Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/hcn8tlf

Indus Script visible language hypertexts on 12 inscriptions signifies kammaṭa 'mint' with component khambhaṛā 'fish-fin'

Running down the street to find his brother Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832) yelled "Je tiens mon affaire!" (I've got it!) but collapsed from the excitement. This note is a tribute to this exclamation and genius of Champollion. 

I call Bharatam Janam, Tvaṣṭr̥ dhokra kolhe sippi, the lost-wax smelters, sculptors, metasmiths, artificers who invented a writing system of remarkable fidelity and simplicity of the cipher based on rebus method.

Tvaṣṭr̥ is a metaphor for veneration of metalwork artificers, Bhāratam Janam, in Rigveda

Dhokra- root in:  tarkhāṇ (Western Pahadi) 

X  Tvaṣṭr̥ (Rigveda)

ترکانړ tarkāṟṟṉ, s.m. (5th) A carpenter. Pl. ترکانړان tarkāṟṟṉān. (Panjābī).دروزګر darūz-gar, s.m. (5th) A carpenter, a joiner. Pl. دروزګران darūzgarān (corrup. of P درود گر).(Pashto) Taccha1 [Vedic takṣan, cp. taṣṭṛ, to takṣati (see taccheti), Lat. textor, Gr. te/ktwn carpenter (cp. architect), te/xnh art] a carpenter, usually as ˚ka: otherwise only in cpd. ˚sūkara the carpenter -- pig (=a boar, so called from felling trees), title & hero of Jātaka No. 492 (iv.342 sq.). Cp. vaḍḍhakin.1

Tacchati [fr. taccha1, cp. taccheti] to build, construct; maggaŋ t. to construct or repair a road J vi.348.

Taccheti [probably a denom. fr. taccha1=Lat. texo to weave (orig. to plait, work together, work artistically), cp. Sk. taṣṭṛ architect =Lat. textor; Sk. takṣan, etc., Gr.te/xnh craft, handiwork (cp. technique), Ohg. dehsa hatchet. Cp. also orig. meaning of karoti & kamma] to do wood -- work, to square, frame, chip J i.201; Miln 372, 383.(Pali)

துவட்டர் tuvaṭṭar , n. < tvaṣṭṛ. Artificers, smiths; சிற்பியர். (சூடா.)துவட்டா tuvaṭṭā, n. < TvaṣṭāTvaṣṭṛ. Višvakarmā, the architect of the gods; தெய்வத்தச்சனாகிய விசுவகருமா. துவட்டா வீன்ற தனயன் (திருவிளை. இந்திரன்பழி. 8).தொட்டா toṭṭā, n. < TvaṣṭāTvaṣṭṛ. One of tuvātacātittar, q.v.; துவாத சாதித்தருள் ஒருவன். நள்ளிரு ளெறிதொட்டா (கூர்மபு. ஆதவர்சிறப்.).="article" id="தொட்டாச்சி_toṭṭācci"> 
தொட்டாச்சி toṭṭācci, n. < தொட்ட +. ஆய்ச்சி. Godmother; ஞானத்தாய். (W.)

takṣa 5618 takṣa in cmpd. ʻ cutting ʼ, m. ʻ carpenter ʼ VarBr̥S., vṛkṣa -- takṣaka -- m. ʻ tree -- feller ʼ R. [√takṣ]Pa. tacchaka -- m. ʻ carpenter ʼ, taccha -- sūkara -- m. ʻ boar ʼ; Pk. takkha -- , °aya -- m. ʻ carpenter, artisan ʼ; Bshk. sum -- tac̣h ʻ hoe ʼ (< ʻ *earth -- scratcher ʼ),tec̣h ʻ adze ʼ (< *takṣī -- ?); Sh. tac̣i f. ʻ adze ʼ; -- Phal. tērc̣hi ʻ adze ʼ (with "intrusive" r).

takṣaṇa 5619 takṣaṇa n. ʻ cutting, paring ʼ KātyŚr. [√takṣ]Pa. tacchanī -- f. ʻ hatchet ʼ; Pk. tacchaṇa -- n., °ṇā -- f. ʻ act of cutting or scraping ʼ; Kal. tēčin ʻ chip ʼ (< *takṣaṇī -- ?); K. tȧchyunu (dat. tȧchinis) m. ʻ wood -- shavings ʼ; Ku. gng. taċhaṇ ʻ cutting (of wood) ʼ; M. tāsṇī f. ʻ act of chipping &c., adze ʼ.Addenda: takṣaṇa -- : Pk. tacchaṇa -- n. ʻ cutting ʼ; Kmd.barg. taċə̃ři ʻ chips (on roof) ʼ GM 22.6.71.620 tákṣati (3 pl. tákṣati RV.) ʻ forms by cutting, chisels ʼ MBh. [√takṣ]Pa. tacchati ʻ builds ʼ, tacchēti ʻ does woodwork, chips ʼ; Pk. takkhaï, tacchaï, cacchaï, caṁchaï ʻ cuts, scrapes, peels ʼ; Gy. pers. tetchkani ʻ knife ʼ, wel. tax -- ʻ to paint ʼ (?); Dm. taċ -- ʻ to cut ʼ (ċ < IE. k̂s NTS xii 128), Kal. tã̄č -- ; Kho. točhik ʻ to cut with an axe ʼ; Phal. tac̣<-> ʻ to cut, chop, whittle ʼ; Sh. (Lor.) thačoiki ʻ to fashion (wood) ʼ; K. tachun ʻ to shave, pare, scratch ʼ, S. tachaṇu; L. tachaṇ ʻ to scrape ʼ, (Ju.) ʻ to rough hew ʼ, P. tacchṇā, ludh. tacchanā ʻ to hew ʼ; Ku. tāchṇo ʻ to square out ʼ; N. tāchnu ʻ to scrape, peel, chip off ʼ (whence tachuwā ʻ chopped square ʼ, tachārnu ʻ to lop, chop ʼ); B. cã̄chā ʻ to scrape ʼ; Or. tã̄chibā, cã̄chibā,chã̄cibā ʻ to scrape off, clip, peel ʼ; Bhoj. cã̄chal ʻ to smoothe with an adze ʼ; H. cã̄chnā ʻ to scrape up ʼ; G. tāchvũ ʻ to scrape, carve, peel ʼ, M. tāsṇẽ; Si. sahinavā,ha° ʻ to cut with an adze ʼ. <-> Kho. troc̣ik ʻ to hew ʼ with "intrusive" r.
Addenda: tákṣati: Kmd. taċ -- ʻ to cut, pare, clip ʼ GM 22.6.71; A. cã̄ciba (phonet. sãsibɔ) ʻ to scrape ʼ AFD 216, 217, ʻ to smoothe with an adze ʼ 331.TAÑC: †takmán -tákṣan 5621 tákṣan (acc. tákṣaṇam RV., takṣāṇam Pāṇ.) m. ʻ carpenter ʼ. [√takṣ]Pk. takkhāṇa -- m., Paš. ar. tac̣an -- kṓr, weg. taṣāˊn, Kal. kaṭ -- tačon, Kho. (Lor.) tačon, Sh. thac̣&oarcacute;ṇ m., kaṭ -- th°, K. chān m., chöñü f., P. takhāṇ m.,°ṇī f., H. takhān m.; Si. sasa ʻ carpenter, wheelwright ʼ < nom. tákṣā. -- With "intrusive" r: Kho. (Lor.) tračon ʻ carpenter ʼ, P. tarkhāṇ m. (→ H. tarkhān m.), WPah. jaun. tarkhāṇ. -- With unexpl. d -- or dh -- (X dāˊru -- ?): S. ḍrakhaṇu m. ʻ carpenter ʼ; L. drakhāṇ, (Ju.) darkhāṇ m. ʻ carpenter ʼ (darkhāṇ pakkhī m. ʻ woodpecker ʼ), mult. dhrikkhāṇ m., 
dhrikkhaṇī f., awāṇ. dhirkhāṇ m.

