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T HE PREHISTORIC AXE FACTORY AT SANGANAKALLU-KUPGAL (BELLARY
DISTRICT), SOUTHERN INDIA
ROBERTO RISCH, NICOLE BOIVIN, MICHAEL PETRAGLIA, DAVID GÓMEZ-GRAS, RAVI
KORISETTAR AND DORIAN FULLER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary
Table of Contents
List of Figures
1. The Geographical, Geological and Archaeological Context
2. The Petrographic Composition of the Hiregudda Sanganakallu
Dolerite Dyke
3. Technical Organisation of Production
4. Socio-economic Organisation
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
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T HE PREHISTORIC AXE FACTORY AT SANGANAKALLU-KUPGAL (BELLARY
DISTRICT), SOUTHERN INDIA
ROBERTO RISCH1, NICOLE BOIVIN2, MICHAEL PETRAGLIA2, DAVID GÓMEZ-GRAS3,
RAVI KORISETTAR4, AND DORIAN Q. FULLER5
1. Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
2. School of Archaeology, University of Oxford. Email: nicole.boivin@rlaha.ox.ac.uk
3. School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
4. Department of History and Archaeology, Karnatak University
5. Institute of Archaeology, University College London
SUMMARY
A 10-30m wide dolerite dyke on the northernmost of the complex of granite hills
in the Sanganakallu-Kupgal area became one of the main sources of raw
material for the production of stone axes in southern India during the late
prehistoric period. At least three large hill settlements (several hectares each)
were established in the hill complex, and one of them appears to have gradually
developed into a large-scale production centre. Quarrying and axe flaking
started around 1900 cal BCE, during the so-called Ashmound phase of
occupation, and reached its maximum development between 1400-1200 cal
BCE, when a large region of the south Deccan plateau might have been
supplied with finished and half-finished products from Sanganakallu.
Systematic archaeological excavation and survey carried out since 1997 in the
Sanganakallu-Kupgal area, including the dyke quarry itself, has yielded tens of
thousands of production flakes, blanks and macro-lithic tools related to the
flaking, pecking and polishing of the axes. The ongoing study of these materials
permits us to gain insight into the organisation of production in this area from a
temporal and spatial perspective. In view of the social and economic
transformations taking place in the Deccan plateau during the second half of
the second millennium BC, some key questions concern the relationship
between intensification of production and the social division of labour between
different working areas and settlements.
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1. The Geographical, Geological and Archaeological
Context
During the last five years, intensive research has been conducted in what
appears to be one of the main prehistoric axe production centres of southern
India (Boivin et al. 2005; 2007; Brumm et al . 2006; 2007; Fuller et al . 2007).
The Sanganakallu-Kupgal archaeological complex, which includes several
settlements, ashmounds, quarry sites and other activity areas, is located 6km
east of the modern town of Bellary, in the centre of the Deccan plateau (Fig. 1).
This region is characterised by semi-arid environmental conditions in the
monsoon climatic belt, and such conditions were established by the third
millennium BCE (Fuller and Korisettar 2004). The region came to the notice of
Western scholars at the end of the 19th century owing to the occurrence of
extreme famine under the Victorian occupation, which led to the starvation of 11
million persons (Davis 2001). The very dry region is at the heart of the earliest
known Neolithic cultural sphere in peninsular India, where ceramics and ground
stone tools are reported from as early as 3000 BCE (Korisettar et al. 2001a),
and archaeobotanical evidence indicates cultivation of indigenous food plants
alongside herding of introduced livestock during the third millennium BCE
(Allchin 1963; Korisettar et al. 2001b; Fuller et al. 2004). The Neolithic culture in
this area is characterised by distinctive ashmound sites, which feature thick
accumulations of ash thought to derive from the burning of dung at seasonal
cattle-penning sites, perhaps as part of ritual cycles (Allchin 1963; Korisettar et
al . 2001a; Boivin 2004a; Johansen 2004).
Figure 1: The three hills of the Sanganakallu-Kupgal complex. In the foreground is
Hiregudda, taken from Area C, where quarrying of the upper reaches of the dolerite dyke
was carried out, and looking down onto Area A, where stone tool manufacture was carried
out. The hill being heavily quarried today for granite is Choudammagudda.
Sannarachammagudda can be seen beyond it. The modern village of Sanganakallu is
visible in the upper left, while the town of Bellary can be seen in the middle distance.
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(Photograph by J.A. Soldevilla)
The geological record in the Bellary district is mainly Pre-Cambrian in age and
the rocks occurring can be divided broadly into three types: a) the gneisses and
granites belonging to Peninsular Gneissic Complex (PGC), which are the
oldest rocks and constitute the basement, b) the schistose rocks of Dharwarian
age comprise both sedimentary and volcanic low-grade metamorphic rocks,
and c) the younger Closepet Granite, which shows an intrusive relationship with
both previous formations. In addition, different basic dykes of gabbro and
dolerite rocks from Proterozoic age were probably emplaced following deep
fractures in PGC and Closepet granite during the first steps of deformation,
recorded in the shists as anticlines and synclines fold structures.
From a geological perspective, the Sanganakallu area is situated in the
younger Archaean granitic formation (Dharwar batholith). The granitic bedrock
emerges as inselbergs in the ancient floodplain. Frequent quartz and pegmatite
veins and basic dykes of post-Archaean formation traverse these granites,
mainly in a north-west/south-east to west-east direction. The size and
composition of these dykes is highly variable. One of the dykes, which crosses
part of the Hiregudda inselberg (the largest hill in the Sanganakallu-Kupgal
complex), 1.5km north-east of the modern village of Sanganakallu, was the
focus of intensive prehistoric quarrying and axe blank production. The dolerite
outcrop is about 700m long and varies between approximately 10-30m wide.
