‘North Kerala had commercial links with Indus Valley civilisation’

Discoveries of Indus Brahmi script on megalithic pottery in North Kerala shed light on prehistoric era. Book release in April.

Archaeologist-cum-anthropologist N.K. Ramesh was in for a surprise as he tried to decipher inscriptions on pieces of megalithic pottery that he unearthed from Peringathur in Kannur district and Kakkur in Kozhikode district. The script, identified on the shoulder and belly of a pot, read ‘Ga ra Ga ra Ga ra’ in Prakrit, which is believed to be equivalent to ‘Hara Hara Hara’ in Sanskrit. It was the first time the Indus Brahmi script was spotted on megalithic pottery. The inscription was deciphered by Kovoor Raghavan, Director of the Centre for Indus Brahmi Script Research (CISR) in Thrissur. Similar scripts were also found in the Edakkal caves in Wayanad.

“The discovery points to a close commercial contact between Kerala and North India even in 3000 BCE, when the Indus Valley Civilisation thrived,” Mr. Ramesh said while explaining in detail about the remnants of the prehistoric era he has unearthed from various parts of North Kerala in his soon-to-be-released book Vadakkan Keralam: Charithratheetha Kaalam.

Mr. Ramesh, an independent researcher on the prehistoric era of North Kerala since 2007, has made several such discoveries, which have been published in the Indian Archaeological Review and the heritage journal of the Department of Archaeology, University of Kerala. “It was only half a century ago that archaeologists in Kerala started going beyond the mythical story of Parasurama creating Kerala by throwing an axe into the ocean. I have been able to uncover remnants from the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Megalithic periods of North Kerala through my research,” Mr. Ramesh says in the introduction to his book.

Whatever discoveries related to prehistoric Kerala have so far come from the northern districts. But the “region was comparatively less explored due to the negligence of archaeologists and historians. Mr. Ramesh continued his independent research and, through laborious efforts, unearthed some priceless contributions to the prehistoric studies of North Kerala,” said K.K. Muhammed, former Regional Director of the Archaeological Survey of India, in the preface to the book.

Some of the other major findings by Mr. Ramesh, featured in the book, include a proto-hand axe—a typical Lower Paleolithic tool—from the Vanimal river basin in Kozhikode and Paleolithic implements from the Chaithra Vahini river basin in Kasaragod. These findings suggest that the highlands and midlands of North Kerala were inhabited by humans during the Stone Age.

The book also highlights the metallurgical techniques, art, architecture, and engineering skills of the megalithic people of Kerala. It includes a study on the Cholanaickan, Paniyan, Kurichiyan, Vettakkuruman, Mullu Kurumba, Malayarayan, and Malavettuvan tribes of the Western Ghats, focusing on prehistoric cultural traits in their lives.

The book will be released by art historian K.K. Marar at an event to be held in Thalassery in April.