Development of Agriculture and Iron technology in India,Neolithic Sites

Syllabus covered :  Beginning of agriculture (neolithic and chalcolithic)

Megalithic Cultures: Distribution of pastoral and farming cultures outside the Indus, Development of community life, Settlements, Development of agriculture, Crafts, Pottery, and Iron industry

General Note on Common Features of Agricultural Pastoral Cultures of India

Factors Behind Beginning of Agriculture 

1. One theory was that climate became drier which forced men, animals and plants to move close to the water sources which changed their relationships and produced agriculture and domestication.
2. Another said that domestication was the outcome of experimentation by humans. But this is not acceptable since there are many tribes today which know of agriculture but see no point in practicing it.
3. One theory suggests that due to rising temperatures and rise in sea levels, the coastal people migrated inwards. This created an overpopulation stage and hence people took to agriculture. But its criticism is that there is no evidence of such a migration.  
4. The accepted theory is that as the weather became warmer, conditions conducive for growth of wild cereals spread. Hence wild cereals spread and eventual domestication.  And because wild cereals responded positively to domestication via enhanced productivity, agriculture one begun, continued to flourish.
5. Earlier the theory was that agriculture moved from west Asia to NW to east but now evidences suggest that it developed locally.     

Community Life   

1. The beginning of agriculture and sedentary life meant better living conditions and food, better child and mother care. Hence an increase in population. This only made subsequent urbanization possible (another supporting argument for the neolithic revolution hypothesis). The surplus food also led to the potential of exchange at a later time and thus led to secondary activities.
2. The beginning of agriculture led to new requirements in tools, technologies, roles etc. Hence the division of labor in society would have changed. The tools of this age are polished and the removal of rough edges must have increased their efficacy. The grass huts of mesolithic age began to give way to wattle and daub huts (constructed from the branches of trees and plastered with mud) and slowly these would have turned into mud brick structures.
3. Women had been traditionally associated with food gathering. Hence it is possible earliest experiments in agriculture were made by women. But the association of men with agriculture would have truly revolutionized it. This age also saw a shift from kin labor to non kin labor who could be paid for by the food surplus. Employing  captives in agriculture is easier than employing them in pastoral activities (since they may run away with animals).
4. There are evidences of specialized crafts from Mehrgarh, Ganeshwar, Kunjhun unlike the notion of subsistence level agriculture. This led to growth of trade and commerce. Even a minimal specialization can give birth to exchange of goods.
5. Many areas give evidence of segregation of settlement by occupation. This indicates emergence of some kind of collective community decision making.
6. The agriculture must have led to an increase in belief in fertility cult. Similarly, because women give birth, fertility came to be associated with women and hence mother goddesses were worshipped.
7. The increase in the number of purposeful burials indicate a growing sophistication in religious philosophies.  

Phase 1: 7000 - 3000 BC

North West

Pottery

1. The pottery was red, black on red ware. They made criss cross and geometric designs and birds and animals on their pottery (like Harappa). 

Crafts 

1. Thousand of microliths found in initial period followed by neolithic tools like axes with wooden handles. Tools based on blade and celt technologies have been found and bone tools as well.  
2. Grinding stones, terracotta female figurines, shell and terracotta bangles, pieces of copper, worked ivory tusks etc. have been found. Fishing, precious stone working, terracotta working were important activities. 

Community Life

1. The burials were in open spaces between their houses. The bodies were placed in a bent position in oval pits. Secondary burials have been found indicating liminal tradition and the bones were often covered in red ochre indicating fertility beliefs. In Nal, fractional burials were found in pots. Some graves have a niche where grave goods were kept which was sealed with mud bricks.  
2. They were engaged in long distance trading since in the graves some precious stones have been found which could only come from Afghanistan / Baluchistan (for lapis lazuli) and Iran / Central Asia (for turquoise). Similarly the similar pottery found in the region indicates interaction among different people.

Settlements

1. Mehrgarh, Kile Gul Muhammed, Siah Damb, Anjira, Mundigak, Rana Ghundai, Gumla. 
2. They lived in houses of handmade mud bricks with small rectangular rooms. The bricks used were of standard size and used cooking hearths.

Agriculture

1. Irrigation was practiced in Rana Ghundai in Anambar Valley. In Nal, people built 2 kind of embankments. First was built along hill slopes to prevent the washing away of soil. Later crops were grown on the flattened surface. Second was where water was collected in low lying basins. This was diverted into fields.
2. Granaries and grinding stones have been found. Wheat, barley and cotton (earliest producers of cotton in the world) were the main crops.
3. Animals like goat, sheep, buffaloes, ram were domesticated.

Iron

1. No use of iron. Copper has been found.

Similarities with Harappa

1. Presence of embankments and granaries. Long distance trading of precious stone with Baluchistan, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran. 
2. The black on red ware pottery which they designed with geometrical and animal designs.
3. The terracotta figurines of mother goddess, shells, bangles, ivory work etc. The standard size bricks, the rectangular rooms in the houses.

Belan Valley

Pottery

1. Red ware + black-and-red ware  have been found.
2. Some pots bear soot marks indicating they were used for cooking. 

Crafts

1. Tools were based on blade and celt technology and bone tools as well.
2. Terracotta beads have been found. 

Settlements

1. Koldihva (Allahbad), Mahagara (Allahbad), Kunjhun, Lahuradeva. 
2. Houses were made of mud brick and wattle and daub and had thatched roofs made of grass. 

Agriculture

1. Remains of rice have been found here (earliest producers of rice in the world ~ 6K BC) along with barley and pea.
2. Animals like goat, sheep, buffalo, ram were domesticated. 
   

Iron

1. Not used.

Similarities to Harappa

1. None.

Phase 2: 3000 - 2000 BC

Kashmir Culture

Pottery

1. Burzahom pottery was handmade, ill-fired and was in grey, red, brown and buff colors. Later, a lac burnished ware emerged and the distinctive pot was a long jar with flaring rim. 

Crafts

1. The stone and the bone tool industries were well developed. 

Settlements

1. Burzahom, Gufkral, Ghaligai Caves (Swat Valley) were main centers.
2. They lived in pit dwellings in the initial phase. These dwellings were mud plastered, narrow from top and wider from bottom, and had staircases. Later, they came out of the pits and covered it and used it as the hut floor. Huts were made of wattle doab. 

Community Life

1. From the initial periods, no burials have been found indicating people had some other means of disposing off dead. In later periods, dead began to be buried under the house floor. Both inhumation and secondary burial was practiced. The grave goods were few but the animals including pet dogs began to be buried with the deceased. Some wild animals were also buried in the grave.          
2. Hunting and fishing were chief activities.  

Agriculture

1. They cultivated wheat, barley and pea. Domesticated sheep, goat and dog.
   

Iron

1. No iron. A copper arrowhead has been found.

Similarities to Harappa

1. Evidences of some carnelian beads and depiction of a horned deity on a pottery have been taken as links with Harappan civilization.

Ganeshwar - Jodhpura Culture

Pottery

1. Pottery was wheel turned, poorly fired, red in color and with incised designs. Typical pots were dish on sand. 
   

Crafts

1. Copper smelting and weapon making were important and few copper weapons have been found. They also used microliths.

Settlements

1. Ganeshwar and Jodhpura in Rajasthan are the main sites.
2. Houses were made of mud brick and had pebble floors.

Community Life

1. They were a hunting gathering community.

Similarities to Harappa

1. They used to supply copper items to early and mature Harappa phase as is evident from discovery of Harappan pottery from Ganeshwar. Other items too have been found from each other's sites.  
   

Kayatha Culture: 2200 - 2000 BC

Pottery

1. The typical pottery is wheel turned, with red color. Designs are painted in violet or deep red only on the upper part of the vessel. Linear designs are painted. Bowls, basins, jars etc. were typical pots. 
   

Crafts

1. Plenty of microliths made of chalcedony have bee found. 
2. Copper axes and bangles have been found as well.

Settlements

1. Kayatha is the main site.
2. No complete house plans were uncovered but houses were made of mud and reed with mud plastered floors.

Agriculture

1. They domesticated cattle and horses. 
2. They used a mace head or ring stone to turn the soil for agriculture purposes.

Similarities to Harappa

1. There are similarities in the pottery and steatite micro-beads. 
   

Savalda Culture

Pottery

1. The pottery is wheel turned, medium to coarse fabric, with thick slip and chocolate colored. Designs were geometric or natural. 
   

Crafts

1. Many bone tools or beads made of shell, teracotta etc. have been found. 

Settlements

1. Kaothe, Daimabad and Savalda are main sites. 
2. Houses were round or oval with a sloping roof. 

Community Life

1. A phallus shaped object has been found at Daimabad.

Middle Gangetic Valley

Pottery

1. The pottery was hand made, red or black ware and had ochre colored linear and geometric designs.

Crafts

1. Tools were made using blade and celt technology. Bone tools have also been found. 
2. Bead making, terracotta figurines including humped bull, snakes and birds were important crafts.

Settlements

1. Chirand, Senaur, Sohgaura, Chech Kutubpur, Tardih are chief centers. 
   
2. People lived in circular wattle and daub houses.

Agriculture

1. Rice was the main crop. Pulses like moong and masur were grown too. Wheat and barley grown and goat and sheep domesticated.

South India

Pottery

1. The pottery was handmade and coarse. Sometimes a pre-firing designs were applied to it in red, black and brown and sometimes post firing designs were made in red ochre.  
   

Settlements

1. Ash mound sites are Utnur, Budhihal, Kodekal, Watgal. Evidences from Budhihal show that people lived near these cattle pens for long time as well. Key areas are Raichur Doab (R. Krishna and R. Tungbhadra) and Shorapur Doab (R. Krishna and R. Bhima).
2. Earliest neolithic sites here were located on the hilltops and plateaus. People practiced domestication and some agriculture on the hill bottoms. Second phase is that of use or red ware. In the third phase (~1500 BC), people moved down the hills and began to practice agriculture on a large scale.

Community Life

1. Ash mounds are a distinctive feature. These mounds were crated by repeated burning of cow dung. The cattle were enclosed in a pen surrounded by heavy tree trunks. Their dung was burnt perhaps to mark a seasonal festival or beginning/end of migrations.
2. Utnur shows evidences of the cattle pen being built and dung burnt repeatedly. 

Agriculture

1. Earliest evidences of betel nuts have been found from Watgal. Barley was the major crop while wheat and pea were also grown. Domestication of cattle, goat and sheep was the main activity in this phase and agriculture only became important later.

Similarities to Harappa

1. They used to trade with Harappa mainly on gold. 

Phase 3: 2000 BC onwards

OCP Phase

Pottery

1. Pottery was ill-fired with fine to medium fabric, wheel turned and a thick red slip and designed in black. When rubbed, it leaves ochre color in fingers. 
2. Some think it was a degenerate form of Harappan pottery while some think it was an independent tradition with only some influence from Harappa. It is divided into the E and the W zone. The W zone (Ambakheri, Jhinjhana, Bargaon) shows links with Harappa tradition while the E zone (Atiranjikhera, Ahichchatra, Saipai, Lal Qila) shows no such links. 

Crafts

1. Stone tools and bone tool making were important. Copper working, terracotta etc. were important as well. 
   

Settlements

1. First finds were Bisauli and Rajpur Parsu (Bijnaur). At Hastinapur, Ahichchatra and Jhinjhana, OCP was followed by a break and then PGW. At Atiranjikhera and Noh, OCP followed by Black and Red Ware (BRW) and then PGW. Bargaon and Ambakheri show an overlap between late Harappa and OCP.
2. Very few structural remains remain. Houses were made of wattle and daub and mud bricks. Only very rarely the burnt bricks were found. 

Agriculture

1. People grew 2 crops in an year. Rice in summers and barley or legumes in winters. 
   

Iron

1. No iron has been found.

Copper Hoards Phase

Crafts

1. Hunting was important as many objects used in hunting were found. Most of the items were copper indicating copper making was an important craft. 
   
2. The evidence from copper hoards suggests that around 2000 BC, upper Gangetic valley had emerged as a distinct copper manufacturing area. 

Settlements

1. Bithur, Gungeria (MP), Saipai (Itawah). Copper hoards have been found at over 90 sites from Bengal and Odisha to upper Gangetic Valley. But main concentrations are in UP doab region. Generally 1 - 50 items are found but in Gungeria 424 copper object and 102 silver objects were found. In Saipai copper hoards were found in the context of OCP phase.

Ahar Culture: 2000 - 1500 BC

Pottery

1. BRW with linear and dotted designs in white. 
   

Crafts

1. Copper smelting was an important craft. Beads of terracotta and precious stones were also made. Terracotta figurines including that of humped bull were made.
2. Iron implements have been found from later chalcolithic stages indicating earliest finds of iron in the sub-continent. 

Settlements

1. Ahar, Gilund and Balathal are the main sites. This was a chalcolithic culture. 
2. Houses were made of mud, wood etc. and had stone foundations. burnt bricks have been found in Gilund.

Community Life

1. Evidences of a mud fortification wall with bastions  have been found in Balathal. 
   
2. They used to export their copper implements to Deccan, Malwa and other communities.

Agriculture

1. They cultivated wheat, barley and legumes.
   

Iron

1. Evidences of iron implements have been found from 1800 BC layers but some scholars argue that these are the disturbed layers. If they are genuine these could be the earliest iron finds in the sub-continent.

Similarities to Harappa

1. Its pottery was black-and-red ware with linear and dotted designs in white. 
2. Burnt bricks have been found in Gilund.
3. Terracotta humped bulls and other animals have been found. 

Eastern India

Pottery

1. Pottery was BRW and painted in white. In the regions of Odisha like Kuchai and Golabai Sasan it was red ware.

Crafts

1. Bronze made here had high proportion of tin in the Pandu rajar Dhibi, Bahiri, Mahisadal, Mahasthan, Chandraketugarh, Mangalkot region. Terracotta was another major industry.

Settlements

1. Chirand, Senaur, Barudih, Pandu Rajar Dhibi, Mahisadal, Mahasthan, Mangalkot, Chandraketugarh, Kuchai, Golbai Sasan. 

Agriculture

1. These areas constituted early independent centers of rice cultivation. They also practiced wet paddy cultivation.

Iron

1. Chirand shows many iron objects around around 1000 BC. Barudih too shows many objects including a sickle around 900 BC. In the sites of Pandu rajar Dhibi, Mahisadal, Mahasthan, Chandraketugarh, Mangalkot we find evidences of iron in the 1st millennium BC.

Malwa Culture: 1600 - 1300 BC

Pottery

1. BRW. In the Malwa region, pottery was coarse. In the Deccan, the pottery was of fine fabric. Human, animal, plant and geometric designs made in black or brown, usually just on the upper part of the pot. 

Crafts

1. More items of stone than copper have been found indicating copper was scarce.
2. Beads of steatite, terracotta and semi-precious stones were made. Terracotta figurines was an important craft. 

Settlements

1. Navdatoli, Maheshwar, Eran, Chandoli, Nevasa, Kaothe, Daimabad , Inamgaon, Prakash. 
   
2. Houses were circular made of wattle and daub with post holes. There was little planning and houses were haphazard. 

Agriculture

1. Navdatoli cultivated largest variety of crops. It cultivated wheat, masur, black gram, peas, green gram, rice. Barley was the main crop. 
2. System of crop rotation and embankments was found. 

Community Life

1. At Navdatoli, a pit was dug in the floor of a house with wooden post holes. This is taken to be a fire altar used for performing sacrifices. A huge storage jar was found with a woman, a lizard / alligator and a shrine between them on one side and a tortoise on other has been found indicating animal worship. Tortoise shaped shells were also found. They also used to worship bulls, snakes, trees, goddesses. A proto-Rudra type figurine has been found from Navdatoli. 
2. Sometimes the legs of the dead were cut-off before burial.
3. Mud fortifications of the towns indicates preventive measures from animals and also collective labor.
4. Tools have been fairly distributed indicating each household made its own tools indicating a certain degree of equality in society.
5. There was specialization of labor indicated by a coppersmith's workshop.
6. The fire altars indicate presence of rituals. Female and humped bull figurines have been discovered. 

Links with Harappa

1. Beads of carnelian and lapis lazuli are found here indicating links with Harappa.
2. A rhino, buffalo, elephant (each on wheels) have been found in Daimabad indicating links with Harappa.

Neolithic - Chalcolithic Sites of South India (2000 - 900 BC)

Pottery

1. BRW.

Crafts

1. Gold objects have been found @ Tekkalkota. Shell making, bead making, terracotta were major industries.

Community Life

1. The thickness of their debris is very less indicating they moved from places to places.
2. They were aware of horses as well for in Jaunapani (Maharashtra) we find evidence of horses.   

Megalithic Burials

1. Attempts have been made to link megaliths to a distinct culture. But they obviously represent too much heterogeneity to be from the same culture. It was also attempted given their knowledge of horse that they were Aryans who had settled in peninsula. But this is also not supported by evidence.
2. In Vindhyan region, heaps of stones (simple cairns) have been found. In areas of TN, they practiced urn-burial. They would put the skeleton in an urn along with only a few grave goods without any cairn circles. In the Krishna - Godavari region, they practiced pit or cyst burial and not the urn burial. Here the grave had multiple grave goods and was surrounded by stones. Other burial types were menhir, dolmen, flat stone supported on top of 2 other.
   
3. Grave good were primarily BRW pottery and iron artefacts (like hoes and sickles, weapons). It can be speculated if these were ritual items or those of daily use by the dead and if the burials were marked for ancestor worship.
4. The uniformity and specialization of the iron artefacts and the presence of horse indicates that these artefacts were manufactured by specialized craftsmen and there was a trade network.
5. Some sites have also yielded Roman coins.

Settlements

1. Brahmagiri, Maski, Piklihal, Watgal, Hallur, Sanganakallu, Tekkalakota. 
2. The first stage of neolithic life in S India was the ash mound sites (3000 - 2000 BC). In the beginning of the second stage now, they used to live on granite hill tops in wattle and daub houses. Tools were still mostly made of stone. In the third stage we find that though the stone tools continue, there is an increase in the number of copper and bronze tools.

Agriculture

1. They were mainly pastoral as indicated by numerous cattle bones found with cut marks, humped cattle figurines and cattle dominance in the rock paintings of Mask and Kupugal. They domesticated cattle, sheep and goat. They also cultivated wheat, barley and peas.       

Jorwe Culture: 1400 - 1000 BC

Pottery

1. Pottery was wheel turned, well fired, fine fabric, black-on-red / black-on-orange with geometric designs. Spouted pots with flaring mouths, bowls and high necked jars were made. 
   

Crafts

1. Ornaments, copper, terracotta, stone, beads were important. Stone, copper, bronze etc. were used by them to make toys, tools and implements. From Daimabad we have found a copper hoard with a rhino, an elephant, a buffalo and a chariot.

Community Life

1. There was specialization of labor indicated by findings of specialists' houses.
2. There was a ranked society indicated by segregation of housing based on occupation, grave goods, chief's house in Inamgaon.
3. There were fire altars, rituals involving mother goddess figurines, one structure with approach paths plastered with cow dung and collection of pots containing offerings. Large number of female figurines have been recovered including one which could be made to sit on a bull. They were mostly unbaked and buried under the house floor. 
4. There was a political authority indicated by chief's house, stone embankment, irrigation channels, elaborate burials in the chief's house.
5. They used to cut off the legs of the dead (in Nevasa). Many urn burials have been found as well.  
6. The importance of mother goddess indicates a matriarchal society. Male gods were rare and we find only 3 male figurines from Inamgaon. But the opposite view is that these figurines are headless. A matriarchal society would not appreciate a headless figurine even for ritual. Black marks have been found in front of the images indicating rituals to please the deity.

Settlements

1. Prakash, Inamgaon, Daimabad, Jorwe, Nevasa, Chandoli, Songaon. 
2. There was a settlement hierarchy with some large settlements in a region, some more medium and more small / temporary. Daimabad and Inamgaon were proto urban. It was the slow emergence of agricultural surplus in such cultures which led to second urbanization in India.
3. The houses were laid down in a row in Inamgaon indicating planning and specialization of labor and emergence of a class based society. They were mud houses with post holes and conical roofs. There were small houses and big houses.
4. There were mud fortifications, granaries, stone embankments and irrigation channels indicating political authority. 

Agriculture

1. Barley was the main crop given dry climate. Apart from that wheat and masur were grown as well. Animals domesticated were cattle, goat, sheep and dog. They also practiced hunting and fishing.
2. Evidences of embankments have been found in Inamgaon. Similarly evidences of crop rotation found too from Inamgaon. 

PGW Culture

Crafts

1. Most artefacts found seem to be connected to war or hunting like arrowheads, spearheads, blades, daggers, lances. There are few industrial implements only which increase as time progresses. @ Jakhera we get evidence of sickle, ploughshare and hoe in the mature PGW phase. This indicates that iron industry had developed by the mature PGW phase.

Settlements

1. Some PGW sites like Ropar and Sanghol in Punjab, Alamgirpur and Hulas in UP show a break between the preceding late Harappan and the PGW phases. Some like Bhagwanpura, Dadheri in Punjab show an overlap between PGW and the late Harappan phases. Moving lower and east we see that sites like Hastinapur and Ahichchatra were preceded by OCP phase (and not late Harappan) with a break in between. At Atiranjikhera and Noh and Jodhpura in Rajasthan we PGW succeeding BRW with a break in between.

Agriculture

1. PGW sites indicate a subsistence base which included cultivation of rice, wheat and barley. Animal husbandry and fishing were practiced as well.
2. There is no direct evidence of agricultural facilities but a few deep circular pits outside the habitation area @ Atiranjikhera are indicative of kuchcha wells. 

Iron

1. The rigvedic PGW sites in the Ghagghar - Hakra region (like Bhagwanpura) don't show evidence of iron. Elsewhere in sites like Jakhera, Noh and Kaushambi we find iron in pre-PGW phase itself. In the doab region (which was settled in the later vedic age), PGW sites yield iron.

Development of States in S India 

1. Initially they couldn't clear the forests on the plains. Their life was primarily pastoral and frequent cattle raids happened. Hunting and fishing were other occupations.
2. Sangam texts speak of perpetual wars and cattle raids. This indicates the community had not yet settled down, was nomadic and tribal in character and war booty formed important source of livelihood.
3. They believed that heroes turn to stones on the death, hence the tradition of hero
4. But around 3 cent BC they were able to do so and moved to the fertile plains.
5. Here they came in contact with the material culture of Mauryas. The Dakshinapatha played an important role as not only did it facilitate the movement of monks, bahamans etc. but also facilitated trade with the Mauryas. Asokan monks carrying the message of dhamma had their influence.
6. The early Northern influence was mainly from the heterodox sects. Brahmanism began to spread really from 4 cent AD.
7. Trade with North and with Romans contributed in a big way to the development of the S states.  

