Although there may have been agricultural villages producing rice as early as 4,500 BC in the south of India, there was no urbanisation, and the villages remained mainly autonomous. Other main crops were millet and pulses and by the third millennium BC humped cattle were the main meat source with some sheep and goats that originated in the Middle East. However, the South Indian inhabitants had a common culture shown in pottery, rock art and burial practices. The Neolithic pottery of South India from before 3,000 BC was coarse red, grey and buff wares. A great deal of pottery is currently being discovered, particularly in Tamil Nadu. This should reveal a great deal more about the dating of South Indian pottery. One site, Athiyanellur, has recently had its pottery dated to between 3,750 and 1,750 BC. An example is the large burial urn pictured.

Large Burial Urn with Smaller Burial Pots
- courtesy Government Museum, Chennai

By 2,700 BC burnished and incised wares were evident, some with perforated bases. Red slipped buff and grey ware were also sometimes incised. Some pots, including the burnished grey ware, were painted with ochre after firing. Painted wares developed as black on red slip and red on buff slip. The potter’s wheel was used from about 2,000 BC. Burials were in large thick red earthenware urns, as large as 1m diameter and 1.25m high. Up to 1000 urns were buried on a single site, 1m apart and 2-3m deep, with the dead placed in a squatting position inside. Smaller pottery and bronze items were placed inside and just outside the urns. The pottery was black and red and black burnished wares with white dotted decoration, usually as bowls, some carinated, and jars.