A History of Agriculture in India v1.c27.s7: Use of Iron for Agricultural Implements
A History of Agriculture in India v1.c27.s7
- Language
- English
Use of Iron for Agricultural Implements
v1.c27.s7.1
By the sixth century B.C. the iron age was well established in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Spear-heads, arrow-heads, axes, daggers and knives of iron were manufactured in substantial numbers. Iron ploughshares and sickles of iron made farming more efficient.
v1.c27.s7.2
Iron was also used for making chisels and drills—the primary tools of the carpenter—and for manufacturing nails. A larger production of iron and the manufacture of iron axes enabled the people to cut down forests and to lay roads through unexplored parts of the country. Apart from the felling of trees, skilful cutting of hard wood at Ujjain suggests the use of improved iron implements, such as saws.
v1.c27.s7.3
With the expansion of cultivation, the usefulness of cattle was fully realized, and cattle became sacred. The Vedic practice of animal sacrifices was given up under the influence of Buddhism, and the bullocks became the companion of man in the conquest of virgin lands. Henceforth Indian farmers regarded them as helpmates and as members of their own social group.