Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c20.s1.43

v1.c20.s1.43

We do not have any incontrovertible evidence of quench-hardening practice in ancient India as early as twelfth-eleventh century BC, the date corresponding to Cyprus knife showing martensite and bainite. (Maddin, 1982) But the credit of first producing crucible steel or ‘wootz’ certainly goes to India. These facts justify the notion of India entering the iron age substantially through indigenous efforts, occasionally receiving as well as transmitting technological details across its borders.