An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s17.92

v1.c9.s17.92

Availability of suitable rock material, fertile lands and water supply governed the location of the sites. While the people had considerable skill in the selection of stones and construction of different types of monuments and in the organization of labour, they presumably lived in simple hut-like structures of perishable materials, the floor being occasionally plastered with lime. All their tools of agriculture, such as plough coulters, sickles, knives and chisels, domestic utensils such as tripod stands, lamps, dishes, and weapons like swords, spears and daggers, are of iron; stone was out of use. Whether they prospected for iron in this region is not yet established. Bangles and rings of copper, varieties of beads of carnelian, steatite, shell and terracotta and rarely of gold formed their personal ornaments. Hunting and domestication of animals, such as the cattle, buffalo, sheep and horse, and agriculture were their main occupations, besides cottage industries such as spinning, matting, carpentry and ironsmithy. *Rāgi*, rice and horsegram were grown.