Copper in Ancient India c7: Chapter II

Copper in Ancient India c7

Language: English

c7.s1 Copper Implements Discovered in Gunjeria — 23 parts
c7.s2 Date of the Copper Age in India — 12 parts

Chapter II

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India evidently had no bronze age, as bronze implements are scarcely to be found. So far as Southern India is concerned it is an admitted fact that the Neolithic period, during which time stone implements and weapons were used, passed directly into the iron age, as no copper or bronze weapons have been found in Southern India. Old cromlechs in various parts of Southern India have been found to contain iron weapons.¹ The southern bronzes of pre-historic times, as will be described later on, were objects used for ornamental purposes and do not include weapons. In Northern India, however, including the Central Provinces, copper tools and weapons have been discovered in several places besides two in Beluchistan which may be regarded archaeologically as a part of India. Mr. Vincent A. Smith in an excellent paper describes these interesting finds and concludes that "in the greater part of Northern India a copper age intervened between the Neolithic period and iron age."¹ We would examine his theory later on and in the meantime a short description of these implements will prove intersting.

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¹ "Weapons and other objects made of iron are found abundantly in many parts of India in stone circles or associated with cromlechs and other stone monuments, many of which appear to be of great antiquity and to have been erected by tribes long since extirpated or driven from the country. The erection of rude stone monoliths is still practised by some of the wilder tribes, so that the date of such erections is in many cases doubtful. There can be little, if any, question, however, that many of the stone circles of Central Provinces and the 'Korumba ringa' of Southern India date from a period previous to the Aryan immigration, and they were possibly contemporaneous with the very similar remains found in Europe and Central Asia. In Europe, however, stone circles and cromlechs are considered characteristic of the bronze age, whereas in India iron implements have been found associated with them in several places, amongst others near Nagpur in the Wardha district, near Ferozabad and Sonapur, east of Hydrabad in the Deccan in Muisur (Mysore) and Kurg (Coorg), on the Nilgiri Hills, in Malabar, Coimbatore, Salem and Tinnevelly. It appears not improbable that iron may have been discovered in India at an earlier period than in Europe"--Medlicott and Blanfords Geology of India, Part 1, p. 443.

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¹ Vincent A. Smith, "On the copper age and pre-historic bronze implements of India," Indian Antiquary 1905, Vol. XXXIV, p. 229. Supplement to the above, Indian Antiquity, 1907 Vol. XXXVI, pp. 53.

Copper Implements Discovered in Gunjeria

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"The most important discovery of instruments of copper yet recorded in the Old World", as Evans puts it in his Ancient Bronze Implements, was made by some shepherd boys who, while tending cattle in the village of Gunjeria in the district of Balaghat in the Nagpur Division of the Central Provinces, observed a piece of red metal peeping out of earth in a plot of waste land. On receipt of this news in 1870 Mr. Bloomfield, Deputy Commissioner of Balaghat, had the place excavated and as many as 424 copper implements and weapons and 102 pieces of thin silver plates were discovered in one place measuring about three feet in length, three feet in breadth and four feet in depth. The discovery of this remarkable find was announced at the May meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1870.²

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² Bloomfield, Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal; 1870, p. 131.

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The weight of the copper implements was 10 maunds 14 seers (about 826 lbs.) and that of the silver pieces 1 seer and 1/4 tola (about 2 lbs.). The copper implements were mostly celts, shovels, axe-blades, spades, &c. manufactured for warlike, domestic and agricultural purposes. The copper implements were of different sizes, the longer pieces being 24 3/4", 21 1/2", 17 1/2" long and variously broad by 6 1/2", 4" or 3". They were mostly 1/4" thick. Mr. Bloomfield presented 8 pieces of these silver discs Prehistoric copper implements discovered in Gunjeria. Central Provinces. (Proc. As. Soc. Beng. 1870).

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0.1 1.a 1.a' 0.13 1.b 1.b' 0.09 1.c 1.c' 0.21 2.a 2.a' 0.19 3.a 0.26 3.b 3.c' 0.23 3.c

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and 17 copper implements to the Asiatic Society and these have now been kept in the Archaeological Department of the Indian Museum, Calcutta.

