Excavation at Keeladi, Tamil Nadu. In pottery shards here, researchers found a complex mix of organic molecules, most notably of peanut residues.
| Photo Credit: R. ASHOK
The archaeology of food is well documented in North India’s ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, where the culinary repertoire, deduced from rigorous research on pottery shards, comprised dairy, meat, and plant-based products as far back as 2500 BCE .
Now, a new study, using sophisticated technology, deconstructed the culinary composition of prehistoric South India’s cuisine and revealed, for the first time, advanced plant processing and the custom of cow milk consumption way back in 600-100 BC, in two important archaeological sites – Keeladi in Tamil Nadu, from 6th to 2nd century BC, and in Gottiprolu in Andhra Pradesh, from 2nd to 1st century BCE.
The study, published in npj | heritage science, surmised that “This indicates that the societies primarily depended on agriculture, cattle rearing, and dairying practices.”
Published – November 10, 2026 08:30 am IST