The Indus Civilization c8.22

c8.22

Lead was also known and worked, but only one leaden utensil, a small dish, has yet been discovered. Leaden figurines and animals are also non-existent; in fact, this metal is usually unearthed in the form of irregular lumps. It sometimes occurs as an impurity in the copper and bronze, but the metal-workers seem never to have realized that if it had been used sparingly as one of the alloys of bronze, casting would have been considerably facilitated. Lead has been worked in India from very early times, and there is no doubt that ample supplies were available for the Indus Valley cities. It is, indeed, possible that much, if not all, of the silver used was procured from lead, the process of extraction being exceedingly simple.