Grade 10 History - Sources and Ancient Settlements of Sri Lanka

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the historical sources, settlement evolution, political growth, and technological advancements of ancient Sri Lanka as described in the Grade 10 History textbook.

Sources

Writings and various creations made by people who lived in the past from which information about past human activities can be extracted.

Literary sources

Books and documents written at different time periods by the people who lived in the past.

Archaeological sources

Relics, monuments, coins, inscriptions and various ruins which are unearthed from archaeological excavations and experiments.

Deepawamsa

Considered the oldest local literary text in Sri Lanka, written in about $4^{th}$ century A.D.

Mahawamsa

A historical chronicle written in about $5^{th}$ or $6^{th}$ century A.D. by a Bhikku named Mahanama, providing a continuous history of Sri Lanka.

Inscriptions (Sellipi)

Writings inscribed on rocks, stone slabs, walls, copper plates, or clay, used to record government laws, taxes, and religious offerings.

Numismatics

The study of ancient coins.

Pre-historic era

The period before the past described by literary sources, including the Stone Age where humans depended on roaming and hunting.

Iranamadu formation

A gravel layer covered with sandy soil mixed with clay deposited during the Pleistocene era, containing tools from the Stone Age.

Geometric micro stone tools

Small stone tools, not more than $4.5\,cm$ in length, shaped into geometric forms for hunting and cutting.

Proto-historic era

A transition period between the pre-historic and historic eras characterized by the use of iron, burnt pots, and permanent settlements.

Sedentism

A lifestyle feature where people abandon a hunting livelihood to build permanent settlements and habitations.

Vapigama

Literary term for ancient settlements that developed around a small tank.

Gahapathi

The chief householder who represented a family unit in ancient village society.

Gamika

The chief of an ancient village, typically appointed from among the householders to manage shared affairs like the village tank.

Parumaka

Chieftains in the pre-state era who claimed provincial power based on wealth and the maintenance of tank systems.

Chakrawarthi

A concept of kingship conveying the meaning of ‘dominating the whole world’.

Ekthensamiya

A term used in $9^{th}$ century inscriptions meaning the 'agreement of the king’s court,' representing the executive and legislature.

Chena cultivation (Hena)

A form of inland cultivation involving clearing jungle plots, burning undergrowth, and growing grains like Kurakkan and corn.

Bisokotuwa

A rectangular space made of stones in a sluice that allows water to flow out of a tank with regulated pressure.

Ralapanawa

Stones kept on the interior slope of a tank bund to prevent erosion caused by water waves.

Vajra chumbata

A tool used on ancient Stupas, like Ruwanweli Seya, to act as a lightning conductor by attracting 'Vajra' (lightning).

Vanniyars

Provincial rulers of small units called ‘Vanni’ that emerged in areas like the North and East after the downfall of the Rajarata civilization.

Sandesha Kavya

Messenger poems, a popular form of literature that advanced significantly during the Gampola and Kotte periods.

Urbanization

The complex process in which a village transfers itself into a city, involving increased production, trade, and ruling structures.