Masses of manufacturing debris cover its surface over at least 500m of its
course, practically from the plain at the south-eastern foot of Hiregudda (450m
asl), continuing in a north-west direction uphill to a height of 560m asl. Three
other dykes also traverse Hiregudda, but do not appear to have been quarried
(see Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Map of the Sanganakallu-Kupgal archaeological complex. The grey shading
indicates the location of the dolerite dykes on Hiregudda, which total four in number. The
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quarried dyke runs from Area J in the south-east to Area B in the north-west
The first notice of the exceptional quarry area at Hiregudda dates back to the
observations of the British geologist, Robert Bruce Foote, at the end of the 19th
century (Foote 1887; 1916), with subsequent explorations in the mid-20th
century (Subbarao 1948; see Korisettar et al . 2001a). Foote referred to it as
'the most important neolithic settlement in the country' and 'the site of the largest
neolithic manufacturing industry as yet met with in any part of India' (1916, 82).
Recent work continues to illustrate its importance. Nonetheless, little research
was carried out at Hiregudda subsequent to Foote's explorations, in part
because the neighbouring site of Sannarachammagudda became a focus of
investigation (Ansari and Rao 1969; Subbarao 1947; 1948). Renewed work
was thus initiated at the site in 1997. Test excavations and sampling aimed at
chronological placement and reconstructing subsistence were carried out in
1998 in Hiregudda Area A (Korisettar et al . 2001b; Fuller et al. 2004). Larger
scale systematic excavation and mapping was carried out between 2003 and
2006, when several trial trenches were excavated in the upper and the lower
parts of the dyke, named Hiregudda Area B and Area J respectively (Boivin et
al . 2005). More than 95% of the material recovered from the resultant trenches
consisted of dolerite shatter and waste flakes. Axe blanks, hammer stones and
a few horn tools also provide information about the activities carried at these
quarries, as discussed below.
Close to the quarry, on the natural terraces extending across the top of
Hiregudda, at least three settlement areas of c. 0.5-1 ha size and one
ashmound were located. Excavations carried out in two of these areas (Areas
A and D), one of which included the ashmound, confirm that these habitation
and activity areas were, to a large extent, contemporary with the quarry (Boivin
et al. 2005; Fuller et al . 2007).
Two additional settlements greater than 1 ha in size were identified on the
granitic hills called Choudammagudda and Sannarachammagudda, located
700m and 1400m south-west of the quarry, and also form part of the
Sanganakallu-Kupgal complex. While the first has only been investigated as
part of one recent field season, Sannarachammagudda and its ashmound have
been the target of archaeological research since the 1940s and represent one
of the key stratigraphies for the later prehistory of southern India (Subbarrao
1948; Ansari and Nagaraja 1969; Korisettar et al. 2001b; Fuller et al . 2007).
On both sites, the presence of axe blanks, dolerite debitage and different
percussion and polishing tools leave little doubt that the inhabitants of both
settlements were involved in axe production.
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At this point in time, no radiocarbon ages are available for the quarry areas, but
the dating programme carried out at the habitation sites of Hiregudda and
Sannarachammagudda provide ages that indicate Neolithic occupation
beginning at around 1950 cal BCE (Fuller et al . 2007). Although axe
manufacture formed part of the local economy from the beginning, the intensity
of production underwent important variations over the centuries. After c.
1100/1000 cal BCE the settlements were apparently abandoned, and evidence
from later occupations is scarce. The excellent preservation of the
archaeological record, and the quantity and variety of means of production
present on the settlement and quarry areas makes the Sanganakallu
archaeological complex attractive for the study of social and economic
organisation and prehistoric axe production.
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Figure 1: The three hills of the Sanganakallu-Kupgal complex. In the foreground is
Hiregudda, taken from Area C, where quarrying of the upper reaches of the dolerite dyke
was carried out, and looking down onto Area A, where stone tool manufacture was carried
out. The hill being heavily quarried today for granite is Choudammagudda.
Sannarachammagudda can be seen beyond it. The modern village of Sanganakallu is
visible in the upper left, while the town of Bellary can be seen off in the middle distance.
(Photograph by J.A. Soldevilla).
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Figure 2: Map of the Sanganakallu-Kupgal archaeological complex. The grey shading
indicates the location of the dolerite dykes on Hiregudda, which total 4 in number. The
quarried dyke runs from area J in the southeast to Area B in the northwest.
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2. The Petrographic Composition of the Hiregudda
Sanganakallu Dolerite Dyke
One of the main questions that arises in view of the scale of quarrying and axe
production at Hiregudda concerns the material properties of the dolerite dyke
targeted by prehistoric peoples. As already mentioned, this type of basic dyke
is a common geological feature of southern India, but at the Hiregudda locality,
evidence of large-scale prehistoric exploitation is especially notable. It appears
to have been a particular focus of axe production activity. While petrographic
characterisation is necessary in order to define the distribution network of the
Sanganakallu artefacts, it is possible that they were exchanged or traded over
large parts of southern and central India.
