Early Metal in South India: Copper and Iron in Megalithic Contexts

In South India early metal artifacts, usually associated with megalithic sites, include both copper and iron. Although in some cases copper artifacts predate those made of iron, there is no evidence of an extensive metallurgical tradition based on copper and its alloys. Typological studies have had...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of world prehistory 2009-12, Vol.22 (4), p.439-459
Main Author: Gullapalli, Praveena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropology
Anthropology of landscape
Archaeology
Cast iron
Copper
Excavations
Furnaces
India
Iron
Iron age
Material culture
Megaliths
Metallurgy
Metalwork
Original Paper
Prehistory
Slag
Social Sciences
Steels
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Summary:In South India early metal artifacts, usually associated with megalithic sites, include both copper and iron. Although in some cases copper artifacts predate those made of iron, there is no evidence of an extensive metallurgical tradition based on copper and its alloys. Typological studies have had limited success in explaining the megalithic sites and the production and consumption of metal, while other approaches have not explicitly addressed the social contexts of metal production. While there emerge some suggestive patterns from the archaeometallurgical evidence to date, understanding the role of metal production and consumption in megalithic contexts means reevaluating traditional paradigms about the nature of these sites and about how metal technologies develop.
ISSN:0892-7537
1573-7802
DOI:10.1007/s10963-009-9028-0