What language did they speak?

A Prakritam gloss with phonetic variants provides the lead: kamad.ha, kamat.ha, 

kamad.haka, kamad.haga, kamad.haya= a type of penance is recognized in sets of hieroglyph-multiplexes on ten inscriptions of Indus Script Corpora. These inscriptions and decipherment are presented.

 

(Haragovindadāsa Trikamacanda Seṭha, 1963,Prakrit-Sanskrit-Hindi dictionary, Motilal Banarsidass, Dehi,p.223)

Proto-Elamite seal impressions, Susa. Seated bulls in penance posture. (After Amiet 1980: nos. 581, 582).

Hieroglyph: kamaDha 'penance' (Prakritam) Rebus: kammaTTa 'coiner, mint'

Hieroglyph: dhanga 'mountain range' Rebus: dhangar 'blacksmith'
Hieroglyph: rango 'buffalo' Rebus: rango 'pewter'

.

Ganweriwala tablet. Ganeriwala or Ganweriwala (Urdu: گنےریوالا‎ Punjabi: گنیریوالا) is a Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization site in Cholistan, Punjab, Pakistan.

gumat.a, gumut.a, gumuri, gummat.a, gummut.a a copula or dome (Ka.); ghumat.a (M.); gummat.a, gummad a dome; a paper lantern; a fire-baloon (H.Te.); kummat.t.a arch, vault, arched roof, pinnacle of a pagoda; globe, lantern made of paper (Ta.)(Ka.lex.); gummaṭ m. ‘dome’ (P.) CDIAL 4217

Other glyphs (glyphemes): gúlma— m. ‘clump of trees’ VS., gumba— m. ‘cluster, thicket’ (Pali); gumma— m.n. ‘thicket’ (Pkt.); S. gūmbaṭu m. ‘bullock’s hump’; gumbaṭ m., gummaṭ f. ‘bullock’s hump’ (L.) CDIAL 4217

rebus: kumpat.i = ban:gala = an:ga_ra s’akat.i_ = a chafing dish, a portable stove, a goldsmith’s portable furnace (Te.lex.) kumpiṭu-caṭṭichafing-dish, port- able furnace, potsherd in which fire is kept by goldsmiths; kumutam oven, stove; kummaṭṭi chafing-dish (Ta.).kuppaḍige, kuppaṭe, kum- paṭe, kummaṭa, kummaṭe id. (Ka.)kumpaṭi id. (Te.) DEDR 1751. kummu smouldering ashes (Te.); kumpōḍsmoke.(Go) DEDR 1752.

Glyphs on a broken molded tablet, Ganweriwala. The reverse includes the 'rim-of-jar' glyph in a 3-glyph text. Observe shows a  person seated on a stool and a kneeling adorant below.

Hieroglyph: kamadha 'penance' Rebus: kammata 'coiner, mint'.

Reading rebus three glyphs of text on Ganweriwala tablet: brass-worker, scribe, turner:

1. kuṭila ‘bent’; rebus: kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) [cf. āra-kūṭa, ‘brass’ (Skt.) (CDIAL 3230) 

2. Glyph of ‘rim of jar’: kárṇaka m. ʻ projection on the side of a vessel, handle ʼ ŚBr. [kárṇa -- ]Pa. kaṇṇaka -- ʻ having ears or corners ʼ; (CDIAL 2831) kaṇḍa kanka; Rebus: furnace account (scribe). kaṇḍ = fire-altar (Santali); kan = copper (Tamil) khanaka m. one who digs , digger , excavator Rebus: karanikamu. Clerkship: the office of a Karanam or clerk. (Telugu) káraṇa n. ʻ act, deed ʼ RV. [√kr̥1] Pa. karaṇa -- n. ʻdoingʼ; NiDoc. karana,  kaṁraṁna ʻworkʼ; Pk. karaṇa -- n. ʻinstrumentʼ(CDIAL 2790)

3. khareḍo = a currycomb (G.) Rebus: kharādī ‘ turner’ (G.) 

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/07/witzels-breath-taking-announcement-of.html 

Hieroglyph: मेढा [mēḍhā] A twist or tangle arising in thread or cord, a curl or snarl (Marathi). Rebus: meḍ 'iron, copper' (Munda. Slavic) mẽṛhẽt, meD 'iron' (Mu.Ho.Santali)

meď 'copper' (Slovak)

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/11/ornamental-endless-knot-svastika-other.html

Mohenjo-daro. Sealing.  Surrounded by fishes, lizard and snakes, a horned person sits in 'yoga' on a throne with hoofed legs. One side of a triangular terracotta amulet (Md 013); surface find at Mohenjo-daro in 1936, Dept. of Eastern Art, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. [seated person penance, crocodile?] Brief memoranda: kamaḍha ‘penance’ Rebus: kammaṭa ‘mint, coiner’; kaṇḍo ‘stool, seat’ Rebus: kāṇḍa  ‘metalware’ kaṇḍa  ‘fire-altar’.

kAru 'crocodile' Rebus: kAru 'artisan'.

Hieroglyphs (allographs): 

kamaḍha 'penance' (Prakriam) 

kamḍa, khamḍa 'copulation' (Santali)

kamaṭha crab (Skt.)

kamaṛkom = fig leaf (Santali.lex.) kamarmaṛā (Has.), kamaṛkom (Nag.); the petiole or stalk of a leaf (Mundari.lex.)  kamat.ha = fig leaf, religiosa (Sanskrit) kamaḍha = ficus religiosa (Sanskrit)

kamāṭhiyo = archer; kāmaṭhum = a bow; kāmaḍ, kāmaḍum = a chip of bamboo (G.) kāmaṭhiyo a bowman; an archer (Sanskrit) 

Rebus: kammaṭi a coiner (Ka.); kampaṭṭam coinage, coin, mint (Ta.) kammaṭa = mint, gold furnace (Te.)  kamaṭa = portable furnace for melting precious metals (Telugu); kampaṭṭam = mint (Tamil)

Glyph: meD 'to dance' (F.)[reduplicated from me-]; me id. (M.) in Remo (Munda)(Source: D. Stampe's Munda etyma) meṭṭu to tread, trample, crush under foot, tread or place the foot upon (Te.); meṭṭu step (Ga.); mettunga steps (Ga.). maḍye to trample, tread (Malt.)(DEDR 5057) మెట్టు (p. 1027) [ meṭṭu ] meṭṭu. [Tel.] v. a. &n. To step, walk, tread. అడుగుపెట్టు, నడుచు, త్రొక్కు. "మెల్ల మెల్లన మెట్టుచుదొలగి అల్లనల్లనతలుపులండకు జేరి." BD iv. 1523. To tread on, to trample on. To kick, to thrust with the foot.మెట్టిక meṭṭika. n. A step , మెట్టు, సోపానము (Telugu)

Rebus: meD 'iron' (Mundari. Remo.)

                                                                       

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/11/dance-step-med-in-indus-script.html

Slide 207 Tablet with inscription. Twisted terra cotta tablet (H2000-4441/2102-464) with a mold-made inscription and narrative motif from the Trench 54 area. In the center is the depiction of what is possibly a deity with a horned headdress in so-called yogic position seated on a stool under an arch.

Harappa. Two tablets. Seated figure or deity with reed house or shrine at one side. Left: H95-2524; Right: H95-2487.

