliths.
* All burial monuments are not megaliths. For example urn and sarcophagus made of clay
* Scholars differ regarding the chronology of the megaliths of Kerala.
* The period of megaliths is in between 300 BCE and 500 CE.This period is generally considered as the Iron Age and
Early historic period in Kerala.
* During this period, Kerala was a part of Tamizhakam extended from venkatam in the north to kanyakumari in the south
Multiple subsistence
* The people during this period practiced multiple subsistence form such as hunting, food gathering, cattle rearing,
plunder, slash and burn cultivation, wetland cultivation, pottery making, metal smelting, fishing, salt making
Sujith.K,HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor,Kasargod .
1
, The Sangam period in Kerala history
This period can be dated from the beginning of the Common Era to the middle of the 7th century .
Tinai Concept -Aintinai (Five Tinais)
T he ant hologies of ancient T amil p oet ry p opularly referred t o as Sangam lit erat ure ment ions
five T inais or eco z ones . A ccording t o it , T amiz hakam w as divided int o five z ones
Tinai Eco zone Occupation Inhabitants
Kurinchi Hilly forest region Hunting and food gathering Kuravar,Kanavar,Vetar
M ullai Pastoral region Cattle rearing Idayar,Ayar
Palai Dry land Plunder M aravar,Kalavar
M arutham Wet plains Agriculture Uzhavar,Thozhuvar
Neital Coastal area Fishing and salt making Paratar,M eenavar
S ocial order (S angam period)
* The Sangam society was divided on the basis of eco-zones (Tinai) and occupation.
* The Sangam period witnessed the emergence of specialized craft groups.
* Sangam works mentioned different occupational groups.
* Kuti was the kin based occupational group. They were called as Kutimakkal.
* Ur was the basic kin based settlement unit. It consisted of a number of kutis.
* Nadu was the wider resourceful settlement area.
* The megaliths and burial goods indicate that people believed in life after death.
* They had separate space for the disposal of dead near their settlement area.
* M animekhalai refers to different forms of burial practices such as body cremation, exposure, pit burial etc.
Exchange during the S angam period
* There were three kinds of exchanges: local, long distance and overseas.
Local trade
* The chieftains redistributed the paddy among various tribal groups.
* The goods of each Tinai were exchanged with those of other regions.
* The local exchange centres were known as Cantai, Angadi etc.
Long distance trade
* Fish and salt from coastal area were frequently moved to the long distance places.
* The Umanar (salt merchants) were the professional specialists in long distance trade.
* They were accompanied by a group of warriors called M aravar for giving protection.
* Tamil Brahmi inscription refers to specialist merchants such as Ponvanikan (gold merchant), Aruvai Vanikan (textile
merchant) Kozhuvanikan (plough merchant), Uppuvanikan (salt merchant) and Panithavanikan (toddy merchant).
* The discovery of punch marked coins (kottayam and Eyyal) and semi-precious stones (Pattanam) give information
about the trade between north India and South India.
Overseas trade
* Periplus of Erythrean Sea of an anonymous author refers to the port cities of Kerala coast like Naura, Tyndis, M uziris,
Becare, Nelcynda, and Belita.etc
* Traders from M editerranean region particularly Greeks and Romans frequently visited Kerala coast for collecting the
spices.
* M uziris (present kodungalloor) was one of the important coastal port towns during the period.
* Recent pattanam excavation furnished a large amount of archaeological remains of the Indo-Roman and west Asian
trade.
* The Roman gold coins discovered from Valluvally (Eranakulam dist.), Eyyal (Thrissur dist.)and kottayam poil (Kannur
dist.) also provide instances of Roman trade with Kerala coast.
Formation of early chiefdom
* The redistribution process led to the development of chiefdom in the Sangam society.
* The tribal chiefs redistributed the plundered items among the members of the tribe.
* The Sangam poems mention about three layers of chieftains in the early period such as Kizhar,Vlir and Ventar.
* Kizhars were the hunter chiefs in the Ur known as Ur-kizhar or Ur –mannar.
* Velir were the hill chieftains who controlled the kurinji and M ullai regions.
* Ventar represented the three major chiefly lineages of early Tamizhakam-Chera, Pandya and Chola(M uventar or
M uvar).
* During the period, Tamizhakam was under the control of two Velir chiefs-the Nannan of Ezhimala in the north and Ays
in the South and the Ventar Chera in the middle.
* The patittupattu and Purananuru mention chera lineages.
* The core area of the chera chief was Karur.M uciri was important centre of Cheras .
Sujith.K,HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor,Kasargod .
2
