Beyond What We Seeing: An Inter Site Spatial Pattern of Megalithic Burial Complexes in Yan Oya Middle Basin (YOMB), Sri Lanka

Abstract—Though the classical archeological approach based on interpretation of archeological data such as structures, artifacts, and features has a long history, it is regarded as a singular approach for research. Amidst this context, this study tries to extend the methodological approach based on the Post-processual archeology which tries to understand the collective behavior of all above facts which gives an overall picture of the scenario. A burial considered as a land mark of an individual or of a society, exposes the historical information in its material sense while it could also be explained in its visual meaning. The burial complexes spread all over the Yan Oya basin becomes significant subjects to study the social contexts they were belongs to in the above sense. The objective of present study is to relate spatial distribution patterns of burials with their materials and architectural features, instead studying mire structures. Accordingly, the study strives to explain the depositional behavior of a burial through the principles of spatial archeology which enable to expose the socio-environmental contexts of the based communities.

Index Terms—Megalithic burials, spatial analysis, cultural landscape, deathscape, Yan Oya Middle Basin (YOMB), Sri Lanka.

Mangala Katugampola is with University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka (e-mail: mkatugampola@yahoo.com252).

[PDF]

Cite: Mangala Katugampola, "Beyond What We Seeing: An Inter Site Spatial Pattern of Megalithic Burial Complexes in Yan Oya Middle Basin (YOMB), Sri Lanka," International Journal of Culture and History vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 129-134, 2015.