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The history of metallurgy in South Asia began prior to the 3rd millennium BCE and continued well into the British Raj.〔See ''Tewari (2003)'' and ''Arnold, 100-101''.〕 Metals and related concepts were mentioned in various early Vedic age texts. The Rigveda already uses the Sanskrit term Ayas (metal). The Indian cultural and commercial contacts with the Near East and the Greco-Roman world enabled an exchange of metallurgic sciences.〔For Near East see ''Edgerton, 56'' and ''Prasad, chapter IX''. Greco-Roman world: ''Mondal, 2-3''.〕 With the advent of the Mughals, India's Mughal Empire (established: April 21, 1526—ended: September 21, 1857) further improved the established tradition of metallurgy and metal working in India.〔Gommans (2002)〕 The imperial policies of the British Raj led to stagnation of metallurgy in India as the British regulated mining and metallurgy—used in India previously by its rulers to build armies and resist England during various wars.〔 ==Overview == Recent excavations in Middle Ganga Valley done by archaeologist Rakesh Tewari show iron working in India begun as early as 2800 BCE.〔e.g. R. Tewari 2003〕 Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in the state of Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period between 1800 BCE - 1200 BCE. Sahi (1979: 366) concluded that by the early 13th century BCE, iron smelting was definitely practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date the technology's inception may well be placed as early as the 26th century BCE.〔(Origins of Iron Ore )〕 The Black and Red Ware culture was another early Iron Age archaeological culture of the northern Indian subcontinent. It is dated to roughly the 12th – 9th centuries BCE, and associated with the Rigvedic Vedic civilization. It extended from the upper Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh to the eastern Vindhya range and West Bengal. Perhaps as early as 300 BCE, although certainly by 200 CE, high quality steel was being produced in southern India by what Europeans would later call the crucible technique. In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in crucibles and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon. The resulting high-carbon steel, called ''fūlāḏ فولاذ'' in Arabic and ''wootz'' by later Europeans, was exported throughout much of Asia and Europe. Will Durant wrote in ''The Story of Civilization I: Our Oriental Heritage'': 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of metallurgy in South Asia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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