The Indus Civilization c7.14

c7.14

The metal ornaments of the Indus Valley people were made of gold, electrum, silver, copper, and bronze. Both the gold and silver were probably found in India, and though silver is now scarce in that country, much of the ancient supplies of this metal could have been obtained from argentiferous lead brought from Afghanistan. Electrum, a mixture of silver with gold, exists in several places in India, but it is unlikely that the silver content was ever extracted in ancient times, as this process, unlike that of extracting silver from lead, would have been extremely difficult without modern appliances. Silver, however, cannot be classed as a rare metal, though it was not so common at Mohenjo-daro as gold, copper, or bronze.