SV: Dates of non-meteoric iron in India

[Steve Farmer]

Dear Lars,

Thanks very much for the references. I'll look at them today. I didn't
know about Sinor's study, but there is Mair again! God knows how many
indispensable cross-cultural collections he has edited.

I'd like to point out that my post was forwarded to Dan Wagner (whose
work was mentioned in my inquiry) by someone on the list. Prof. Wagner
emailed me pointing out that he has recently revised his views of the
dating question in China. He referred me here -- and I recommend to
everyone -- his 1999 article posted at
http://staff.hum.ku.dk/dbwagner/EARFE/EARFE.html. Dr. Wagner
summarizes his point (but please read the article yourselves) by saing
that instead of an independent invention in the southeast, new
archaeological evidence indicates introduction from Central Asia (more
problems for the OITers) possibly "in the 8th or 9th century BCE."

He modestly adds that he doesn't know enough about India to say
anything there, but would supposed that he would have put iron in
India around the same time.

There is much to think about (after much study!) here in dating Vedic
literature, given the importance long given to the traditional 1200
BCE date in India.

Underline "after much study."

> Hello Steve,
>
> I don't know if these two sources might be of interest to you:
>
> Agrawal, D. P. 1982. The Archaeology of India. Vol. 46, Scandinavian
> Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series. London: Curzon Press.
>
> Sinor, Denis. 1998. The Bronze Age & Early Iron Age Peoples of Eastern
> Central Asia. In Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series No. 26,
> edited by A. N. Z. Victor H. Mair, Elena E. Kuzmina.
>
> Lars Martin
>
> Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse
> Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,
> 0674 Oslo
> Norway
> Phone: +47 22 32 12 19
> Fax 1:  +47 22 32 12 19
> Fax 2:  +47 85 02 12 50 (InFax)
> Email: lmfosse at online.no