Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c20.s3.t6.3

v1.c20.s3.t6.3

The megalithic people around Mahurjhari practised a mixed subsistence economy, and thier diet included agricultural products as well as hunted game animals. In the entire area, real agricultural tools like sickle and ploughshare were rare. At Borgaon, the tools of offence like spikes, axes, trident and other objects account for nearly 77 per cent of the total collection. At Takalghat, 28 out of 76 iron implements (37%) are offence tools like axe, arrowhead, dagger, blade, sword, spear, knife etc. We have the same pattern in the peninsular megaliths: Brahmagiri shows 28 out of 44 (63%) as offence tools. Many items were ‘socio-technic’ — related to the status or rank of a person in a given social set-up. These indicated specifc status; for example only one out of four burials at Borgaon showed horse-bit of iron and trident. At Takalghat and Mahurjhari were found hose-trappings, ornaments, dagger with iron blade and copper hilt etc. The culture reflected nomadic pastoralism, emphasis on warfare using horses, ritual tradition for sacrificing animals, and a strong tradition for metallurgy.