The megaliths in the Godavari basin reveal the arrival of megalithic builders migrated from different areas of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The recent excavations of these burials at Pochampad and Kadambapur yielded rare specimens of pottery, viz., high-necked vases, bowls in curvilinear-shapes, tapering sides and perforated stands. The neolithic chalcolithic sites excavated from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh bear resemblance to the ones excavated in the Godavari basin which suggests that at different times the people from Karnataka and Andhra had migrated and settled in the Godavari basin, where they came into contact with the megalithic folks of Vidarbha. The present work deals with the influence of earlier neolithic chalcolithic culture over the megalithic, the pottery types and their transformation, their burial patterns and cultural contacts that existed in the Vidarbha region and bears stamp of author’s painstaking efforts in understanding the dynamics of cultural growth which the readers would find highly informative and fascinating.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR P. Ramachandra Murthy
Dr. Pulugundla Rama Chandra Murthy, after obtaining Post-Graduate Degree in Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology from the University of Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, joined the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1962. He has explored a good number of sites of archaeological importance and excavated Pochampad, a megalithic site, to unravel the importance of protohistory in the Godavari basin. Impressed with the evidences he took up the study, and submitted his work to the Barkatullah University, Bhopal for the award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He excavated the Jain group of temples of the early medieval period at Gollothagudi, brought to light the Hinayana stupa, preserved upto Harmika. He was in charge of the Salvage Archaeology Project that aimed to transplant temples to safer areas, owing to the construction of a high dam across the river Krishna at Srisailam. As Chief Technical Officer, Projects, he surveyed the archaeological sites in the submersible areas of the Polavaram Project, designed on the river Godavari. He retired from service as the Chief Technical Officer, Projects, in the year 1995, but continues to have a lively interest in archaeology and the archaeological problems.
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