History
Homo sapiens appeared very long ago in Sri Lanka, which some experts assert is the true “cradle of civilization”. The journey towards civilization mark thousands of years and evidence of Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures have been unearthed, establishing the existence of the stone age Balangoda culture around 5000 BC; this era of civilization is known as the Stone Age as only stone implements had been used by primitive man. The recent excavations suggest the domestication of plants may have surfaced as early as 10,000 BC or even earlier. Agriculture has always been the mainstay of this “granary of the East”; cultivators were accorded the highest honour and ever since there has been a bond between land and man that naught can sunder.

Pre History
“From about 37,000 BP onwards the prehistoric record is very much more complete. The information stems from a series of cave excavations in the lowland Wet Zone: Fa Hien-lena near Bulathsinhala (37,000-5,400 BP), Batadomba-lena near Kuruwita (31,000-11,500 BP), Beli-lena at Kitulgala (over 30,000-3,500 BP), Alu-lena at Attanagoda near Kegalle (10,500 BP)3 . These data are supplemented by those from the open-air site of Bellan-bandi Palassa near Embilipitiya (6,500 TL BP). The dating is based primarily on radiocarbon assays on charcoal, checked independently against thermoluminescence dating in the case of Beli-lena. There are over 50 such dates from various contexts at these sites and the chronological framework may be pronounced secure.
Fa Hien-lena has yielded the earliest evidence (at ca. 37,000 BP) of anatomically modern man in South Asia, followed by Batadomba-lena at 31,000 and 18,000, Beli-lena at 16,000, Fa Hien-lena at 6,900, Bellan-bandi Palassa at 6,500 and Fa Hien-lena again at 4,800 BP. These human remains have been subjected to detailed physical anthropological study and it has been affirmed that the genetic continuum from at least as early as 18,000 BP at Batadomba-lena to Beli-lena at 16,000 BP to Bellan-bandi Palassa at 6,500 BP to the recent Vaddha aboriginal population is remarkably pronounced (ibid:486-9; Kennedy et al. 1987; Hawkey 1998; Kennedy 2000; the earlier material from Fa Hien-lena is too fragmentary for such comparative study). This suggests a backwater in terms of population dynamics. It appears to have been a remarkably static situation over so long a period, relatively undisturbed by the arrival of new populations with diverse physical traits. These anatomically modern prehistoric humans in Sri Lanka are referred to as Balangoda Man in popular parlance (derived from his being responsible for the Mesolithic ’Balangoda Culture’ first defined in sites near Balangoda). He stood at an estimated height of ca. 174 cm for males and 166 cm for females in certain samples, which is considerable when compared with present-day populations in Sri Lanka (v. Deraniyagala 1992:330-4). The bones are robust, with thick skull-bones, prominent brow-ridges, depressed wide noses, heavy jaws and short necks. The teeth are conspicuously large. These traits have survived in varying degrees among the Vaddas and certain Sinhalese groups, thus pointing to Balangoda Man as a common ancestor. It needs to be borne in mind, however, that there would have been unimpeded gene-flow between southernmost India and Sri Lanka (in both directions) from the Palaeolithic onwards, and that future research will probably reveal a whole range of genetic clusters in the prehistoric populations of this region, which would invalidate the concept of Balangoda Man as a homogeneous ’race’. Meanwhile, Balangoda Man continues to be a useful working concept, referring to the island’s late Quaternary humans. He appears to have settled in practically very nook and corner of Sri Lanka ranging from the damp and cold High Plains such as Maha-eliya (Horton Plains) to the arid lowlands of Mannar and Vilpattu, to the steamy equatorial rainforests of Sabaragamuwa. The camps were invariably small, rarely exceeding 50sq.m in area, thus suggesting occupation by not more than a couple of nuclear families at most (id. 1992:351). This life-style could not have been too different from that described for the Vaddas of Sri Lanka, the Kadar, Malapantaram and Chenchus of India, the Andaman Islanders and the Semang of Malaysia (ibid.:412,451-7). They would have been moving from place to place on an annual cycle of foraging for food. The well preserved evidence from the caves and Bellan-bandi Palassa indicates that a very wide range of food-plants and animals were exploited. Among the former, canarium nuts, wild breadfruit and wild bananas are prominent. It is probable that dioscorea yams, such as Dioscorea spicata, D. pentaphylla and D. oppositifolia were staples in the diet, as they were among South Asian hunters and gatherers in recent times. It appears as if every conceivable type of animal had been eaten, ranging from elephants to snakes, rats, snails and small fish (ibid.:451-2). This diet would have been well balanced as attested by the robusticity of the human skeletal remains. The degeneration of bone that accompanies a specialised starchy diet and a sedentary life style had yet to set in.
