Archaeological Evidence from the Kuragala Site, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The Kuragala archaeological site is located in the Balangoda division of the Ratnapura district, southwestern Sri Lanka. This paper summarises archaeological investigations carried out in and around Kuragala indicating that human habitation in the region extended beyond 15,000 years into the past. Chronometric dating of the site and archaeological evidence show that Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene modern humans who followed a hunting and gathering subsistence pattern lived in this region. Archaeological finds and data from the Kuragala excavation include microlithic tools, bone tools, processed animal bones and beads, which indicate behavioural modernity among the inhabitants. This paper also discusses aspects of early historic occupation of the site based on the existence of human-modified drip-ledge caves and stone inscriptions.

(Sinhala Article)