Minerals and Metals In Ancient India Vol.1

In two volumes, the book tells the fascinating, coherentlywoven story of the Minerals and Metals from across the entire sub-continental sprawl of the old-world India (including Pakistan and Bangladesh). Covering a vast span of over five millennia: from the Pre-Harappan Chalcolithic sites, like Mehargarh, Mundigak and Ganeshwar to about ad 1200, Volume 1 is a brilliant effort to unravel the mysteries of archaeo-materials with scientific inquiry into both the modes of production and use of minerals, gems, metals, alloys and other kindred artefacts. Including, as he does, a chronological discussion of the specifically excavated sites, from Mehargarh to Taxila, Professor Arun Biswas captures a panoramic view of the hoary, richly variegated cultures which, in their final analysis, lead him not only to question the diffusionist theory concerning the Aryan intrusion , but also to highlight, among a range of his first-time-arrived conclusions, the primacy of India in the areas of non-ferrous ore mining, production of carburised iron, wootz, steel, forge-welding of wrought iron, distilled zinc and high-zinc brass. Barring the foreign travellers accounts, the volume draws exclusively on archaeological evidence.