Most studies point out that modern Homo Sapiens developed in Africa some 200,000 years ago. Dating the earliest human migration to the Indian mainland remains a matter of debates and uncertainty. The popular out-of-Africa theory suggests that Homo Sapiens migrated in waves from Africa to India around 1,40,000-70,000 years ago. Excavations of oldest known stone age tools of India dating to 3,85,000 years ago from Attirampakkam, in the Kortallayar river basin, Thamizh Nadu suggest that Indian subcontinent may have developed a stone-age culture in the Middle Paleolithic era – possibly by Homo Eructus & other archaic hominids who wore little (or no) clothing. If any clothes were worn (made of animal skin & vegetation) – are likely for survival needs like thermal protection.
385,000 years old stone age tools at Attirampakkam Thamizh Nadu. Source: SCHE
Some known Palaeolithic sites in India.
NEOLITHIC AGE (10,800 – 3300 BCE)
Rock paintings of Bhimbetka caves, Madhya Pradesh (at least 9000 years ago) and Idakkal caves, Kerala (at least 6000 years ago) indicate pre-historic cave settlements in Neolithic India. The Neolithic people inhabited caves, lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and possibly covered their lower-body with animal skin and vegetation. Ancient Indian aborigines wore elaborate jewellery in the form of stones, animal claws, feathers, shells etc.
Bhimbetka cave painting, Madhya Pradesh, Neolithic Age
Known Neolithic sites in India.
While archaeological evidence indicates inhabitation in the Andaman Islands for more than 2200 years, genetic and cultural studies suggest the Andaman natives – Australoid-Melanesian settlers may have been isolated from other populations during the Middle Paleolithic era up to even 26,000 years ago!
Photo: Maurice Vidal Portman (1861-1935) – Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
“An early (staged) photograph to show Great Andamanese women (and the odd male) with a wide variety of hairstyles and body painting patterns. Clearly visible are only the wide variety of hair cuts. Notable also on the extreme left and right two women with bands for carrying infants. The people to the left of the centre pole are said to be showing body paint signifying mourning, those on the right celebratory paint. The girl, second from the right, in the middle row is said to be painted in red ochre as a sign for rejoicing.” – Citation from Clothes, Clay and Beautycare (of Great Andamanese people), by George Weber
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (3300–1500 BCE)
Second wave of migrations during the early Bronze age marks the first urbanisation – Indus Valley Civilisation. Indus seals remain largely indecipherable and most hypotheses suggest it as a proto-Dravidian script. Indus Valley Civilisation contained some of the earliest sites of farming and herding in South Asia – suggesting access to fibres like cotton, flax, and linen. Archaeological remains of silk fibres have been excavated from Harappan sites. Indus valley figurines wore elaborate jewellery including necklaces, anklets, earrings, and bangles in stone, terracotta, gold, copper/bronze. Bead jewellery was popularly traded in this era. An Indus Valley female skeleton on display at the National Museum, New Delhi, wears a bangle on the left hand. People covered their lower body with a short rectangular wrap tied with waistbands/belts. Figurines of this era also feature intricately detailed hairstyles and headgear, including flower decorations and a female in a turban. Men left their hair long, at times tied into buns. Nudity was a natural and acceptable notion in Indus era.
ANCIENT THAMIZHAKAM (MEGALITHIC ERA)
Hundreds of burial urns & human skeletons dating to 2500-2200 BCE were unearthed at Adhichanallur, 15kms away from ancient Pandyan capital Korkai in modern day Tamil Nadu. Excavations at Adichanallur also contain thousands of iron and bronze artefacts, including weapons and gold jewellery dating between 900-700BCE. Adichanallur burial urns also featured ancient Tamili (Tamil-Brahmi) writing script – oldest known Indian writing script after that of IVC. Other megalithic excavations from Tamil Nadu include terracotta figurines, remains of irrigation tools, water canals, pottery and terracotta.
Palm sized bronze female figurine dating 1000 BCE excavated from the archaeological site at Adhichanallur, located along the Thamirabarani river in Thoothukudi district. The figurine is wearing dangling earrings, oddiyanam (Sanskrit: udharabandha, English: waistband), and possibly a Keezhudai (Sanskrit: antariya, English: loincloth)
Gold diadem ornament (tied to forehead on occasion of marriage), Adhichanallur, 1st millennium BCE. Source: The Hindu
VEDIC PERIOD (1500-600 BCE)
Evidence of clothing in this era comes only in the form of Vedic knowledge which was verbally transferred to pupils by Brahmin teachers. Vedic people did not sew their clothes. Clothing was chiefly minimal and draped, however description of rich ornaments and jewellery are mentioned.
Some translations of references of clothing items in Rig Veda include:
Adhivastra – Veil
Kurlra – head-dress or head-ornaments
Andpratidhi – (any) covering of the body
Atarva Veda also mentions:
Nivi – Innerwear
Vavri – covering of the body
Upavasana – Veil
Kumba, Usnlsa, Trilta – Head-dress
Updnaha – Footwear
Kambla – Blanket
SANGAM ERA (600BCE-300CE)
Keezhadi excavations (near Sivagangai-Madurai) have unearthed remains of an ancient urban civilization dating mid-early 1st millennium BCE that thrived on the banks of the river Vaigai.