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The copper implements were packed in regular layers with the silver objects lying in mass on one side. They appear to have never been put to use. It has been surmised that the place marks the site of a treasure house in which these articles were kept for safety. It is more likely, however, that there was a depot at that place in which these goods were stored for sale. Mr. Vincent A. Smith contends that this large collection of copper implements "affords conclusive evidence that at one time the manufacture of implements of pure copper was conducted in India on an extensive scale. It is impossible that more than four hundred such implements should have been collected in a single deposit unless they were of a kind in common ordinary use."

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There is no doubt that the implements are made of pure copper and not bronze. Mr. A. Tween has analysed them and found the metal to be pure copper mixed with only 1½ per cent lead. The silver was also pure, being contaminated with only 3.7 per cent gold.

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As regards other finds of copper implements in ancient India they may be summarised in the accompanying list as given by Mr. Smith. Most of these implements have been analysed and found to be made of pure copper. They may be conveniently divided into flat celts, bar celts, swords and daggers, harpoon or spear heads and arrow heads.

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*Ancient Indian Copper Implements*

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4. Fatehgarh 13 swords, 1 human figure.
5. Niori, Itawah District 1 harpoon head and 1 sword.
6. Bithur, Cawnpore District 2 flat celts, 3 harpoon heads.
7. Kosam, Allahabad District. 1 flat celt.
8. Parior, Unao District “A large number” of harpoon heads.
9. Saurajuri, Midnapur District 1 flat celt
10. Karharhari, Pachamba Subdivision, Hazaribagh District 3 unfinished flat celts and two pieces of unwrought copper
11. Bhagotoro, Karachi District, Sindh 1 flat celt
12. and 13. Kohistan Hill near Soorag and Tank in Beluchistan Arrow-heads associated with silver bracelet.

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Many new copper implements have, however, been discovered after Mr. Smith prepared his list. In a recent paper Pandit Hirānanda Sāstri gives an account of some additional copper implements discovered in Northern India specially at Bithur in the Cawnpore District.¹ Three copper hatchets about 7" long and 4¾" broad have been found in the temple of Bava Gudardās Uttam Dās in Bithur which resemble those already described by Mr. V. A. Smith. One similar specimen, though smaller, is lying in the sanctuary of Rādhākrishna at Bithur. Two additional copper hatchets have been found at Parior.

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¹ Journ. As, Soc. Beng., 1915, XI, pp. 1-5.

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Mr. Ortel has obtained four fine copper specimens from Bithur—one of them being a spear-head weighing about 1 lb 9 oz., the second a hatchet weighing 2lbs 5 oz., the third a sword resembling the Fatehgarh swords in the Calcutta Museum and the fourth a small hatchet. Pandit Shāstri has secured four additional copper implements, two being harpoon heads and two hatchets. They have been chemically analysed and found to be made of copper and not bronze. In addition to these, ten more copper implements from the Bulandshar and Hardoi districts—one of them being an axe-blade, two swords, one hatchet and the remainder celts—have been collected in the Lucknow Provincial Museum.

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In addition to these, quite a large number of copper implements has recently been discovered in different parts of Behar and Orissa and described in the the journal of the Behar and Orissa Research Society. Dr. A. Campbell describes 27 specimens of copper axe-heads in the Manbhum district of which he got possession of twentyfour. They were found by digging in the stretch of country between the hills running almost due east from Paresnath to Pokhuria in the north of the Dhanbad Subdivision and the Barakar river. A dozen of these magnificent specimens were dug up in a lot about a foot below the surface of the earth by coolies engaged in making the road going from the village of Kolher to the boundary of the Hazaribagh District. Regarding the method of construction of these axe-heads Dr. Campbell writes “the method of manufacturing these axe-heads seems to have been to run the metal into a mould, of the shape of but thicker and smaller than, the finished article. It was then beaten out to the required thickness. This appears to me to account for the variety of the shape of those that have been found. A little difference in the thickness of the cast in the mould or else the metal beaten irregularly would result in the slight differences in shapes which exist. I possess one of these rough castings.”¹

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¹ Dr. A. Campbell, “Note on the occurrence of copper celts in Manbhum,” Journal of the Behar and Orissa Research Society, 1916, 85-6.

