Prehistory of Sri Lanka

Human skeleton from Potana (near Sigiriya)
Prehistory of Sri Lanka ranges from ca 250,000 BP to 1,000 BC. The distribution, physical characteristics and way of life of Sri Lankan man in this prehistoric period have been determined and suggested by various archaeological evidence discovered so far in the country. Stone and bone implements, food residues such as mollusc shells, animal bones and human skeletal remains provide some idea about the natural and social environment that prevailed during the prehistoric period. 

The places which were periodically or occasionally frequented by the itinerant, foraging hunter-gatherers of the time can be identified as the settlements of this period. The consisted of open-air habitations or campsites, factory sites where stone implements were produced in sizeable quantities, and rock shelters used during the rainy seasons or for the disposal of the dead.

The sites with pre-historic evidence in Sri Lanka are given below;
  • Minihagalkanda in Hambantota District          
  • Fa Hien Cave in Bulathsinhala, Kalutara District
  • Batadombalena in Kuruvita, Ratnapura District
  • Bundala in Hambantota District                         
  • Alulena in Athanagoda, Kegalle District
  • Belilena in Kithulgala, Kegalle District
  • Bellanbendipelessa in Ratnapura District
  • Manthei in Mannar District

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See also
 
This page was last updated on 11 February 2023
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