History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.s2.t3.32

v1.c13.s2.t3.32

The first and oldest evidence of copper artifacts in India come from the Nal Cemetery dating back to 3rd M. B.C. i.e.. the same period as in Iran. Tylecote(1976) is of the opinion that the technology of production and use of copper in this country was imported from South Iran along the Persian Gulf i.e. by sea route rather than over the difficult land route through Northern Baluchistan or Afghanistan. If this is true the Indian society developed at Lothal had trade links as early as 3rd M. B.C. i.e. even earlier than Harappan period. Forbes(1964) has mentioned that King Devius of Iran had a brass cup dating to 522 to 486 B.C., and the origin of this cup most probably belonged to India. This leads to the conclusion that the process of extraction of copper was probably known to Indians much earlier than 3rd M. B.C. and it contradicts the views of Tylecote. The theory of indigenous discovery of copper production technology is further supported by the presence of 4.8% Ni and 2.14% Pb in the copper artifacts found at the Harappan sites, whereas the Iranian copper is rich in Arsenic. the copper sulphide ores found at Khetri and Maubhandar have been found to be rich in nickel.