The Arctic Home in the Vedas c16.23.2

c16.23.2

Now it is true that ordinarily Greek *kh*, is represented by *h* in Sanskrit, and that if this rule be rigidly applied to the present case it would not be possible to phonetically identify *khalkos* with *shulka*. Philologists have, therefore, tried to compare *khalkos* with Sanskrit *hrîku* or *hliku*. But, as remarked by Dr. Schrader, the connection seems to be altogether improbable. *Hrîku* is not a Vedic word, nor does it mean copper or bronze. Despite the phonetic difficulty,—and the difficulty is not so serious as it seems to be at the first sight, for Sanskrit *sh* is represented by *k* in Greek, and this *k* sometimes gives place to the aspirated *kh*,—I am, therefore, inclined to identify *khalkos* with *shulka*; and if this is correct, we must conclude that undivided Aryans were familiar with some metal, either copper or bronze, as a medium of exchange. There are many other points similar in character. But it is impossible to go further into this subject in this place. I only want to point out the reservation with which we shall have now to accept the results of Comparative Philology in forming our estimate of the degree of culture reached by the primitive Aryans, and show that when the primitive Aryan culture is carried back to the inter-Glacial age, the hypothesis that primitive Aryans were hardly better than the savage races of the present day at once falls to the ground.