Field survey enabled us to observe that marked differences exist between the
quarried dolerite outcrop at Hiregudda and another dyke just 180-200m further
north that also traverses the hill. This latter much wider and larger outcrop,
which runs parallel to the quarried dyke, and extends along the top of
Hiregudda, was a local focus of petroglyph creation (Boivin 2004b; Fawcett
1892). One can imagine that the dark colour of this chain, formed by large
boulders running through a light granite hill, was perceived to be of particular
symbolic importance. The rock can best be defined as a coarse-grained,
extremely hard gabbro. It was used as raw material for percussion and
abrasive tools on all three hill settlements, as well as in the quarry.
Figure 3: Thin-sections of the gabbro from the northern dyke and dolerite from the
southern dyke (axe quarry) of Hiregudda (Photographs by David Gómez-Gras). A) general
view of the intergranular texture of the gabbro rock containing crystals of augite (green)
and plagioclase (light) under plane polarized light (PPL), and B) under crossed polars
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(PPX). C (PPL) and D (PPX) images of the microcrystalline intergranular texture in dolerite
rock. E (PPL) and F (PPX) enhanced images showing augite crystals (red, blue and
orange colours) occupying the spaces between plagioclase laths (grey)
Rock samples were taken from both dykes as well as from archaeological
materials and submitted for petrographic analysis through thin-sectioning (Fig.
3). The two identified rock types can be characterised as follows:
The dolerite is a microcrystalline gabbro showing an intergranular texture
formed by augite crystals occupying the spaces between plagioclase
laths.
The gabbro consists of a fine- to medium-grained holocrystalline rock
with intergranular texture. The rock mainly contains crystals of
plagioclase, augite and biotite but some accessory quartz crystals with
granophyric texture can be observed.
The textural arrangement of the crystals forms a 3-D holocrystalline isotropic
framework in both rocks and confers high mechanical strength. Moreover, the
microcrystalline grain size of the dolerite allows a conchoidal fracture, one of
the necessary conditions for flaked axe production.
Experimental tests were carried out in order to gain a better understanding of
the material properties of the rock and its behaviour during the knapping,
pecking and polishing stages, as these represent the documented techniques
used in Hiregudda axe production. Flaking of natural blocks and slabs
confirmed the conchoidal fracture habit of the material when submitted to heavy
impacts. Pecking and polishing tests proved the extreme hardness of the
dolerite. It is worth mentioning here that part of the experiments were carried
out by local male villagers, whose usual income derives from manual quarrying
of the granite and who are familiar with the mechanical properties and working
of stone. Axe blanks collected from areas disturbed by modern quarrying were
ground on granite bedrock with the addition of water and sand, which had
previously been prepared by crushing the same granite. Without the addition of
this abrasive material, the grinding process proved practically impossible and
required considerably more strength. Every 30 minutes, the axe blank was
cleaned, documented and weighed. Soon it became evident that most grinding
efforts had to be carried out on the thickest part below the edge, confirming the
importance of a previous competent flaking strategy. The mean material loss,
or abrasion wear index, was hardly 3g of dolerite an hour. The grinding of
afanitic rocks from the axe factory of Plancher-les-Mines (Vosges) on
sandstone slabs resulted in wear indices between 5-13g/hour (Petrequin and
Jeunesse 1995, 41). Given the hardness of the Sanganakallu dolerite, the
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grinding of a reasonably well-prepared blank into a usable edged tool of 90100mm length would probably have required around 6 hours of work. Much
more effort would be necessary in order to obtain a completely polished axe.
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Figure 3: Thin sections of the gabbro from the Northern dyke and dolerite from the
Southern dyke (axe quarry) of Hiregudda (Photographs by David G᪽mez-Gras). A)
general view of the intergranular texture of the gabbro rock containing crystals of
augite(green) and plagioclase (light) under plane polarized light (PPL) and B) under
crossed polars (PPX). C (PPL) and D (PPX) images of the microcrystalline intergranular
texture in dolerite rock. E (PPL) and F (PPX) enhanced images showing augite crystals
(red, blue and orange colours) occupying the spaces between plagioclase laths (grey).
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3. Technical Organisation of Production
The excavation and surface surveying of the quarry area and the three hill
settlements have provided abundant information on the axe production process
and its organisation. The test trenches placed in the upper and lower parts of
the dolerite outcrop show that the quarrying took advantage of the intense
fracturation of the deposit by systematic joints. This enabled the extraction of
small blocks or slabs with relatively little effort, and clearly represents an
important economic advantage in comparison to the other dykes. (Foote (1916,
82), a geologist who travelled widely through southern India, mentions that the
occurrence of such weathering dolerite outcrops was a very unusual
phenomenon for the trap-dykes that occur in such great numbers on the Deccan
plateau.) Percussion stones of dolerite, gabbro and granite, as well as chisels
of antelope horn, found within the quarry debris, were used to break up the
deposit. A spherical hammerstone, weighing 1767g, made out of gabbro from
the northern dyke, is the heaviest artefact of this type recorded so far at
Sanganakallu. The main operation involved obtaining 150-300mm long blocks,
slabs or nodules of angular, sub-angular or sub-rounded shape. Their outer
surface has a yellow-orange colour, resulting from oxidation of the rock
minerals by weathering processes in the systematic joints. This surface
alteration has proved to be a helpful trait in reconstructing how the natural slabs
were worked. Traces of this 'skin' remains, to a larger or smaller extent, on c.
50% of the unfinished products as well as on some used axes. In 8% of the
blanks, surface alteration appears on the dorsal as well as ventral sides of the
blank, indicating the thinness of some of the selected slabs.
In general, three reduction strategies have been identified in the Sanganakallu
lithic assemblage. The methods are defined mostly on the basis of the initial
dolerite stone packages utilised (Brumm et al. 2007). These include:
1. large symmetrical sub-rectangular stone blocks and thick slabs;
2. thin flat cortical slabs;
3. flake blanks and non-flake debitage of varying shapes and sizes.