Owing to the hot and humid climate, people of ancient South Indian kingdoms wore short and minimal clothing and left the body bare above their waists. Rules of modesty, nudity and clothing were mostly gender-neutral. Sirradai is a short lower garment made of handspun cotton and silk was worn by people of wealthy communities. People from lower-economic communities dressed in lower garments and accessories made of leaves, punnai flowers, coconut fibres, and animal hair. Sangam poetry Akam specify that people wore garment called Kalingam.
Chembakassery sculpture dating to the 1st Chera Kingdom, Sangam era – depicts minimalist loincloth draped on the lower body.
While ancient Thamizh clothing was primarily minimalist, Sangam works refer to a variety of ornaments made of gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones. The five great epics of Sangam literature are titled after jewellery – ornamenting Thamizh Mother (Thamizh Language)
Chivaka Chintamani – jewellery on forehead
Kundalakesi – stud on ear
Manimegalai – girdle on waist
Valayapathi – bangle on hand
Silappathikaaram – anklet on foot
Jewellery of ancient Thamizh Nadu: Gold ornaments & glass beads excavated from Keezhadi.
Jewellery described in Sangam texts includes Pullakkam, Maharapakuvai, Valampuri, Punkulai, Thodaivamani Malai, Pulipal Thali, Thodi Valai, Kudaichchul, Silambu, Paivagan Padhagam, Sadangai, Arivegam and Kazhal. People paid much attention to their hairstyle. Ancient Dravidians wore flowers like Jasmine to decorate their plaits and tufts and used perfumes made of sandal and flowers. People also commonly wore ornaments made of beads and shells.
An Indian silver coin (c. 1st century BCE) depicting the local Chera ruler wearing Roman-style helmet with bristles.
Terracotta figurine dating to pre-Christian era found at Modur, Dharmapuri. Source: The Hindu
References from Silapathikaram, Kalithokai and other Sangam works confirm that even women (like Kannagi and Madhavi) wore only lower garments from the loins downwards to the ankles without any rigid norms demanding to cover the torso. Indo-Aryan influences on post-Sangam Dravidian clothing is visible in the two-piece clothing worn by royals: Keezhadai (Sanskrit: antariya) and Meladai (Sanskrit: uttariya).
Depiction of Jain Chera prince Ilango in keezhadai and meladai.
MAURYAN EMPIRE – (300 BCE – 187 BCE)
Chandragupta Maurya (322-298 BCE) establishes the Mauryan Empire by overthrowing Nanda Empire.
Mauryan statue depicting clothing of commoners – mauli (turban), kayabandh and loincloth worn with coiled earrings.
Clothing in the Mauryan era was primarily unstitched and comprised of two pieces. There’s no evidence of single long garment draped on both upper and lower body like the modern sari. The loincloth worn in the Vedic period was continued to be worn in this period. The Greek influence during the Mauryan era also contributes a new breast-covering garment – Pratidhi.
Clothing in the Mauryan era
Mauryan Women’s Clothing: Uttariya: Upper cloth of printed cotton worn crosswise on the head. Kayabandh: Embroidered flat cloth band, pattika style, worn in a looped knot with fringed ends. Mekhala: Six-stringed hip belt of gold or silver beads. Lambanam: a long necklace made of chains held at intervals by flat bands, phalakahara style. Kantha: Short necklace of five strings of beads in gold or silver. Karnika: Trumpet-shaped earrings. Kangan: Ten bracelets adorning each hand. Baju Band: Decorative armlets worn on upper arms. Kara: Anklets of twisted wire worn on both ankles. Sitara: Star-shaped forehead ornament of gold or silver with a stamped pattern.
Mauryan Mens Clothing: Antariya: Kachcha style, both equal ends being taken between the legs after knotting the front; these ends are then held diagonally, fluted and tucked into the waist at the back to hang between the legs up to the ground. Uttariya: Upavita fashion, worn across the chest and over the left shoulder. Kayalbandh: Muraja style, drum-headed knobs at the ends, tied in a looped knot. Baju Band: Armlets with an elaborate incised pattern. Kangan: Several bracelets on each wrist. Karnika: Trumpet-shaped earring or karnaphul. Mauli: Turban of printed cloth held by decorative bands wound over the topknot of hair and at the side of the head.
Mauryan Warrior Costume: Antariya: knee-length, worn in kachcha style with the fluted end tucked in at centre front. Tunic: one of the earliest depictions of the cut and sewn garment; it has short sleeves and a round neck, full front opening with ties at the neck and waist, and is hip length. Boots: fitting to the knees. Headband: tied at the back over short hair. A broad flat sword with cross straps on the sheath is suspended from the left shoulder.
