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B RICKS, BEADS AND B ONES 11 Techniques for making beads differed according to the material. Steatite, a very soft stone, was easily worked. Some beads were moulded out of a paste made with steatite powder. This permitted making a variety of shapes, unlike the geometrical forms made out of harder stones. How the steatite micro bead was made remains a puzzle for archaeologists studying ancient technology. Archaeologists’ experiments have revealed that the red colour of carnelian was obtained by firing the yellowish raw material and beads at various stages of production. Nodules were chipped into rough shapes, and then finely flaked into the final form. Grinding, polishing and drilling completed the process. Specialised drills have been found at Chanhudaro, Lothal and more recently at Dholavira. If you locate Nageshwar and Balakot on Map 1, you will notice that both settlements are near the coast. These were specialised centres for making shell objects – including bangles, ladles and Fig. 1.14 inlay – which were taken to other settlements. Pottery Some of these can be seen in the Similarly, it is likely that finished products (such National Museum, Delhi or in the as beads) from Chanhudaro and Lothal were taken site museum at Lothal. to the large urban centres such as Mohenjodaro and Harappa. 5.1 Identifying centres of production In order to identify centres of craft production, archaeologists usually look for the following: raw material such as stone nodules,whole shells, copper ore; tools; unfinished objects; rejects and waste material. In fact, waste is one of the best indicators of craft work. For instance, if shell or stone is cut to ➲ Discuss... make objects, then pieces of these materials will be Should the stone artefacts discarded as waste at the illustrated in the chapter be place of production. considered as utilitarian objects or as luxuries? Are Fig. 1.15 there any that may fall into A terracotta figurine both categories? Reprint 2026-27