The tool kit of Balangoda Man is distinguished by the occurrence of geometric microliths, comprising small (less than 4 cm long) flakes of quartz and (rarely) chert fashioned into stylised lunate, triangular and trapezoidal forms (ibid:266-70,688-94). Such geometric microliths have traditionally been considered the hallmark of the Mesolithic period as first defined in Europe. The earliest dates for the geometric microlithic tradition in Europe are around 12,000 BP. Hence it came as a surprise when such tools were found as early as 31,000 BP at Batadomba-lena, 28,000 BP at two coastal sites in Bundala and over 30,000 BP at Beli-lena. Sri Lanka has yielded evidence of this sophisticated technological phase over 19,000 years earlier than in Europe. However this apparent anomaly has been resolved by the discovery of geometric microliths in various parts of Africa, such as Zaire and southern Africa, from contexts in excess of 27,000 BP, thereby suggesting that Europe was late in manifesting this techno-tradition due to as yet undefined reasons.
Apart from stone tools, artefacts of bone and antler are quite prolific from 31,000 BP onwards, notably small bone points (ibid.:278-81). Beads of shell have also been discovered from these early contexts and the occurrence of marine shells at inland sites such as Batadomba-lena points to an extensive network of contacts between the coast and the hinterland. There is evidence from Beli-lena that salt had been brought in from the coast at a date in excess of 30,000 BP (ibid.:326).”
- S. U. Deraniyagala - Early Man and the Rise of Civilisation in Sri Lanka: the Archaeological Evidence.
The recorded history of the island begins with the story of the arrival of Vijaya, an exiled prince with 700 followers on the day of the Buddha’s demise in 543 BC. This Indo-Aryan invasion of the island - then inhabited by tribes of Nagas (lit., cobras) and Yakshas (lit., demons) - initially “Thammbapanni” (copper-coloured sands) in what is probably Mannar.
The Aryans introduced the use of iron and an advanced form of agriculture and irrigation systems. They also introduced a stable system of government. Vijaya made Tambapanni his capital and ruled there for 38 years. According to the chronicles, King Vijaya was succeeded as king by his nephew Panduvasdeva, who established his capital at Panduvas Nuvara in the 5th century BC. Anuradhagama, founded earlier by a minister named Anuradha, was made the capital of a powerful kingdom under the rule of king Pandukabhaya and renamed Anuradhapura. Thereafter Abhaya, Pandukhabaya, and Mutasiva held the kingship until Devanampiyatissa came to the throne.
Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka in 307 BC by Arahat Mahinda, the son of Emperor Asoka of India, during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa. This is the most important event in Sri Lankan history, as it set the country on the path of cultural greatness. The bringing of the Sri Mahabodi or the sapling of the bo-tree at buddhagaya and the introduction of the Bikkhuni sasana or the Order of Buddhist Nuns too strengthened this historical move.
Sri Lanka was subject to invasion by Dravidians from the 3rd century BC onwards. As early as 237 BC two Tamil adventurers usurped the Sinhala throne and ruled for 22 years. Later a Chola general named Elara seized power for 44 years until he was overthrown and slain by King Dutugemunu, who succeeded in unifying the country in 161 BC.
The great King Mahasen (3rd cent. AD) took the construction of large “tanks” or irrigation reservoirs to new heights. King Dhatusena, another great tank builder, was put to death by his son Kasyapa, whose “sky fortress” on the rock citadel of Sigiriya is considered the eighth wonder of the world.
The rise of three powerful South Indian states – the Cholas, Pandyas and Pallavas – resulted in repeated invasions from South India, until the kingdom of Anuradhapura, exposed to constant attack and conquest, fell and was abandoned as the Sinhala capital by the end of the 10th century A.D. Vijayabahu I repulsed the invaders and established his capital at Polonnaruwa in the 11th century A.D. Other great kings of Polonnaruwa were Parakrama Bahu the Great – probably the foremost builder of reservoirs among the Sinhala kings - and Nissanka Malla, both of whom adorned the city with numerous buildings of great architectural beauty and value.
Invasions continued intermittently and the capital was moved to Dambadeniya in CE 1232, Yapahuwa in CE 1272, Kurunegala in CE 1302, Gampola in CE 1341, and Kotte in CE 1415 until the Portuguese arrived in 1505, when the main city was established at Kotte, in the west. The Portuguese came to trade in spices but assumed rule of coastal areas until 1656, as did the Dutch who ousted them thereafter. The Dutch were in their turn displaced by the British in 1796. During this entire period of colonial contests and conquests the highland kingdom, with its capital in Kandy, fiercely retained its independence despite many assaults. It was ceded in 1815 to the British, who thus established their rule over the whole island.
Ceylon became an independent country after World War II in 1948. The first independent government was formed by the United National Party led by D.S Senanayake. In 1960 the Sri Lanka Freedom Party won the general election and S.W.R.D Bandaranayake’s widow Sirimavo Bandaranayake became prime minister. She has the distinction of being the first female prime minister in the World.