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Hallur is an archaeological site located in the Haveri district (which was carved out of Dharwad district), in the Indian state of Karnataka.[1] Hallur, one of South India's earliest Iron Age sites,[2] lies in a semi-arid region with scrub vegetation, located on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. The site is a small mound about 6.4 m high.[3] The site was first discovered by Nagaraja Rao in 1962, and excavated in 1965. Further sampling was carried out in the late 1990s for the recovery of archaeobotanical evidence and new high precision radiocarbon dates [4][5]

Key Information

Findings

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The excavations at Hallur by Nagaraja Rao revealed two periods of occupation, Period I: Neolithic-Chalcolithic and Period II: An overlapping period between Neolithic-Chalcolithic and early Iron Age.[6] Period I consisted of two sub-phases of human occupation dating between 2000 and 1200 BCE[5] The transition to the Iron Age took place between 1200 and 1000 BCE. The original interpretation after the 1960s excavations was that Period II represented a new set of humans who arrived at this site with iron arrowheads, daggers and knives. Pottery in this period was generally black-and-red ware with lines and patterns in white drawn over them. More recent scholarship, however, argues for the indigenous cultural development from the Neolithic to the Iron Age and population continuity [6] The iron found in this site was subjected to radiocarbon dating by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and it was found that these iron objects belonged to about 1000 BCE This chronology has been supported by more recent AMS dating.[5] This was contrary to the British archaeologist D. H. Gordon's theory that iron was not used in India prior to 250 BCE[6] Further excavations by archaeozoologist K. R. Alur in 1971 led to the discovery of horse bones (Equus caballus Linn), which were dated to a period before the presumed Aryan migration. This discovery created a controversy since it countervened the common belief that horses were introduced into the southern parts of India only by the Aryans.[7]

Archaeobotanical findings at Hallur indicated that the Neolithic staples consisted of browntop millet (Brachiaria ramosa), bristly foxtail (Setaria verticillata), mungbean, black gram, and horsegram. This site also produced some of the earliest evidence for crops of African origin in South India, including both hyacinth bean and pearl millet. In the later Iron Age period finger millet, kodo millet, and rice[4][8] Ornaments made of carnelian, ceramic, gold and antler were also found.[3] Apart from the bones of the horse; bones of cattle, sheep, goat and dog were found.

The housing structures found here consisted of circular floors, composed of schist chips and mud pounded hard to make a hard surface. The walls made of bamboo and mud, provided support to a conical thatched roof.[1] One of the houses was found to have a circular fireplace containing ash and charcoal. The region below the floors was a burial chamber consisting of urns used for child burials.[9] Chalcolithic blade tools of black quartzite, small copper axes and fish hooks were also found. The transition to the Iron Age period is marked by the presence of megaliths and iron implements.

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from Grokipedia
Hallur is a prehistoric archaeological site situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in Haveri district, Karnataka, India, recognized for its large Neolithic ash-mound and as one of South India's earliest locales evidencing Iron Age occupation. The site, spanning approximately 32 acres with an ash-mound formed from accumulated cattle dung and hearth residues indicative of pastoral Neolithic communities, was first identified in 1962 by archaeologist M.H. Nagaraja Rao and subsequently excavated in 1965, uncovering two distinct cultural phases: an initial Neolithic period characterized by polished stone tools, burnished pottery, and faunal remains suggesting herding practices, followed by a Chalcolithic-Iron Age transition around 1500–1000 BCE marked by iron artifacts, including early evidence of metallurgical processes. These findings, detailed in excavation reports, highlight Hallur's role in demonstrating continuity from Neolithic agrarian-pastoral economies to advanced metalworking in the Tungabhadra Valley, with radiocarbon dates supporting occupations from roughly 2500 BCE onward, though interpretations of the ash-mound's formation—whether ritualistic or utilitarian—remain based on stratigraphic and artifactual evidence rather than speculative narratives.

