The differentiation among people in South Indian villages was likely based on differential access to which of the following?

Land, labor, and some new technologies

The adoption of various technologies in agriculture often resulted in increased production, yet the benefits were distributed unevenly. A notable trend was the growing differentiation among individuals involved in agriculture. Stories, especially within the Buddhist tradition, make reference to various categories of people, including landless agricultural laborers, small peasants, and large landholders. The term "gahapati" frequently appeared in Pali texts to describe the second and third categories.

The emergence of large landholders and hereditary village headmen as influential figures was evident, often leading to their control over other cultivators. Early Tamil literature, known as the Sangam texts, also mentions distinct categories of individuals residing in villages, such as large landowners or "vellalar," ploughmen or "uzhavar," and slaves or "adimai." These differences were likely linked to varying access to land, labor, and some of the new agricultural technologies.