Harappa. Planoconvex molded tablet found on Mound ET. A. Reverse. a female deity battling two tigers and standing above an elephant and below a six-spoked wheel; b. Obverse. A person spearing with a barbed spear a buffalo in front of a seated horned deity wearing bangles and with a plumed headdress. The person presses his foot down the buffalo’s head. An alligator with a narrow snout is on the top register. “We have found two other broken tablets at Harappa that appear to have been made from the same mold that was used to create the scene of a deity battling two tigers and standing above an elephant. One was found in a room located on the southern slope of Mount ET in 1996 and another example comes from excavations on Mound F in the 1930s. However, the flat obverse of both of these broken tablets does not show the spearing of a buffalo, rather it depicts the more well-known scene showing a tiger looking back over its shoulder at a person sitting on the branch of a tree. Several other flat or twisted rectangular terracotta tablets found at Harappa combine these two narrative scenes of a figure strangling two tigers on one side of a tablet, and the tiger looking back over its shoulder at a figure in a tree on the other side.” [JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 115].

m1181A2222 Pict-80: Three-faced, horned person  (with a three-leaved pipal branch  on the crown), wearing bangles and armlets and seated, in a yogic posture, on a hoofed platform

Mohenjo-daro. Square seal depicting a nude male deity with three faces, seated in yogic position on a throne, wearing bangles on both arms and an elaborate headdress. Five symbols of the Indus script appear on either side of the headdress which is made of two outward projecting buffalo style curved horns, with two upward projecting points. A single branch with three pipal leaves rises from the middle of the headdress. 

Seven bangles are depicted on the left arm and six on the right, with the hands resting on the knees. The heels are pressed together under the groin and the feet project beyond the edge of the throne. The feet of the throne are carved with the hoof of a bovine as is seen on the bull and unicorn seals. The seal may not have been fired, but the stone is very hard. A grooved and perforated boss is present on the back of the seal.
Material: tan steatite Dimensions: 2.65 x 2.7 cm, 0.83 to 0.86 thickness Mohenjo-daro, DK 12050
Islamabad Museum, NMP 50.296 Mackay 1938: 335, pl. LXXXVII, 222 

kūdī 'bunch of twigs' (Sanskrit)  Rebus: kuṭhi 'smelter furnace' (Santali) कूदी [p= 300,1] f. a bunch of twigs , bunch (v.l. कूट्/ई) AV. v , 19 , 12 Kaus3.ccord. to Kaus3. , Sch. = बदरी, "Christ's thorn".(Monier-Williams)

Hieroglyph: kamaḍha ‘penance’ (Pkt.) Rebus 1: kampaṭṭa  ‘mint’ (Ma.) kamaṭa = portable furnace for melting precious metals (Te.);Rebus 2: kaṇḍa ‘fire-altar' (Santali); kan ‘copper’ (Ta.)  

Hieroglyph: karã̄ n. pl. ʻwristlets, bangles ʼ (Gujarati); kara 'hand' (Rigveda) Rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri) 

The bunch of twigs = ku_di_, ku_t.i_ (Skt.lex.) ku_di_ (also written as ku_t.i_ in manuscripts) occurs in the Atharvaveda (AV 5.19.12) and Kaus’ika Su_tra (Bloomsfield’s ed.n, xliv. cf. Bloomsfield, American Journal of Philology, 11, 355; 12,416; Roth, Festgruss an Bohtlingk,98) denotes it as a twig. This is identified as that of Badari_, the jujube tied to the body of the dead to efface their traces. (See Vedic Index, I, p. 177).[Note the twig adoring the head-dress of a horned, standing person]

Horned deity seals, Mohenjo-daro: a. horned deity with pipal-leaf headdress, Mohenjo-daro (DK12050, NMP 50.296) (Courtesy of the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan); b. horned deity with star motifs, Mohenjo-daro (M-305) (PARPOLA 1994:Fig. 10.9); courtesy of the Archaeological Survey of India; c. horned deity surrounded by animals, Mohenjo-daro (JOSHI – PARPOLA 1987:M-304); courtesy of the Archaeological Survey of India.

m0305AC 2235 Pict-80: Three-faced, horned person  (with a three-leaved pipal branch  on the crown with two stars on either side), wearing bangles and armlets. Two stars adorn the curved buffalo horns of the seated person with a plaited pigtail. The pigtail connotes a pit furnace:

Glyph: kamad.ha, kamat.ha, kamad.haka, kamad.haga, kamad.haya = a type of penance (Pkt.lex.)

kamat.amu, kammat.amu = a portable furnace for melting precious metals; kammat.i_d.u = a goldsmith, a silversmith (Te.lex.) ka~pr.aut.,kapr.aut. jeweller’s crucible made of rags and clay (Bi.); kapr.aut.i_wrapping in cloth with wet clay for firing chemicals or drugs, mud cement (H.)[cf. modern compounds: kapar.mit.t.i_ wrapping in cloth and clay (H.);kapad.lep id. (H.)](CDIAL 2874). kapar-mat.t.i clay and cowdung smeared on a crucible (N.)(CDIAL 2871).

kampat.t.tam coinage, coin (Ta.); kammat.t.am, kammit.t.am coinage, mint (Ma.); kammat.i a coiner (Ka.)(DEDR 1236) kammat.a = coinage, mint (Ka.M.) kampat.t.a-k-ku_t.am mint; kampat.t.a-k-ka_ran- coiner; kampat.t.a- mul.ai die, coining stamp (Ta.lex.)

Seated person in penance. Wears a scarf as pigtail and curved horns with embedded stars and a twig. 

mēḍha The polar star. (Marathi) Rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.) dula ‘pair’ (Kashmiri); Rebus: dul ‘cast (metal)’(Santali) ḍabe, ḍabea ‘large horns, with a sweeping upward curve, applied to buffaloes’ (Santali) Rebus: ḍab, ḍhimba, ḍhompo ‘lump (ingot?)’, clot, make a lump or clot, coagulate, fuse, melt together (Santali) kūtī = bunch of twigs (Skt.) Rebus: kuṭhi = (smelter) furnace (Santali) The narrative on this metalware catalog is thus: (smelter) furnace for iron and for fusing together cast metal. kamaḍha ‘penance’.Rebus 1: kaṇḍ ‘stone (ore) metal’.Rebus 2: kampaṭṭa‘mint’. 

ṭhaṭera 'buffalo horns'. Rebus: ṭhaṭerā 'brass worker'

kamadha 'penance' Rebus: kammata 'coiner, mint'

karã̄ n. pl. wristlets, banglesRebus: khAr 'blacksmith, iron worker'

rango 'buffalo' Rebus:rango 'pewter' 

kari 'elephant' ibha 'elephant' Rebus: karba 'iron' ib 'iron'

kola 'tiger' Rebus: kol 'working in iron'

gaNDA 'rhinoceros' Rebus: kaNDa 'im;lements'

mlekh 'antelope, goat' Rebus: milakkha 'copper'

meD 'body' Rebus: meD 'iron''copper'

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/10/art-historians-dilemma-and-occams-razor.html

dhatu 'scarf' Rebus: dhatu 'mineral 

   
Text on obverse of the tablet m453A: Text 1629. m453BC Seated in penance, the person is flanked on either side by a kneeling adorant, offering a pot and a hooded serpent rearing up. 

Glyph: kaṇḍo ‘stool’. Rebus; kaṇḍ ‘furnace’. Vikalpa: kaṇḍ ‘stone (ore) metal’.  Rebus: kamaḍha ‘penance’. Rebus 1: kaṇḍ ‘stone ore’. Rebus 2: kampaṭṭa ‘mint’. Glyph: ‘serpent hood’: paṭa. Rebus: pata ‘sharpness (of knife), tempered (metal). padm ‘tempered iron’ (Ko.) kulA 'hood of serpent' Rebus: kolle 'blacksmith'.