Site Overview

Location and Geography

Hallur is an located in the of , , specifically in the taluk. The site lies on the southern bank of the , at approximate coordinates 14°20′N 75°37′E. The region encompassing Hallur forms part of the plateau within the larger , featuring elevations ranging from 300 to 730 meters above , with the site itself at around 550 meters. The terrain is predominantly plain to gently undulating, typical of the area's semi-arid landscape supporting prehistoric settlements through proximity to the river for .

Environmental Context

Hallur occupies a low-lying position on the left bank of the in , , within the upper reaches of the Tungabhadra Valley, surrounded by modest hillocks that define the local topography. This riverine setting offered reliable access to freshwater in an otherwise seasonally variable hydrological environment, critical for sustaining early settlements reliant on and herding. The region experiences a with hot summers reaching up to 40°C and milder winters around 18°C, accompanied by annual rainfall ranging from 566 mm in drier eastern taluks to over 1,110 mm in wetter western areas, primarily during the season from to . Such climatic patterns, characterized by prolonged dry periods, fostered a dominated by tropical dry forests interspersed with thorny scrub , resilient to and indicative of the environmental pressures shaping adaptations. Paleoenvironmental inferences from associated sites suggest continuity in this semi-arid regime, with evidence of drought-resistant grasses and millets cultivated in the valley, underscoring the causal role of edaphic conditions—predominantly red and black soils derived from the Deccan —in supporting early dry farming and management practices.

Research History

Discovery

The archaeological site of Hallur was initially identified in 1962 by M. S. Nagaraja Rao, an archaeologist affiliated with the Museum of Art and Archaeology at . This discovery focused on a prominent ash-mound approximately 6.4 meters high on the left bank of the , suggesting evidence of prehistoric settlement and ritual activity associated with cattle herders. Rao's preliminary observations prompted systematic investigations, with excavations commencing in 1965 under his leadership, revealing stratified deposits spanning Neolithic-Chalcolithic and early phases. The site's recognition advanced knowledge of protohistoric transitions in southern , particularly the early adoption of iron technology dated to around 1000 BCE via radiocarbon analysis of associated layers.

Major Excavations

The primary excavations at Hallur were carried out by M.S. Nagaraja Rao of from February to March 1965, following his discovery of the site in 1962. Two trenches were opened on the mound, which measures approximately 6.4 meters in height, exposing a stratigraphic profile that extended to depths of at least 3.6 meters in Trench 1, Layer 8. These excavations delineated two main occupational phases: an earlier layer associated with ash-mound formation and a later phase marked by the introduction of iron alongside elements. The results were published in Nagaraja Rao's 1971 monograph Protohistoric Cultures of the Tungabhadra Valley: A Report on Hallur Excavations, which included contributions on faunal and botanical remains by specialists K.R. Alur and Vishnu-Mittre. A supplementary excavation season in 1976 focused on recovering additional archaeobotanical samples from the site's layers, yielding evidence of consistent with the earlier findings. Limited re-investigations occurred in 1998, involving sampling from exposed sections and remnant baulks of the 1965 trenches to assess erosion and faunal preservation, but these did not constitute large-scale digs. The 1965 effort remains the most extensive, providing the foundational stratigraphic and artifactual data for understanding Hallur's protohistoric sequence.

Chronological Framework

Neolithic and Chalcolithic Phases

The and phases at Hallur constitute Period I of the site's occupation sequence, overlying sterile soil and predating the introduction of iron technology. This period is marked by stratified deposits including multiple layers of ash-mounds, formed through the repeated accumulation and ritualistic burning of dung from animal enclosures, reflecting a semi-nomadic lifestyle integrated with early settled . of charcoal samples from these layers yields dates clustering around 3280 ± 105 BP (circa 1330 BCE uncalibrated), with broader stratigraphic associations placing the phase between approximately 2000 and 1200 BCE. Key artifacts from Period I include ground and polished stone tools such as , axes, adzes, and scrapers made from local dolerite and other hard stones, alongside a microlithic component featuring geometric forms like trapezes and lunates for composite tools. assemblages consist primarily of handmade coarse red wares, often burnished, with some black-and-red ware variants decorated with simple incised or painted motifs; rare objects, including celts and fish-hooks, indicate limited metallurgical experimentation transitional to traits. Bone tools, comprising points, needles, awls, and borers, further attest to diverse craft activities. Settlement evidence reveals pit dwellings and simple mud-brick or wattle-and-daub structures clustered around the ash-mounds, suggesting small village communities. Faunal remains dominate with domesticated cattle (Bos indicus), supplemented by sheep, goat, and wild species like deer, while archaeobotanical data point to cultivation of millets (e.g., Setaria spp. and Pennisetum) as staple crops, with minor evidence of rice. These findings underscore a mixed agro-pastoral economy typical of the South Indian Neolithic ash-mound tradition, with the mounds possibly serving both practical (waste disposal) and ceremonial functions.

