Ancient Settlements

 Introduction

Sri Lanka became a human habitation one hundred and twenty five thousand years ago. The Homo Sapiens, who are called the modern man, migrated to this country across the Indian Ocean. From then on, they spread themselves in various parts of this country and adapted themselves to different environmental conditions in those areas. As they lived a considerably long time period in this country, with time their culture too changed. Based on those changes which occurred in their culture, the history of human existence in Sri Lanka has been divided into three stages. The nature of those stages and how they lived during those stages will be described to you in this lesson.

Settlements in the Pre-historic Era

The period which was before the past that is described by the literary sources is commonly named as ‘the pre-historic era’. Two cultural stages belonged to the pre-historic era of Sri Lanka; the first one was the Stone Age which existed for a long time; the second was the period in which there was more tendency of man towards depending on herbal food, use of metals and the beginning of living in permanent settlements. Among these, the word prehistoric era is used to introduce the Stone Age and the word proto-historic era is used to introduce the second period.

Expansion of Settlements

Settlements in Sri Lanka were made by the early Homo Sapien man. Homo Sapien expanded his  living in a wide geographical area by adapting himself to different climatic zones in this country. Their main dependency method was gathering food by roaming and hunting.

There are many places where evidence, belonging to the Stone Age in Sri Lanka, is found. The first one is Rathnapura and the gem mines located around Rathnapura. The stone tools used by these people who lived in a distant age and the bones of some extinct animals are deposited in the layers of soil mixed with gravel , which is called lode found in the mines about 90 feet deep from the ground level. The gravel layers, which were caused by erosion of mountainous regions due to extremely heavy rainy periods during the Pleistocene geographical era, deposited on the lowlands in this manner.

There is a gravel layer covered with sandy soil mixed with clay in the ground in the semi-arid zone in Sri Lanka. The archaeologists have named it as the Iranamadu formation. The Iranamadu formation was deposited during the short warm periods of the Pleistocene era. Some tools which belonged to the Stone Age are found in this gravel layer too.

 The Expansion of Settlements in Different Climate Zone

The community which belonged to the Stone Age had lived in 6 main environmental zones in Sri Lanka. These environmental zones are (A) Semi-arid zone (B) Lowland dry zone (C) Lowland intermediate dry zone (D) Wet Zone (E) Mountainous dry intermediate zone (F) Arid zone.

Distribution of the prehistoric places, discovered so far, in Sri Lanka (A). Semi-arid zone (B) Lowland dry zone (C) Lowland intermediate dry zone (D) Wet zone (E) Mountainous dry intermediate zone (F) Arid Zon

The differences of annual rainfall levels are considered in deciding these environmental zones. If there is a difference in the rainfall, it directly affects the animals and the plants in that particular area. Therefore, the people in the Stone Age who adapted themselves to different environmental zones had differences in their food consumption and technology. For example the community of the Stone Age who lived in the lowland wet zone used mostly oysters living on the land as their food. Different types of oysters are abundant in the lowland wet zone. But it is not so in the lowland dry zone. In those areas some animals, mostly living in the dry zone like deer and iguana, were hunted.

Time Periods

Some evidence of the Stone Age has been discovered from the gravel layer belonging to the Iranamadu formation located in the depth of 45 feet from the surface level of the earth in the area called Pathirajawela in Hambanthota district belonging to the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. When the gravel layer was dated using the scientific analysis, it proved that the gravel layer was 125000 years old. The gravel layer found in the depth of 24 feet from the surface of the ground level in the area of Bundala, Wellegangoda in the same district belongs to a period of 80000 years back. Approximately this Stone Age had existed continuously from before 125000 years up to 1800 B.C. minimum. The dates which substantiate the longevity of the culture have been confirmed with the evidence found in several provinces in Sri Lanka.

This cave, located in Pahiyangala, Bulathsinhala in Kaluthara District, was a habitation of the prehistoric men who lived 38000 years ago. This Pahiyangala cave reveals significant information of the prehistoric people who lived in the lowland wet zone in Sri Lanka.