In all cases, the dominant procedure was to work the blocks, slabs or flakes
bifacially around the perimeter of the stone piece (Fig. 4). Yet, considerable
variation in the knapping procedures can be observed within all three
strategies, suggesting that persons with very different skills and habits were
operating simultaneously in the area (Brumm et al. 2007).
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Figure 4: Stages in axe production: 1. natural dolerite block, 2. initial flaking of
lateral edges of the block, 3. flaked blank, 4. blank with slight pecking traces, 5.
blank with more intensive pecking, 6. polished axe (note different scales;
photography by José Antonio Soldevilla)
[View static image]
The main target that needs to be achieved in the knapping process is the
reduction in thickness of the rough-outs, as thinner axe blanks will require less
pecking and grinding. Unskilful knapping is visible in the form of thick blanks
with no further modification. These resulted in discard in the quarry and
settlement areas. On occasion these thick blanks were transformed into
percussion tools. It is much easier and quicker to dress thin slabs or flakes
(methods 2 and 3) than to work larger blocks and slabs, which requires a higher
level of technical control (method 1) (Brumm et al. 2007). In this case, the rocks
were reduced on one face through lateral flaking, while knapping on the
opposite face was much less invasive, thus taking advantage of at least one of
the flat surfaces of the slabs or blocks. Again, the underlying principle seems to
be to spare effort and time during the knapping, as well as during the later
pecking and grinding stages.
One possible way of determining the technical competence or variation of
knapping is to consider the relation between the length and the weight of the
blanks and finished axes. High technical control results in thin artefacts, which
require shorter polishing processes and/or provide sharper edges. Depending
on the type of natural rocks used, it also enables the maximisation of raw
materials. Low flaking skills produce thick and, consequently, heavier artefacts.
Therefore, the relation between length and weight provides a useful analytical
test to evaluate the degree of skill manifest in the flaking process. (This agrees
with observations made by Stout (2002) among the Langda adze makers of
Irian Jaya. The more skilled knappers produce longer but not wider or thicker
blanks. Consequently, high technical competence results in proportionally
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lighter artefacts.) If we correlate these two variables measured on a sample of
artefacts from the Sanganakallu axe collection, it can be observed that variation
in production is high (Fig. 5). On average, unskilled examples are 2.8 times
heavier than the well-flaked blanks of the same size. For example, the weight of
a typical 100mm long axe varies between 100 and 240g. As expected, most of
the finished and used axes fall among the lighter examples. It seems
reasonable to assume that many of the artefacts found during survey and
excavation were in fact discarded because of the low-quality knapping and the
workload that finishing them would have created. The technical organisation of
production was not very rigid, and persons with different levels of skill seem to
have been at work simultaneously.
Figure 5: Relation between length and weight of axe blanks, finished axes and finished
axes with signs of use-wear from Hiregudda (Areas A and J) and Sannarachammagudda
(Trench 10). Lines mark the relation between length and weight and are therefore indicative
of higher (1/1) or lower (1/4) technical competence
About 25-30% of a test sample of finished axes and blanks from Hiregudda
and Sannarachammagudda showed traces of pecking, visible as small pits
(Fig. 4). This process seems to have been carried out with the same type of
dolerite, gabbro, quartz and granite percussion stones as flaking, and mainly
served to reduce the highest points and crests of the preforms. The pecking
traces rarely cover more than 20% of the surfaces. It appears that this working
stage was only applied occasionally, in order to reduce irregularities or blank
thickness resulting from knapping errors.
The final stage of stone axe production consists of grinding and, eventually,
polishing. As in the case of pecking, this labour-intensive process rarely affects
the whole surface of the artefact, leaving traces of earlier work stages and even
parts of the surface skin of the raw material (see also Allchin 1957). In many
cases only the cutting edge is polished. Again, the technical organisation of the
production process seems to have been guided by utilitarian and quantitative
criteria, rather than by the finishing and aesthetic aspect of the products. As
indicated below, it is possible that a considerable portion of the blanks or
preforms were not ground in the Sanganakallu area, but in settlements further
away. It is likely that only some of the artefacts were polished locally (see also
Boivin et al. 2005, 77).
One of the longest known archaeological features of the three hill-settlements
are the grinding or polishing grooves and hollows found in the granitic bedrock
or across much of the surface of large boulders (Subbarao 1948; Boivin et al.
2007). Use-wear analysis, as developed for the study of macro-lithic artefacts
(Adams 2002; Risch 2002), has been carried out on the working surfaces of
these features, in order to confirm their participation in the axe-grinding
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process. This is the first such analysis of the features, and indeed of any
grinding hollows in India. The mesoscopic observation (5-20X) of the working
surfaces has shown that not all of these features served the same purpose and
that many were used for different tasks. Mainly the smaller and oval hollows or
'slicks' present evidence of intensive abrasion and use-wear traces related to
the grinding of stone (Fig. 6). The larger rounded hollows, in contrast, show
traces related preferentially to grain processing. Experimental tests confirmed
that the deeper oval features allow a nearly mechanical grinding of the blank's
edges by placing the whole artefact in the hollow, pressing it with the flat hand
and carrying out a rocking movement with it. Such an operation is much more
comfortable than holding the blank in the hand and grinding only the frontal
cutting edge against the rock surface. In fact, many artefacts show polishing
traces around the periphery, especially on the bevelled edge and the opposite
butt, while the flat surfaces of the dorsal and ventral faces remain largely
unchanged because of a lack of contact with the convex grinding hollows.
