History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.s2.t1.1

v1.c13.s2.t1.1

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.