THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A human skeleton that dates back to 5,000 years was the cynosure of all eyes at the Archaeology Exhibition organised by the department of archaeology, University of Kerala, on the Kariavattom campus. The three-day exhibition that concluded on Wednesday also witnessed a contest to name the oldest exhibited skeleton, in which over 300 persons participated.
The 5,000-year-old skeleton was excavated from Kutch district of Gujarat. “Such a skeleton is totally new in Kerala. It was from 75 burials that were excavated in Juna Khatiya, an early Harappan burial site in Kutch,” said Prof Abhayan G S.
A wide range of Harappan tools and artefacts such as ‘chumaduthangi’ representing the Iron Age in Kerala were also on display. Visitors were awed by the Paleolithic tools and objects representing Stone Age and Bronze Age. A few of the stone tools are approximately 3.5 to 4 lakh years old. Burial offerings like vessels and shell beads were recovered from excavated burial sites were also displayed in the exhibition.
“This was more of an outreach programme to convey the importance of culture in the younger generation,” said Preetha Nair, head of archaeology department. “The purpose of organising such an exhibition is to provide a great experience to the public and to develop a broader understanding about the Indus Valley Civilisation,” said assistant professor Rajesh S V.
Artefacts from excavations done at ancient ports in Kerala like Vizhinjam and Thangassery were also displayed. They included Chola coins and Chinese coins. According to MPhil student Akhila V, “The discovery of Chinese plates and rouletted ware in the medieval period shows that from 2nd century BC, there was trade relations between Kerala and foreign countries.”