Tamil Civilisation & Culture
India’s first inhabitants, often referred to as the Ancient Ancestral South Indians (AASI), have been present on the subcontinent for over 65,000 years.
They were hunter-gatherers who adapted to the diverse geography of the region. Evidence of their presence includes prehistoric cave paintings, which provide a glimpse into their way of life and spiritual practices.
Genetic research further reveals that the AASI’s legacy endures in contemporary populations, especially among indigenous communities such as the Tamil-speaking groups in the south of the Indian Sub-continent.
The Tamil language, spoken predominantly in today’s Tamil Nadu, southern India, have originated from the pre-Aryan linguistic traditions. Despite the challenges posed by external influences, the ancient Tamil tribes have remained resilient in preserving their cultural heritage, which remains a vital component of India’s identity today.
Ancestral North Indians (ANI), the descendants of populations that migrated into the region, bringing Indo-European languages and other cultural influences, became indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. This genetic intermingling has shaped the contemporary demographic structure of India. Culturally, it reflects in the coexistence of ancient Tamil traditions alongside later Vedic influences which reflects very much and can be seen in south India today.
Never-the-less today’s Tamils maintain their culture, different to other south Indian states that have the Vedic influence.
The Tamils, early inhabitants of sub-continent practiced forms of worshipping natural forces such as trees, sacred groves, water bodies, and fertility symbols in their religious practices. These early forms of reverence for nature left a lasting imprint on later Hinduism that came to being.
The Sub-continent’s first inhabitants played an essential role in the development of what India came into being and is today long before external migrations took place. Their advances in agriculture, urbanization, art, and spirituality laid the groundwork for a civilization that has spanned thousands of years. Recognizing and preserving the history of these early communities helps us understand the complexity of today’s Indian cultural heritage and underscores the importance of safeguarding its original roots and eventual diverse traditions.
The Durham geologists led by Dr. Glen Milne have shown in their maps that South India between 17,000-7,000 years ago extended southward below present-day Kanya Kumari the southern tip of present-day India and Sri Lanka. It had an enhanced offshore running all the way to the Equator.
The much larger Tamil homeland of thousands of years ago described as ‘Kumari Kandam’ supports the opening of the Kumari Kandam flood tradition set in the remote pre-historic period of 12,000 –10,000 years ago. The inundation specialists confirm that between 12,000-10,000 years ago Peninsular India’s coastlines would have been bigger than what they are today, before they were swallowed up by the rising seas at the end of the Last Ice Age.
It is predicted that pre-historic ruins more than 11,000 years old should lie underwater at depths and locations off Tamil Nadu’s present-day coast. NIO’s discovery and Dr. Milne’s calculations appear to confirm the accuracy of the prediction.
It is here that the first two Sangams existed and were a golden age of literary, artistic and musical creativity amongst the Tamils. This was a civilisation that had reached a high level of development, organisation and cultural advancement from as early as 11,000 years ago as of today.
Tamil civilisation
Tamil civilisation signifies the unique language, literature and rich cultural that independently is flourishing in South India and Sri Lanka today, apart from other parts of the world where Tamils have migrated to.
The Pandyans, a historical dynasty of Tamil kings, formed the three Tamil Sangam, in order to foster among their subjects, the love of knowledge, literature and poetry. These Sangams were the fountain head of Tamil culture and their principal concern was the perfection of the Tamil language and literature.
Kumari Kandam, literally means the Land of the Virgin or Virgin Continent. The first two Sangams were located here. The first Sangam was head-quartered in a city named Taen-Madurai meaning southern Madurai. It was patronised by a succession of eighty-nine kings and survived for an unbroken period of 4,400 years during which time it created an immense collection of poems and literature. At the end of that golden age, the First Sangam was destroyed when a deluge arose and Taen-Madurai itself was swallowed by the sea along with large parts of the land area of Kumari Kandam.
However, the survivors, saving some of the books, were able to relocate further north. They established a Second Sangam in a city called Kavatapuram which lasted 3,700 years. The same fate befell this city as well, when it too was swallowed by the sea and lost forever all its works with the sole exception of the ‘Tolkappiyam,’ a work on Tamil grammar that exists till today. Following the inundation of Kavatapuram, the survivors once again relocated northward in a city identified with present day Madurai known as Vada-madurai (Northern Madurai). The Third Sangam lasted for a period of 1850 years and most scholars agree that that Sangam terminated around 350 AD.
