An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s6.t3.5

v1.c9.s6.t3.5

The tool types, as a whole, mainly include chipped and smoothed axes, adzes, hoes, chisels and their variants, besides hammer axes, hammer stones, ring stones, pounders, grinders, saddle querns, hones and scrapers. The dominating types are the rounded-butt trapezoidal axe and the roundly pointed triangular axe which generally show bifacial smoothing round the cutting ends (sometimes bevelled) and lenticular or ovaloid (occasionally rectangular) transverse sections. There are also a few faceted tools, shouldered hoes or adzes and small and tiny celts (more common in Santal Parganas). The shouldered hoes or adzes, mostly collected accidentally, are not known to have been found with other artefacts at any specific sites. Stone and terracotta beads, dabbers and potsherds, along with the tools mentioned above, are reported from Singhbhum. The potsherds are generally handmade and plain, of dull black or reddish brown in colour. A few reddish sherds show parallel lines and thumb impressions. Some potsherds reveal chaffs in the clay, while others show fine sand and clay mixed with *kankar*.