History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c17.s2.t3: Some Lothal Products
History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c17.s2.t3
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Some Lothal Products
v1.c17.s2.t3.1
At Lothal, manufacture of steatite beads and seals was as impressive as in Chanhu-daro. Special features at Lothal were however pertaining to agate, carnelian and shell (Rao, S.R., 1979 & 1985).
v1.c17.s2.t3.2
Among the semi-precious stones, carnelian was the most popular, not only because of its attractive red colour and translucency but also on account of the easy availability of agate (from Rajpipla conglomerate, Rangpur etc.) which was cooked to produce different shades of red, yellow and lemon carnelian/sard. These are all crypto-crystalline silica belonging to the chalcedony family of minerals. The colour of red carnelian is due to ferric oxide disseminated in the silica matrix, and the yellow and brown to hydrated ferric oxide.
v1.c17.s2.t3.3
Yellow or brown stones, when exposed to the action of heat, gradually assume the red colour (characteristic of carnelian) owing to the hydrated ferric oxide losing water and becoming anhydrous.
v1.c17.s2.t3.4
The Block E of Lothal showed bead factory, furnaces and more than 600 beads of carnelian in different stages of manufacture. Its primacy for the tradition of etched carnelian beads is unquestionable.
v1.c17.s2.t3.5
Various types of marine, estuarine and fresh water shells - particularly chank Xancus (Turbinella; pyrum linn.) - were used at Lothal in the manufacture of precision instruments, ladles, engravers, knives, inlay pieces, gamesmen, personal ornaments such as beads, bangles and pendants, and occasionally for seals.
v1.c17.s2.t3.6
While the dock collections at Lothal included both marine and fresh-water species of shells, the township collections specifically abounded in chank amongst other things. Hundreds of columella of chank-shell, rejected flakes, unfinished bangles and other finished objects of shell, found in the workshops of Lothal, confirm that shell-working was a flourishing local industry. One of the workshops encountered in street 1 was devoted to shell-bead industry.
v1.c17.s2.t3.7
The process of sawing, engraving and giving final shape to the shell objects was almost identical in Kathiawar and the Indus Valley. The saw marks on the columella and the valva clearly show that the shell was turned slowly while sawing with a bronze wire.
v1.c17.s2.t3.8
The thick rings produced from the septum were sawn into thinner pieces for making bangles. The walls of the chank-shell were made use of in preparing bowls and ladles (1.4 to 4.6 in. diameter).
v1.c17.s2.t3.9
A very interesting instrument made of shell is a hollow cylindrical object with symmetrical loop-like curves, produced at regular intervals by partially sawing across the opposite margins. Four grooves on the upper margins of the cylinder and four on the lower when joined, give intersecting lines producing exactly 45 degrees. The instrument must have served the same purpose as a modern compass and helped in marine and land survey, alignment of road etc. Another leaf-shaped object with a semi- circular end might have been used as a plectrum for playing on a stringed instrument.
v1.c17.s2.t3.10
Mention may also be made of the use of bones and ivory at Lothal. There was trade of ivory between India and Sumer. Ivory was used for making kohl rods, gamesmen, jar-stoppers, ceremonial knives, and most interestingly, scales upto 46 mm distance with the smallest division being 1.7 mm.
v1.c17.s2.t3.11
Agate and carnelian continued to be the principal gem minerals for making beads during the Historical Period. Out of the sixty beads of semi-precious stones recovered from the IVth phase (post 600 B.C. period) of Atranjikhera in Western Uttar Pradesh, 25 were agate beads, 15 carnelian, 10 jasper and 8 quartz (Gaur, R.C., 1983). At Hastinapura, 211 beads were found in successive phases starting from 1000 B.C.; 78 were made of carnelian and agate (Lal, B.B., 1954 & 1955). At Ahichchhatra (post 300 B.C.) a large majority of the stone beads were made of banded and etched agate and carnelian (Dikshit, 1952).
v1.c17.s2.t3.12
Three principal types of etching, as discussed earlier, were noticed on carnelian beads (Dikshit, 1952). The long-barrel circular beads and leech-shaped beads were found not only at Ahichchhatra but also at Kaushambi, Taxila etc. The beads must have had common origin of manufacture; etched agate and carnelian possibly came from the Cambay area.