Literary evidence of the lost continent of Kumari Kandam comes principally from the literature of the Third Tamil Sangam and the historical writings based on them. The tradition of the loss of a vast continent by deluge of the sea is too strong in the ancient Tamil classics to be ignored by any serious type of inquiry.
Tamil civilisation is highlighted as a rich cultural identity, showcasing its unique language and literature, which independently flourished. It is distinguished by its specific language, literature, and cultural traditions.
The currently ongoing excavations with advanced dating techniques, archaeologists are studying the inscriptions on stones and artefacts found recently in present day Tamil Nadu, in the sub-continent reported on the bases of evidence that Tamil civilisation existed more than 4,000 years ago in the present-day sub-continent. They went on to say that Tamil civilisation spread to the other parts of the world. Linguistic data of Tamil support only a movement from south to north as Tamil is shown to be the parent language.
This present state of knowledge has however received a startling knock from another quarter with the recent underwater archaeological finds relating to the lost Tamil continent of Kumari Kandam. For what those discoveries reveal, though at the present moment only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, has been uncovered, is the existence of a lost continent and lost cities in an antediluvian era stretching back before the melt-down of the Last Ice Age and the inundations of those lands.
Ancient Tamils had a rich heritage of scientific understanding in various fields, including astronomy, mathematics, engineering, and medicine.
These ancient traditions are still alive amongst Tamil people today worldwide.
Tamil culture is rooted in the arts and ways of life of Tamil people. Tamil culture is expressed in language, literature, arts of different forms such as music, dance, theatre, folk arts, martial arts, painting, sculpture, architecture etc. The Tamil people have a very strong attachment to the Tamil language, which is often venerated in literature as ‘Tamil Annai’ meaning ‘Tamil Mother.’
Tamil is unrelated to the Indo-European languages of northern India. The Tamil language preserves many features of Proto-Tamilian, though modern-day spoken Tamil in Tamil Nadu which freely includes words from Sanskrit and English and vice versa. The Tamil language spoken by Sri Lankan Tamils are purer and is more classical that the Tamil spoken in India due to various influences that has been happening over time on the sub-continent. There are some pockets of areas where the Tamil spoken is more original in the southern part of Tamil Nadu that has least influences from the north.
To understand the religious beliefs of ancient Tamil people, one can have the guidance from the Tamil grammatical works of Tolkappiyam, Pattuppāṭṭu, Eṭṭuttokai, etc.
Murugan is glorified as the Tamil god, who is ever young and resplendent, as the favored god of the Tamils. Civan is also seen as the supreme God. Early iconography of Murugan and Civan and their association with native flora and fauna goes back to the ancient Sangam period. The Sangam landscape was classified into five categories, Thinais, based on the mood, the season and the land. Tolkappiyam, mentions that each of these Thinai had an associated deity.
The origin of various martial arts including Silambam, Adimurai, Kuttu Varisai, Varma Kalai, Malyutham and Kalarippayattu were born and practiced by ancient Tamils. Silambam in ancient Tamilakam was patronized by the Cholas, Pandyans and Cheras, who ruled over this region. Silapathigaram, a Tamil literature from the 2nd century AD, refers to the sale of Silamabam instructions, weapons and equipment to foreign traders that has spread to countries like Malaysia.
The Tamil culture is well-known for its deep-rooted spiritual heritage and colourful traditions. Enveloping a vast array of beliefs and practices. Tamil worship is a profound blend of devotion that reflects both history and personal faith. At the heart of Tamil spirituality are the deities, each carrying unique stories and attributes. Today, beliefs don't merely exist as abstract concepts; they manifest daily through rituals, festivals, and temple visits. Intriguingly, present day Tamil Nadu, is home to some of the grandest temples in the world that have been built since over 3,000 years, which are architectural wonders that are not only just places of worship, but also centres of culture, art, and history.
Understanding these practices provides a glimpse into the Tamil way of life, where spirituality harmoniously coexists with cultural expressions, enriching the experiences of those who partake in this vibrant tradition.
Tamil Language
The word Tamil(தமிழ்) occurs in all the ancient Tamil classics as a common or generic name for Tamil people and their language. The word is as old as the Tamil language! Purity, which is the life and soul of Tamil, is almost unknown to the other languages.
