Integrating Ethnography and Faunal Analysis to Understand Animal Use in Iron Age-Early Historic Tamil Nadu

Tarannum Caur Sodhi* and Arati Deshpande-Mukherjee

The South Indian Iron Age, or the Black-and-Red Ware cultural phase, is a period of significant transition in terms of social organisation, economy, and settlement systems. Archaeological excavations at Sivagalai, Keeladi, Kodumanal, and Agaram have revealed early ironworking and the adoption of long- term subsistence strategies that persisted into the Early Historic period. The present study aims to examine animal use patterns through an integrated archaeozoological and ethnographic study. Faunal assemblages from selected Iron Age and Early Historic sites have been analysed. Variations in species composition among sites highlight the adaptation of local subsistence systems, such as agro- pastoralism, pastoralism, and the continued utilisation of wild fauna. The faunal data highlighted the importance of extending the study to include ecological and cultural dimensions of human-animal relationships. A central component of the research is the ethnographic analysis carried out at Kodumanal, which records the present-day practices associated with animal use and management. Details regarding present day subsistence patterns, dietary preferences, ritual and religious practices associated with animals, oral traditions, and local knowledge of wild fauna were recorded. These ethnographic studies serve as tools of interpretation to explore the continuities and changes in human- animal relationships. By combining the ethnographic information, the study demonstrates how modern practices and local knowledge can contribute to the interpretation of faunal assemblages in archaeology.