Development of Iron Industry

Debate

1. Some scholars believed that iron was introduced in India by immigrating tribes form W Asia and dated beginning of iron age in India to around 700 - 800 BC. This was based on evidence from Vedas which show familiarity with iron and its use in agricultural operations around 1000 - 500 BC. 
2. However since 1950s, a series of archaeological finds at  Atiranjikhera, Jakhera,  Nagda, Eran helped push it back to the second millennium BCE. More archaeological evidence was found from Komaranhalli (1200 BC) that the smiths of this site could deal with large implements, implying that they had already been experimenting for centuries. But it was disputed. Similarly iron evidence was found at Ahar but was disputed. 
3. It must, however, be noted that the beginning of iron age is not the same as beginning of iron technology (for obvious reasons). One of the reasons for embracing irons could be its superiority over copper as well as scarcity of copper in India. 

PGW Sites

1. The rigvedic PGW sites in the Ghagghar - Hakra region (like Bhagwanpura) don't show evidence of iron. Elsewhere in sites like Jakhera, Noh and Kaushambi we find iron in pre-PGW (i.e. BRW) phase itself. In the doab region (which was settled in the later vedic age), PGW sites yield iron.

S India - Early Iron Sites

1. Subsequently finds at Veerapuram, Ramapuram and Adam help establish the iron beginnings to 2nd millennium BC. Earlier based on Hallur (1000 BC) and Watgal, the use of iron was dated close to beginning of 1st millennium BC.
2. Use of iron remain limited mainly to weapons and thus it had limited impact only (if any) on agriculture. 

Middle Gangetic Valley - Recent Early Iron Sites

1. Dadupur, Malhar (Chandauli), Raja Nal Ka Tila (Sonbhadra) and Lahuradewa (Sant Kabir Nagar) all show iron findings date back to early part of 2nd millennium BC. The pottery of these regions was BRW and red ware. In terms of artefacts, arrowhead, knives, nails were main components. A ploughshare was also found @ Malhar and evidence points to date of 1800 BC.
2. These findings confirm that iron working was prevalent in the middle gangetic valley from the early second millennium BCE. 
3. The beginning of the use of iron was earlier associated with the eastward migration of the later Vedic people, who are also considered as an agency which revolutionized material culture particularly in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The new finds and their dates suggest that a fresh review is needed. 

Eastern India

1. Sites from Mahasthan, Mangalkot, Mahisadal, Chandraketugarh and Pandu Rajar Dhibi all give high tin content bronze from 2nd millennium BC and by 1st millennium BC we can see iron implements here. Similarly Chirand too shows iron implements from around 800 BC.

Deccan 

1. The Jorwe and Malwa culture sites in Deccan show desertion for 4 - 5 centuries after the decline of Jorwe culture and then reoccupation around 4 - 5 cent BC and iron. Iron implements found are mainly of warlike character.
2. Nagda and Eran were major early iron sites. Mahurjhari was also an important site.

Impact of Iron Technology

1. Thus we see that by 5 cent BC iron had come to be used throughout the country. DD Kosambi had suggested that the eastern movement of Aryans was to reach the iron ores of Jharkhand and it was a near monopoly over these ores which was responsible for the successful Magadhan imperialism. But given the wide distribution of iron ore through the country this hypothesis is untenable. Moreover the iron used in sites like Atiranjikhera was not smelted from the Jharkhand ore but the nearby ore only.
2. Similarly the argument that iron was responsible for the large scale cutting of forest and expansion of Aryans is also not tenable as most of the clearings were done by fire and we know that iron axes had not come into widespread use by then. 
3. Similarly the argument that iron was responsible for agricultural surplus and emergence of towns is also not tenable as use of iron in agricultural technology became widespread only in mauryan times.