Figure 6: Polishing hollows from Choudammagudda at an initial, middle and final stage of
development (Photograph by J.A. Soldevilla)
A different form of grinding must have been carried out in the V-shaped
polishing grooves, which are much less frequent in the settlements. Such
features are known from ethnographic and experimental examples and allow
the polishing of lateral edges (e.g. Kennedy 1962; Delage 2004, 40). In
addition to the highly levelled grain surfaces, the intensity of the activity carried
out in these grooves and the hardness of the worked material is also revealed
by scratches and deep striations on the groove surfaces.
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Figure 4: Stages in axe production (not to scale): 1. natural dolerite block, 2. initial flaking
of lateral edges of the block, 3. flaked blank, 4. blank with slight pecking traces, 5. blank
with more intensive pecking, 6. polished axe; photography by José Antonio Soldevilla).
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Figure 5: Relation between length and weight of axe blanks, finished axes and finished
axes with signs of use wear from Hiregudda (Area A and J) and Sannarachammagudda
(Trench 10). Lines mark the relation between length and weight and are therefore indicative
of higher (1/1) or lower (1/4) technical competence.
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Figure 6: Polishing hollows from Choudammagudda at an initial, middle and final stage of
development (Photograph by J.A. Soldevilla).
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4. Socio-economic Organisation
The excavation and survey campaigns carried out between 1997 and 2006 on
all three settled inselbergs around the dolerite quarry have provided information
about the social and economic organisation of axe production in the
Sanganakallu area. Though the archaeological record of the area is still
undergoing study, these findings offer some insights into the social relations of
production in the second millennium BCE. One of the central issues concerns
the social access to critical natural resources and the organisation of the
different production stages among the population, as well as the possible
emergence of relations of social and political dependency.
The lithic material recovered along the dolerite outcrop corresponds to the
quarrying activity itself, as well as to a massive amount of flaking of bifacial axe
blanks. Large amounts of reduction flakes and discarded axe blanks cover the
south-eastern slope of Hiregudda. As one moves up the dyke, other stone
artefacts, such as handstones, or mano, and grinding slabs for cereal
processing, as well as pottery, begin to appear. This shows that the dolerite
outcrop lay close to settlement areas expanding on the hill of Hiregudda, and
seems to have overlapped with them. Hence, quarrying activity was not taking
place in a separated and exclusive territory, as was the case at Great Langdale
or other European extraction sites (Bradley and Edmonds 1993; Petrequin and
Jeunesse 1995; Le Roux 2002; Petrequin et al. 2006), but rather formed part of
a more or less loosely settled territory. It still needs to be clarified if the
occupation next to the quarry was a permanent form of settlement, or rather
some form of temporary, seasonal arrangement. In any case, the central and
south-eastern part of the Hiregudda plateau, 80-120m away from the dyke,
shows evidence of a rather stable form of occupation.
Figure 7: Circular structure (Feature 1) in Hiregudda – Area A (Photograph by P.
Whittaker)
Intensive survey and excavations have been carried out at the upper end of the
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dolerite dyke, in Area A of Hiregudda. In addition to containing a partly
destroyed ashmound, this site presents the most outstanding accumulations of
dolerite debitage waste of any of the Sanganakallu settlements. Of particular
interest is a round structure, 7m in diameter and visible on the surface, named
Feature 1, which was fully excavated (Fig. 7). The use of this structure dates
between 1700 and 1250 cal BCE, with a possible hiatus between 1500-1400
BCE (Fuller et al . 2007). While stone artefact production debris is found
throughout the structure's sequence, the lithic-rich upper deposits inside and
around this building, containing hundreds of thousands of flakes from axe
manufacturing, accumulated to a large extent between c. 1500/1400 and 1250
cal BCE. The volume and type of flakes strongly supports the idea that this
stone-lined circular structure functioned as a specialised lithic production
'workshop' for the manufacture of axes and other dolerite implements, such as
chisels. The long, narrow and more or less cylindrical preform of these latter
artefacts requires a particularly skilful knapping technique, which seems to have
been exclusive to Area A and particularly to Feature 1.
While the manufacture of dolerite axes was the dominant activity over at least
the last 150 years Feature 1 was occupied, it is equally clear that other
activities also took place within this building. Apart from dozens of dolerite,
gabbro, quartz and hematite hammerstones and a large stone slab with
polishing grooves linked to axe production, the structure's users disposed of
cereal processing tools (handstones and querns), polishing artefacts and even
one pottery burnisher. Finished axes and chisels suggest that wood-working
could have been carried out as well. Repairing and resharpening of edge tools
also took place, as can be inferred from the presence of flake and non-flake
debitage bearing ground facets as well as some reworked axes (Brumm et al.
2007).
The spatial distribution of the artefacts and debris within Feature 1 shows a
clear pattern, and the structure appears to have been entered from the south.
According to the distribution of debitage waste, axe production seems to have
been 3.3 times more intense in the western than in the eastern half of the room.
