A Concise History of Science in India c9.3

c9.3

In India, the beginnings of chemistry as practical and purposeful art are noticeable in remote antiquity. Of particular importance is the knowledge as well as the technique concerning the baking of clay and production of pottery, i.e. of objects fashioned from clay and hardened by fire. The use of pottery has an added significance in the history of chemistry. For, besides satisfying the potter’s urge to create forms and paint artistically on them, the use of pottery enabled the ancient practical chemists to develop processes involving prolonged heating, fusion, evaporation and, more importantly, the treatment of minerals. India has been well known for a number of pottery types from the neolithic phase right up to the medieval period. Metal-working, processing of various naturally occurring minerals, slaking of the burnt limestone, compositions of mortar and cement, preparation of fermented juices, extraction of essential oils, use of pigments, and production of different types of glass were among the noteworthy chemical practices in India even in very ancient times. Though it is rather difficult to trace the indigenous origins of these practices, there is no doubt that most of them grew out of the sustained efforts and special technical abilities of the people of the region, and reached peaks of excellence at times.