An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c16.s15.t1: 11.15.2 C. region
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c16.s15.t1
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11.15.2 C. region
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The pottery from the c. Indian Megalithic burials [4.17.6] consists of four varieties, viz., the Black-and-red Ware, all-black ware, red ware and micaceous red ware, the last being peculiar to the Vidarbha region. The other wares are similar to those in the burials of the Deccan and s. India [4.17.8-11; 11, 15.3]. All the wares are wheel-turned and medium-to-thick in fabric. Due to the soil conditions obtaining in Vidarbha the pots have lost cohesiveness and are brittle: complete shapes are rarely recognizable and the nature of firing is indeterminable. However the all-black ware shows burnishing and the red ware is thick and crude. The micace- Megalithic culture of peninsular India [4.17.8-10] is indisputably uniform in fabric and technique. It falls into three main categories: the Black-and-red Ware, all-black ware and red ware. The whole assemblage, excepting certain categories of red ware, is wheel-turned, possibly on a slow wheel or turntable. The clay is usually well-levigated and shows a sparing use of tempering material like sand, quartz particles and chaff. The surface is slipped, polished, burnished or simply coated with a wash. The Black-and-red Ware is in some instances salt-glazed. Large urns of red ware are always handmade. The three- and four-legged jars in the same ware are partially wheel-turned and partially (legs and lower portions) handmade. Again excepting the large urns the whole range of pottery is normally well-fired.
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Fig. 33. Megalithic pottery from the Vindhyas (Chalcolithic phase)
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Although these three wares are universal to the whole region, the all-black ware is not to be found at a few sites, viz. in the excavated burials of NAGARJUNAKONDA [4.17.8], MASKI, TERDAL and HALINGALI and in the early chamber tombs of n. Karnataka [4.17.8]. At TERDAL, however, two highly micaceous grey sherds of Neolithic [11.1.5] affinity were found. The forms of the pots also show that they are not exclusive to any particular type of burials, for a few common shapes do occur in
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Fig. 34. Megalithic pottery from the Vindhyas (Chalcolithic phase)
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ous ware in which mica has been used as *degraissant* is thick and fragile. In order of frequency the micaceous red ware predominates, followed by the Black-and-red Ware, the crude red ware and all-black ware. Except simple shapes the pot-forms are quite different from Megalithic ones of the Deccan and s. India, though there is an exception at RANJALA in the Tapti valley where the conical vessel and tulip-shaped vase similar to those obtained from BRAHMAGIRI is available. Again, some lids, knobbed and animal-finialed, in black ware resemble those from the s. Dts of Tamil Nadu. Some of the micaceous red pots are painted in black with linear designs. The coarse red ware has applied finger-tip decoration. The shapes obtaining in the different wares are as follows: the globular pot with flared rim, bowl with a hole-mouth, ring-stand, etc., in the micaceous red ware; the dish, bowl in different varieties, some perforated, and ring-stand in the Black-and-red Ware; the storage jar, cylindrical jar, ring-stand, bowl, vase, basin and spouted pot in the coarse red ware; and the dish and bowl in the all-black ware.
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For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—K.S. RAMACHANDRAN