gems, corundum, Sri Lanka.12, history.1, archaeology, archaeogemology

S.U. Deraniyagala’s 1992 seminal work, The Prehistory of Sri Lanka: an Ecological Perspective, is the definitive archaeological text on the island’s deep history. It established an interdisciplinary framework, mapping human evolution and adaptation to Sri Lanka’s dynamic Quaternary environments and changing coastlines. The groundbreaking 813-page monograph shifts away from traditional, purely artifact-based archaeology. Key highlights include: Geoarchaeological Foundations: the study is grounded in established geochronology, detailing how the island’s fluctuating climate—specifically the alternating glacial and interglacial (altithermal) periods of the Pleistocene—shaped ancient habitats and human migration across the Palk Strait land bridges. Prehistoric Timeline: it establishes the chronology of ancient inhabitants (such as the Balangoda Man), tracing their transition through the Middle Paleolithic (circa 300,000+ years ago) to the Mesolithic period. Ecological Adaptation: rather than viewing early humans as passive victims of nature, Deraniyagala demonstrates how they utilized highly consistent subsistence strategies in both the Wet Zone rain forests and the drier, more seasonal Dry Zone.