A brick platform close to the wharf complicated at Pattanam. Photo: Special Arrangement
The archaeological web site of Pattanam, on the South-western coast in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, is believed by historians to be a part of the traditional port metropolis of the Muziris that performed a key position in commerce and cultural exchanges between India and the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean areas.
The perception stems from the classical Greco-Roman data in addition to Tamil and Sanskrit sources. Scientists and archaeologists have additionally discovered human bones, storage jars, a gold decoration, glass beads, stone beads, utilitarian objects product of stone, copper and iron, pottery, early Chera cash, brick wall, brick platform, ring nicely, wharf with bollards, and a six-metre-long picket canoe parallel to the wharf construction about 2.5 m beneath floor degree at Pattanam.
These archaeological evidences and historic DNA analyses by CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) scientists led by Kumarasamy Thangaraj and PAMA Institute for the Advancement of Transdisciplinary Archaeological Sciences (Kerala) P.J. Cherian strengthen the speculation.
“These structures indicate a vast urban settlement. The excavations suggest that the site was first occupied by the indigenous and ‘Megalithic’ (Iron Age) people, followed by the Roman contact in the early historic period. It appears that the site was continuously occupied at least from the 2nd century BC to the 10th century AD,” stated Mr. Cherian.
Scientists used the DNA from the human skeletons to pinpoint the genetic ancestry of the individuals discovered in the area. “We have analysed the mitochondrial DNA of 12 ancient skeletal samples. We found that these samples show the presence of both South Asian and West Eurasian-specific lineages,” defined DST-Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, senior scientist Niraj Rai, additionally a co-author of the study.
“Most excavated skeletal remains from the Pattanam site were in a very fragile state due to the tropical, humid, and acidic soil conditions. However, we have adopted the best practices in the field of ancient DNA and successfully analysed the samples. The unique imprint of West Eurasian and Mediterranean signatures found in these samples exemplify a continuous inflow of traders and multicultural mixing in ancient South India,” stated CCMB chief scientist and at present the Director, DBT-Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Kumarasamy Thangaraj.
“This is the first genetic data generated, so far, to infer their origin and genetic makeup of Pattanam archaeological site. The findings reinforce the early historical occupation of culturally, religiously, and ethnically diverse groups at the site,” stated CCMB Director Vinay Kumar Nandicoori. The study has been revealed in the journal, ‘Genes’, stated an official launch on Friday.