Tolkappiyam, which is mainly a recast of an earlier work, or compilation of materials collected from many earlier works (and presupposes a long evolution of literary culture, was composed about the 7th century B.C. Literary tradition affirms that the First Academy which flourished more than 6000 years before Christ, both preserved earlier literature and produced new works exactly like its two successors. Though the periods of duration given for the Three Academies are incredibly long, the incredibility soon vanishes when we consider the aboriginality of the Tamilians, the high degree of linguistic and literary cultivation of Tamil and the geological antiquity to the Lemurian continent, in which the seats of the first Academies were situated.
The relatively high antiquity of the literary cultivation of Tamil being a matter of interest considered in itself, irrespective of its bearings on the question Tamil literature is full of maxims and principles reflecting Tamilian cosmopolitanism, humanism, philanthropy and indiscriminate munificence.
All the pre-Aryan Tamil literature, technical as well as general, displaying perfect, purity of word and thought, have been destroyed. Even the earliest extant Tamil literature is enough to prove the complete independence of the Tamil language and literature from Sanskrit. The linking of the Tamil language, Music and Drama together as Muttamil, 'threefold Tamil,' the division of Grammar into Orthography, Accidence and Syntax, and that which comprises classification of literary themes, Prosody and Rhetoric; the division of subject-matter into Aham (Erotic) and Puram (non-Erotic); the five fold geographical treatment of erotic poems as Kurinji (hillside), Mullai (pastoral region), Marudam (agricultural region), Neydal (littoral), and Palai (desert); the four principal metres, viz., Venba, Asiriyappa, Kalippa and Vanjippa and their varieties, not to speak of the various allied and auxiliary metres; the eightfold classification of poetic works, each class called by the common name Vanappu, into Ammai, Alagu, Tonmai, Tool, Virundu, Iyaibu, Pulan, and Ilaibu; the 20 types. of simple rhythm described by Tolkappiyam,
Tamil language is one of the oldest languages in the world, holds a special place for its rich cultural and linguistic heritage
Keeladi
Keeladi’s relevance stems from the insights it provides about ancient Tamil civilization, particularly during the Sangam period roughly spanning from 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE. Archaeologists discovered more than 5,000 artifacts, including sharp iron tools, spindle whorls, gold jewellery, and graffiti-marked ceramics. Potsherds with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions were among the most amazing discoveries, representing some of the earliest written documents in Tamil.
These discoveries indicated an educated, highly technological and economically thriving urban society that relied on trade and craftsmanship. Radiocarbon analysis confirmed the site’s antiquity, tracing Tamil civilization back to at least the sixth century BCE. This revealed a degree of social progress in southern India that surpassed, if not predated, the Ganges Valley civilizations, which have long been regarded as India’s “cradle of culture.” This supported the notion that Tamil culture was ancient, independent, and not a product of northern, Sanskrit-based traditions. The discoveries were a source of truths, evidence, crebility, cultural pride and identity, especially in a region that has long claimed linguistic and cultural uniqueness within the Indian Union.
Despite, or possibly because of, the magnitude of these discoveries, the Keeladi excavation quickly became the focus of a political discourse. In 2017, the ASI abruptly shifted Amarnath Ramakrishna, the lead archaeologist who had overseen the first three phases of the excavation, to Assam. The move was widely criticized as politically driven, with many claiming that it was designed to derail the excavation’s progress and bury potentially revolutionary findings from the site.
Critics alleged that the ASI, influenced by the Central Government, was purposefully downplaying Keeladi’s significance since its narrative contradicted the government’s chosen view of Indian history, one which highlights a Vedic, Aryan-centric cultural heritage. The discovery of pre-Vedic, non-Aryan, urban Tamil civilization was interpreted as a threat to this prevalent perspective.
The Tamil Nadu government intervened, recognizing the popular outcry and Keeladi’s cultural value. In 2018, the state Department of Archaeology took over the excavation, and Phase IV began independently of the ASI. This was a rare and momentous occasion in Indian archaeology, as a state government took up responsibility for continuing a large excavation operation. The state government has also accelerated attempts to publish discoveries, undertake carbon dating tests, and create Keeladi-themed museums and research centres.
The Keeladi controversy is about more than archaeology; it is also about narrative control. Who has the authority to write India’s history? Which places, cultures, and languages are acknowledged in this history, and which are overlooked?
