Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c18.s3.17

v1.c18.s3.17

Characterised chiefly by the antennae sword, anthropomorph and the harpoon, the Copper Hoard Culture also produced celts, axe-blades, socketed axes which ended up in Gungeria and the Uttar Pradesh/Bihar sites of the Historical Period. The exclusive occurrence of bar-celts in the eastern region may indicate their use for crowbar-like operations in mining in the Bihar area which supplied the raw material for copper. The Copper Hoard people knew the closed casting method like the Harappans. Many artefacts were made by cutting metal sheets and hammering. Metallographic examination of a few lead-alloyed specimens showed evidences of slow cooling, cold work and annealing; these techniques might have been acquired from the Chalcolithic Culture.