Abstract:
The Rajagala is the dry lowland of the island, which lies at or below 900m asl, is confined
to the north-central and southeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The zone comprises a plain
rarely rising above c.40 m asl, but which contains isolated eroded remnants or
monadnocks. The site of Rajagala is spread over 1025 acres consisting of more than 700
archaeological remains of prehistoric and historic periods. Preliminary investigations
revealed that prehistoric human activity took place in the natural cave of the area before
the third century BC. Accordingly, from 2016 to 2019, a selected cave called Maha Lena
(ML) was excavated for further investigation. This cave was excavated jointly by Deccan
College and the University of Sri Jayawardanepura. Excavations in 2018 and 2019
revealed a large number of prehistoric evidences. Among them are stone tools, bone tools,
animal bones, and botanical remains. The main focus of this research paper is to analyze
the biological remains found during the excavation of the ML Cave and to assess what the
past environment was like through it. We have very limited knowledge of prehistoric
research and information in the Eastern Province compared to the Low land Wet Zone of
Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the focus was on research questions on the subsistence of
prehistoric humans living in the caves of the Eastern Province and how environmental
conditions have changed concerning the wet zone. Faunal and botanical remains have
been recorded from ML, denoting the prevalence of climatic conditions similar to those
of the present.
