Role of Social Matrices in the Preservation of the Archaeological Record: A Case Study of the Differential Preservation of the Archaeological Record in the Kibbanahalli Palaeolithic Complex, Southern Karnataka, India

Abstract

The paper looks at the role of informal social knowledge systems, dealing with social mores and norms, and how they have helped preserve temples and places of cult workship in the Kibbanahalli Palaeolithic Complex, while at the same time, the rich Palaeolithic evidence, which does form part of the local cultural traditions, is lost to the ever expanding and magnifying impact of modern day land-use practices in the region. By understanding this phenomenon, we, as archaeologists, can ensure that such aspects of our cultural world, which are not acknowledged by the locals, need an active effort for its incorporation into the local cultural traditions through various grass-root level programs of public archaeology.