Gamini Adikari* Arjuna Thantilage* * Senior lecturer Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology The Mesolithic age of Sri Lanka starts about 37,000 years before present and continuous up to about 1800BP according to archaeological evidence (Deraniyagala 1992). But the view of the archaeologists about its end is very much bleak. Therefore an attempt is made in this paper to present a new view about the end of the Mesolithic age of Sri Lanka based on the soil stratum where potsherds and stone implements were discovered in the prehistoric settlements excavated so far.

Dr. P.Vidanapathirana Senior Lecturer Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology Agricultural activities in the settlements in Dry Zone of ancient Sri Lanka seem to have been mainly dependent on a man-made irrigation system. The general condition in the Dry Zone necessitated a continuous maintenance of a systematic irrigation pattern. The environment of the Dry Zone was naturally water poor due to annual and prolonged droughts. The tank system was a positive response to the challenge demanded by the natural phenomenon. The tank, the dam and the canal bear witness to the hydraulic engineering ingenuity of ancient Sri Lanka. Within this irrigation system there flourished an agricultural pattern resulting in a self sufficiency in food in a dry yet fertile soil (Farmer 1951:3-16; Murphey 1957:181-200; Thambyahpillay 1964:88; Gunawardana 1971:170). In Dry Zone of ancient Sri Lanka, primitive methods of water control and the original use of irrigation started from the storage of flood

Chandima Bandara Ambanwala1* Mahinda Karunaratne2* 1 Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya,Peradeniya. 2 Department of Social Sciences & Comparative Studies, Buddasrawaka Bikshu University, Anuradhapura. Introduction The central hill region which had been named as Malaya Desa (=Malaya Country) in historical age has not got the due recognition as far as archaeological researches are concerned. Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratna has attempted to shed new light on the archaeological findings on the region and the purpose of the paper is to add some facts to help his argument. The main focus of this paper is to explore some findings that were obtained through basic archaeological researches in and around Pahala Mawela Rajha Maha Vihara.

Applications of Geological methodologies in archeological research have been rapidly increased around the world and developed as a new field known as Geo archaeology. The field Geo archaeology provides the knowledge and the skills to understand the site formation processes, human occupations and their activities. Particle size analysis, organic matter content and phosphate analysis of sediments are commonly used techniques in Geo archaeological studies. Sediments from an excavation carried out in Varana rock shelter no 5, which is a prehistoric site were analyzed by above mentioned Geo archeological methods to study stratigraphic of the sediment layers and prehistoric human occupation.