Glyph: rimless pot: baṭa. Rebus: bhaṭa ‘smelter, furnace’. It appears that the message of the glyphics is about a mint  or metal workshop which produces sharpened, tempered iron (stone ore) using a furnace.

Rebus readings of glyphs on text of inscription:

koṇḍa bend (Ko.); Tu. Kōḍi  corner; kōṇṭu angle, corner, crook. Nk. Kōnṭa corner (DEDR 2054b)  G. khū̃ṭṛī  f. ʻangleʼRebus: kõdā ‘to turn in a lathe’(B.) कोंद kōnda ‘engraver, lapidary setting or infixing gems’ (Marathi) koḍ ‘artisan’s workshop’ (Kuwi) koḍ  = place where artisans work (G.) ācāri koṭṭya ‘smithy’ (Tu.) कोंडण [kōṇḍaṇa] f A fold or pen. (Marathi) B. kõdā ‘to turn in a lathe’; Or.kū̆nda ‘lathe’, kũdibā, kū̃d ‘to turn’ (→ Drav. Kur. Kū̃d ’ lathe’) (CDIAL 3295)  

aṭar ‘a splinter’ (Ma.) aṭaruka ‘to burst, crack, sli off,fly open; aṭarcca ’ splitting, a crack’; aṭarttuka ‘to split, tear off, open (an oyster) (Ma.); aḍaruni ‘to crack’ (Tu.) (DEDR 66) Rebus: aduru ‘native, unsmelted metal’ (Kannada) 

ãs = scales of fish (Santali); rebus: aya ‘metal, iron’ (Gujarati.) cf. cognate to amśu 'soma' in Rigveda: ancu 'iron' (Tocharian)

G.karã̄ n. pl. ‘wristlets, bangles’; S. karāī f. ’wrist’ (CDIAL 2779).  Rebus: khār खार् ‘blacksmith’ (Kashmiri)

dula ‘pair’; rebus dul ‘cast (metal)’

Glyph of ‘rim of jar’: kárṇaka m. ʻ projection on the side of a vessel, handle ʼ ŚBr. [kárṇa -- ]Pa. kaṇṇaka -- ʻ having ears or corners ʼ; (CDIAL 2831) kaṇḍa kanka; Rebus: furnace account (scribe). kaṇḍ = fire-altar (Santali); kan = copper (Tamil) khanaka m. one who digs , digger , excavator Rebus: karanikamu. Clerkship: the office of a Karanam or clerk. (Telugu) káraṇa n. ʻ act, deed ʼ RV. [√kr̥1] Pa. karaṇa -- n. ʻdoingʼ; NiDoc. karana,  kaṁraṁna ʻworkʼ; Pk. karaṇa -- n. ʻinstrumentʼ(CDIAL 2790)

The suggested rebus readings indicate that the Indus writing served the purpose of artisans/traders to create metalware, stoneware, mineral catalogs -- products with which they carried on their life-activities in an evolving Bronze Age.

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/04/migrating-channels-of-vedic-river.html

Cernunnos is shown seated in penance (comparable to the sitting posture of the seated person on the Mohenjo-daro seal m0304).

Hieroglyph: kamaḍha ‘penance’ (Prakritam) Rebus: kammaṭa ‘mint, coiner’(Telugu). 

Cernunnos is named in an inscription on the 1st cent. CE Pillar of the Boatmen (French Pilier des nautes) with bas-relief depictions. " Dating to the first quarter of the 1st century AD, it originally stood in a temple in the Gallo-Romancivitas of Lutetia (modern Paris, France) and is one of the earliest pieces of representational Gaulish art to carry a written inscription...It is displayed in the frigidarium of the Thermes de Cluny...Cernunnos has stag's antlers from which hang two torcs. From the amount of the body in the top half, Cernunnos is assumed to have been depicted in a cross-legged seated position...Smertrios is shown kneeling, brandishing a club and attacking a snake. Castor and Pollus are shown standing beside their horses, each holding a spear...Jupiter is shown standing, holding a spear and a thunderbolt. Esus is shown standing beside a willow tree, which he is cutting down with an axe. Tarvos Trigaranus is depicted as a large, heavy-set bull standing in front of a willow tree. Two cranes stand on his back and a third on his head. Vulcan is shown standing, with hammer and tongs."

Hieroglyph: kamaḍha ‘penance’ (Prakritam) Rebus: kammaṭa ‘mint, coiner’(Telugu). 

m453B. Scarf as pigtail of seated person.Kneeling adorant and serpent on the field.

khaṇḍiyo [cf. khaṇḍaṇī a tribute] tributary; paying a tribute to a superior king (Gujarti) Rebus 1: khaṇḍaran,  khaṇḍrun ‘pit furnace’ (Santali) Rebus 2: khaNDa 'metal implements'

Santali glosses.

paṭa. 'serpent hood' Rebus: pata ‘sharpness (of knife), tempered (metal). padm ‘tempered iron’ (Kota) kulA 'hood of serpent' Rebus: kolle 'blacksmith'.

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/06/ancient-near-east-scarf-hieroglyph-on.html

What is writing? Mlecchita vikalpa of ancient Indian tradition of bhāratam janam is Indus Script writing. 

What is writing? Let us define what writing is NOT.

Writing is not doodle.

Writing is not scribble even if they may have constituted 'potters' marks' comparable to trade marks or road signs.

So, writing is an alternative representation to communicate language or thought. In the context of ancient Indian tradition, one such alternative is called mlecchita vikalpa, 'Meluhha cipher writing' -- identified as one of 64 arts to be learned by youth.

Mohenjodro 0304 seal impression  http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/hieroglyph-multiplex-ayas-alloymetal.html

There are some who define writing as only alphabet (consonant, vowel) or syllable (phoneme) representations to signify sounds of a language.

This restrictive definition rules out writing systems which express ideas, exemplified by Chinese writing.

This restrictive definition also rules out mlecchita vikalpa type of writing systems which use hieroglyphs to signify words with more than one meaning: a meaning to signify, say, an object as a drawing (e.g. bharati 'partridge, quail'); another meaning to signify an entirely different object as a life-activity (e.g. bharati 'alloy metal of copper, pewter, tin'). In such a vikalpa (alternative), a hieroglyph denotes a partidge/quail but the intended message is an alloy metal.

It is unclear why languages evolve with the use of similar sounding words (homonyms) to signify different meanings.

A characteristic feature of many languages of Indian sprachbund (speech union) is that homonyms are frequently encountered. There is also a language characteristic of reduplications of spoken words in Indiansprachbund. (A precise account of reduplication feature of languages is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduplication ) The term sprachbund has a synonym in linguistic studies: linguistic area or areal linguistics. In the context of Indian languages the phrase got into vogue from an author of Dravidian Etymological Dictionary: Emeneau, M. (1956). "India as a Linguistic Area". Language 32 (1): 3–16.

In a series of works, mlecchita vikalpa has been identified in Indus Script Corpora which has now grown to about 7000 inscriptions (Over 4500 identified in the Corpus in 3 volumes so far by Asko Parpola's team PLUS about 2000 Persian Gulf seals PLUS over 1000 cylinder seal impressions of Ancient Near East which use hieroglyphs of Indus Script).  

