Utnur
Also called: Ash mounds · Topic: Prehistory: Human Origins and Stone Age Cultures · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Utnur is a Neolithic site in Mahbubnagar district of Telangana. It is famous for its ash mounds: large heaps of ash formed when cattle dung piled up in big pens was burnt again and again. Such ash mounds are typical of south Indian Neolithic sites. They show that cattle herding was central to life in the region.
Example
Excavations at Utnur (Mahbubnagar, Telangana) found that the ash mound covered an old cattle pen. Hoof marks and post-holes for fences showed that cattle had been kept and penned there.
Don't confuse with
- Piklihal: another ash-mound herder site, but it is in Raichur district of Karnataka and is known for its rock bruisings.