Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c20.s3.t3.1

v1.c20.s3.t3.1

The chalcolithic traditions in (a) the Pre-, Mature-, and Post-Harappan (chapters 2-7), (b) Peninsular India (chapter 8) and (c) Eastern India (chapter 9) gradually gave rise to the Iron Age cultures in the respective areas. In chapter 9, we mentioned about the chalcolithic culture of Pāṇḍu Rājār Dhibi and the neighbouring areas of West Bengal and Bihar. This culture C-14 dated 1380 to 855 BC (Allchins, 1982: 261) spanned the period from the early chalcolithic to the advent of iron. The people there were in touch with the Copper Hoard tradition in the Doab and the Peninsular Chalcolithic tradition. In West Bengal and Bihar, endowed with high grade copper as well as iron ores, the Iron Age emerged from the chalcolithic period without any interruption; the well-dated period 1050-950 BC has been termed as ‘Ferro-chalcolithic’ by Chattopadhyaya and De (1989).