For example, see the following use of a unique rebus-metonymy layered cipher for some hieroglyphs and hieroglyph-multiplexes of Indus script:

• fish: aya 'fish' (Munda) Rebus aya 'iron' (Gujarati)
• partridge/quail: bharati 'partridge/quail' Rebus: bharati 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin' (Marathi)
• safflower: karaDi 'safflower' Rebus: karaDa 'hard alloy' (Marathi) khambhaṛā ʻfinʼ  (Lahnda)(CDIAL 13639) khambu 'plumage' (S.); khambh 'wing, feather' (Punjabi)(CDIAL 13640) rebus: kammaTa 'coiner, coinage, mint (Kannada): 
• crocodile: karA 'crocodile' Rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri)
• ram: meD 'ram' Rebus: meD 'iron' (Ho.)
• narrow-necked jar: karava 'narrow-necked jar' Rebus: kharva 'wealth'; karba 'iron' (Tulu)
• rim of jar: karNaka 'rim of jar' Rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNIka 'scribe'
• young bull: khond 'young bull' Rebus: khond 'turner' (metals)
• wallet: dhokra 'wallet' Rebus: dhokra 'cire perdue metalcaster'
• water-carrier: kuTi 'water-carrier' Rebus: kuThi 'smelter'
• warrior: bhaTa 'warrior' Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'
• rhinoceros: kANDa 'rhinoceros' Rebus: kANDa 'implements'

It has been demonstrated that the Indus Script Corpora is catalogus catalogorum of metalwork and the metalcasters of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization where the writing system originated ca. 3300 BCE called themselves workers of metal alloy, bharata/bharati, thus as bhāratam janam in a very ancient document, a sacred text, Rigveda:

viśvāmitrasya rakṣati brahmedam bhāratam janam. RV3.53.12. (Trans. This prayer, brahma, of viśvāmitra protects bhārata, metalcaster folk'.)

It will be an error to rule out writing systems like Indus Script which deploy word-hieroglyph patterns of representation as distinct from syllable or consonant/vowel representation exemplified by Aramaic or Brāhmi or Kharoṣṭhī.

The system of writing, mlecchita vikalpa by bhāratam janam was matched by the splendour of prosody calledchandas in Rigveda. Mlecchita vikalpa encoded speech (mleccha/meluhha), while chandas encoded mantras like the one cited from Rishi Viśvāmitra who also recited the Gāyatri mantra venerating the effulgent sun and making speech resonate with anāhata nāda brahman 'unstruck sound cosmic-consciousness' of vāk, speech as mother divine.

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/what-is-writing-mlecchita-vikalpa-of.html?view=timeslide

Addendum to: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/04/heralding-civilization-bronze-age.html

Proclamation: 'kammaṭa 'mint', Sanchi

What is often cited as 'tri-ratna' or 'srivatsa' or 'nandipada' symbol is seen to be a hypertext, an Indus Script hieroglyph-multiplex, composed of: 1. lotus; 2. two fish-fins; 3. two petals; 4. spathe. The hypertext is superscipted together with two petals on a circle. The centrepiece is a skambha, 'pillar' (as a phonetic determinant of khambhaṛā 'fish-fin'). The entire hypertext is superscripted by a spoked wheel.

1. tAmarasa 'lotus' rebus: tAmra 'copper'

2. khambhaṛā ʻfinʼ (kammaṭa 'coiner, coinage, mint (Kannada):

3. dala 'petal' rebus: ḍhāḷakī 'ingot'

4. sippī ʻspathe of date palmʼ Rebus: sippi 'artificer, craftsman'
5. dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'cast metal'
6. goTa 'round' rebus 1: khoTa 'ingot' (phonetic determinative of the two metals atop the circle); rebus 2: goTa 'laterite ferrite ore'

7. eraka 'nave of wheel' rebus: eraka 'moltencast, copper' arA 'spokes' rebus: Ara 'brass'.

Thus, the proclamation atop Sanchi/Bharhut torana is a kammaṭa 'coinage, coiner, mint' with competence in metalwork with copper, ferrite ores, brass, ingots, metal-sculpting (casting).

dala  'petal' Rebus: ḍhāḷako = a large ingot (G.) ḍhāḷakī = a metal heated and poured into a mould; a solid piece of metal; an ingot (G.) 

Hieroglyph:  Pali sippī- pearl oyster, Pkt. sippī- id., etc. (DEDR 2535). sippī f. ʻspathe of date palmʼ Rebus: sippi 'artificer, craftsman'. śilpin ʻ skilled in art ʼ, m. ʻ artificer ʼ Gaut., śilpika<-> ʻ skilled ʼ MBh. [śílpa -- ] Pa. sippika -- m. ʻ craftsman ʼ, NiDoc. śilpiǵa, Pk. sippi -- , °ia -- m.; A. xipini ʻ woman clever at spinning and weaving ʼ; OAw. sīpī m. ʻ artizan ʼ; M. śĩpī m. ʻ a caste of tailors ʼ; Si. sipi -- yā ʻ craftsman ʼ.(CDIAL 12471) சிற்பியர். (சூடா.) சிற்பம்¹ ciṟpam , n. < šilpa. 1. Artistic skill; தொழிலின் திறமை. செருக்கயல் சிற்பமாக (சீவக. 2716). 2. Fine or artistic workmanship; நுட்பமான தொழில். சிற்பந் திகழ்தரு திண்மதில் (திருக்கோ. 305). சிற்பர் ciṟpar , n. < šilpa. Mechanics, artisans, stone-cutters; சிற்பிகள். (W.)சிற்பி ciṟpi, n. < šilpin. Mechanic, artisan, stone-cutter; கம்மியன். (சூடா.)சிற்பியல் ciṟpiyal , n. < சிற்பம்¹ + இயல். Architecture, as an art; சிற்பசாஸ்திரம். மாசில் கம் மத்துச் சிற்பியற் புலவர் (பெருங். இலாவாண. 4, 50).

Sadakana Bull Maharathis of Chandravalli . ಚಂದ್ರವಳ್ಳಿಯ ( ಚಿತ್ರದುರ್ಗ ) ಸದಕನ ಮಹಾರಥಿಗಳು .(30 BC- 70 AD)

, Lead karshapana. Zebu. Brahmi legend: Maharathi putasa sudakana (kanhasa) Krishna Six arched hill with crescent, wavy line below, nandipada, 

poLa 'zebu' rebus: poLa 'magnetite ferrite ore'

meTTu 'mound' rebus: meD 'iron' 

kuThAru 'crucible' rebus: kuThAru 'armourer'

kANDa 'water' rebus: kaNDa 'implements'

kammaṭa 'mint'

sattva 'svastika' rebus: jasta 'zinc'

Svastika http://ancientcoinsofindiaaruns.blogspot.in/2010/05/sadakana-bull-maharathis-of_3858.html

Taxila, Uninscribed die-struck Coin (200-150 BC), MIGIS-4 type 578, 3.94g. Obv: Lotus standard flanked by banners in a railing, with two small three-arched hill symbols on either side. Rev: Three-arched hill with crescent above a bold 'open cross' symbol.

Fig. 20. Ancient Indian Coin.

The Migration of Symbols, by Goblet d'Alviella, [1894

(Archæological Survey of India, vol. x., pl. ii., fig. 8.)

kuTi 'tree' rebus: kuThi 'smelter'

dala 'petal' rebus: dhALaki 'ingot'

http://www.sacred-texts.com/sym/mosy/mosy06.htm

śrivatsa symbol [with its hundreds of stylized variants, depicted on Pl. 29 to 32] occurs in Bogazkoi (Central Anatolia) dated ca. 6th to 14th cent. BCE on inscriptions Pl. 33, Nandipāda-Triratna at: Bhimbetka, Sanchi, Sarnath and Mathura] Pl. 27, Svastika symbol: distribution in cultural periods] The association of śrivatsa with ‘fish’ is reinforced by the symbols binding fish in Jaina āyāgapaṭas (snake-hood?) of Mathura (late 1st cent. BCE).  śrivatsa  symbol seems to have evolved from a stylied glyph showing ‘two fishes’. In the Sanchi stupa, the fish-tails of two fishes are combined to flank the ‘śrivatsa’ glyph. In a Jaina āyāgapaṭa, a fish is ligatured within the śrivatsa  glyph,  emphasizing the association of the ‘fish’ glyph with śrivatsa glyph.