Transition to Iron Age

Excavations at Hallur uncovered a stratigraphic sequence demonstrating continuity from the Neolithic-Chalcolithic Period I (circa 2000–1200 BCE) to Period II, characterized by the introduction of iron technology and megalithic elements, signaling the onset of the Iron Age around 1200–1000 BCE. This transition reflects gradual technological adoption rather than invasion or disruption, with iron-using inhabitants integrating into existing riverside settlements along the Tungabhadra Valley. Radiocarbon analysis of associated charcoal and iron artifacts supports dates in the early first millennium BCE, though some metallurgical studies propose slightly earlier ironworking evidence dating to circa 1500–1100 BCE, based on crucible residues and slag. Iron artifacts from Period II include utilitarian tools such as knives, arrowheads, and , alongside possible debris, indicating local production capabilities that enhanced agricultural efficiency and subsistence strategies. Megalithic burials, featuring dolmens and graves with iron , appear concurrently, suggesting ritual practices tied to the new , though ash-mound formation—prominent in earlier phases—declines sharply. This overlap implies that iron innovation supplemented rather than supplanted pastoralism and microlithic traditions, with pottery styles evolving from burnished gray wares to include iron-associated variants. The site's chronology, derived from M.H. Nagaraja Rao's excavations, positions Hallur as one of South India's earliest loci for iron adoption, predating widespread megalithic proliferation but aligning with regional patterns in the . While debates persist on precise dating due to calibration variances in early radiocarbon samples, the material record underscores a pragmatic shift driven by resource availability in the semi-arid environment, enabling expanded settlement durability.

Key Findings

Settlement and Structures

Excavations conducted by M. S. Nagaraja Rao in 1965 at Hallur uncovered evidence of a semi-permanent settlement on the left bank of the , spanning and early occupations. The site layout included clustered habitation areas associated with an adjacent ash-mound, indicative of repeated burning activities possibly linked to enclosures or rituals, though the primary structural remains pertained to domestic dwellings. Dwellings from Period I (, circa 1800–1000 BCE) were circular in plan, with diameters ranging from approximately 3 to 5 meters, as delineated by post-holes preserved in the soil. Floors consisted of compacted layers of mud reinforced with chips for durability, suggesting preparation to withstand seasonal flooding or wear from occupancy. Post-holes, typically 15–20 cm in diameter and spaced 1–1.5 meters apart, supported wattle-and-daub or frameworks for walls, with roofs likely thatched using local grasses; perishable superstructures explain the absence of wall remnants. One excavated house in Trench 1 contained a central circular filled with and charred remains, pointing to in-situ domestic use for cooking or heating. In Period II (early , circa 1000–500 BCE), structural evidence showed continuity with similar circular or oval pit-like foundations, though deepened for stability amid increased artifact density suggesting or intensified use. No evidence of rectilinear or fortified appeared, aligning with broader South Indian patterns of dispersed, agrarian hamlets rather than nucleated villages. These modest constructions reflect to the semi-arid environment, prioritizing portability and over permanence.

