Early India and Pakistan to Ashoka c8.26

c8.26

Most detached of the available evidence is the famous series of copper hoards which have been found on upwards of thirty-four sites between the upper Ganges and Orissa.⁴⁸ Something like six hundred objects is involved, comprising eight main types: (i) flat axes, usually of stocky sub-rectangular form with splayed edge; (ii) shouldered axes with a clear kink or set-back at the points where the curved edge meets the stem of the implement; (iii) 'bar-celts' or chisels, up to two feet long, consisting of a nearly parallel-sided bar and an expanded chisel-edge in one of the lateral planes, not central as in the axes; (iv) rings made by bending a rod of circular section until the ends meet; (v) harpoon-heads strangely like the Magdalenian or Azilian horn harpoons of the West, with bilateral barbs and a loop or projection for the attachment of a cord; (vi) spearheads (sometimes called swords) with strong mid-rib and often with a projection from the tang for the attachment of a cord; (vii) swords, usually with the hilt, of one piece with the blade, bifurcated like antennae; and (viii) strange anthropomorphic objects, up to eighteen inches long, which might be taken to represent a human form with straddled legs and incurved arms. Their purpose and whether indeed their anthropomorphism is intentional are alike unknown.