(After Plates in: Savita Sharma, 1990, Early Indian symbols, numismatic evidence, Delhi, Agama Kala Prakashan; cf. Shah, UP., 1975, Aspects of Jain Art and Architecture, p.77)

Khandagiri caves (2nd cent. BCE) Cave 3 (Jaina Ananta gumpha). Fire-altar?, śrivatsa, svastika

(hieroglyphs) (King Kharavela, a Jaina who ruled Kalinga has an inscription dated 161 BCE) contemporaneous with Bharhut and Sanchi and early Bodhgaya.

Tree shown on a tablet from Harappa.

[Pl. 39, Savita Sharma, opcit. Tree symbol (often on a platform) on punch-marked coins; a symbol recurring on many tablets showing Sarasvati hieroglyphs].

kuTi 'tree' rebus: kuThi 'smelter'

Kushana period, 1st century C.E.From Mathura Red Sandstone 89x92cm
books.google.com/books?id=evtIAQAAIAAJ&q=In+the+image...

Ayagapatta, Kankali Tila, Mathura.

"Jain homage tablet. The tablet was set up by the wife of Bhadranadi, and it was found in December 1890 near the centre of the mound of the Jain stupa at Kankali Tila. Mathura has extensive archaeological remains as it was a large and important city from the middle of the first millennium onwards. It rose to particular prominence under the Kushans as the town was their southern capital. The B

uddhist, Brahmanical and Jain faiths all thrived at Mathura, and we find deities and motifs from all three and others represented in sculpture. In reference to this photograph in the list of photographic negatives, Bloch wrote that, "The technical name of such a panel was ayagapata [homage panel]." The figure in the centre is described as a Tirthamkara, a Jain prophet." http://www.cristoraul.com/ENGLISH/readinghall/UniversalHistory/INDIA/Cambridge/I/CHAPTER_XXVI.html

Hieroglyph: arye 'lion' Rebus: arya 'person of noble character'

cakra, cakka 'wheel' Rebus: dhamma cakka 'wheel of dharma' (Pali.Prakrit).

Wheel in Hindu, Jaina and Bauddham is a metaphor of consciousness-cosmic ordering in cyclical rythm of time and space, which is dharma-dhamma. 

Vishnu Sandstone Relief From Meerut India Indian Civilization 10th Century Dharma chakra. Srivatsa. Gada.

Rebus: dhamma 'dharma' (Pali) Hieroglyphs: dām 'garland, rope':

Hieroglyphs: hangi, 'mollusc' tied to a fish: ayira 'fish' Rebus; ariya, ayira 'person of noble character'. 

Hieroglyphs: hangi 'mollusc' + dām 'rope, garland' dã̄u m. ʻtyingʼ; puci 'tail' Rebus: puja 'worship'

Rebus: ariya sanghika dhamma puja 'veneration of arya sangha dharma'

Hieroglyph: Four hieroglyphs are depicted. Fish-tails pair are tied together. The rebus readings are as above: ayira (ariya) dhamma puja 'veneration of arya dharma'.

ayira 'fish' Rebus:ayira, ariya, 'person of noble character'. युगल yugala 'twin' Rebus: जुळणें (p. 323) [ juḷaṇēṃ ] v c & i (युगल S through जुंवळ) To put together in harmonious connection or orderly disposition (Marathi). Thus an arya with orderly disposition.

sathiya 'svastika glyph' Rebus: Sacca (adj.) [cp. Sk. satya] real, true D i.182; M ii.169; iii.207; Dh 408; nt. saccaŋ truly, verily, certainly Miln 120; saccaŋ kira is it really true? D i.113; Vin i.45, 60; J (Pali)

सांगाडा [ sāṅgāḍā ] m The skeleton, box, or frame (of a building, boat, the body &c.), the hull, shell, compages. 2 Applied, as Hulk is, to any animal or thing huge and unwieldy.

सांगाडी [ sāṅgāḍī ] f The machine within which a turner confines and steadies the piece he has to turn. Rebus: सांगाती [ sāṅgātī ] a (Better संगती) A companion, associate, fellow.Buddha-pada (feet of Buddha), carved on a rectangular slab. The margin of the slab was carved with scroll of acanthus and rosettes.  The foot-print shows important symbols like triratna, svastika, srivatsa,ankusa and elliptical objects, meticulously carved in low-relief. From Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, being assignable on paleographical grounds to circa 1^st century B.C --2^nd century CE,

 The piece is now in the Lucknow Museum. 

 http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/a/largeimage58906.html

An ayagapata or Jain homage tablet, with small figure of a tirthankara in the centre and inscription below, from Mathura. "Photograph taken by Edmund William Smith in 1880s-90s of a Jain homage tablet. The tablet was set up by the wife of Bhadranadi, and it was found in December 1890 near the centre of the mound of the Jain stupa at Kankali Tila. Mathura has extensive archaeological remains as it was a large and important city from the middle of the first millennium onwards. It rose to particular prominence under the Kushans as the town was their southern capital. The Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jain faiths all thrived at Mathura, and we find deities and motifs from all three and others represented in sculpture. In reference to this photograph in the list of photographic negatives, Bloch wrote that, "The technical name of such a panel was ayagapata [homage panel]." The figure in the centre is described as a Tirthamkara, a Jain prophet. The piece is now in the Lucknow Museum." http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/a/largeimage58907.html

View of the Jaina stupa excavated at Kankali Tila, Mathura.

Manoharpura. Svastika. Top of āyāgapaṭa. Red Sandstone. Lucknow State Museum. (Scan no.0053009, 0053011, 0053012 ) See: https://www.academia.edu/11522244/A_temple_at_Sanchi_for_Dhamma_by_a_k%C4%81ra%E1%B9%87ik%C4%81_sanghin_guild_of_scribes_in_Indus_writing_cipher_continuum

Ayagapata (After Huntington)

Jain votive tablet from Mathurå. From Czuma 1985, catalogue number 3. Fish-tail is the hieroglyph together with svastika hieroglyph, fish-pair hieroglyph, safflower hieroglyph, cord (tying together molluscs and arrow?)hieroglyph multiplex, lathe multiplex (the standard device shown generally in front of a one-horned young bull on Indus Script corpora), flower bud (lotus) ligatured to the fish-tail.  All these are venerating hieroglyphs surrounding the Tirthankara in the central medallion.

Pali etyma point to the use of 卐 with semant. 'auspicious mark'; on the Sanchi stupa; the cognate gloss is: sotthika, sotthiya 'blessed'. 

Or. ṭaü ʻ zinc, pewter ʼ(CDIAL 5992). jasta 'zinc' (Hindi) sathya, satva 'zinc' (Kannada) The hieroglyph used on Indus writing consists of two forms: 卐卍. Considering the phonetic variant of Hindi gloss, it has been suggested for decipherment of Meluhha hieroglyphs in archaeometallurgical context that the early forms for both the hieroglyph and the rebus reading was: satya.

The semant. expansion relating the hieroglyph to 'welfare' may be related to the resulting alloy of brass achieved by alloying zinc with copper. The brass alloy shines like gold and was a metal of significant value, as significant as the tin (cassiterite) mineral, another alloying metal which was tin-bronze in great demand during the Bronze Age in view of the scarcity of naturally occurring copper+arsenic or arsenical bronze.

I suggest that the Meluhha gloss was a phonetic variant recorded in Pali etyma: sotthiya. This gloss was represented on Sanchi stupa inscription and also on Jaina ayagapata offerings by worshippers of ariya, ayira dhamma, by the same hieroglyph (either clockwise-twisting or anti-clockwise twisting rotatory symbol of svastika). Linguists may like to pursue this line further to suggest the semant. evolution of the hieroglyph over time, from the days of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization to the narratives of Sanchi stupa or Ayagapata of Kankali Tila.

स्वस्ति [ svasti ] ind S A particle of benediction. Ex. राजा तुला स्वस्ति असो O king! may it be well with thee!; रामाय स्वस्ति रावणाय स्वस्ति! 2 An auspicious particle. 3 A term of sanction or approbation (so be it, amen &c.) 4 Used as s n Welfare, weal, happiness.स्वस्तिक [ svastika ] n m S A mystical figure the inscription of which upon any person or thing is considered to be lucky. It is, amongst the जैन, the emblem of the seventh deified teacher of the present era. It consists of 卍. 2 A temple of a particular form with a portico in front. 3 Any auspicious or lucky object.(Marathi)

svasti f. ʻ good fortune ʼ RV. [su -- 2, √as1]Pa. suvatthi -- , sotthi -- f. ʻ well -- being ʼ, NiDoc. śvasti; Pk. satthi -- , sotthi -- f. ʻ blessing, welfare ʼ; Si. seta ʻ good fortune ʼ < *soti (H. Smith EGS 185 < sustha -- ). svastika ʻ *auspicious ʼ, m. ʻ auspicious mark ʼ R. [svastí -- ]Pa. sotthika -- , °iya -- ʻ auspicious ʼ; Pk. satthia -- , sot° m. ʻ auspicious mark ʼ; H. sathiyā, sati° m. ʻ mystical mark of good luck ʼ; G. sāthiyɔ m. ʻ auspicious mark painted on the front of a house ʼ.(CDIAL 13915, 13916)

Nibbānasotthi (welfare). saccena suvatthi hotu nibbānaŋ Sn 235.Sotthi (f.) [Sk. svasti=su+asti] well -- being, safety, bless ing A iii.38=iv.266 ("brings future happiness"); J i.335; s. hotu hail! D i.96; sotthiŋ in safety, safely Dh 219 (=anupaddavena DhA iii.293); Pv iv.64(=nirupaddava PvA 262); Sn 269; sotthinā safely, prosperously D i.72, 96; ii.346; M i.135; J ii.87; iii.201. suvatthi the same J iv.32. See sotthika & sovatthika. -- kamma a blessing J i.343. -- kāra an utterer of blessings, a herald J vi.43. -- gata safe wandering, prosperous journey Mhvs 8, 10; sotthigamana the same J i.272. -- bhāva well -- being, prosperity, safety J i.209; iii.44; DhA ii.58; PvA 250. -- vācaka utterer of blessings, a herald Miln 359. -- sālā a hospital Mhvs 10, 101.Sotthika (& ˚iya) (adj.) [fr. sotthi] happy, auspicious, blessed, safe VvA 95; DhA ii.227 (˚iya; in phrase dīgha˚ one who is happy for long [?]).Sotthivant (adj.) [sotthi+vant] lucky, happy, safe Vv 8452.Sovatthika (adj.) [either fr. sotthi with diaeresis, or fr. su+atthi+ka=Sk. svastika] safe M i.117; Vv 187 (=sotthika VvA 95); J vi.339 (in the shape of a svastika?); Pv iv.33 (=sotthi -- bhāva -- vāha PvA 250). -- âlankāra a kind of auspicious mark J vi.488. (Pali)

[quote]Cunningham, later the first director of the Archaeological Survey of India, makes the claim in: The Bhilsa Topes (1854). Cunningham, surveyed the great stupa complex at Sanchi in 1851, where he famously found caskets of relics labelled 'Sāriputta' and 'Mahā Mogallāna'. [1] The Bhilsa Topes records the features, contents, artwork and inscriptions found in and around these stupas. All of the inscriptions he records are in Brāhmī script. What he says, in a note on p.18, is: "The swasti of Sanskrit is the suti of Pali; the mystic cross, or swastika is only a monogrammatic symbol formed by the combination of the two syllables, su + ti = suti." There are two problems with this. While there is a word suti in Pali it is equivalent to Sanskrit śruti'hearing'. The Pali equivalent ofsvasti is sotthi; and svastika is either sotthiya or sotthika. Cunningham is simply mistaken about this. The two letters su + ti in Brāhmī script are not much like thesvastika. This can easily been seen in the accompanying image on the right, where I have written the word in the Brāhmī script. I've included the Sanskrit and Pali words for comparison. Cunningham's imagination has run away with him. Below are two examples of donation inscriptions from the south gate of the Sanchi stupa complex taken from Cunningham's book (plate XLX, p.449). 

"Note that both begin with a lucky svastika. The top line reads 卐 vīrasu bhikhuno dānaṃ - i.e. "the donation of Bhikkhu Vīrasu." The lower inscription also ends with dānaṃ, and the name in this case is perhaps pānajāla (I'm unsure about jā). Professor Greg Schopen has noted that these inscriptions recording donations from bhikkhus and bhikkhunis seem to contradict the traditional narratives of monks and nuns not owning property or handling money. The last symbol on line 2 apparently represents the three jewels, and frequently accompanies such inscriptions...Müller [in Schliemann(2), p.346-7] notes that svasti occurs throughout 'the Veda' [sic; presumably he means the Ṛgveda where it appears a few dozen times]. It occurs both as a noun meaning 'happiness', and an adverb meaning 'well' or 'hail'. Müller suggests it would correspond to Greek εὐστική (eustikē) from εὐστώ (eustō), however neither form occurs in my Greek Dictionaries. Though svasti occurs in the Ṛgveda, svastika does not. Müller traces the earliest occurrence of svastika to Pāṇini's grammar, the Aṣṭādhyāyī, in the context of ear markers for cows to show who their owner was. Pāṇini discusses a point of grammar when making a compound using svastika and karṇa, the word for ear. I've seen no earlier reference to the word svastika, though the symbol itself was in use in the Indus Valley civilisation.[unquote]

1. Cunningham, Alexander. (1854) The Bhilsa topes, or, Buddhist monuments of central India : comprising a brief historical sketch of the rise, progress, and decline of Buddhism; with an account of the opening and examination of the various groups of topes around Bhilsa. London : Smith, Elder. [possibly the earliest recorded use of the word swastika in English].
2. Schliemann, Henry. (1880). Ilios : the city and country of the Trojans : the results of researches and discoveries on the site of Troy and through the Troad in the years 1871-72-73-78-79. London : John Murray.

http://jayarava.blogspot.in/2011/05/svastika.html

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/06/deciphering-indus-script-meluhha.html

