History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c39.s2.t3.3

v1.c39.s2.t3.3

Prakash and Tripathi have meticulously noted (Prakash and Tripathi, 1986) that the early PGW-era iron tools were war implements like spear heads, arrow heads, dagger, knives, and building materials like rods, pins and nails. Only a few agricultural tools e.g. axes and sickles were made in iron. Spades and ploughshares came much later. Thakur asserted (Maity, Thakur and Narain, 1988) that iron implements such as axe, plain or socketed, hammer and ploughshare were conspicuous by their rarity, if not absence, even in the 500 B.C. NBP sites; this fact negates Sharma's hypothesis. Furthermore, A. Ghosh pointed out (1973, specially ch. III) that the clearance of forest, done in the epic/PGW era was more by the use of fire rather than iron implements. Cultivation used to be done more by hoes, sickles and wooden ploughshares tipped with iron rather than iron ploughshares and axe which became popular only around 4th/3rd century B.C.