Junapani
Topic: Prehistory: Human Origins and Stone Age Cultures · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Junapani is a megalithic site near Nagpur in Maharashtra, in the Vidarbha region. Megalithic means burials marked with big stones. Here burials were marked by stone circles, rings of boulders around the grave. Finds include iron objects and beads, which show that the people knew how to work iron. Some rocks nearby have cup-marks, small round hollows cut into the stone. This feature is seen at several megalithic sites in Vidarbha.
Example
At Junapani, stone circle burials held iron tools and beads. Rocks near the burials carry cup-marks, which may have had a ritual meaning.
Don't confuse with
- Dolmen sites like Hire Benakal: dolmens are above-ground chambers of slabs with a capstone on top. Junapani's burials are mostly marked by stone circles.