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Mr. J. Coggin Brown describes a copper celt found in the Palamau District which he describes as a fine specimen, 18.5 cm. long and 15.4 cm. wide across the widest portion. Its greatest thickness, was 2.3 cm. It seems to have been roughly cast and then beaten into its present shape. The form is a very primitive one and closely imitates a well-known stone model. It is related to certain flat forms from the Gunjeria hoard.¹

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¹ J. Coggin Brown, Journ. B. & O. Res. Soc., 1915. 125-6.

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Twenty-one copper axes were excavated in a place in the Bassia Thana of the Ranchi District of which two are described by Mr. Coggin Brown.² They were similar to the Palamau celt and evidently similarly manufactured.

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² Ibid, p. 127.

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The Mayurbhanja State in Orissa has supplied its quota in respect of ancient copper implements in the shape of 3 double-edged copper battle-axes which have been collected by Mr. Cobden Ramsay, Political Agent, Feudatory States of Orissa. They were found with 6 or 7 similar pieces on the bank of the Gulpha River in the village of Bhagra Pir in the Mayurbhanja State. The large axe was 18½" in length and 15¾" in breadth and the two others were 10" by 8¼" and 10½" by 7" respectively in dimensions. The first two were about 1/8" and the third 1/20" thick.³

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³ Ibib, 1916, 386.

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The discovery of these numerous copper implements in different parts of Behar and Orissa, besides affording more conclusive evidence in favour of a copper age in ancient India supplies a missing link in the names of countries in Northern India where copper implements have been found. Behar and Orissa were originally represented in the list of places mentioned by Mr. Vincent A. Smith where copper implements were discovered by "3 unfinished flat celts and two pieces of unwrought copper" found in the Pachamba Subdivision of the Hazaribagh District but now more than fifty well-finished copper implements have been discovered in various parts of the two provinces. The evidence adduced by Mr. Smith in favour of a copper age in Northern India has been materially strengthened by the finds in the United Provinces described by Mr. Shāstri and in the new discoveries in Behar and Orissa. Almost all countries throughout Northern India down to certain parts of the Central Provinces in the south are now well-represented in the list of places where a copper age undoubtedly intervened between the stone and the iron age.

Date of the Copper Age in India

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We would now proceed to consider the question of the probable date of the copper age in India. Two hypotheses are possible—either these implements were used by the Aryan conquerers or they were used by the original inhabitants of India who were ultimately conquered by the Aryans and gradually brought to the Aryan fold.

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Regarding the first hypothesis it has already been pointed out that the Aryans were acquainted with the use of iron (ayas) from the time of their earliest habitation in the Punjab as it is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, the earlist of the Vedas, and according to Max Mueller, the earliest composition of any nation in the world. On the other hand copper (loha) came into general use amongst the Aryans much later (about 1000 B.C.) as it is frequently mentioned in the Atharvaveda and the Brāhmans but not in the Rigveda. Having known the use of iron it is not very likely that the ancient Aryans used copper as an ingredient for making implements to an appreciable extent. Though a copper knife is mentioned in the Atharvaveda it is likely that owing to the peculiar sanctity attached to copper, a copper knife might have been used in sacrificial rites. It is therefore very likely that the copper implements discovered in ancient India were not used by the Aryans themselves.

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If these implements were not used by the Aryans, the other alternative becomes that they were used by the original inhabitants of Northern India, who passed from the Neolithic period to the iron age through an intermediate copper age before the conquest of Northern India by the Aryans who taught them the use of iron. Direct evidence in favour of this hypothesis is forthcoming.

