Crossing the Rivers at Fords in the Prehistory and Later Prehistory: Tracing the Probable and Lesser-Known Movements
Dublin Core
Title
Crossing the Rivers at Fords in the Prehistory and Later Prehistory: Tracing the Probable and Lesser-Known Movements
Description
Crossing the Rivers at Fords in the Prehistory and Later Prehistory: Tracing the Probable and Lesser-Known
Movements is focused on the prehistoric and early historic sites located on the perennial rivers of south India.
This topic suits Session 22, Underwater Cultural Heritage and Maritime Museums. The region has potential
archaeological site-centric data on the cultural heritage of the perennial rivers due to the lack of methodological
frameworks we have known least on the inland (short/long distance) water navigation network and the frequent
river crossing patterns adopted by the ancient societies. The significance of rivers in inland routes has taken the
lesser focus of Indian Archaeology, except for several studies centred on the Ganga-Yamuna rivers and coastal
ports of the Indian Peninsula. The rivers Kaveri, Krishna, Tungabhadra, and Bhima, origin from the Western
Ghats in south India, flow through several ecological regions and plateaus on reaching the Bay of Bengal. At
several places, these rivers have broader (1-1.5km in width) and narrow channels cutting through the plains and
valleys. Early sedentary villages and larger settlements leading to urbanisation seem connected with the rivers.
For example, Neolithic and Megalithic site complexes (T-Narasipura and Koppa, Talakadu and Kaveripattinam
on the river Kaveri; Sannati-Kanaganahalli on the river Bhima; Nagarjunakonda on the river Krishna are few
sites that hold a prominent discussion in this paper. There need to be more conceptual and methodological
frameworks for such topics that pose point-blank-range challenges to research. What archaeological and cultural
materials (directly or contextually) can support such studies, and to what extent the geolocations and the local
geomorphological characteristics can support the inland navigation are to be assessed. Hence, this paper is the
beginning of new research directions and will contribute to developing methodological perspectives towards the
cultural heritage of perennial rivers.
Movements is focused on the prehistoric and early historic sites located on the perennial rivers of south India.
This topic suits Session 22, Underwater Cultural Heritage and Maritime Museums. The region has potential
archaeological site-centric data on the cultural heritage of the perennial rivers due to the lack of methodological
frameworks we have known least on the inland (short/long distance) water navigation network and the frequent
river crossing patterns adopted by the ancient societies. The significance of rivers in inland routes has taken the
lesser focus of Indian Archaeology, except for several studies centred on the Ganga-Yamuna rivers and coastal
ports of the Indian Peninsula. The rivers Kaveri, Krishna, Tungabhadra, and Bhima, origin from the Western
Ghats in south India, flow through several ecological regions and plateaus on reaching the Bay of Bengal. At
several places, these rivers have broader (1-1.5km in width) and narrow channels cutting through the plains and
valleys. Early sedentary villages and larger settlements leading to urbanisation seem connected with the rivers.
For example, Neolithic and Megalithic site complexes (T-Narasipura and Koppa, Talakadu and Kaveripattinam
on the river Kaveri; Sannati-Kanaganahalli on the river Bhima; Nagarjunakonda on the river Krishna are few
sites that hold a prominent discussion in this paper. There need to be more conceptual and methodological
frameworks for such topics that pose point-blank-range challenges to research. What archaeological and cultural
materials (directly or contextually) can support such studies, and to what extent the geolocations and the local
geomorphological characteristics can support the inland navigation are to be assessed. Hence, this paper is the
beginning of new research directions and will contribute to developing methodological perspectives towards the
cultural heritage of perennial rivers.
Creator
Arjun Rao
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
2023
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Rao, Arjun . 2023. “Crossing the Rivers at Fords in the Prehistory and Later Prehistory: Tracing the Probable and Lesser-Known Movements.” Edited by Jennifer Craig, Jay Mok, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Arjun Rao. In Proceedings of Fifth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Gwangju, The Republic of Korea, November 13-18 2023. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. URL: https://apconf.omeka.net/exhibits/show/apconfproceedings/item/2022
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Citation
Arjun Rao, “Crossing the Rivers at Fords in the Prehistory and Later Prehistory: Tracing the Probable and Lesser-Known Movements,” APCONF-MUCH Proceedings Recently Added Items, accessed October 24, 2026, https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/items/show/648.