mention a certain type of settlements called
‘Nakara’ alias ‘Nagara’. Here the word ‘Nagara’
had been used for a certain settlement that
came between city and a village. Taking the
commodities produced in the villages for
trading in big cities, was coordinated by these
intermediate settlements. They were slightly
bigger than a village.
There are evidences to prove that the organization
and the administration of these settlements were
systematic even before the early historical era. A
village was a unit consisting of several families.
The family was the most important feature of
a village. A family was represented by the chief
householder. He was known as "Gahapathi" in
Brahmi inscriptions. A person who acted on
behalf of a group of a few chief householders of
a village was called ‘Gamika’ or ‘Gramika’ which
means 'the chief of the village'. At a later period
a panel consisting of ten chief householders was
engaged in solving administrative issues in an
area joined with ten villages. In inscriptions this
panel has been introduced as ‘Dasa Gam Eththan’.
An inscription at an old Buddhist temple called
Kaludiya Pokuna in Dambulla in Matale district
says that if there was any problem regarding the
supply of ‘Dane –Alms giving’ in that temple,
‘Dasa Gam Eththan’ should get together and
solve the problem.
Several foundations, which had belonged
to ancient rural houses, were discovered in
excavations done in Anuradhapura. Their walls
were made of wattle and daub and roofs were
thatched with leaves. Some houses, among
them, were of round shape. Some of the houses
had square foundations. The archaeologists have
found only pits for the pillars of these houses.
Some marks of an ancient house were discovered
in a village named Walagampaththuwa in
Tissamaharamaya. The floor of that house was
set after digging the ground and then applying
clay on its surface afterwards. It has been
scientifically proved that the house was used in
the 3rd century A.D.You were able to learn the nature of the ancient
settlements of this country. You should keep in
your mind the way in which they had managed
to shape their lives properly and collectively
from very ancient time.Means of Subsistence
The means of subsistence of the people, who
lived in the areas outside the overflowing river
valleys, was chena cultivation. Chena crops that
grow in dry zones such as Kurakkan, Meneri,
sesame, and Thanahal were cultivated in them.
Those crops, which had a cluster of short roots
and were well sustainable to the drought, were
also conducive to be grown in the areas outside
the overflowing river valleys. They had tended to
construct basic village tanks as the production
of food had to be increased in parallel with the
increasing population in the settlements. More
water was needed for more agriculture. A clear
reflection of how the early historical settlements
started outside the river valleys entered into river
valley settlements can be given from a study,
done in Kirindi Oya valley, on old settlements.
(Refer map No. 2.4)Activity 3Write the differences of the fundamental
features of settlements in the prehistoric,
proto-historic and historic eras in Sri Lanka.