A large immobile granite quern placed in the south-east corner seems to have
been transformed during the final occupation into an axe-grinding artefact,
which may indicate the greater importance of axe production activities during
the last centuries of the occupation. Pottery and ashes are more frequent in the
north-eastern corner, suggesting that this was an area for food preparation and
consumption. Outside the dwelling, large amounts of knapping debris
accumulated and seem to have resulted from periodic cleaning of its inner
space. The presence of 16 grinding grooves on granite boulders recorded in
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Hiregudda, absent or rare on the other hill settlements, confirms that the
specialised edge grinding and finishing of axes and chisels represented
another important and time-consuming activity in Area A. Clearly, the
inhabitants of other more 'domestic' structures and dwellings identified in the
vicinity were participating in these tasks and maintained a close relation with
the production processes taking place in Feature 1. The analysis of the
knapping debitage as well as of the discarded axe blanks has confirmed that a
variety of working methods were carried out inside and outside Feature 1 by
persons showing very different levels of technical competence. This pattern
does not conform to a highly specialised workshop, nor to domestic production
with a specialised working tradition passed from generation to generation.
While a typical example of the first is the modern production of beads in
Khambat, Western India (Kenoyer et al. 1991), the domestic type of
specialisation would include the blade production proposed for the
Magdalenian of the Paris basin (Pigeot 1987); for a general discussion on the
meaning of technical specialisation, see Risch 2008). Rather, the combination
of technically diverse, and at the same time more and more intense knapping
during the last 150-250 years of the occupation of the site, suggests collective
production carried out by a team of part-time knappers and polishers, whose
target was mass production rather than the development of a high degree of
technical expertise. The lack of concern with raw material maximisation
indicates that good dolerite stone was abundant and easily accessible.
Access to the dolerite stone was not exclusive to the inhabitants of Hiregudda.
The lithic records of Choudammagudda and Sannarachammagudda show that
these settlements obtained natural slabs or blocks as well as half-finished
blanks from the same dyke (Fig. 8). Percussion tools as well as dolerite
debitage confirm that their populations were producing or finishing axe blanks.
Differences in the organisation of axe production between communities
emerge in the intensity of finds rather than in the organisation of activities. Thus,
while discarded axe blanks represent around 30% of the macro-lithic tools
recorded at Hiregudda Area A, their importance drops to around 10-15% at the
other sites (Fig. 8).
The results obtained from the other settlements do not show a superior or
inferior degree of technical competence among their knappers. Discarded
blanks from Choudammagudda and Sannarachamma show the same type of
working procedures and mistakes in comparison to the areas close to the
quarry, although axe production was clearly a less important activity.
Handstones, a clear indicator of the processing of cereal and other crops,
represent more than 30% of the macro-lithic tools recorded through systematic
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surface survey in these two settlements. In Hiregudda they only represent
around 24% of the macro-lithic assemblage. The frequency of surface grinding
slabs and hollows is much larger at Choudammagudda and Sannarachamma
than at Hiregudda, also suggesting differences in the activities conducted in the
settlements (Fig. 8).
Figure 8: Relative proportion (100%=1) of the main stone artefact categories in the three
settlements of the Sanganakallu-Kupgal archaeological complex (axe blanks,
hammerstones, polishing hollows are mainly related to axe production; handstones and
grinding hollows are the main food-processing tools). These results are based on
systematic surface recording of artefacts. Comparison with the material from test trenches
shows a high correspondence between values.
The hill settlement of Choudammagudda, located 700m south-west of the
dolerite quarry, is characterised by a significantly high number of surface axegrinding hollows. Given its size, it may have been occupied by the largest
community of the Sankanakallu area (although the limited excavations so far
suggest that deposits may not be as deep as at the other sites) and it is
possible that it could therefore have devoted more work-force time to axe
polishing. The large number of handstones, grinding slabs and grinding hollows
recorded on the surface suggests the permanent character of this settlement
and the importance of the processing and consumption of agricultural products
within it.
The southernmost settlement of the Sanganakallu-Kupgal complex, at
Sannarachammagudda, has a surprisingly high proportion of percussion
stones, particularly of dolerite and gabbro, confirmed both through surface
survey and excavation (Trench 10). The presence of dolerite blocks, flakes and
blanks on the site confirms that this community obtained useful raw materials
from the Hiregudda quarry and participated in axe production. According to the
length/weight index of axe blanks used to describe technical competence, the
knapping skills at Sannarachamma were not lower than those displayed at
Hiregudda (Fig. 9). Other aspects of the knapping process show that all three
sites shared the same technology and expertise. However, the high proportion
of hammerstones at the southern hill site can also be related to the knapping of
other materials, including the production of small flake and bladelet tools on
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quartz and chert, as well as to the preparation and maintenance of cerealgrinding tools, which have here a similar importance to that observed at
Choudammagudda (Fig. 8). Finally, the low number of grinding hollows and
grooves at Sannarachamma indicate that a limited work-force was involved in
axe grinding at this site.
Figure 9: Differences between Hiregudda (Area A) and Sannarachammagudda (Trench 10)
in relation to the length and weight ratio of axe blanks. Lines mark the relation between
length and weight and are therefore indicative of higher (left) or lower (right) technical
competence.
In general, it can be concluded that the same set of stone tools and raw
materials were produced, maintained and used on all three hills. All settlements
had direct access to the dolerite quarry or, at least, to the products produced
there, as the presence of unworked blocks and blanks suggest. Economic
differences existed among the settlements as demonstrated by different work
efforts and the different activities performed at the settlements. While
Hiregudda, and particularly Area A, centred on the quarrying and working of
dolerite, the other settlements appear to have been more agriculturally oriented.
The transactions between the settlements seem to have been fluid, given the
exchange of materials and technologies between them. One might even ask if
Area A, at least during the final occupation phase, was more of a working area
used periodically by groups coming from the other settlements, rather than a
settlement itself. In any case, the presence of a considerable quantity of cropgrinding hollows, as well as the evidence from Feature 1 itself, suggests that
everyday subsistence activities were not an unusual activity in the area.