Pahiyangala - 38000 years 

Kuruwita Batadombalena - 28000 years 

Kitulgala Belilena - 15000 years 

Bellanbendipelassa - 12000 years 

Attanagoda Alulena - 10350 years 

Maniyamgala - 7900 years 

Sigiriya Pothana - 5800 years 

Sigiriya Aligala - 5500 years 

Udamalala - 5330 years 

Mathota - 3800 years 

few stone tools in the geometric shape, which belonged to the middle-stone age in Sri Lanka. They have been made of pure alabaster stone known as ‘Bim Weeduru’.

Key Features of the Settlements

The prehistoric man in Sri Lanka got expanded by undergoing adaptation to environmental conditions different from each other. They preferred to live in places where there were abundant natural resources needed for food. It has been discovered that they had lived in and around the places such as lowland rain forests, dry zone forests, coastal lagoons and creeks, and hill country grasslands. They preferred to live in areas where there was easy availability of water and various types of stones for making their stone tools. They had lived in open areas in dry season and in natural caves during rainy seasons. Given below are several prehistoric outdoor camps and cave habitations, discovered so far.

1. Minihagalkanda, Bundala, Pathirajawela (Outdoor camps in the coastal areas) 

2. Pahiyangala, Batadombalena, Kithulgala Beli Lena (Lowland wet zone caves) 

3. Pothana and Aligala in Sigiriya (Lowland dry zone caves) 

4. Bellanbendipelessa (Outdoor camps in lowland wet zone) 

5. Bandarawela, Horton plains (Outdoor hunting places in hillside areas) 

Life Style

People of this era lived by hunting and roaming from one place to another and gathering what they could consume as food. Therefore, they spent mostly a nomadic life during the whole year. During heavy rainy seasons they lived in natural caves.

 Their population consisted of a collection of small groups. Normally one group comprised of between 15–25 members. The maximum number of members in such a group was believed to be around 50.

It seems that an area of 50 square metres was enough for a family consisted of five members. The area of the place called Church Hill, belonging to the Stone Age found at Bandarawela is 150 square metres. It is assumed that 25 people might have lived in that place. The area of the place, where the community belonging to Stone Age of Bellanbendipelassa lived in 120 square metres. Thirty human skeletons have been discovered from that place.

The nature of the food that the people in that age consumed was decided by the resources available in the environment where they lived. During the dry season they spent their time in camps which they built temporarily in open areas.

in using small geometrical stone tools, as shown in the above illustration, they were arranged by attaching to a piece of wood or a bone of an animal.

It was a custom of the prehistoric man to bury the dead body of a family member or a relative, who lived with them, in the same cave in which he or she had lived. Evidence has been found that after some time, they exhumed the skeletons and applied red ochre stones on them and performed a kind of a ritual activity.

They walked a distance of about 7 kilometres per day searching for food. As they lived a temporary life in caves, on some occasions they buried the dead bodies of their relatives inside the cave itself. On some occasions they had dug a pit with a piece of horn or a stick for the burial. Next, they had placed the dead body in the pit and covered it up with garbage. 12 skeletons were discovered in the cave of Belilena in Kithulgala buried in this manner. In the graveyard of Bellanbendipelessa, which was an open area, there were 30 skeletons which belonged to the Stone Age. 9 skeletons, which belonged to different Ages, were discovered in the cave in Pahiyangala.

Food Style

Many evidences of the nature of food of the people who lived in the Stone Age are found in the caves in lowland dry zone and in the caves in wet land. According to the evidences found so far, they had hunted animals such as gaur, buffalo, black bear, wild boar, deer, spotted deer, porcupine, hedgehog, hare, stag, giant squirrel, mongoose, wild fowl, monkey, civet cat and iguana for food. They had caught and eaten fresh water fish which were full of protein. They had caught small fish in natural water pools in lowland wet zone for their food.

