History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c17.s2.t2.5

v1.c17.s2.t2.5

The Harappans used steatite, a soft stone for making seals and beads and then hardened the same. A paste of finely ground talcose steatite was squeezed through one millimeter diameter perforations having 0.5 mm diameter copper of bronze wires in the centre of the perforations to produce hollow tubes which were cut into small bits and then hardened by firing at 900°C. According to Hedge et al, this was the method of production of steatite beads.