Knowledge Systems of Kerala offers a brief introduction to regional knowledge systems that have evolved in Kerala. The textbook introduces students to a range of knowledge embedded in artefacts, cultural practices and oral narratives, as well as what has been codified in written texts.

The knowledge systems of ethnic communities; Kerala’s contributions to knowledge and skill in arts, crafts and architecture; its rich martial and Ayurveda traditions; ritual and classical performance traditions in the region; the knowledge embedded in Kerala’s renaissance and reform movements; significant texts and personalities in literature, philosophy, mathematics and science; and stone age tools and megalithic monuments, are all touched upon.

The book celebrates composite cultures that have developed under uneven techno-economic conditions. It underlines the diversity of regional knowledge forms and their interconnections with knowledge systems across the Indian subcontinent.