PORUNAI CIVILIZATION - ART & CULTURE
News: Foundation stone laid for ₹33 crore Porunai museum
What is in the news?
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
M.K. Stalin laid the foundation for the Porunai museum, which will come up in
Tirunelveli district at a cost of ₹33.02 crore.
Porunai Museum:
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In 2021, Tamilnadu
government has announced the formation of Porunai museum.
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The museum will showcase
the artifacts unearthed from the following civilizations at the museum:
○ Adichanallur,
considered the cradle of Tamil civilization
○ Korkai,
which was the port of the Pandya kings during the Sangam era.
○ Sivakalai,
which belonged to the Iron Age.
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The excavations
established that Korkai had flourished even before the 8th Century CE and the
bronze and gold artifacts found at Sivakalai and Adichanallur highlighted the
economic and social status of people who had lived there.
Porunai Civilization:
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This Civilization
flourished on the banks of Thamirabarani
river in south Tamilnadu.
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The old Tamil name of the
Thamirabarani river is Porunai.
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A carbon dating analysis
of rice with soil, found in a burial urn at Sivakalai in Thoothukudi district
of Tamil Nadu, by the Miami-based Beta Analytic Testing Laboratory has yielded the date of 1155 BC, indicating that the
Thamirabarani or Porunai civilisation dates back to 3,200 years.
Excavation to find the Tamil roots:
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The Tamil Nadu government
will now conduct archaeological excavations in neighboring states and countries
in search of Tamil roots.
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In the first phase,
studies would be undertaken at the ancient
port of Muziris, now known as Pattanam, in Kerala, to establish the ancientness
and culture of the Chera empire.
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Tamil Nadu Archaeology
Department would also conduct research
at Quseir al-Qadim and Pernica Anekke in Egypt as well as in Khor Rori in Oman
to establish the Tamils trade relations with these countries.
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Archaeology department
also has planned to Study in the southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia,
Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, where King Rajendra Chola had established
supremacy.
Other important Civilizations:
Keeladi Civilization:
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Keeladi is a village in
south Tamil Nadu along the Vaigai river near the temple city of Madurai.
Findings:
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Excavations revealed that
urban civilization existed in Tamil Nadu in the Sangam age on the banks of the
Vaigai river.
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Symbols found in pot
sherds of Keeladi bear a close resemblance to signs of Indus Valley.
Sangam age:
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The period roughly between the 3rd century B.C. and 3rd
century A.D. in South India (the area lying to the south of river Krishna
and Tungabhadra) is known as Sangam Period.
Sangam literature:
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Tolkappiyam
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Ettuthogai (Eight
Anthologies)
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Pattupattu (Ten Idylls)
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Pathinenkilkanakku
contains eighteen works about ethics and morals.
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Epics:
○ Silappathikaram
is written by Elango Adigal and Manimegalai by Sittalai Sattanar.