Artifacts and Material Culture

Excavations at Hallur yielded a range of artifacts reflecting continuity and innovation across its occupational phases. In the Neolithic-Chalcolithic Period I, material culture included ground stone tools such as axes, celts, and querns, alongside bone implements like points, needles, borers, and a bone pipe. Pottery from this phase comprised coarse red ware, often handmade and micaceous, with some burnished grey and black-slipped varieties, indicating local production techniques suited to domestic use. These finds, associated with ash-mound formation from cattle dung burning, suggest a pastoral-agricultural economy. The transition to Period II marked the advent of iron technology around 1200–1000 BCE, with iron artifacts including knives, daggers, arrowheads, and possibly hooks, often found in settlement layers overlying earlier deposits. Black-and-Red Ware (BRW) dominated this phase, featuring thin-walled vessels like bowls and jars with a distinctive black interior and red exterior, frequently decorated with rouletted patterns or coating. This ware's association with iron objects underscores a cultural shift toward , though analyses confirm the iron as wrought rather than in initial contexts. Other artifacts included semi-precious stone beads, potentially or , and shell bangles, hinting at exchange networks within the Tungabhadra region. Stone blade tools persisted, with identifications of materials like chert and dolerite, while faunal remains alongside metalwork indicate diversified subsistence. The scarcity of elaborate ornaments compared to later megalithic sites suggests a utilitarian focus in Hallur's early material assemblage.

Ash-Mounds and Ritual Evidence

Excavations at Hallur conducted by M.S. Nagaraja Rao in 1965 uncovered ash layers within the - phase (Period I), primarily associated with circular fireplaces inside oval or rectangular dwellings constructed from , mud, and thatch. These fireplaces, measuring approximately 1-1.5 meters in , contained deposits of , charred bones, and occasionally sherds, indicating repeated combustion activities likely for cooking, heating, or waste disposal. The accumulation of such contributed to the site's low formation, rising to about 6.4 meters in height, though Hallur lacks the large, isolated, spherical ashmounds characteristic of sites like Utnur or Budihal. places these layers between circa 2000-1200 BCE, aligning with broader South Indian chronologies refined by on samples from similar contexts. In the regional tradition, ash deposits like those at Hallur are linked to agro- economies emphasizing , where dung was collected, dried into cakes, and burned to clear pens or provide , resulting in sterile, lime-rich soils unsuitable for immediate reuse but enriching surrounding fields over time. Empirical evidence from comparable sites includes hoof prints, postholes delineating pens, and vitrified dung layers, supporting a practical origin tied to seasonal management rather than purely domestic hearths. At Hallur, the presence of domesticated bones ( indicus) and grinding stones for millets corroborates this subsistence base, with likely deriving from similar dung practices amid a mixed farming- lifestyle. Interpretations of ritual significance for these ash features remain debated, with some scholars positing ceremonial dimensions based on mound scale and ethnographic analogies to modern pastoralist fire s honoring fertility or community aggregation. For instance, Nicole Boivin proposes ashmounds as intentional monumental constructions embodying cosmological order, serving as loci for communal ceremonies that reinforced social bonds in mobile agro-pastoral groups, evidenced by their visibility in landscapes and succession by permanent villages as potential "founding s." However, this view contrasts with utilitarian explanations emphasizing dung management for and , as initial analyses by F.R. Allchin linked ashmounds to repeated pen burnings without necessitating overt ritual intent, a perspective supported by the absence of specialized ceremonial artifacts (e.g., no bull figurines or altars uniquely at Hallur's ash contexts). Empirical prioritization favors the pastoral utility model, given verifiable hoof-print and bone data from peer-excavated ashmound sites, while ritual claims rely more on interpretive than direct Hallur-specific residues like sacrificial remains or feasting middens.

