A team led by a scholar from Hartwick College in the United States has unearthed a largely intact human burial site, in addition to other artefacts dating to the Neolithic and later periods in Tekkalakote in Ballari district.

A researcher inspects an excavation trench in Tekkalakote on Sunday. (HT PHOTO)The discoveries were made at Gowdra Moole hill range on the southwestern fringes of Tekkalakote, people familiar with the matter said.

Namita S Sugandhi, associate professor of anthropology at the college, led the research team, which included Dr. Yashaswini Jayadevayya, a researcher with the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, G Rohini, a post-graduate scholar in Central University of Karnataka, and V Ashok Abkari, a local scholar and former school teacher who has aided Sugandhi on earlier excavations conducted by Sugandhi.

“Tekkalakote is an exceptional archaeological site because traces from the Stone Age, Neolithic period and early metal age are all found in one region. This helps us understand nearly 5,000 years of human history in a systematic manner,” said Sugandhi.

“The excavation has brought to light remarkable evidence of early human habitation. We have discovered pottery fragments, stone tools and other objects that clearly belong to the Neolithic and early Iron Age,” she added.

A key find in the latest round of excavations is a largely intact human skeleton measuring about 5.5 feet in length. “The burial pattern is very unique. Stones were placed over the body as part of the funeral ritual, which gives us valuable insight into the burial practices of that era,” said Sugandhi.

The latest round of excavations was underway for around a month, researchers said, adding that three specialised teams were engaged in contiguous surveys in multiple locations.

According to Sugandhi, the sites in Tekkalakote were discovered in 1963 during a survey of the Tungabhadra valley by MS Nagaraja Rao of Poona’s Deccan College and were first excavated under HD Sankalya’s supervision in 1964.

Sugandhi has taken part in multiple rounds of survey and excavation in the area since 2005. In a research paper published in 2022, she posits an approximate timeline for habitation of a Southern Neolithic culture at Tekkalakote, spanning between 3000-1200 BCE.

The team has also found beads of varying sizes and large earthen vessels about two feet high and one foot in diameter. “Some of these pots contain nail-like impressions and intricate designs. It is possible that these vessels were used in burial rituals,” she added.

Susan Kirkpatrick Smith, a bioarchaeologist at Kennesaw State University in the US, is assisting in preserving the skeletal remains and carrying out scientific studies to establish their age. “Even though many pottery sherds are broken, we are working on methods to conserve and reconstruct them for detailed analysis,” Sugandhi noted.

Researchers noted that the process to date and classify the artefacts was still underway.

Local authorities have said the findings may help develop Tekkalakote as a destination for historical and archaeological tourism. The area around Tekkalakote also has substantial medieval remains, which Sugandhi has earlier noted require more in-depth study .