The distribution and organisation of the means of production in the
Sanganakallu area indicates a considerable circulation in terms of populations,
raw materials, axe blanks, technological skills and, typically, subsistence goods
between the three hill settlements. The division of tasks within this society
seems to have been limited, and in general all communities living in this area
were engaged to a certain extent in the flaking, pecking and grinding of dolerite
axes. However, the production of chisels appears to have been restricted to
one area close to the dolerite outcrop. So far, the study of the lithic means of
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production does not suggest any marked division of labour between
settlements nor in the excavated house units. Neither can signs of economic
centralisation be identified in the area. Yet, the scale of axe production leaves
no doubt that we are not dealing in any of the three hill-settlements with a selfsufficient communal production. No approximate calculation of the total volume
of axes produced in the Sanganakallu area has been carried out so far, but the
figure definitely lies in the many thousands, rather than the hundreds. The
manufacture of such quantities of utilitarian objects only makes sense if an
extra-regional distribution system existed.
Figure 10: Partial view of the area with polishing grooves located in the plain below
Sanarachammagudda and next to the modern village of Sanganakallu (Photograph by J.A.
Soldevilla)
In this socio-economic context, it is of interest that the most highly specialised
activity area discovered so far lies separated from all settlement areas, c.
400m south-east of Sannarachamma. On several more or less flat granite
bedrock surfaces across an area of c. 30x25m, we have recorded up to 138
grinding grooves (for previous discussion of these grinding grooves, see
Subbarao 1948; Brumm et al. 2007, 73.). Probably their original number was
much higher, given erosion processes and destruction caused due to their
position next to the modern village of Sanganakallu. All grooves show the
characteristic 'V' section already observed around Feature 1 of Hiregudda,
although many are much larger, reaching up to 1m in length (Fig. 10). In fact,
they are the result of a successive juxtaposition of several shorter grooves.
Such grooves do not seem appropriate for the grinding or polishing of the axes,
nor their cutting edges, which require wider, flat or 'U' shaped grooves, as
known from African, Australian as well as European axe production areas (e.g.
Shaw 1944; McCarthy 1976, 54). Rather, these grinding surfaces seem to
result from polishing the lateral margins and the butt of the axes and, in
consequence, they must be related to the finishing of axes or chisels.
Although the labour force responsible for the development of such grooves is
considerable, as became manifest in the experimental tests, no settlement
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traces can be identified in the neighbourhood. Even if the modern village may
have disturbed such deposits, surface finds should be expected. The clear
spatial separation of this area must result from an intentional social or political
decision, as no significant geological differences exist between this bedrock
and the granite forming the surfaces of all three inselbergs. In fact, similar
lateral grinding was carried out on a much more limited scale on Hiregudda
Area A and occasionally also on Sannarachamagudda. Consequently, these
specific axe-grinding activities and/or the persons carrying them out were
maintained apart from the everyday habitation areas. Our impression is that
other groups were present in this specialised area. Its position on the plain,
south of the two largest habitation sites and away from and out of sight of the
dolerite quarry would be an appropriate location at which to engage with
communities of a wider region and carry out the exchange of either axe blanks
or more or less finished products. Perhaps the finishing of the axe margins in
such a context of negotiation might have been considered a proof of the value
of the offered products. Alternatively, axe finishing may have been carried out
by the visiting groups themselves, or by diverse communities during the course
of social and exchange activities.
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Figure 7: Circular structure (Feature 1) in Hiregudda-Area A (Photograph by P. Whittaker).
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Figure 8: Relative proportion (100%=1) of the main stone artefact categories in the three
settlements of the Sanganakallu-Kupgal archaeological complex (axe blanks,
hammerstones, polishing hollows are mainly related to axe production; hansdstones and
grinding hollows are the main food processing tools). These results are based on
systematic surface recording of artefacts. Comparison with the material from test trenches
shows a high correspondence between values.
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Figure 9: Differences between Hiregudda (Area A) and Sannarachammagudda (Trench 10)
in relation to the length and weight ratio of axe blanks. Lines mark the relation between
length and weight and are therefore indicative of higher (left) or lower (right) technical
competence.
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Figure 10: Partial view of the area with polishing grooves located in the plain below
Sanarachammagudda and next to the modern village of Sanganakallu (Photograph by J.A.
Soldevilla).
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5. Conclusions
The Sanganakallu-Kupgal area represents a unique archaeological complex in
South Asia. Given that there has been a reprieve in the present-day quarrying
of the granite inselbergs, the archaeological sites of the area will continue to
offer exceptional opportunities to investigate the social and economic
organisation of prehistoric axe production strategies. The research carried out
so far shows that at least three hill settlements, probably with a few hundred
inhabitants each, were engaged in the quarrying and working of a special type
of dolerite. Its easy extraction, fine-grained texture and extreme hardness made
it a highly suitable raw material to manufacture chisels, adzes and axes through
flaking, pecking and intense polishing. The access of all three settlements to
raw material, and the similarity between them of working techniques and
artefact types, indicates that the communities shared basic economic
resources and were closely related. Accordingly, a marked division of tasks
between the hill settlements did not develop. Apart from axe manufacture, all
communities were engaged to some extent in other tasks, such as food
processing, pottery-making, bead production, etc.
