Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c16.s4.6

v1.c16.s4.6

In the Chalcolithic cultures of Maski, the use of beads was quite prominent. (Thapar, 1957: 104-19) The use of carnelian, coral, shell, glass and paste, indicative of contacts with Gujarat, started in the chalcolithic period and was boosted in the subsequent megalithic-cum-iron using culture period in the first millennium BC. During the latter period, terracotta beads were produced and green jasper, lapis lazuli and garnet beads imported. During the Christian era, South India became a major centre for precious gems. The use of copper in the chalcolithic Maski was scanty, the site yielding only a few rods of uncertain use.