Maritime contacts Sangam period Tamilakam Cheras Spice trade Ays Ezhil Malai Confluence of religionsMamankam festival Calicut Venad - Kingdom of QuilonValluvanad Kolattunadu CochinArakkal kingdom Minor principalities Age of Discovery Portuguese period Dutch period Rise of Travancore Mysorean invasion British PeriodBattle of TirurangadiMalabar DistrictNorth MalabarSouth Malabar Battle of Quilon Communism in KeralaLakshadweep Economy Architecture The Edakkal caves are two natural caves at a remote location at Edakkal, 25 km (15.5 mi) from Kalpetta in the Wayanad district of Kerala in India.

They lie 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level on Ambukutty Mala, near an ancient trade route connecting the high mountains of Mysore to the ports of the Malabar Coast.

Inside the caves are paintings believed to date to at least 6,000 BCE,[1][2] from the Neolithic man, indicating the presence of a prehistoric settlement in this region.

[6] The caves were discovered by Fred Fawcett, a police official of the erstwhile Malabar state in 1890, who immediately recognised their anthropological and historical importance.

[8][9][10] Historian Raghava Varier of the Kerala State Archaeology Department identified a depiction as "man with jar cup" that is the most distinct motif of the Indus valley civilization.