History of Kerala

According to fable, Parasurama caused the oceans to retreat, enlightening Kerala. During Neolithic times, humans mainly avoided Kerala's malarial rainforests and wetlands; thus, the first evidence of environment potsherds and dolmens dates to the 10th century BCE. These were shaped by speakers of a proto-Tamil verbal communication from northwestern India, suggestive of that ancient Kerala and Tamil Nadu once shared a common language, civilization, and culture. By the early 14th century, Kerala had become a linguistically separate region. The first major recorded kingdom, the Chera, ruled Kerala from Vanchi. Related with the Pallavas, they warred against the Chola and Pandya kingdoms. A Keralite identity distinct from the Tamils and linked with the second Chera Empire and the development of Malayalam evolved throughout the 8th–14th centuries. In written account, Kerala was first mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Aitareya Aranyaka. Later, figures such as Katyayana, Patanjali, Pliny the Elder, and the unknown novelist of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea displayed expertise with Kerala.

The Chera kings' reliance on deal meant that merchants from West Asia recognized coastal posts and settlements in Kerala. Many particularly Jews and Christians also escaped maltreatment, establishing the Nasrani Mappila and Muslim Mappila communities.