5/5 Roshan Kalpa T. 2 years ago on Google
Belilena
is
a
very
large
cave,
in
which
the
12,000-year-old
skeletal
remains
of
the
prehistoric
‘Balangoda
man’
(Homesepiens
Balangodensis)
have
been
found.
In
order
to
reach
the
cave,
you
have
to
walk
through
the
jungle,
close
to
the
Inoya
estate
(approx.
8
km
from
Kitulgala
itself).
Located
2000
feet
above
sea
level,
the
Belilena
Cave
lies
amidst
picturesque
environs
close
to
Kitulagala.
Recent
archaeological
excavations
conducted
at
the
cave
have
unearthed
several
fossils
believed
to
be
more
than
32,000
years
old.
The
part
of
the
cave
beyond
the
lake
that
fills
it
a
short
way
from
its
mouth
still
remains
unexplored
to
this
day.
This
Huge
Cave
has
been
home
to
the
prehistoric
‘Balangoda
Man’
(Homo
sapiens
balangodensis)
where
16,000-year-old
skeletal
remains
have
been
found.
Fa
Hien-Lena
has
yielded
the
earliest
evidence
(at
ca.
37,000
BP)
of
the
‘Balangoda
Man’
followed
by
Batadomba-Lena
at
31,000
and
18,000
BP.
These
caves
have
also
yielded
other
artifacts
such
as
prehistoric
tools
belonging
to
the
30,000
BP.
Batadomba-Lena
caves
have
yielded
tools
going
back
to
31,000
BP.
These
are
important
findings
to
the
whole
of
Asia
as
these
tools
are
considered
to
have
first
originated
in
Europe
around
12,000
BP.
The
Homo
sapiens
balangodensis
or
the
Balangoda
Man
refers
to
hominins
from
Sri
Lanka’s
late
Quaternary
period.
The
earliest
evidence
of
Balangoda
Man
from
archaeological
sequences
at
caves
and
other
sites
dates
back
to
38,000
BP,
and
from
excavated
skeletal
remains
to
30,000
BP,
which
is
also
the
earliest
reliably
dated
record
of
anatomically
modern
humans
in
South
Asia.
Cultural
remains
discovered
alongside
the
skeletal
fragments
include
geometric
microliths
dating
to
28,500
BP,
which
together
with
some
sites
in
Africa
is
the
earliest
record
of
such
stone
tools.
Other
discoveries
include
various
plants
and
animals
that
are
thought
to
have
formed
part
of
their
diet,
e.g.
wild
banana,
breadfruit,
and
fish
bones
and
articles
that
were
used
as
personal
ornaments
such
as
shell
pendants
and
shark
beads,
indicating
occasional
contact
with
the
coast
around
40
km
away.
The
Balangoda
Man
is
estimated
to
have
had
thick
skulls,
prominent
supraorbital
ridges,
depressed
noses,
heavy
jaws,
short
necks,
and
conspicuously
large
teeth.
Metrical
and
morphometric
features
of
skeletal
fragments
extracted
from
cave
sites
that
were
occupied
during
different
periods
have
indicated
a
rare
biological
affinity
over
a
time
frame
of
roughly
16,000
years,
and
the
likelihood
of
a
biological
continuum
to
the
present-day
Vedda
indigenous
people.
This
is
not
surprising
given
the
relative
geographical
isolation
of
the
island
until
the
fifth
century
BC
when
settlers
arrived
from
the
Indian
mainland.
Veddas
are
therefore
relevant
to
the
question
of
the
degree
of
the
relative
isolation
of
ancient
and
modern
Homo
sapiens
in
Sri
Lanka
from
populations
of
southern
India.
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