Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s8.1

v1.c28.s8.1

We have discussed earlier the wonderful cast bronzes of Mohenjo-Daro and Dāimābād. The gap between the first (Harappan) urbanisation in India and the second (Mahājanapada era starting from eighth-seventh century BC in the Gaṅgā-Yamunā valley) has remained an enigma, and in this context Neogi (1917, 1979: 36) commented that “India missed a Bronze Age since the use of iron was known from Vedic times”. Since 1917 when Neogi wrote these lines, archaeological discoveries have shown us that India did not altogether miss the Bronze Age. The Post-Harappan chalcolithic cultures of the Eastern and the Peninsular India yielded many artefacts of alloyed copper. The Peninsular chalcolithic culture culminated with Tinnevelly bronze (of the fourth-third century BC period) which we have mentioned earlier. In the Northern India, Atrañjikhera produced artefacts not only of iron but also of copper alloyed with tin, lead and even zinc. Prakash and Rawat (1965) analysed antiquities from Kauśāmbī which were made of copper and bronze; the bronze objects contained high proportions of tin varying between 19.1 to 26.5 per cent. At Taxila, distilled zinc was used for the first time in the world to produce the famous brass vase; the Bhir Mound brass and bronze objects are dated fifth-fourth century BC, well before Alexander’s invasion.