Editing History of Sri Lanka (section)

==Prehistoric Sri Lanka==
{{Main|Prehistory of Sri Lanka}}

===Pre Iron Age (Pre ~1000 BC)===
The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years and possibly even as far back as 500,000 years.{{sfn|Deraniyagala|1996}} The era spans the [[Palaeolithic]], [[Mesolithic]] and early [[Iron Age]]s. Among the [[Paleolithic]] human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, [[Fa Hien Cave|Pahiyangala]] (named after the [[Chinese people|Chinese]] traveller [[Bhikkhu|monk]] [[Faxian]]), which dates back to 37,000 BP, [[Batadombalena]] (28,500 BP) and [[Belilena]] (12,000 BP) are the most important.{{sfn|Kennedy|Kenneth|Roertgen|Chiment|1986|pp=165–265}}{{sfn|angelfire.com|2014}} In these caves, archaeologists have found the remains of [[anatomy|anatomically]] modern [[humans]] which they have named [[Balangoda Man]], and other evidence suggesting that they may have engaged in [[agriculture]] and kept domestic dogs for driving game.{{sfn|De Silva|1981|pp=6–7}}{{sfn|Deraniyagala|1992|p=454}}

One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian [[Epic poetry|epic]] [[Ramayana]], which provides details of a kingdom named ''[[Lanka]]'' that was created by the divine sculptor [[Vishwakarma]] for [[Kubera]], the Lord of Wealth.{{sfn|Blaze|1933|p=4}}{{sfn|Keshavadas|1988}} It is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother [[Ravana]], the powerful emperor who built a mythical [[Early flying machines|flying machine]] named [[Dandu Monara]].{{sfn|Parker|1992|p=7}} The modern city of [[Wariyapola]] is described as Ravana's airport.{{sfn|Edirisinghe|2009}}

Early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the [[Vedda people]],{{sfn|Deraniyagala|2014}} an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. The 19th-century Irish historian [[James Emerson Tennent]] theorized that [[Galle]], a city in southern Sri Lanka, was the ancient seaport of [[Tarshish]] from which [[King Solomon]] is said to have drawn [[ivory]], [[Peafowl|peacocks]], and other valuables.

===Iron Age (~1000 BC–543 BC)===
The protohistoric Early Iron Age appears to have established itself in South India by at least as early as 1200 BCE, if not earlier{{sfn|ParPossehlker|1990}}{{sfn|Deraniyagala|1992|p=734}} The earliest manifestation of this in Sri Lanka is radiocarbon-dated to c. 1000–800 BCE at Anuradhapura and Aligala shelter in Sigiriya.{{sfn|Deraniyagala|1992|p=709-29}}{{sfn|Karunaratne|Adikari|1994|p=58}}{{sfn|Mogren|1994|p=39}}{{sfn|Coningham|1999}} It is very likely that further investigations will push back the Sri Lankan lower boundary to match that of South India.{{sfn|Lankalibrary.com|2012}} Archaeological evidence for the beginnings of the [[Iron Age]] in Sri Lanka is found at [[Anuradhapura]], where a large city–settlement was founded before 900 BCE. The settlement was about 15 hectares in 900 BCE, but by 700 BCE it had expanded to 50 hectares.{{sfn|Deraniyagala|2007}} A similar site from the same period has also been discovered near Aligala in [[Sigiriya]].{{sfn|Dailynews.lk|2008}}

The hunter-gatherer people known as the [[Vedda|Wanniyala-Aetto or Veddas]], who still live in the central, Uva and north-eastern parts of the island, are probably direct descendants of the first inhabitants, Balangoda Man. They may have migrated to the island from the mainland around the time humans spread from Africa to the Indian subcontinent. Achievements include the construction of the largest reservoirs and dams of the ancient world as well as enormous pyramid-like [[stupa]] architecture. This phase of Sri Lankan culture may have seen the introduction of early [[Buddhism]].{{sfn|Holt|2011|p=53-56}} Early mythical history recorded in Buddhist scriptures refers to three visits by the Buddha to the island to see the [[Naga people (Lanka)|Naga]] Kings, snakes that can take the form of a human at will.{{sfn|Ranwella|2000}} The earliest surviving chronicles from the island, the [[Dipavamsa]] and the [[Mahavamsa]], say that tribes of [[Yaksha|Yakkhas]], [[Naga people (Lanka)|Nagas]] and [[Deva people|Devas]] inhabited the island prior to the Indo-Aryan migration.