Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c10.s3.3

v1.c10.s3.3

At Mahagara, the neolithic man added polished celts, querns, mullers and ring stones for settled agricultural use. Rice plantation was perfected. Basalt was basically used for making most of the neolithic tools, while granite and quartzite were used only for making celts. The excavations at Mahagara has unearthed 2052 stone objects. Chalcedony was commonly used. The use of chert and agate was also popular; carnelian and quartz were occassionally used. All these stones were locally available in the form of river pebbles. Querns and mullers of sandstone were basically food-processing equipments. Irregular and sharp bits of sand-stone were also used as sharpeners and tool fabricators. The function of stone balls is not clear.