Iron Age – Antiquity of Iron in India

5. 1 Glossary

Staring Related Term Definition Character Term An arrowhead is a tip, usually sharpened, added to A Arrow head an arrow to make it more deadly or to fulfill some special purpose. C Chalcolithic period is the period which saw the use of period the metals among which the Copper was first. It is called Chalcolithic which means use of stone and well as copper was prevalent in this period

D Dagger A short knife with a pointed and edged blade, used as a

weapon M Microlith A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide O Ore An ore is a type of rock that contains sufficient minerals with important elements including metals that can be economically extracted from the rock. The ores are

extracted from the earth through mining; they are then refined (often via smelting) to extract the valuable element, or elements. S Smelting Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use

is to produce a base metal from its ore. S Slag Stony waste matter separated from metals during the

smelting or refining of ore. S Spearhead The sharp

pointed head that forms the piercing end of a spear.

5.2 Timeline

Timelines Image Description c. 1300 B.C.E – 6th Century Early sites like and Pirak assemblages in the B.C.E north west, PGW in Indo-Gangetic or upper Ganga plain, Chalcolithic in the middle and lower Ganga plains, megalithic cultures in Vidarbha and . c. 7th -6th B.C.E to 2nd century Middle Iron Age: NBPW cultures appear in the major part of B.C.E north India and contemporaneous with the late PGW upper and middle Gangetic, and megalithic cultures of the Vidarbha and south India. Gradually NBPW has taken over the cultural traits of the PGW and remained in minor contact with the peninsular cultures. c. 2nd – 1st century B.C.E Late Iron Age: Mauryas in the Northern India. to the historical period

5.3 Web links (These are general sites intended to widen the perception of megaliths for the interested students. All the material presented in these websites are not verified and may be coloured by the authors’ views.)

Web links http://archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/iron-ore

5.4 Bibliography

Bibliography

Agarwal, D.P. 2000. Ancient Metal Technology and Archaeology of South Asia. New Delhi: Aryan Books International.

Banerjee, N.R. 1965.The Iron Age in India.Munshilal Manoharlal Publishers PVT Ltd, Delhi

Chakrabarti, D.K.1992. The Early use of Iron in India. Oxford University Press, Delhi.

Erdosy, G. 1988. Urbanisation in early Historical India. BAR International Series.Oxford Gaur R C. 1983. Excavations at Atranjikhera: Early Civilization of the Upper Ganga Basin.Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi Ghosh, A.An Encyclopedia of Indian Archaeology.2 Vols. Munshiram maniharlal Publishers, Delhi. Gurukkal, R. 2006. Aspects of Early iron Age Economy: Problems of Agrarian Expam=nsion in Tamilakam, In Iron and Social Change in Early India, (Eds) Bhairabi Prasad sahu, Oxford in India Readings: Debates in Indian and Society,, oxford University Press, Delhi Kosambi, D. D. 1963. The beginning of Iron Age in India. Journal of Economic and Social History of the orient 6(3) Lal, M, 1984. Settlement History and Rise of Civilization in Ganga –Yamuna Doab (from 1500 BC to 300 AD). Orient Book distributors, Delhi Ray, N.1975. Maurya and Post Maurya art: A Study in Social and Formal Contacts.Indian Council for Historical Research, Delhi. Sharma, R.S.1983. Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India. Macmillan India. Delhi Shastry, V V K, 1983. The proto and Early Historical Cultures of Andhra Pradesh.The Government of Andhra Pradesh Singh, P.1994.Excavation at Narhan, B R Publishing Corporation,Delhi Sundara, A. 1975. The Early Chamber Tombs of South India: a Study of the Iron Age Megalithic Monuments of N. . University Publishers, Delhi. Thapar, R. 1990. From Lineage to State: Social Formations in the Mid-First Millennium B C in Ganga Valley, Oxford University Press, Delhi Tripathi, V. 1976. Painted Grey Ware: An Iron Age Culture of Northern India, Concept Publishing Company. Delhi. Tripathi, V. 2001.Emergence of Iron in India: Archaeological Perspective in Metallurgical Studies in India : A Retrospective .(Eds. P. Ramachandra Rao and N.G Goswami, India International Publishers, Delhi. Wheeler, R. E. M. 1948. Brahmagiri and Chandravalli 1947: Megalithic and Other Cultures in the Chitaldrug District, Mysore State. Ancient India, IV, (1948) 81-308.