Sanganakallu

Sanganakallu, near Ballari, is one of the key prehistoric sites of South India. Scattered across a group of granite hills above the plains, it holds traces of early agricultural villages, among the first in the subcontinent, from the Neolithic period onward.

Excavations have found stone tools, grinding stones, burials, quarries and stone-working areas, along with evidence of houses, crop growing and food production. Rock engravings, cup marks and other symbols cut into the boulders hint at the ritual life of these settlers. Together the finds show how people here moved from hunting and gathering to settled farming. The site is open countryside rather than a built monument, and is easiest to explore in the cooler months.