A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c8.4

c8.4

The evidence bearing on the cultural and racial problems of the prehistoric period is threefold. First, there is the actual distribution of physical characteristics among the population of the country today which may, when carefully related to similar characteristics of peoples elsewhere, furnish clues to the early origins and movements of peoples. Secondly, there is the distribution of language-groups and the interrelations among them. It is now well recognized that language has no definite relation to race, but the value of good linguistic evidence for the study of cultural history can be very great. Lastly, archaeological excavation brings to light the tools and utensils used by men in different places and times, and comparison of their types and designs, particularly in pottery, as also of the different levels at which they are found in the earth’s surface, often gives clues to the movements and relative ages of the cultures of these localities. The remains of human skeletons found in ancient graves sometimes throw light on the probable racial elements in the population. Clearly each of these lines of evidence is difficult to study and interpret properly, and the co-ordination of results reached along the different lines is much more so. Such study and co-ordination has hardly yet begun, and without going into details we can only set forth the broad conclusions so far reached by scholars.