Sati may have existed among megalithic people

Was the medieval tradition of sati practised in another form around 3,000 years ago? Are primitive tribes like Gonds, who populate the Central Indian landscape, related to prehistoric megalithic pastoral nomads who lived in Vidarbha and Southern India?

An ambitious project will compare the DNA extracted from skeletons excavated from a site near Nagpur with that of tribal groups, to deduce if they are the descendants of this ancient culture.

These megalithic people used horses and iron and copper weapons, and as one theory goes, migrated to Vidarbha from South India. The name 'megalithic' is derived from the large stone monuments and circles constructed for purposes like burials.

The Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) has tied up with the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, for an archaeological theme park proposed on 12.5 acres at Gorewada near Nagpur. The area has around 50 megalithic stone circles (burial sites), of which three are being dug up since November.

"This excavation has thrown up first-time evidences to enhance our knowledge of these people and their links with today's times," said Kantikumar Pawar, assistant professor, archaeology, who is leading the project. He said they found three human skeletons at a burial site, which was rare. Of these, two were a couple and the third, who may be a male, was buried around 10 feet away.

"The couple was buried together. So, may be a practice like sati existed then... It could be dismissed as a co-incidence... But a similar couple was found buried at Mahurzari earlier," said Pawar.

These skeletons were found intact with solid, compact bones, which makes it possible to extract and test their DNA. The institute has signed an MoU with the College of Medicine, Seoul National University, South Korea, to compare the DNA of these megalithic people with tribal groups in the landscape.

"The DNA of megalithic people has not been studied. Many Central Indian primitive groups like Gond, Korku, Kolam have cultural affinities with megalithics like burying their dead and erecting small stones around these sites. Are they their descendants?" noted Pawar, adding that it would take a year to test this DNA with that of these tribes. This will done after the government's sanctions.

"The couples' right hands are missing. This is the first time this has been found. They may have been cut off like in the Chacolithic period when the feet of bodies being buried were broken to prevent them from returning as ghosts," he explained.

The other objects found indicate the burial was that of a special person like the chieftain, he explained, adding that a copper and earthen pot had been kept above the head and beside the waist of the female skeleton, respectively. The other skeleton, believed to be a male, had weapons like axes and chisels near the skull and waist.

REMAINS OF THE DAY

• Vidarbha has key megalithic sites like Hirapur, Junapani, Mahurzari, Naikund and Takalghat Khapa
   
• No conclusive information about origins of megalithic people. Theories include them coming from West Asia, migrating to Vidarbha from southern India and originating in Vidarbha and migrating southwards
   
• Megalithic burial sites are marked by stone circles in Vidarbha; head stones, rock chambers, dolmens in South