Tamil Sates of Sangam Age

2020-04-27 11:55:11

Tamilaham

There was no state power by only chiefdoms which was hereditary.
The land b/w Venkatam and Kanyakumari is called Tamilaham.
Sangam poems refer to chiefs as Perumakam and Ko makan.
3 most powerful chiefdoms of the area were Chera, Chola and Pandya.
3 different kinds of chiefs were
1. Kizar → village headmen of Ur villages.
2. Velir→ eg Satyaputras, Adigaiman chiefs.
3. Vedar → were bigger chiefs viz Muvendars.
Poems mention Kizar doing obligatory services to bigger chiefs.
Plunder raids and booty capture was common.
Giving of gifts (Kodai) was common and poems like Puranaruru praise the generosity of chieftains.

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Tinai's	Area	Subsistence
Kurinji	Hilly Backwoods	Hunting and Gathering
Palai	Arid Zone	Cattle lifting and plundering
Mullai	Pastoral tracts	Animal Husbandry and shifting cultivation
Marutam	Wet Land	plough agriculture
Neital	Sea coast	fishing and salt manufacture

Keezhadi excavation new dating shows Sangam was older than expected 580 BC. Findings:
- Tamil Brahmi is as old as 6th century BC.
- Inscribed pots implied people were literate had agrarian pastoral society,
- brick and roof tiles made of silica and lime of good quality - high standard of living shown by terracota ring wells used for drainage,
- water storing; iron nails etc were also found, child burial also found
Refer Anki for Puhar (Kaveripatnam), Muziris, Korkai as port sites of the time.