The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c14.s1.t7.11

c14.s1.t7.11

About the pottery, there is no doubt that the one unifying factor of this burial complex of South India is the black-and-red ware. However, the recent work in Central India has made this pottery extremely important for further studies. Hence the writer made a special study of the forms, fabrics, decorations and techniques. (See Figs. 42 & 43). It shows that most of the basic forms are common except the tendency for an elongation and development of pointed bases in the South. Besides its wide distribution in space, it has an equally wide distribution in time—nearly a thousand years. Hence a distinction is sought to be made on the basis of megalithic burials. But the definite chronological priority of this ware in Central and Western India, and such positive affinities in fabrics and forms weakens any assumption of independent origins for the megalithic and non-megalithic black-and-red ware. So the solution to this problem lies elsewhere and the possibility of its being earlier in South India is eliminated by the uniformity of the grave goods and pottery with this entire burial complex. At the present state of our knowledge, the following alternative hypotheses should be explored: