Historical story

Chapter – 7 – Iron Age Culture in India

The Rigveda mentions only one metal called Ayas. In the Atharveda there is mention of two metals named Lal-Ayas and Shyam-Ayas. The words iron and copper are found in the Vajasaneyi Samhita.

The Iron Age started in India after the Copper-Bronze period. According to researchers, the beginning of the Iron Age did not occur simultaneously in the north and south. Iron was used in South India much later than in North India.

Discovery of Iron

The first race in the world called 'Hittites' started using iron, which lived in Asia Minor from 1800 BC to 1200 BC. Around 1200 BC, this mighty empire disintegrated and only after that the use of iron started in India.

Birth-givers of Iron Age in India

The people who started the Iron Age in India are believed to have come from the Pamir Plateau and descended from the Himalayas and spread south-west to Maharashtra. Some scholars consider these to be the early Aryans who came to India. The castes that were residing in India before their arrival were tribal castes like Sandhav, Dravid, Kol, Brachyfelus, Munda etc. The Aryans, who gave birth to iron culture, took the knowledge of iron with them wherever they went in India, due to which settlements of iron culture were settled all over India. Later these Aryans crossed the forests of Madhya Pradesh and spread towards Bengal.

Revolutionary change in human life

In making the life of man happy and in the advancement of his civilization and culture, no other metal has helped as much as iron. Iron tools proved to be stronger than bronze tools. In the Iron Age, man started scientific development, due to which big revolutionary changes started taking place in his life. Remains of early Iron Age settlements have been found at many sites.

Determining the Iron Age

Scholars believe that it must have started in North India about 1,000 years before Christ. Iron was used in abundance in 800 BC. The knowledge of the process of iron production did not come to India from outside. According to some scholars, the iron industry started with Malwa and Banas cultures. Iron remains of 1000 BC have been found from Dharwar district of Karnataka. Around this time, iron began to be used in the region of Gandhara (now in Pakistan). Huge quantities of wrought iron tools have been found in crematoriums with the dead. Such tools have been found in Balochistan.

Around the same period, iron was also used in eastern Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In the excavation, arrow-points, spear-fruits etc. have been found, which were commonly used in western Uttar Pradesh from about 800 BC. Iron was used first, in war and later in agriculture.

Literary evidence of iron

We get both literary and archaeological evidence to prove the antiquity of iron in India. There is a mention of a metal called Ayas in the Rigveda. It cannot be said whether Ayas means copper or iron. In the Atharvaveda, there is a mention of two metals named Iron Ayas and Shyam-Ayas. Of these, iron-ore iron and black-eye copper are estimated.

It is mentioned in Greek literature that Indians had knowledge of iron even before Alexander came to India. The artisans of India were skilled in making iron tools. We get clear mentions of this metal in the texts of the post-Vedic period. On the basis of literary evidence it is concluded that BC. The knowledge of iron had been acquired by Indians in the eighth century.

Archaeological evidence of iron

The literary references regarding the antiquity of iron are confirmed by archaeological evidence. The remains of Iron Age culture have been found in the excavations of sites like Ahichchhatra, Atranjikheda, Alamgirpur, Mathura, Ropar, Shravasti, Kampilya etc. The humans of this period used a special type of pottery, which is called painted gray pot. Iron tools and tools like arrows, spears, hooves, knives, daggers, basuli etc. are found from these places. The remains of metal refining furnaces have been found from the excavation of Atranjikheda. The period of this culture is considered to be 1000 BC. In eastern India, excavations done at places like Sonpur, Chirand etc. have found iron chisels, chisels and nails, whose time has been considered from 800 BC to 700 BC.

Iron Carpet Early Settlements

(1.) Indus-Gangetic divide and Upper Ganga basin region: Painted gray bhand culture is the specialty of this region. The remains of this culture have been found from Ahichchhatra, Alamgirpur, Atranjikheda, Hastinapur, Mathura, Ropar, Shravasti, Noh, Kampilya, Jakheda etc. The painted gray pots are made of a fine powder. These are made of chalk. Most of these are cups and saucers. The surface of the pots is smooth and the color ranges from gray to ashy. Their outer and inner sides are painted black and dark chocolate.

Among the agricultural implements, iron hoe and sickle have been found in Jakheda. Apart from Hastinapur, iron articles have been found in all other areas. 135 articles of iron have been recovered from Atranjikheda. Evidence of crops grown in Hastinapur and Atranjikheda has been found. Only rice in Hastinapur and remains of wheat and barley have been found in Ajranjikheda. Horse bones are also found in Hastinapur animal bones.

(2.) Central India: Nagda and Eran are the main sites of this civilization in central India. In this era, black stocks were prevalent in this area. The elements of the old Chalcolithic age remained prevalent in this period as well. 112 types of microlithic tools have been found from this level. Some new pottery was also in vogue in this era. The houses were built of raw bricks. The use of copper was limited to the manufacture of small objects. Iron objects obtained from Nagda include two-edged knife, ax shell, spoon, wide-bladed axe, ring, nail, arrowhead, spear-head, knife, sickle, etc. The radiocarbon dates of iron-rich levels in Eran have been determined between 100 BC and 800 BC.

(3.) Middle Low Ganges Region: The main places of this region are Pandu Rajar Dhibi, Mahisdal, Chirand, Sonpur etc. This stage comes in the sequence of the last Chalco-Stone period, in which black and red pottery are seen. The use of iron is a new achievement. Microstone tools are also found in sufficient quantity at the iron level in Mahisdal. From here there is evidence of local iron casting in the form of metal sludge. The date of iron in Mahisdal is around 750 BC.

(4.) South India: Settlements of early farming communities in South India appear in 3000 BC. There is no evidence of a systematic development of humans from a hunting-gathering economy to a food-producing economy. Evidence obtained from here indicates that during that period there was human settlement near Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Peneru and Kaveri rivers. These areas were suitable for dry farming and pastoralism.

In this era stone axes were made by grinding and polishing. The industry of this age can be called the industry of stone axes. The people of these settlements used to cultivate jowar and millet. Three phases of civilization have been found in these settlements - stone axes are found in the first phase (from BC 2500 to 1800 BC). In the second phase (1800 BC to 1500 BC), copper and bronze tools are found. Their abundance is visible in the third phase (1500 BC to 1100 BC) and after that iron-made tools are obtained.

Neolithic settlements and Chalco-Stone settlements in South India continued to exist until the beginning of the Iron Age. Chalcolithic settlements in Maharashtra also continued to exist till the beginning of the Iron Age. Similar situation prevailed in Brahmagiri, Piklihal, Sanganakallu, Maski, Hallur, Poyampalli etc.

The earliest phase of Iron Age in southern India has been determined on the basis of excavations of Piklihal and Hallur and the burials of Brahmagiri. For the first time in the pits of these burials, iron objects, black and red pottery and pale brown and red ware have been found. These pots are like Jorwe pots. Similar stones have also been found from Tekwada (Maharashtra). The use of stone axes and boards in some settlements continued even in the Iron Age.

Beginning of the Iron Age in the South

Some scholars believe that the first use of iron in India was done in South India, but this notion does not seem to be correct. On the basis of Aryan settlements found in North India, it can be said that iron was used earlier in North India than in South. Scholars believe that the Iron Age people came from the Pamir plateau side and gradually spread to Maharashtra. Later, after crossing the forests of Madhya Pradesh, these people went towards Bengal.

Myth on the period of copper bronze in the south

On the basis of preliminary discoveries, it was concluded that the iron culture in the south started only after the Stone Age. The copper-bronze period did not come in the south. In our opinion it is not fair to say that the Iron Age came directly after the Stone Age in South India. Copper and bronze tools are found in the second phase of agricultural settlements of South India (1800 BC to 1500 BC). Their abundance is visible in the third phase (1500 BC to 1100 BC) and iron-made tools are obtained in the later period. So how can it be said that the Chalco-Bronze period did not come to South India?