To get starch they ate some plant food such as wild breadfruit and wild plantains mainly. Some evidences have been found in the cave ‘Belilena’ in Kithulgala about seeds of the wild breadfruit which had been baked and eaten 12500 years ago. In addition, some food full of starch such as yams ‘ Gonala, Katuala’, seeds of ‘Kithul’ and the kernel of ‘Dothalu’ were eaten. Evidences have been found in a few examined places that food had been eaten after being baked.

A bead found in a pre-historic habitation in Sri Lanka. This has been made of a piece of bone of an animal.

The prehistoric people preferred to eat snails. Specially, they had eaten tree-snails and oysters living in lagoons. The prehistoric people who lived in the inner parts of the country went far to  get salt they needed for their food. The remnants of the lagoon oysters found in Kithulgala Belilena have been identified to be mixed with salt brought from coastal areas.

A human skeleton which represents the pre-history in Sri Lanka. This was discovered in the Pothana cave close to Sigiriya. ( The photograph is by courtesy of the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology)

Technology

The stone tools are the only proof that exists to know about the technology of this era. But it is difficult to construct a complete idea about the technology of the Stone Age on the basis of gem mines in Rathnapura and the stone tools discovered from the Iranamadu Formation. The reason for this is the unavailability of enough stone tools and the inadequacy of available knowledge on the time of them.

The stone tools in small size, which are called geometric micro stone tools by the archaeologists, help gain a descriptive knowledge on the technology of the Stone Age. These have been named so because the people who attempted to produce these stone tools had given geometric shapes to them.

 Such a kind of tool is not more than 4.5 cm in length. They had used more quartz and a little of ‘Kahanda’ stones to make these micro stone tools. As a whole, non- geometric micro stone tools were made mostly. They had been made in a way appropriate to the purposes of hunting animals to cutting, scratching, chopping and digging. Apart from these, some tools such as hammers and grinding stones had been made using granite.

 Nature of People’s Physical Body

 The skeletons discovered so far help us to understand the size or the stature of the people who belonged to the Stone Age. Generally, the height of a grown male was 174 cm. A grown female was not more than 166 cm in height. The teeth of all of them were big in size and they had a wide nose and a chin. The size of the brain of a grown male was 1600 cm3 . It was 920 cm3 in a grown female. According to the view of the anthropologists, the maximum lifespan of the prehistoric man may have been about 35-40 years.

This is a pre-historic cemetery. This was discovered in the premises of the Kolambageara Ranchamadama government school in the Rathnapura district of the Sabaragamuwa province. This was discovered during excavations done in 2007. The cemetery had been used around 3350 years ago.

Rituals

Clear information of the rituals that existed in the Stone Age is found at least to a certain extent regarding the burial of dead bodies in that era. A clear instance which reflects an effort taken to do such a task has been discovered in the cave of Rawana Ella close to Badulla. A skull of a man perforated dividing it into two was found in an excavation there. The rough edges and the parts protruded outside the skull had been rubbed, leveled and one side of it painted with red ochre. Several parts of human skeletons, painted with red ochre, have been discovered in the cave in Pahiyangala. These evidences clearly show that the dead bodies had been buried somewhere and kept for some time until they decayed; later the skeletons had been dug out and buried back. The skeletons discovered in the cave called ‘Batadomba Lena, in Kuruwita had been curled and buried. Researchers have pointed out that there are a number of cultural and biological similarities between the people who lived in the Stone Age and the aborigines (Vedda community) in Sri Lanka.

The distribution of the burial grounds (cemeteries) of megalithic tradition belonging to the proto- historic era.

Settlements in Proto-historic Era

The period between the end of the prehistoric era and the beginning of the historic era is named as the proto-historic era. Technologically this was an era of transition. The proto-historic era in Sri Lanka is differentiated from the prehistoric era that existed in Sri Lanka before proto-historic era on the basis of several facts. Some practices such as using burnt pots and following a methodical burial system are prominent among them. Using iron instead of the technology of stone tools existed during the prehistoric era, was started during this period. However, using stone tools was completely given up during the final stage of the proto-historic era. This age is called the proto-historic Iron Age as well as the early Iron Age, as using of iron began in this era. And also the beginning of building permanent settlements and starting agriculture are some more transformations that could be seen in this period.