The northern plains, Vedic writings, and Sanskritic traditions have frequently been emphasized in discussions of India’s history. Keeladi threatens to refocus this lens by arguing that flourishing urban cultures in the South existed independently, adding to India’s civilizational heritage without necessarily going via the filter of Aryan migration or Vedic absorption.
The results of Keeladi are interpreted as proof of a long-suppressed Tamil identity. This is consistent with the broader Tamilian movement, which has historically challenged the cultural dominance of northern Indian institutions and languages, particularly Hindi.
Keeladi reminds us that inheritance cannot be monopolized. Whether the history confirms or contradicts our current beliefs, it deserves to be explored honestly, objectively, and transparently. The fight over Keeladi mirrors bigger themes in Indian society, including the conflict between regional and national identities, the politicization of education and history, and the critical necessity to maintain academic freedom. Most importantly, history must be viewed as a shared inheritance to the world, not as a tool for ideological dominance.
Keeladi is more than just a heap of dirt and shattered ceramics. It is a mirror that reflects the intricacies of India’s history and present. Trenches provide hints of an old urban Tamil culture while also exposing modern India’s concerns about identity, history, and power. The Keeladi debate serves as a reminder that history is more than simply what lies beneath the earth; it is also about what we bring to the surface—and how we interpret it. Whether considered as a symbol of Tamil pride or an inconvenient fact, Keeladi invites us to reconsider who we are, where we came from, and how the truth is told and proven.
Excavations in Keeladi prove that a Tamil urban civilisation existed in Tamil Nadu in the Sangam era on the banks of the river Vaigai.
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Many antiquities have been unearthed that provide crucial evidence to understanding the missing links of the Iron Age [12th century BCE to 6th century BCE] to the Early Historic Period [6th century BCE to 4th century BCE] and subsequent cultural developments.
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Literate society: Tamil Brahmi letters found were inscribed when the pot was wet or after the pot became dry. This clearly suggests literacy levels in the 6th century BC.
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Agrarian society that reared cattle: Skeletal fragments of cow/ox, buffalo, sheep, goat, nilgai, blackbuck, wild boar and peacock were found.
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High standard of living: Long walls, Well-laid floors along with roof tiles in a collapsed state, iron nails fastened to the poles and rafters prove a high standard of living during the Sangam age.
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Items found: Brick structures, terracotta ring wells, fallen roofing with tiles, golden ornaments, broken parts of copper objects, iron implements, terracotta chess pieces, ear ornaments, spindle whorls, figurines, black and redware, rouletted ware and a few pieces of Arretine ware, besides beads made of glass, terracotta and semi-precious stones.
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Graffiti marks are found in earthenware, caves and rocks in or near the excavation sites.
Iron Age
A host of iron objects dating back to more than 5,000 years have been found in Tamil Nadu
The latest findings from Adichchanallur, Sivagalai, Mayiladumparai, Kilnamandi, Mangadu and Thelunganur sites have made local headlines such as "Did the Iron Age Begin in Tamil Nadu?" The age marks a period when societies began using and producing iron widely, making tools, weapons and infrastructure.
Iron Age could well have begun in today's Tamil Nadu at least 1,000 years before it was earlier estimated, recent dating of samples from burial urns at Sivagalai in Tuticorin district show.
The two charcoal samples found along with iron objects at the site have been dated to 3,345 BCE and 3,259 BCE, which makes the Iron Age here the oldest in the world. Earlier, people of the Hittite Empire (in today's Turkiye) were believed to be the first to use iron, in 1,380 BCE.
Samples from Sivagalai were analysed by three leading research labs — Beta Analytics in US, Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, and Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeo Sciences in Lucknow. They all dated the objects to around the same period. For the first time in the world, smelted iron has been dated back to the middle of the third millennium BCE.
Therefore, it has been scientifically established the fact that the use of iron was prevalent in Tamil Nadu 5300 years ago.h discoveries, undertake carbon dating tests, and create Keeladi-themed museums and research centres.
Kodumanal Iron Age
In a site called Kodumanal, excavators found a furnace, pointing to an advanced iron-making community. The excavations at Kodumanal revealed the presence of iron smelting units. Along with the iron smelting furnaces, archaeologists have also unearthed storage containers, earthen pots, air blow pipes, etc. Officials claim that the units could have been involved in making iron, terracotta and copper.