Technological and Cultural Significance

Development of Iron Technology

Excavations at Hallur revealed iron artifacts primarily in Period II, representing a Neolithic-megalithic overlap phase dated to circa 1200–1000 BCE via calibrated radiocarbon analysis of associated organic remains. This marks the site's entry into the Early , with iron implements supplanting or supplementing earlier copper and stone tools, signaling a technological shift toward harder, more durable materials suitable for and warfare. Key finds include forged iron knives, daggers, arrowheads, sickles, and , which exhibit basic blacksmithing techniques such as hammering and , indicative of smelting processes adapted to local ore sources. These artifacts, recovered from domestic and contexts, suggest iron was integral to daily subsistence and ritual practices by this period. Evidence of on-site iron production includes fragments of , residues, and terracotta tuyeres (air pipes for furnaces), pointing to small-scale in pit or bowl furnaces typical of early South Indian ironworking. While large heaps are absent—possibly due to localized, low-volume operations—such remains imply experimentation with high-temperature reduction of hematite-rich ores from nearby deposits, achieving temperatures above 1100°C with fuel and . Comparative analysis with regional sites like Tadkanhalli corroborates this, showing consistent primitive furnace designs without advanced carburization. The progression of iron technology at Hallur unfolded over at least two to three centuries, transitioning from sporadic adoption amid continuity to a mature phase where iron tools enhanced clearing forests and tilling soils, as inferred from associated agricultural evidence. This development aligns with an independent southern trajectory, distinct from northern Gangetic influences, as the site's iron culture overlaps with ash-mound traditions and lacks imported precursors like wootz until later centuries. Radiocarbon dates from iron-bearing layers (e.g., 1150–1030 BCE uncalibrated equivalents) underscore gradual refinement, with no abrupt diffusionist markers, supporting causal links to local resource exploitation and cultural rather than external imposition.

Agricultural and Subsistence Practices

Archaeobotanical evidence from Hallur reveals a subsistence economy centered on millet cultivation during the Neolithic phase (circa 2500–1800 BCE), with staples including finger millet (Eleusine coracana), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), browntop millet (Brachiaria ramosa), and foxtail millet (Setaria spp.). Pulses such as black gram (Vigna mungo), green gram (Vigna radiata), and horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) complemented these, providing dietary diversity and soil fertility benefits through rotation or intercropping in the region's semiarid black cotton soils. Small quantities of rice (Oryza sativa) and limited wheats (Triticum dicoccum, Triticum durum/aestivum) alongside barley (Hordeum vulgare) suggest supplementary cultivation or exchange, reflecting initial integration of Southwest Asian domesticates into a predominantly indigenous African-Indian crop package. This system indicates rain-fed farming adapted to the Deccan plateau's monsoon patterns, with no evidence of irrigation infrastructure in early layers. Animal domestication emphasized , with (Bos indicus) central to the , as demonstrated by ash-mounds composed of calcined dung cakes—likely from penning and ritual burning for fuel or ceremonies—dating to the . Faunal remains include sheep (Ovis aries), goats (Capra hircus), water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), and pigs (Sus domesticus), supporting meat, milk, and traction needs, while secondary products like hides and enhanced agricultural . wild game, evidenced by deer and bones, and possible riverine near the Tungabhadra supplemented protein intake, indicating a mixed strategy resilient to environmental variability. Transition to the (circa 1000–500 BCE) maintained these practices with continuity in crop profiles and herd management, underscoring local adaptation over external impositions.

Interpretations and Debates

Debates on Iron Antiquity

The antiquity of iron at Hallur has been a focal point in discussions of South Indian prehistory, with radiocarbon dates initially suggesting its introduction around 1000 BCE during Period II, overlying a Neolithic-Chalcolithic phase (Period I). Excavations by M.H. Nagaraja Rao in the and 1970s yielded three uncalibrated radiocarbon dates from the iron-using layer: 755 ± 105 BCE, 810 ± 125 BCE, and 785 ± 105 BCE, supporting contemporaneity with iron artifacts such as knives, arrowheads, and slag. These findings positioned Hallur as one of the earliest documented iron sites in peninsular , contemporaneous with northern sites like Atranjikhera but independent of migrations, as iron appears without associated Painted Grey Ware. Subsequent recalibrations and (AMS) analyses have refined these estimates, pushing the onset of iron use to the late second millennium BCE, approximately 1200–1100 BCE, via Bayesian modeling of stratigraphic sequences. The underlying layer dates to 1426–1132 BCE, implying a transitional phase without a sharp cultural break. However, debates persist over date reliability, with critics like D.M. Mandal (2009) arguing that potential old wood effects in samples and stratigraphic disturbances—such as pit intrusions—may inflate antiquity, rendering iron potentially post-1000 BCE rather than transformative by 1200 BCE. Proponents, including Rakesh Tewari (2010), counter that multiple samples, including short-lived materials where possible, and contextual iron confirm indigenous without diffusionist anomalies. Broader controversies link Hallur to pan-Indian iron origins, questioning whether southern developments were autonomous or influenced by northwestern distributions and early Gangetic ironworking dated to 1800–1300 BCE. Some early targeted Hallur's dates as unreliable due to sample contamination risks, though peer-reviewed reassessments affirm their validity against alternatives like discrepancies at nearby sites. These debates underscore challenges in correlating uncalibrated legacy dates with calibrated chronologies, influencing interpretations of iron's role in and megalithic burials rather than .