The botanical evidence from Sannarachama and Hirregudda Areas A and D
also points towards similar agricultural practices amongst the hills and the
broader regional culture, based primarily on the cultivation of two types of millet
(Setaria verticillata, Brachiaria ramosa) and three pulses (Macrotyloma
uniflorum , Vigna radiata, Lablab pupureus). The increase of wheat and barley
in the final stages of occupation is detected in both settlements where botanical
studies have been undertaken (Fuller et al. 2001; Fuller et al. 2004; Fuller
2006, 48-53). Evidence of associated weed seeds and limited chaff (and
hulled millet grains) suggests that archaeobotanical data derives from routine
dehusking and final winnowing activities, and that initial threshing and
winnowing after harvest was carried out elsewhere and not on occupation sites
(Fuller et al. 2004, 117). The presence of quernstones and some grinding
hollows on the hills suggests the context for final processing on these hill sites
(Fuller et al. 2001), although it is now clear that large, round and shallow foodprocessing features must be distinguished from the more narrow and deep
features involved in axe production (a distinction not recognised in the earlier
paper of Fuller et al. 2001). Faunal evidence indicates the predominance of
domesticated cattle, sheep and goat meat in the diet, with a small proportion of
hunted game, mainly of antelope and deer (Korisettar et al. 2001b). Evidence
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from recent context-based analysis, including evidence for burning and
cutmarks, suggests that caprines may have been the mainstay of the diet, with
cattle restricted to larger consumption events (feasts) (Boivin et al. 2005, 74-5;
S. Meece pers. comm.). These subsistence data suggest household or kingroup based production strategies rather than specialisation between
households, while the cattle evidence suggests some inter-household
communal consumption events, which might have coincided with periodic
communal axe mass-production episodes on the one hand and ashmound
conflagration events on the other (though these events need not have been
contemporary).
A further outcome of the limited division of tasks is the importance of unskilled
flaking procedures apparent on axe blanks. Even the prismatically shaped
dolerite blocks could be worked by knappers with little experience. Such an
economic pattern implies that the intensification of production taking place
between c. 1750-1250/1200 cal BCE was not achieved through an increase in
efficiency, but rather through the larger number of people participating in the
manufacturing process. Under such circumstances, raw material scarcity
cannot have been a relevant economic consideration at that time.
One exception in this general tendency seems to have been the preparation of
long cylindrical chisel blanks. Survey and excavation data suggest that these
tools were flaked and probably polished by highly skilled knappers working
(and living?) in Area A of Hiregudda, more precisely in the area dominated by
Feature 1. Otherwise, economic differences between the settlements were
restricted to the relative importance of the different activities in the
communities. In the occupation areas close to the dolerite dyke, time was
devoted to the preparation of axe blanks, while at a greater distance,
subsistence production and possibly the production of other types of object was
more relevant.
The final polishing of the axe edges was carried out in a special area located
on the plain and separated from the hill settlements and the dolerite dyke.
Covered with over 100 narrow grooves, this area must have represented a
particular place of production, but possibly also of communication and
exchange with other communities. However, a large proportion of the axes must
have left Sanganakallu in an unfinished state. Axe blanks of similar shape, rock
texture and colour have been found in other prehistoric sites of the Deccan,
where evidence of flaking is absent or marginal. One example is Piklihal,
located c. 100km north-west of the Hiregudda outcrop, where 14 axe and chisel
blanks and 29 dolerite flakes were found (Allchin 1960). The flakes seem to
have originated from broken axes or the reworking of axes. Similar evidence is
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reported from Budihal (Paddayya 2001, 198).
The existence of a large-scale distribution network for blanks and finished tools
(the existence and precise organisation of which still needs to be investigated)
also agrees with the scale of the quarrying and knapping activities identified in
the Sanganakallu-Kupgal complex. Moreover, the absolute chronology has
confirmed that the phase of intense production only lasted a few centuries,
between c. 1500-1250/1200 cal BCE, i.e. the time that corresponds to the
transition between the local Neolithic and the Iron Age. The expected wider
economic implications of such a marked intensification in the production of
wood-cutting and wood-working instruments are increased land clearance,
expansion of agricultural land, and demographic growth in the Deccan. The
appearance of copper ornaments and weapons, and textile manufacture, all
starting before c. 1500 BCE, with the addition of tree crops, wheel-finished
pottery and iron by 1200 BCE, also hints at a time of economic as well as
social change (Fuller et al. 2007). So far the distribution of working instruments,
as well as of highly valuable objects, such as stone, shell and metal beads, in
the Sanganakallu-Kupgal area does not allow us to relate this production
increase to a clear social differentiation between as well as inside the studied
settlements. As can also be observed in other geographical and historical
contexts, a qualitative change in the social relations and the appearance of a
dominant class frequently takes place only after society has gone through a
phase of economic intensification. In this sense, the appearance of Megalithic
burials by 1300-1200 BCE probably testifies that the emergence of social and
political elites coincided with the conclusion of large-scale axe production
activities at Hiregudda.
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Acknowledgements
This research programme has received support from the British Academy, Arts
and Humanities Research Council, McDonald Institute for Archaeological
Research, Leverhulme Trust, Karnatak University and the Generalitat de
Catalunya. We are grateful to B. Janardhana, Subhas Chincholi, H.M. Anitha,
Deepak Havanur, K. Linganna, K. Udayashankar, Lindsay Lloyd-Smith, Kalyan
Malagyannavar, Paul Masser, Stephanie Meece, Pragnya Prasanna, Shankar
Pujar, Arun Raj, Ramadas, and Paula Whittaker for their efforts during
fieldwork. We are especially grateful to Jinu Koshy and Adam Brumm for their
contributions to the study of the flaked material, and to Nick Drake, who studied
the dykes, their weathering and their geology.
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