History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c11.s1.t1.5

v1.c11.s1.t1.5

Small animal and female figurines (for example, see *Fig.3*) were cast by the *cire perdue* (lost wax) process (*Fig. 4*), although none of the Harappan moulds is as ornate as the Chinese, nor as intricate as the Mesopotamian examples. A number of axes from Chanhudaro and Mohenjodaro show puckered surfaces, indicating that they did not always use *green poling* in open moulds; the use of green branches for poling in molten copper releases hydrocarbons which reduce the oxides, thus avoiding blowholes.