Cultural Continuities and Influences

Excavations at Hallur reveal a seamless transition from the phase, characterized by ash-mound settlements and cattle-centered , to the early around 1200–1000 BCE, with continuous occupation on the Tungabhadra riverbank indicating population stability rather than replacement by migrants. This continuity is evidenced by persistent settlement patterns, where hut floors and urn burials evolved into structures without abrupt stratigraphic breaks, suggesting endogenous social adaptations. Material culture at Hallur demonstrates incremental technological refinement rooted in traditions, including polished stone tools giving way to iron implements like axes and sickles, while forms—such as burnished gray ware—retained stylistic links to earlier microlithic and phases without foreign typological intrusions. Agricultural practices, centered on millet cultivation and domesticated herding, persisted with enhancements like iron-tipped ploughs, reflecting local in subsistence strategies amid environmental stability in the Tungabhadra Valley. Faunal assemblages further underscore this, showing consistent reliance on caprines and bovids from to layers, with no evidence of or dietary shifts implying external cultural overlays. Ritual elements exhibit continuity through the ash-mound tradition, where accumulated cattle dung hearths transitioned into megalithic features, potentially symbolizing enduring pastoral ideologies without parallels to northern or traditions. While later interactions with Mauryan urban networks are inferred from proximity to Ashokan edict sites like , early phases at Hallur lack artifacts—such as or northern ceramics—indicative of significant diffusion, prioritizing instead regional networks within South India's . This pattern challenges models of unidirectional influence from the Gangetic plains, favoring interpretations of cultural resilience through localized exchange and adaptation.

Challenges to Diffusionist Models

The of iron artifacts at Hallur to approximately 1100 BCE, obtained from excavations conducted between 1965 and 1971, contradicted prevailing diffusionist hypotheses that posited the spread of iron technology from northern or external regions like the via or Persian contacts. These dates aligned with or predated many northern Indian Iron Age contexts, such as those associated with around 1200–1000 BCE, thereby supporting arguments for independent or parallel metallurgical innovation in southern rather than unidirectional diffusion. Archaeological evidence from Hallur, including iron slag, tuyeres, and finished tools like arrowheads and knives found in direct association with local ash-mound layers, indicated on-site production capabilities, challenging models reliant on imported expertise or . The site's stratigraphic continuity from pre-iron phases (evidenced by cattle pen ash-mounds dated to around 2000–1500 BCE) to iron-using levels without abrupt cultural discontinuities or foreign artifact influxes further undermined diffusionist interpretations, suggesting evolutionary local adaptation of pyrotechnology from existing and working traditions. Subsequent analyses, such as those by D. K. Chakrabarti, emphasized that southern sites like Hallur demonstrated iron's role in indigenous agrarian intensification—evidenced by associated microlithic tools and domesticated crop remains—independent of northern vector models, which often conflated iron with elite warrior cultures. While some residual diffusionist views persist, citing potential northwest influences on , Hallur's data prioritized causal factors like resource availability (local iron ores in the Tungabhadra valley) and technological experimentation over migratory imposition, aligning with broader revisions in South Asian prehistory that favor polycentric origins for iron metallurgy.

References

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