Prehistoric Landscape

Ibban Katuwa, Sri Lanka

This view of Ibban Katuwa, an Early Iron Age site, illustrates a typical prehistoric landscape that includes: (1) a source of lithic resources (rocks), such as the inselberg seen here; (2) a source of water (in this case, runoff from the hill); and (3) pastureland. The Early Iron Age in Lanka was introduced from India in about 1000 BC. Its cultural innovations included sedentism (settling down in villages, which replaced the nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle); plant and animal domestication; small-scale irrigation; stone- and metal- work; production of pottery and beads; and new burial rituals (next page).