Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

ARCHAEOLOGY

The Atiratra ceremonial commencement of the sattra is mentioned in the Rig Veda (VII. 103.7). The Harappan seal depicting an offer- ing being made by a devotee to the Fire God standing in the midst of pipal ( Asvattha) branches, and witnessed by 7 r is his in a row below may refer to the seven star group of Krittikas (Pleiades). Agni (or Arka of the Harappan seals) being the deity of the Krittikas in the Vedic hymns the same group of 7 stars (rksa) in the seal under reference may indicate commencement of the sacrifice (as indicated by a sacrificial animal behind the devotee) in Krittika Naksatra. The term Magha occurs in Indus inscriptions also (Rao 1990,284 ff). The performance of the gavam ayana sattra in Lothal and Kalibangan seems to indicate keeping count of days, seasons, and year so that the calendar could be accurate. This was the purpose of the Vedic sacrifices also. W.J. Fairservis (Jr.) has sug- gested the use of two graduated rods of shells from Mohenjo-Daro as calculators of days, months etc. (Fairservis. W.J (Jr.) 1977.71,122). Gurov’s view ( Science Today , Bombay, March 1982) that the Pleiades was v a 6 group star in Harappan times as suggested by a seal with 6 vertical lines and a fish sign (for star) does not stand to reason because even in the Vedic period it was a 7-star group and must have been so in the Harappan times. Hence neither the fish sign stands for star, nor the cardinal number 6 for Pleiades. Chemical practices Beginnings of chemistry can be seen in the ceramic art of Mehrgarh in the 5th millennium B.C. Baking clay involved pro- longed heating, fusion, and control of temperature in the kiln. Chemical processes involved in etching on carnelian beads by drawing the pattern with a solution of alkali, generally soda, was well-known to the Harappans at Lothal and Chanhu-Daro. A black-on-white design was produced by flooding the stone with the alkali and drawing a black pattern on top of it with a solution of copper nitrate. Near the bead factory at Lothal a kiln was also built. The steatite seals were coated with an alkali and heated to produce a white lustrous surface. The most amazing production of the Har- appan lapidaries is the microbead of steatite, smaller than a pin- head in size uniformly bored and cut. In one gram sample 310 beads were found. The quantitative chemical analysis shows 60% silica, 30% magnesia, 6% alumina, less than 2% lime and less than 1% iron. Such calcose occurs naturally with metamorphosed ultra basic rocks. There are still differences of opinion among scientists as to how such microbeads of the hardness of 6 to 7 on Moh Scale could be produced. Perhaps the steatite paste rolled on a string was put in fire. After baking the tubular roll it was cut into small pieces. Prof. K.T.M. Hegde however suggests that the paste was pressed through a squeezer. Geology, Mining and Metallurgy A sound knowledge of Geology on the part of the bead-makers of the Indus Civilization can be assumed as they used extensively chert, carnelian, chalcedony, crystal, jasper, agate, opal and many other varieties of semigems. They knew the property of stones and subjected them to heat, chipping and grinding. They possessed good knowledge of metals, their sources, the technique of smelting the ore and purifying and alloying metals. The occurrence of a large variety of arrowheads, chisels etc., of copper near Ganeswar in Rajasthan suggests, according to R.C. Agrawal, the working of the

Khetri copper even in pre-Harappan times. The Mohenjo-Daro smiths used copper oxide ore. Two mud-lined pits of wedge- shaped bricks in DK Area served as furnaces. Bronze-making and metallurgy had reached a high degree of technical excellence at Lothal. The copper ingot at Lothal is known for 98.81% purity without any arsenic content while the copper ingots of Mohenjo- Daro contain arsenic. The Khetri ore has also arsenic. Obviously the Lothal smiths must have further purified copper and used it for making a large number and variety of tools, ornaments and weap- ons, which do not contain arsenic. The reference to Guburum, in the famous Ur tablets addressed to the Dilmun merchant selling copper ingots seems to be to the pure copper of Lothal which had extensive trade relations with Bahrain and the Mesopotamian cities of Ur, Kish, Brak and Arpachia (Rao 1973-80, 114-115 Bibby 1972, 235). The Enki and Ninhursag myth contained in a large tablet from Ur and translated by S.N. Kramer ‘Dilmun is holy and pure ‘ (Kramer 1963). It is a land where the sun rises first, the cities are clean and the elephants live. This reference could be to the Indus Valley and Lothal and not to Bahrain, although G. Bibby and others claim Bahrain to be Dilmun (Bibby 1972, 376-7). Some archaeologists' view that the Harappans did not know how to make bronze is not correct because both copper and bronze objects are found in Indus cities. The alloy was made with tin in most cases but arsenic was also used for hardening copper. The quantity of tin used in bronze varied from 5% to 13%. The Harap- pans did not produce sophisticated weapons such as the sword, dagger and spear having midrib, primarily because they feared no

invasion and utilized their knowledge for producing tools needed by the shipwright, carpenter and smiths. The twisted drill and circular saw of bronze from Lothal are excellent ex- amples of sophisticated technology used for peaceful purpose. The Har- appan smiths knew cire perdue tech- niques for casting as exemplified by the figure of dancing girl of Mohenjo- Daro (fig:34). They used more than one mould for casting figures of birds etc, and passed on this advanced technology to the Late Harappans at

Daimabad where beautiful bronzes of chariot (fig:35), elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo have been found. These figures contain tin in varying proportions of 9.85% to 4.58%. As they are made of low bronze the melting point of the alloy was between 1083 Q C and