A hunting implement used by mature homo sapiens who lived in the inland parts of the country about 4,000 to 6,000 years ago and 35 varieties of burnt edible crop seeds used by them as food were unearthed during archaeological excavations conduced in the Bat Cave in Parigahamadiththa in Balangoda, said Senior Professor Raj Somadera of the Kelaniya University Post Graduate Institute on August 6.
Speaking to the media which visited the area on an observation four, Prof. Somadera said they had been conducting research in an around Balangoda for the last 9 years regarding the early homo sapiens who lived in the inland parts of the country.
“The purpose of excavations done by them was to find out the evolution of the Balangoda man so far they had found nearly 10 stone implements used by early humans who lived in these parts of the country including a hunting implement which could he used to strike animals and hunt them down.
The 35 varieties of crop seeds proved that the early man had depended on crop seeds for food which also showed their transformation from the hunting age to the agricultural age,” he said.
Excavations on the Salt Cave (Hunu Galge) proved that this area had witnessed human habitation about 6,500 years ago. Excavations done in the Black cave at Meddekanda proved that the area had witnessed human habitation 5,00 years ago.
There was also evidence about the sharing of cultural habits among people living in different caves.