Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c23.7

v1.c23.7

The chalcolithic sites in central and eastern India of the Post-Harappan era might have received tin ores from the alluvial washings. Several raw material sites have been suggested such as Bhilwara in Rajasthan, Dhoni Nullah of the Dambal Hills, Dharwar, Dumagudiem in the Bastar district, Nurungo or Nurgo in the Hazārībāgh-Gangā-Rānchi belt. (Chakraborti, 1979) Tin, known as trapu in the Atharva Vedic age, was also named vaṅga probably in connection with its use in the chalcolithic culture of Bengal. This culture of the late second millennium BC period was probably connected with the Thailand culture of the same period (Solheim, 1967), and it is not improbable that some tin might have been imported into India from South-East Asia. The historical period witnessed sustained use of bronzes (Chakraborti, 1979) and part of the tin must have come from outside India (Malayasia etc.).