History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c11.s3.23

v1.c11.s3.23

The distribution of the Copper Hoard types is therefore mainly confined to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. It is beyond doubt that the Copper Hoards have an individuality of their own and were not influenced by either the Harappan or the Chalcolithic cultures. This is further supported by the exclusive arsenic alloying of the Copper Hoards. As regards the authorship of the Copper Hoards, there is considerable controversy. Heine Geldern (1936) identified them with the Aryans, Piggott (1950) with the Harappan refugees; Lal (1951) and Gupta (1963) with the Mundari-speaking Australoid tribes of the primaeval doab; and Sankalia (1974), as usual, finds Western Asiatic affinities for the OCP, and therefore for the Copper Hoards.