The Indus Civilization c9.53

c9.53

It has already been mentioned that cotton was used as a textile in Mohenjo-daro, and presumably over the whole area inhabited by the Indus Valley people. As markings on the robe of one of the statues seem to indicate embroidery (Pl. H, 2), it is probable that this handicraft was commonly practised, the period being much too early for printed cotton cloth of the type made in Sind to-day. Needles of copper and bronze, sometimes with pierced eyes, sometimes with eyes formed by looping over the top of the needle itself, are well known, though in comparison with modern specimens they appear too clumsy to have been used on closely-woven material. A set of three gold needles, the largest two inches long, found with a hoard of jewellery by Mr. Dikshit, may have been employed in a special kind of embroidery; they all have cylindrical handles which terminate in a sharp point containing the eye. Two of these needles seem to have been held frequently between the teeth, to judge from the marks on the handles.