History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.s3.3

v1.c13.s3.3

From the study of the bronze statue of the dancing girl it is obvious that metal casting technology had reached its perfection during this period (2500 to 3000 B.C.). The idea of making metal statues and idols probably arose from the manufacture of terra-cotta toys and the method adopted for their mass manufacture using a baked clay die, made into two halves. Archaeological evidences so far collected have indicated that after learning the process of melting metal into crucibles and its casting into earthen channels man started using preshaped molds of clay or cavities made in sand stone or soap stone pieces, which gave rise to the first concept of die-casting. Later-on man must have learnt to make clay or wooden pattern and to produce a replica of the same by making consumable molds in sand and clay mixtures leading to the development of the modern molding method and foundry technology.