Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c20.s3.t4.5

v1.c20.s3.t4.5

Amidst the diversities in time and place, one commonality emerges in the megalith sites; as early as 1921, L. Munn pointed out that the megalithic sites were close to the ancient mine sites in the region. Sundara (1975) emphasized that the Kappatgudda range in South India, where there is a number of megalithic sites, “is rich in gold as well as in iron and has many gold-working pits and sites strewn with iron slags”. Very useful comments have been made by Vibha Tripathi and V.D. Misra with reference to Deo’s (1985) paper on megaliths. Tripathi commented that “the megalith-builders basically appear to have been smelters and makers of a wide variety of metallic objects, iron being the most important among them”. She felt that they were nomads and marginal agriculturists. Misra partially disagreed and pointed out that ‘the very existence of the professional groups — potters, copper-smiths, black-smiths, bead-makers etc. — presupposes surplus production, however marginal it might have been”.