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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.s2.t1: (I) Gold

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.s2.t1

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English

(I) Gold

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According to Gowland (1912) and Bhardwaj (1979) it is extremely probable if not absolutely certain that Neolithic men would have first become acquainted with native Gold but they would have been disappointed in its use to shape hunting tools and war weapons. In our country not many Gold artifacts dating to Pre-Harappan period have been reported although in *Ṛgveda* Gold and its alloys with Ag and Cu have been mentioned in many places, such as, I-85.9, 88.5, 67.3; II-37.9; V-54.15, 57.1, 60.4; VIII- 7.27-32 etc. In Vedic literature this metal has been mentioned as *Hiranya* probably because of its high corrosion and oxidation resistance and the practice of its preservation through generations. The recurrence of this metal in the Chalcolithic period is more common and many artifacts have been reported from South India.

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This metal has its mesmerising power in its shining bright deep yellow colour which has not got tarnished even by the stains of human blood. In human civilization it has been named as the most sinister and deadly metal although due to its ductility and softness it had proved worthless for making any war weapon. This is so ductile that one gram of the metal can be drawn into more than 1.24 km long wire without any intermediate annealing.

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Marshall (1902-1903) has remarked that the Gold frontlets or dead man’s mask of the Adichanallur excavations are made of so flimsy gold leaf that in all probability they could not have been used in real life and these have been most probably used as substitutes for the dead. This also indicates the economic aspects of this metals use in the ancient times. The custom of tying gold plates or ‘Diadams’ is still prevalent in some parts of Madurai, and in North India it is customary to put a small piece of the metal in the mouth of the dying person.

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Native Gold has been found in this country in three forms :

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(1) Alluvial sedimentary deposits at shallow depth in the river basin. In Nilgiri hills such deposits have been worked upto a depth of 25 m or more.

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(2) As fine particles mixed with the river sand. Rivers of Sindh, Sutlaj and other rivers of Kashmir, Ganges, Swarna Rekha, Godavari and many other rivers of South India have been reported to carry gold fines in their sand. Kuppuram (1983) has reviewed such deposits in great detail.

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(3) As metal nuggets and streaks in quartz veins at Kolar and Hatti Gold Mines.

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