The furnace area stood out with its white discolouration, likely from extreme heat. Nearby, excavators found iron slag - some of it fused to the furnace wall - hinting at advanced metalworking techniques. Clearly the people at the site were not just using iron, but actively producing and processing it.
Unlike other regions where iron use was limited to meteoritic iron (naturally occurring iron from meteorites), Tamil Nadu’s ironworkers were involved in true smelting—extracting iron from ore through high-temperature furnaces.
At Kodumanal, excavators discovered an iron smelting furnace with visible iron slag fused to the walls, pointing to a well-established industry. This challenges the traditional belief that metallurgy required a preceding Copper Age and suggests that Tamil Nadu’s ancient inhabitants bypassed the Chalcolithic stage, moving straight into advanced ironworking.
Archaeologists have discovered iron objects at six sites in Tamil Nadu, dating back to 2,953–3,345 BCE, or between 5,000 to 5,400 years old. This suggests that the process of extracting, smelting, forging and shaping iron to create tools, weapons and other objects may have developed independently in the Indian subcontinent.
Thes digs have uncovered early scripts that rewrite literacy timelines, mapped maritime trade routes connecting Tamils to the world and revealed advanced urban settlements - reinforcing the role as a cradle of early civilisation and global commerce.
Apart from the discovery of the earliest iron in the world, it has contributed significantly to another aspect of Tamil culture, the antiquity of writing. Writing has been usually, made out to be not gone beyond the reign of Ashoka. Now, Tamil Nadu state archaeology has proved through radiocarbon dates and through the study of different types of graffiti that the antiquity of writing in India goes back to the 7th century BCE.
Experts say the excavations in Tamil Nadu are significant and could reshape our understanding of the Iron Age and iron smelting in the Indian subcontinent. Also, "what these digs testify is to the existence of a distinctly sophisticated style of civilisation.
Archaeologists working across six sites in Tamil Nadu—Adichchanallur, Sivagalai, Mayiladumparai, Kilnamandi, Mangadu, and Thelunganur—have uncovered iron objects dating back between 2,953 and 3,345 BCE. These would date the findings to between 5,000 to 5,400 years old.
This includes:
• Hoe-spades, spears, knives, arrowheads, chisels, axes, and swords
• A sophisticated iron sword from a burial site made of ultra-high-carbon steel, a precursor to later advanced metallurgy
• Iron slag and remnants of furnaces, indicating that ancient Tamil communities were not just using iron, but actively smelting and processing it
The findings were supported by radiocarbon dating from internationally recognised laboratories, including Beta Analytic, which confirmed that Tamil Nadu’s iron production predated the Hittite Empire’s metallurgy by centuries.
This discovery has led experts to reconsider the origins of ironworking technology. Historian Osmund Bopearachchi, from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, remarked, "We know that the first signs of real steel production date back to the 13th Century BCE in present-day Turkey. The radiometric dates seem to prove that the Tamil Nadu samples are earlier."
The discovery has sparked international debate over whether Tamil Nadu, rather than Anatolia, should be credited with the world’s earliest known iron production. If further research confirms these findings, Tamil Nadu could be recognised as one of the first global centres of metallurgy—a discovery that could fundamentally reshape the history of the Iron Age.
A host of iron objects dating back to more than 5,000 years have been found in Tamil Nadu
The latest findings from Adichchanallur, Sivagalai, Mayiladumparai, Kilnamandi, Mangadu and Thelunganur sites have made local headlines such as "Did the Iron Age Begin in Tamil Nadu?" The age marks a period when societies began using and producing iron widely, making tools, weapons and infrastructure.
Iron Age could well have begun in today's Tamil Nadu at least 1,000 years before it was earlier estimated, recent dating of samples from burial urns at Sivagalai in Tuticorin district show.
The two charcoal samples found along with iron objects at the site have been dated to 3,345 BCE and 3,259 BCE, which makes the Iron Age here the oldest in the world. Earlier, people of the Hittite Empire (in today's Turkiye) were believed to be the first to use iron, in 1,380 BCE.
Samples from Sivagalai were analysed by three leading research labs — Beta Analytics in US, Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, and Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeo Sciences in Lucknow. They all dated the objects to around the same period. For the first time in the world, smelted iron has been dated back to the middle of the third millennium BCE.
Therefore, it has been scientifically established the fact that the use of iron was prevalent in Tamil Nadu 5300 years ago.h discoveries, undertake carbon dating tests, and create Keeladi-themed museums and research centres.
