ABSTRACT
In the course of writing the history of south India, scholars in the beginning, traced its historical geography. According to Sangam literary sources, there were five types of thinais (landscapes) in ancient Tamil country. The kanavar, kunavar and vedar were the people of the kurinji; the aayar and idaiyar belonged to the mullai; the uzhavar and thozhuvar lived in marutham; the parathavar, valayar and meenavar were the people of neithal; and the kalavar, eyinar and maravar were of paalai. References to coastal inundations had continued to be mentioned in medieval inscriptions. Many writings have tended to do a variety of traditional political history. The sources used are medieval Tamil inscriptions, literary sources and the accounts of European travellers, missionaries, and the servants and officials of the East India Company. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