Clay urns with remains of burnt dead bodies inside them were deposited in the burial boats made of clay. It was a kind of ritual performed by the people of this country from ancient time.

In these clay tub burials, used in the proto-historic era to perform rituals for the dead, human skeletons were cremated. Later the remains were deposited after putting them into clay pots. This clay tub burial was discovered in the proto-historic burial ground in Ranchamadama.

The Origin of the Proto-historic Era

The knowledge that we possess at present on the transitory period between the beginning of the proto-historic era and the end of the prehistoric era in Sri Lanka is limited. The changes such as dying down of the technology of stone tools, hunting including the subsisting method of gathering food and tendency towards depending on plant food mostly and using iron could not have happened suddenly. On the other hand, there should be a strong cause for such a transformation. Long term geographical changes have influenced such cultural transformations in other countries. Archaeologists and experts on ancient climate have pointed out that a climatic change, which affected the entire South Asian region, had occurred between 7000 – 4500 B.C., which is called the middle of the recent geoperiod or Holocene era. That is, at the end of the Ice-Age, a suitable environment was created for  agriculture due to the increase of temperature in the world. Moreover, the population increased considerably and a new social style was created. 

  The oldest proof about the proto-historic era of Sri Lanka belongs to 2400 B.C. According to the archaeological explorations carried out so far, clearer proof regarding this era has been discovered in the north-eastern part of the Sabaragamuwa province and the south-western part of the Uva province.

 The megalithic burials constructed for the dead in this country are a prominent source that can be used to study the culture of proto-historic era of Sri Lanka. Such megalithic burials have been discovered from several areas in the country. (Refer - Map No. 2.2)The burials, which were made out of stone splinters in the shape of squares, were covered with huge stone slabs. Some pots containing human remains had been deposited inside these burials. These are called cist burials. Among those cemeteries Ibbankatuwa megalithic burial located close to Dambulla in the Central province, Galsohonkanaththa burial in Yapahuwa and the Yatigalpoththa burial located close to Galewela have now been excavated. According to their scientific dating..

they belong to a period between 750 and 450 B.C. Proofs about several burial methods which had belonged to the megalithic tradition have been found in Sri Lanka. Among them, some are methods in which the remains were deposited in a clay urn and buried. Those tombs are called ‘urn burials’.

 Archaeological excavations have been done in two burial grounds, which belong to the proto-historic era, in Beragala and Haldummulla in the Uva province. In these burial grounds the remains have been deposited in a different manner. Instead of a nucleus made out of connecting stone slabs, the method followed there was depositing the clay pots of remains in a tub made out of raw clay in the shape of a boat. Before depositing remains, human skeletons have been cremated in these clay tubs. As a result, these clay tubs were burnt well. That is the reason that has affected them to remain for a long time without perishing.

A stone casket - type- tomb found from Ibbankatuwa burial ground, close to Dambulla. Clay pots containing ashes of dead human bodies have been deposited in this burial ground.

The Nature of the Settlements

The main feature of this era is that the people abandoned their hunting livelihood of pre-historic era and built permanent settlements as well as habitations. The major evidence that reflects this characteristic introduced as sedentism is the remnants of houses that have been discovered so far. Archaeologists were able to find such a house in a village called Udaranchamadama in Rathnapura district in 2009. That house is 10.20m X 6.80m in size and of rectangular shape. Its front and back had been separated with a wall. The walls of the house were made of wattle and daub and the roof was thatched with something like ‘Iluk’.

A drawing which displays the house that was built in Udaranchamadama in 1129 B.C. This was created according to the foundation discovered in the excavation.

Life Style

Still there is no enough evidence to get an idea of the nature of the life style in the proto-historic era of Sri Lanka. So far excavations have only been done in burial grounds, and therefore, the evidences on the general life style during that period are limited. The information gathered in excavations in the residential place in Udaranchamadama assists in getting some idea on this.

