The Indus Civilization (Cambridge History of India, Supplementary Volume) c17.89

c17.89

The Harappan beads are abundant, varied in form and material, and important historically. Their materials are of gold, silver, copper, faïence, steatite, semi-precious stones, shell and pottery. The processes of sawing, flaking, grinding and boring the stone beads are well illustrated at Chanhu-daro, where a bead-maker's shop was found.¹ The boring was effected either with chert drills or with bronze tubular drills, whilst minute beads of steatite paste seem to have been formed by pressing the paste through fine-gauge bronze tubes. The stone drills were very carefully made with tiny cupped points to hold the abrasive and water that gave the drill the necessary bite. A similar drill was found at Ur,² but no site has produced so many of them as Chanhu-daro, and the possibility of an export-trade in beads from the Indus is worthy of consideration.