POST-MAURYAN
Pushyamitra, a Brahmin Mauryan general assassinates the last Mauryan Emperor Brihadratha Maurya to establish Shunga empire whose inscriptions would reach as far as Ayodhya. Buddhist text Vibhasa (150CE) states that Pushyamitra also burned Buddhist scriptures, killed Buddhist monks, and destroyed 500 monasteries in and around Kashmir. Texts including Manusmriti, Ramayana, and Mahabharata were composed in this era.
CLOTHING OF CHANDALA IN MANUSMRITI
“The clothes of dead bodies shall be their dress; they shall eat in broken dishes; their ornaments shall be of iron, and they shall be constantly wandering.” – Manusmriti 10.52
Religious sanctioning of caste in clothing – norms for sacred thread worn by Dvija/twice-born.
Clothing of ruling caste couple in Shunga period 100 BCE – The clothing of this period (along with Gupta costumes) is somewhat standardised in contemporary depictions of Hindu gods.
An Indo-Greek coin (Agathocles of Bactria – 180 BCE) depicting costumes of Krishna Vasudeva.
KUSHANA EMPIRE (30 CE – 375CE)
The Kushanas bring in multicultural influences of Scythian, Hellenistic and Greek to the Indian subcontinent. A headless statue of the Kushan Emperor Kanishka found in Bactria near Afghanistan shows him dressed in trousers, boots, tunics and overcoat. One of the most important costume development in this period was a rectangular cloth garment draped over both lower body and upper body – the sari drape, likely Roman influenced. Trade with China was directly established through the silk route, providing access to exotic silks in colours of blues, gold, bronze, green, crimson, pink, red, yellow, yellow-green, and browns.
Kushan Royal Costume: Chugha: calf-length overcoat with a wide richly embroidered border down the centre-front opening, hem and edge of long sleeves (probably ruched) Tunic: Kurta-like long garment Chalana: baggy trousers tucked into calf-length padded boots
Prince Siddhartha, Gandhara School of Art depicting the clothing of Brahmin caste men and other royal/court men.
Kushan men wore stitched calf-length tunic. Owing to the Roman influence of Kushans Antariya in the era is worn sari-like, tied in front, while one end is passed between the legs, pleated and tucked in at the back, the other end is partly pleated and tucked in at the front, then wound around and worn over the left shoulder.
Mathura School of Art. Costumes of Kushan women include Antariya (lehenga style): simply wrapped around and tucked in at the left Anatriya (sari style): worn in the kachcha style, the other end being taken across the body and over the left shoulder Uttariya: thrown casually over the shoulders Tunic: with front opening, held at the neck by button; long ruched sleeves have ruching held by jewelled bands or buttons; the tunic is form-fitting Mekhala: four-stringed girdle with clasp and decorative leaf at the centre Hara: one long pearl necklace is worn between the breasts and one short one with a pendant Kundala: large ring-type earrings Head-dress: chaplet of leaves or turban with a central flower worn around the topknot of hair
SATAVAHANA DYNASTY (221 BCE -218 CE)
Satavahana kings ruled the area of modern-day Maharashtra and expanded their territories further east to rule over Andhra tribes.
Woman wearing Pratidhi (breastband) Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra. By this period, there were considerable influences from the West, the Greco-Roman notion of covering breasts finds popularity in the Indian subcontinent.
Costume of Dancing Girl (Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra): Cholaka: fitted choli-type blouse with an apron front; the long sleeves are of dark red brocade, while the middle is of white silk probably tied at the back with ribbons that are visible Antariya: worn in Lehenga style, is of silk with purple, green and yellow stripes with lozenge patterns in white Muktavali: three-stringed pearl necklace Hara: a necklace of large beads Valaya: two simple and one ornamental bangle on each wrist Kancala Kundala: elaborate earrings with pendants Mukuta: tiara of gold Hairstyle: large bun at the nape with flowers and several strings of pearls or gold chain wound around and held by brooches
Costumes as seen in a section of the mural at Ajanta in Cave No 17, depicts the ‘coming of Sinhala’.The prince (Prince Vijaya) is seen in both groups of elephants and riders.
Consecration Of King Sinhala-Prince Vijaya (Detail From The Ajanta Mural Of Cave No 17)
GUPTA EMPIRE (240 CE – 590 CE)
The clothing in the Gupta period comprised mostly of stitched styles which gained the status of royalty during Kushan periods. Since Kushans were much influenced with the Western Roman Empire, therefore, the coats, trousers and boots were predominant dresses of the royal family. Gupta people continued to wear the new fashion with indigenous styles – antariya, uttariya and kayabandh.
Mens Costume, Gupta period: A-King (Ajanta, Cave XVII), B-King, making an offering lotus flowers to Lord Buddha (Ajanta, Cave I), C- King and Queen (Gupta gold coin), D- Prince (Ajanta, Cave XVII), E- Minister (Ajanta), F- Chamberlain (Ajanta, Cave XVII), G- Guard (Ajanta, Cave II), H- GUARD (Ajanta, Cave XVII), I- Foot Soldier (Ajanta, Cave XVII), J- Bikkhu (Ajanta, Cave XVI), K- Horse Man (Ajanta, Cave XVI)