In Udaranchamadama a house, which was built around 3000 years ago, was excavated. A number of potsherds were discovered inside the house. Among them there were a lot of painted potsherds. The white background of the outside and the bottom side of the pot had been beautified by painting red lines. In the manner in which lines have symmetrically been painted, it is sure that it was made by using a potter’s wheel. Other potsherds of such a pot were found  in an excavation done in a residential place in Haldummulla.

There were several tools in the kitchen of the excavated house. Among them, there were some stone tools and iron tools. As many of the tools of that collection are stone, it seems that using iron tools had been a new experience for them by then. Among the other debris in the kitchen, there remained the bones of animals which were hunted by the inmates of the house for their meals. These bones belong to animals like deer, cattle, wild boar, and giant squirrel. These evidences show that although they got used to an agricultural life style, they did not completely abandon hunting.

Among the other things found in the house, there were a few clay beads, an iron stick used to apply kohl on ladies’ eyes, two brown stones (ochre, one yellowish and the other reddish in colour used to colour the body and two grinding stones to  rub on the brown stones. These evidences show that the women who lived during that period were interested in beautifying their body.

The painted clay pot, dated 1129 B.C., found in the ancient house in Udaranchamadama. This instance clearly shows that Sri Lanka had the technology of making pots from very ancient time. The picture on the right hand side displays the early shape of the same clay pot.

Technology

The beginning of the transformation of metal technology and making clay pots from stone tools used in the prehistoric era took place during the period called as proto-historic era. Since using iron as a metal started, the people of this era had an opportunity to do their dayto-day activities efficiently. As iron was a strong metal, they could do activities such as clearing jungles, digging the ground and ploughing easily. The painted clay pot found in the old house of Udaranchamadama reflects the high technological standard of making clay items that existed in that time. As building houses was started, the technology related to that gradually increased. Specially, setting the foundation in a way that sinking does not happen and building walls levelled to the ground belong to it. A clay bead has been discovered in the excavation in Udaranchamadama house. That shows that the technology of making beads existed in that period. A highly skillful technology is needed to make a bead.

The Settlements in Early Historic Era

The information which describes the early settlements in the historical period of Sri Lanka has been mentioned in the historical sources. Though that information is not sufficient to definitely identify the areas where those settlements existed, it provides a considerable assistance to understand the nature of those settlements. The archaeological sources are the evidences that assist us to obtain a definite understanding about the expansion of the ancient settlements in this country and other relevant information.

The early historical period was between 450 B.C. and 300 A.D. The expansion of the small village tanks is the main index that shows in which areas the settlements in this country expanded during this period. There are thousands of such kinds of small village tanks in the form of ruins found around Sri Lanka today. In the historical period majority of the settlements existed mainly close to a tank. The archaeological field explorations have discovered that such kinds of villages were located at one end of the bund of the tank, close to it.

Several pits for pillars which belonged to a rectangular foundation of a hut. This was discovered in the excavations made in the old interior city of Anuradhapura. (The photograph is by the courtesy of the Archaeological Department)

Factors that Influenced the Expansion of Settlements

One of the major factors that affected the expansion of ancient settlements was the geophysical background. The elements such as the rate of annual rainfall, nature of the soil, geo diversity, expansion of natural resources and the drainage etc. are prominent within this factor.

The settlements in the early historical period spread in the areas where there was a dry climatic  condition. The areas where there is an annual rainfall between 1000 – 1250 ml is called the dry zone and the areas where there is an annual rainfall less than 1000 ml is called the arid zone. Though it was difficult to receive sufficient amount of water for agriculture during the entire year, the early settlements expanded in the dry zone because of its fertile soil. The red - brown soil which is spread mostly in the dry zone is extremely good for agriculture. There were two ways in which these areas received water for agricultural activities; the major one was monsoon rain; the water received from rivers too was considerably useful during the dry seasons. But, when using river water for agricultural activities, tasks such as constructing anicuts across rivers and making canals to carry gathered water to necessary places had to be done. As it was a task which required labour, time, and technology, they tended to save water by constructing tanks.