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Mr. Vincent A. Smith has dealt with the question of the probable date of the copper age in Northern India and concludes that all the Indian copper implements are certainly extremely old and must be dated previous to 1000 B.C. Probably they are much earlier “and that the primitive celts of Northern India, which are obviously copies of Neolithic patterns, may be as old as 2000 B.C.” He further writes “the guess hazarded above as to the possible date of the northern examples has really little foundation, being largely based upon the dates assumed for Ireland.”

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But European analogies are not always very safe guides in determining questions of age relating to ancient Indian history. European analogy would suggest a bronze age to have intervened between the stone and iron ages, in India, whilst as a matter of fact there was no bronze age in India. If any guess regarding the probable date of the copper age is permissible, such hypothesis should be based mainly on internal evidence as the evolution of Indian civilization took place in a different manner from Ireland. I would venture to put forward here my own views on the subject.

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I would entirely agree with Mr. Vincent A. Smith in thinking that “in the greater part of Northern India a copper age intervened between the Neolithic period and the iron age.” Two evidences on this subject are conclusive. In the first place the wide area over which the finds of the copper implements have been distributed shows that the copper implements were used throughout the greater part of Northern India including certain parts of the Central Provinces, as the Gunjeria deposit by reason of its contents must be associated with Northern India. Secondly, this very large number of weapons including agricultural and domestic implements in the Gunjeria deposit is a conclusive proof of the fact that copper implements were largely used in Northern India at some period of her history. As Mr. Smith himself points out, the celts from Upper India found at Mathura, Bijnor, Mainpuri and Bithur are all, with one exception, of the kind known to archaeologists as ‘flat celts,’ extremely primitive in form “closely imitating common stone models and obviously referable to a period when metal was only beginning to supersede stone.” As the Aryans were undoubtedly well acquainted with at least two metals viz. gold and iron even at the time of the composition of the Rigveda, it would thus appear that the people who used these copper celts were not the Aryans but the *direct lineal descendents of the Neolithic people who inhabitated India before the Aryan conquest*. The copper age appears to have been spread over a tolerably wide interval of time, as much improvement in the technique of the construction of some of the implements as those found in the Gunjeria deposit and the spear heads would suggest.

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The question of the copper age naturally therefore resolves into the determination of the time when the Aryans conquered Northern India from its aboriginal inhabitants. That date would form the lower limit of the copper age, as the Aryans evidently taught the original inhabitants of Northern India the use of iron in the place of copper. Now in the time of the Rigveda the Aryans were in their first settlement in the Punjab on the banks of the Indus and its tributaries. "The Yajurveda introduces us not only to a geographical area different from that of the Rigveda but also a new epoch of religious and social life in India. We no more hear of the Indus and its tributaries, for the geographical data of all the rescensions of the Yajurveda point to the territory in the middle of Northern India occupied by the neighbouring people of the Kurus and Pāñchālas. It lay in the plain between the Sutlej and the Jamuna. But the conquest of Northern India appears to have been complete during the Brāhman age. In the Sathapatha Brāhman we find that "the Brāhminical system had by this time spread to the countries to the east of Madhaydesh, to Koshala with its capital Ajodhya (Oudh) and Videha (Tirhut or Northern Behar) with its capital Mithila."² Buddha who preached a religion antagonistic to Brāhminism in many respects was born in 507 B.C. and when Alexander came to invade India, the Indian troops as we learn from Herodotus had arrows tipped with iron.³ It would thus appear that by 1000 B.C. the greater part of Northern India was conquered and Aryanised and by the seventh century B.C. the Aryans begen to penetrate into Southern India. I would therefore agree with Mr. Smith, though for entirely different reasons, that all the copper implements must be dated previous to 1000 B.C. and that the most primitive forms may be as old as 1500-2000 B.C.

Linked texts (6)

Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Atharvavedasaṃhitā — Atharvan & Aṅgiras, Sanskrit
Śatapathabrāhmaṇa — Yājñavalkya & Śāṇḍilya (Vedic teacher), Sanskrit
Ayodhyā (Sāketa)
Bijnor
Mainpur

Copper in Ancient India c7: Chapter II

Contents

Chapter II

Copper Implements Discovered in Gunjeria

Date of the Copper Age in India

Linked texts (6)