Iron technology of the ancient megalithic communities in the Vidarbha region of India

The megalithic period in India is notable for the emergence and development of iron metallurgy and the appearance of new burials known as megaliths. A number of iron objects from megalithic sites in the Vidarbha region of India, dating to the first half of the 1st millennium BC, have been examined for their microstructures and carbon distributions. The artifact assemblage consists mainly of edged or pointed tools and weapons, along with some domestic implements. Results show that the technology applied in their manufacture is characterized by the use of low carbon iron of bloomery origin and the application of surface carburization as the primary means of steelmaking. The functional parts of the objects examined were made mostly of steel with their mechanical properties finely adjusted through a combination of quenching and tempering. Of particular importance are certain fan-shaped plates which we believe were produced and circulated as intermediaries to meet a wide range of consumer needs. It appears that the Vidarbha megalithic communities shared a fully developed and well-standardized iron technology of substantial flexibility. While exceptions to this general trend were found in some unfinished or used objects, these do not suggest the presence of an inferior technological status. This paper raises questions as to the origin of such a developed technology, and will discuss the probable spreading of several key technical ideas which bear striking similarities to those noted in the early iron traditions of Korea.     

Bronze technology of the ancient megalithic communities in the Vidarbha region of India

Metallographic examination was carried out on forty-nine copper and bronze objects from five megalithic sites located in Vidarbha, India. The artifact assembly consists of horse ornaments, kitchenware, bangles, rings, small bells and the hilt of an iron dagger. Results show that the technology involved is characterized by the use of bronze alloys containing approximately 10% tin based on weight and the application of forging as a key method of fabrication. No deliberate addition of lead was observed. Arsenic was detected, but very rarely and only as an insignificant minor element. The consistent selection of such specific alloys indicates that the megalithic communities in this particular region had established a fully developed and standardized bronze tradition optimized for the production of forged items. Their advanced technological status was also noted in a special technique applied to two forged high-tin bronze bowls. Such a unique bronze tradition, dedicated to sheet metal technology, was most likely a practical choice made by these people to take advantage of the changing role of bronze. Specifically, with the introduction of iron, bronze seems to have become a more prestigious material that could serve as an indicator of the appearance of a more rigid socio-economic stratification within the megalithic communities of the Vidarbha region.     

First ancient bovine DNA evidence from India: difficult but not impossible

Ancient DNA isolation from the tropical countries has been shown to be very difficult in the past. Here for the first time we have been successful in isolating ancient DNA from Indian cattle samples. We were able to obtain DNA and sequence the partial mitochondrial D-loop in 3 of the 15 bovine fossil samples ranging in age from 2000 BC to 1000 AD, and were able to further identify the most recent sample as being of Bos indicus origin. Our results on ancient DNA extraction from India will encourage other researchers in this field to carry out further studies of ancient DNA from Indian bovine samples. Our results represent the first successful extraction and amplification of bovine ancient DNA from India, and thus may pave the road for a better understanding of demographic and historical processes of cattle domestication that has taken place in this region.     

禅古寺壁画

禅古寺位于青海省玉树县结古镇南西航村所在的禅古山腰,始建于公元12世纪都松钦巴初创噶玛噶举派时期。“禅古”意为“花石头”．得名于寺院附近的一块花色磐石。该寺分上下二寺,相距70米．初有下寺．后有上寺。寺院的墙面上绘有大量壁画．多数为宗教题材,在庙堂内东西墙壁上还有两组大型壁画,画面内容主要是文成公主进藏时受到隆重欢迎的情景。     

大昭寺壁画

大昭寺,位于拉萨卧塘平原的中心。始建于公元七世纪中叶,藏语称“觉康”,意为释迦牟尼佛殿,全称是“日阿萨出朗祖拉康”,意为“羊土幻异寺”,其别名又称“四喜奇幻寺”。传说初建大殿时,天众,龙众,歌众,夜叉四者皆大欢喜,故得名。其建筑是以天竺那兰陀寺和毗讫罗摩尸罗寺为模式所建。雕塑。壁画。雕梁彩绘是大昭寺建筑艺术的一大特色,为大昭寺披上了绚丽的浓艳盛装。     

High-carbon steel and ancient sword-making as observed in a double-edged sword from an Iron Age megalithic burial in Tamil Nadu,India

An iron sword from an Iron Age megalithic burial at Thelunganur in Tamil Nadu, India, was examined using metallographic techniques. The sword was made of ultra-high-carbon steel with a fairly uniform microstructure consisting primarily of fine cementite particles in a ferrite background free of notable non-metallic inclusions. The morphological control, however, was not perfect and frequently allowed cementite to precipitate in the form of a network along austenite grain boundaries. It was also observed that carbide particles of varying size and shape often caused microscopic layers to develop, forming a visible pattern to the naked eye on the polished and etched surface of the iron sword. This pattern likely inspired the later development of various surface markings such as the damask. This paper presents a detailed account of the analytical data to show that the iron sword under consideration was an early example of high-carbon steel employed in the manufacture of a functional object where the divorced eutectoid transformation technique, rediscovered recently, was used for the control of cementite morphology. It is also proposed that technologies for making and handling high-carbon steel were in existence at a much earlier date than previously supposed.     

Lost priests in ancient Mangaia

Abstract

Politics and religion in Polynesia are one and same, both concerned with appropriating and controlling sources of mana. William Wyatt Gill collected priestly lists from various Mangaians, but only published those from the reigning ariki, Nūmangātini. The lists show significant variations, suggesting that some priests disappeared partly because of their gender, but more especially due to political considerations, notably rival claims to legitimacy and authority among the various lineages and kin groups who competed for these titles. These variations highlight how particular accounts make different claims on the past, and how the Christian missions minimised the significance of sacred women who possessed great mana. By publishing Nūmangātini's version, Gill fits the missionary preference for supporting the political establishment, and echoes New Zealand's Stephenson Percy Smith, who embraced Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury's interpretation of the Māori migration, thereby marginalising knowledge claims of others.