Several pits for posts of a circular foundation of a hut, found in an excavation done in the old interior city of Anuradhapura.(The photograph is by the courtesy of the Archaeological Department )

was monsoon rain; the water received from rivers too was considerably useful during the dry seasons. But, when using river water for agricultural activities, tasks such as constructing anicuts across rivers and making canals to carry gathered water to necessary places had to be done. As it was a task which required labour, time, and technology, they tended to save water by constructing tanks.

From the results of the detailed studies on the way how the expansion of settlements occurred in early historical period, it manifests that early settlements in the historical period in this country expanded not in the river valleys, but in the outside areas of them. The main reason for this was that there was not a suitable technology to control the catastrophic annual floods from the rivers. It must have been at the end of the 1st century B.C. or during the 1st century A.D. when they started controlling floods by constructing anicuts across rivers and taking water to tanks. During the ruling period of king Ilanaga (33 -43 A.D.), who constructed Tissamaharama tank, an anicut was built across the Kirindi river. There is a word ‘Avarana’ inscribed on the Brahmi inscriptions in two caves in Ganekanda temple  and Gallena temple in Kurunegala district. The meaning of the word ‘Awarana’ is ‘Amuna (anicut)’.

The Structure and the Nature of Settlements

The settlements, which spread in the areas outside the overflowing river valleys by being centralized on small tanks which were fed by rain water, were independent from one another. The settlements which developed themselves around a tank are referred to as ‘Vapigama’ in literary sources. ‘Sumanavapigama’, ‘Viharavapigama’, ‘Hundirivapigama’, and ‘Kadahavapigama’ are some of the villages around tanks mentioned in Mahawamsa.

One village was separated from the other by a jungle- belt. Apart from the villages around tanks, there are short descriptions about the villages, independent from one another, in historical sources. Some settlements where different types of professionals lived in have been mentioned in the historical chronicles (Vamsakatha) and the inscriptions in this manner;

1. Kasikaragama - villages where farmers lived 

2. Manikaragama -villages where people worked in gem mines lived 

3. Gopalagama - villages where cowherds lived 

4. Kewattagama - villages where fishermen lived 

5. Kumbhakaragama - villages where potters lived 

6. Vadtakigama – villages where carpenters lived Apart from this, there were several villages existed on the basis of tasks. 

7. Pattanagama - villages situated close to harbours 

8. Niyamgam - trading villages 

9. Olagam - villages around tanks deserted by people 

This map shows the distribution of the oldest village tanks and the early epigraphs in Sri Lanka. Since there was a close relationship between the village, the tank and the epigraphs, the distribution of the tanks reflects the expansion of ancient settlements.

A map which displays the distribution of ancient settlements around Kirindi Oya, which flows near Tissamaharamaya, which belongs to Hambantota district. (the dots in the map represents settlements). The settlements which are far away from the river valley belong to the time between 900 and 500 B.C. Those settlements were the first ones originated in the area related to that river. The settlements close to the river spread after implementing a strategy to control the annual flood of Kirindi Oya.

This is an imaginary drawing of an ancient village in Sri Lanka. Living mutually with nature and the simplicity that was found in people’s life style as a result of that are prominent features of the rural life.

It is difficult to come to a definite conclusion on the size of the ancient settlements. It was based on the abundance of natural resources prevailed in various geographical areas. But, according to the evidence found in the archaeological research carried out so far, a small scale village was normally not more than 0.15 hectares. A medium scale rural settlement was about 2 hectares in size whereas a large scale urban settlement was more than 2 hectares.

Normally there lived 5 or 6 families in a village. Literary sources say that around 30 families lived in some large scale villages. This situation was completely different in urban settlements. It has approximately been calculated that by the 6th century A.D. there was a population around 35000 in the ancient ‘Magama’ city and the adjacent urban settlements. Literary sources say that some villages were protected by a fence. Those villages were called ‘Parikkitta Gam’. The villages which did not have such type of a protection were called ‘Aparikkita Gam’.

