8th Grade History - Sri Lankan Technology, Kandy, and European Influence

Practice flashcards covering the technology, art, and history of ancient Sri Lanka, the Kingdom of Kandy, the European Renaissance, and the Portuguese arrival.

Traditional Technology

Knowledge and practices developed over generations that are unique to a country and suited specifically to its environment and culture.

Basawakkulama Wewa

Known in ancient times as $Abhaya\text{ }Wewa$, it is believed to have been constructed during the period of King $Pandukabhaya$.

Sorowwa

A sluice gate designed to release water from a tank (wewa) into canals, often categorized into mud sluices and high-level sluices.

Bisokotuwa

A unique Sri Lankan invention, this valve pit regulates the pressure and volume of water released from a tank into the sluice.

Ralapanawa

Stone pitching or wave breakers placed along the inner embankment of a tank to prevent erosion caused by water waves.

King Vasabha

The first Sri Lankan monarch credited with initiating the construction of large-scale tanks, reportedly building $11$ tanks including $Mayetti\text{ }Wewa$.

Jaya Ganga (Yoda Ela)

A $54$-mile canal built by King $Dhatusena$ to carry water from $Kala\text{ }Wewa$ to $Tissa\text{ }Wewa$, famous for its precise slope of $1$ inch per mile.

Ranmasu Uyana

A royal water garden located near the $Tissa\text{ }Wewa$ in $Anuradhapura$, designed for bathing and recreation.

Sakaporuwa

A rotating circular wooden board or potter's wheel used to create well-finished clay vessels.

Iron Smelting Technology

The process of extracting iron from natural rocks using clay furnaces, notably utilizing natural monsoon winds in the $Samanala\text{ }Wewa$ area.

Vatadage

A circular architectural house built to cover and protect a small stupa, such as the one found at $Medirigiriya$.

Bodhigara

A specialized building constructed around a Bo tree for its protection and for the convenience of worshippers, such as the one at $Nillakgama$.

Tampita Vihara

A temple style where the building is constructed on raised stone pillars to protect it from termites and dampness.

Sandakadapahana (Moonstone)

A semi-circular stone slab placed at the entrance of buildings, decorated with intricate carvings of animals and lotuses.

Senasammata Vikramabahu

The first king of the Kingdom of Kandy ($Senkadagala$), who established it as an independent state.

King Vimaladharmasuriya I

The king who stabilized the Kandyan Kingdom by defeating the Portuguese at the Battle of $Danture$ in $1594$ and bringing the Sacred Tooth Relic to Kandy.

Diga Marriage

A social custom in the Kandyan period where the bride is taken to live in the groom's house.

Binna Marriage

A Kandyan social custom where the groom moves into the bride's ancestral home.

Kandyan Convention (1815)

The agreement signed on March $2$, $1815$, between the British and Kandyan chiefs, ending the independence of the Kandyan Kingdom.

Renaissance

A period of intellectual and artistic rebirth in Europe from the $14\text{th}$ to $16\text{th}$ centuries, characterized by a renewed interest in Greek and Roman civilizations.

Humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement focusing on human potential, achievements, and the study of history, art, and literature.

Leonardo da Vinci

A multifaceted Renaissance figure famous for masterpieces such as the $Mona\text{ }Lisa$ and $The\text{ }Last\text{ }Supper$.

Michelangelo

A Renaissance artist and sculptor renowned for the paintings on the ceiling of the $Sistine\text{ }Chapel$ and the statues of $David$ and the $Pieta$.

Nicolaus Copernicus

The astronomer who challenged the belief that the Earth was flat and proposed that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun.

Vasco da Gama

The Portuguese explorer who reached $Calicut$, India, in $1498$, opening a direct sea route from Europe to Asia.

$$1505$$

The year the Portuguese, led by Lourenço\text{ }de\text{ }Almeida, first arrived in Sri Lanka by accident due to a storm.

Malwana Convention ($1597$)

An agreement where the people of Kotte agreed to accept the Portuguese King as their ruler on the condition that their traditional laws and customs were maintained.

Thombu

Land and administrative registers introduced by the Portuguese to document land ownership and resources for systematic revenue collection.

Missionary Orders

Religious groups sent by the Portuguese to spread Catholicism, including the Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and Jesuits.