To introduce vast urban settlements the name ‘Pura (city)’ was used. There is a title called ‘ Pura Kamatha’ mentioned in a Brahmi inscription written in a distant time such as in 250 B.C. It referred to the main architect in the city. The word ‘ Nurupura’ was written in the Panakaduwa copper plate which belonged to the period of King Vijayabahu I (1055-1110 A.D.) to introduce Anuradhapura.

The most ancient inscriptions in this country mention a certain type of settlements called ‘Nakara’ alias ‘Nagara’. Here the word ‘Nagara’ had been used for a certain settlement that came between city and a village. Taking the commodities produced in the villages for trading in big cities, was coordinated by these intermediate settlements. They were slightly bigger than a village.

There are evidences to prove that the organization and the administration of these settlements were systematic even before the early historical era. A village was a unit consisting of several families. The family was the most important feature of a village. A family was represented by the chief householder. He was known as "Gahapathi" in Brahmi inscriptions. A person who acted on behalf of a group of a few chief householders of a village was called ‘Gamika’ or ‘Gramika’ which means 'the chief of the village'. At a later period a panel consisting of ten chief householders was engaged in solving administrative issues in an area joined with ten villages. In inscriptions this panel has been introduced as ‘Dasa Gam Eththan’. An inscription at an old Buddhist temple called Kaludiya Pokuna in Dambulla in Matale district says that if there was any problem regarding the supply of ‘Dane –Alms giving’ in that temple, ‘Dasa Gam Eththan’ should get together and solve the problem.

Several foundations, which had belonged to ancient rural houses, were discovered in excavations done in Anuradhapura. Their walls were made of wattle and daub and roofs were thatched with leaves. Some houses, among them, were of round shape. Some of the houses had square foundations. The archaeologists have found only pits for the pillars of these houses. Some marks of an ancient house were discovered in a village named Walagampaththuwa in Tissamaharamaya. The floor of that house was  set after digging the ground and then applying clay on its surface afterwards. It has been scientifically proved that the house was used in the 3rd century A.D.

You were able to learn the nature of the ancient settlements of this country. You should keep in your mind the way in which they had managed to shape their lives properly and collectively from very ancient time.

Means of Subsistence

The means of subsistence of the people, who lived in the areas outside the overflowing river valleys, was chena cultivation. Chena crops that grow in dry zones such as Kurakkan, Meneri, sesame, and Thanahal were cultivated in them. Those crops, which had a cluster of short roots and were well sustainable to the drought, were also conducive to be grown in the areas outside the overflowing river valleys. They had tended to construct basic village tanks as the production of food had to be increased in parallel with the increasing population in the settlements. More water was needed for more agriculture. A clear reflection of how the early historical settlements started outside the river valleys entered into river valley settlements can be given from a study, done in Kirindi Oya valley, on old settlements.

Important Facts

 Settlements of Sri Lanka started several hundred thousand years ago. Those who made their early settlements in this country were Homo Sapiens. 

 Early Homo Sapiens lived by adapting themselves to diverse environmental zones. Therefore, they lived in many places in Sri Lanka. They did not reflect any racial identity. 

 The time period in which the early people’s culture existed is known as the prehistoric era. During that time their main livelihood was hunting and gathering food by roaming. 

 During that time, they had stone tool technology. They were used to make equipment out of stones such as alabaster and Kahanda for their day-to-day use. The pre-historic era is also known as ''Mediaeval Stone Age''.  There are evidences that the prehistoric people engaged in agriculture later. According to available proofs, that transformation had been complete by 2400 B.C. 

 Making pots, using burial grounds and using iron metal were started during this era. This age is known as proto-historic era. 

 Proto-historic era becomes an important age because the basics which are related to the development of Sri Lankan civilization started in this age. The people of this country started to live in villages during this era. 

 According to Mahawamsa, there was a well organized society in Sri Lanka when Prince Vijaya and his retinue came to this country.