Views of Koenraad Elst and Carl Sagan on Svastika symbol

"Koenraad Elst points out that swastika had been a fairly prevalent symbol of the pre-Christian Europe and remained pretty much in vogue even until the 20th century. British troops preparing to help Finland in the war of winter 1939-40 against Soviet aggression painted swastikas, then a common Finnish symbol, on their airplanes. It was also a symbol of Austrian and German völkisch subculture where it was associated with the celebration of the summer solstice. In 1919, the dentist Friedrich Krohn adopted it as the symbol of the DAP because it was understood as the symbol of the Nordic culture. Hitler adopted a variant of the DAP symbol and added the three color scheme of the Second Reich to rival the Communist hammer and sickle as a psychological weapon of propaganda (Elst, Koenraad: The Saffron Swastika, Volume 1, pp. 31-32)...Besides pre-Christian and Christian Europe, the swastika has been depicted across many ancient cultures over several millennia. Carl Sagan infers that it was inspired by the sightings of comets by the ancients. In India, it was marked on doorsteps as it was believed to bring good fortune. It was prevalent worldwide by the second millennium as Heinrich Schliemann, the discoverer of Troy, found. It was depicted in Buddhist caverns in Afghanistan. Jaina, who emphasize on avoidance of harm, have considered it a sign of benediction. The indigenous peoples of North America depicted it in their pottery, blankets, and beadwork. It was widely used in Hellenic Europe and Brazil. One also finds depictions of the swastika, turning both ways, from the seals of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) dating back to 2,500 BCE, as well as on coins in the 6th century BCE Greece (Sagan, Carl and Druyan, Ann: Comet, pp. 181-186)" loc.cit.: http://indiafacts.co.in/the-swastika-is-not-a-symbol-of-hatred/

Svastika is a hieroglyph used in Indus Script corpora.

It denoted jasta, 'zinc'

Mirror:
https://www.academia.edu/8362658/Meluhha_hieroglyph_5_svastika_read_rebus_tuttha_sulphate_of_zinc

A hieroglyph which is repeatedly deployed in Indus writing is svastika. What is the ancient reading and meaning?

I suggest that it reads sattva. Its rebus rendering and meaning is zastas 'spelter or sphalerite or sulphate of zinc.'

Zinc occurs in sphalerite, or sulphate of zinc in five colours.

The Meluhha gloss for 'five' is: taṭṭal Homonym is: ṭhaṭṭha ʻbrassʼ(i.e. alloy of copper + zinc). *ṭhaṭṭha ʻ brass ʼ. [Onom. from noise of hammering brass? -- N. ṭhaṭṭar ʻ an alloy of copper and bell metal ʼ. *ṭhaṭṭhakāra ʻ brass worker ʼ. 2. *ṭhaṭṭhakara -- 1. Pk. ṭhaṭṭhāra -- m., K. ṭhö̃ṭhur m., S. ṭhã̄ṭhāro m., P. ṭhaṭhiār, °rā m.2. P. ludh. ṭhaṭherā m., Ku. ṭhaṭhero m., N. ṭhaṭero, Bi. ṭhaṭherā, Mth. ṭhaṭheri, H. ṭhaṭherā m.(CDIAL 5491, 5493)

Glosses for zinc are: sattu (Tamil), satta, sattva (Kannada) jasth जस्थ । त्रपु m. (sg. dat. jastas जस्तस्), zinc, spelter; pewter; zasath ज़स््थ् or zasuth ज़सुथ् । त्रपु m. (sg. dat. zastas ज़स्तस्), zinc, spelter, pewter (cf. Hindī jast). 
jastuvu; । त्रपूद्भवः adj. (f. jastüvü), made of zinc or pewter.(Kashmiri).

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40812/40812-h/images/img239.jpg After Figs. 231 to 234 (T. Wilson, opcit.). Ancient Hindu coins with svastika, normal and ogee. Waring, 'Ceramic art 

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40812/40812-h/images/img052.jpg

Fig. 32. (After T Wilson opcit)

FOOTPRINT OF BUDDHA WITH SWASTIKA, FROM AMARAVATI TOPE.

From a figure by Fergusson and Schliemann.in remote ages,' pl. 41, figs. 20-24

'Triratna' or "Three Jewels" symbol, on a Buddha footprint (bottom symbol, the top symbol being a dharmachakra). 1st century CE,Gandhara.

 'Srivatsa' with kanka, 'eyes' (Kui). 

Begram ivories. Plate 389 Reference: Hackin, 1954, fig.195, no catalog N°. According to an inscription on the southern gate of Sanchi stupa,

it has been carved by ivory carvers of Vidisha.Southern Gateway panel information:West pillar Front East Face has an inscription. Vedisakehi dantakarehi rupa-kammam katam - On the border of this panel – Epigraphia Indica vol II – written in Brahmi, language is Pali –  the carving of this sculpture is done by the ivory carvers of Vedisa (Vidisha). http://puratattva.in/2012/03/21/sanchi-buddham-dhammam-sangahm-5-1484 

Ta. kaṇ eye, aperture, orifice, star of a peacock's tail. Ma. kaṇ, kaṇṇu eye, nipple, star in peacock's tail, bud. Ko. kaṇ eye. To. koṇ eye, loop in string. Ka. kaṇ eye, small hole, orifice. Koḍ. kaṇṇï id. Pe. kaṇga (pl. -ŋ, kaṇku) id. Manḍ. kan (pl. -ke) id. Kui kanu (pl. kan-ga), (K.) kanu (pl. kaṛka) id. Kuwi (F.) kannū (S.) kannu (pl. kanka), (Su. P. Isr.) kanu (pl. kaṇka) id. (DEDR 1159). Rebus: kanga 'brazier' (Kashmiri)

Variants of 'Tri-ratna' Grey-schist relief, Gandhara. These variants should be contrasted with the Indus Script hypertext signifies kammaṭa 'mint'. There are three flowers decorating three arms of the W symbol to signify three jewels. Dharmacakka upholds the hieroglyph-multiplex, making these variants clearly influenced by Bauddha dhamma. An alternative rebus reading could be: kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' PLUS tAmarasa 'lotus' rebus: tAmra 'copper' Thus, rendering moltencast copper forge/smithy as a venerated kole.l 'smithy' rebus; kole.l 'temple'.

Section of a coping rail. 30.5x122 cm. 2nd cent. BCE Sunga. Bharhut. Note the tablet held between the hypertexts of fish-fins; it is a definitive semantic determinant of sippi who has the competence to write on, sculpt with metal.

Stupa-1 North Torana, East pillar showing Triratna motif. Sanchi, Dist Raisen, Madhya Pradesh India

'Tri-ratna' from sculpture, Amaravati, from Sanchi, atop a fiery pillar of light worshipped by Naga, Amaravati

'Tri-ratna' Amaravati sculptural frieze

Coin of the Chutu ruler Mulananda c. 125-345. Lead Karshapana 14.30g. 27 mm. Obv.: Arched hill/stupa with river motif below. Rev.: Tree within railed lattice, triratana to right.

[CBK001] Karshapana of Chutus - Mulananda

8 arched chaitya (stupa) with a big central arch, river flowing below, legend rano mulanam dasa

Tree in 12-bracketed railing, Triratna symbol

Issued by Mulanam(Based on brahmi legend) ra no mu la nam da sa. The character la is different in other coin CBK002.

Weight: 10.25g

Diameter: 2.7cm

[CBK002] Karshapana of Chutus - Mulananda different 'la'

8 arched chaitya (stupa) with a big central arch, river flowing below, legend rano mulanam dasa

Tree in 12-bracketed railing (center), Nandi-pada/trinana (left), Swastika (below), Srivatsa (right), Indra-dhvaja (below)

Issued by Mulananda(Based on brahmi legend) ra no mu la(research in progress) nam da sa. The character la is different in other coin CBK001.

Weight: 16g

Diameter: 2.9cm

[CBK003] Karshapana of Chutus - chtukulananda

8 arched chaitya (stupa) with a big central arch, river flowing below, legend rano chatukulanam dasa

Tree in 12-bracketed railing (center), Nandi-pada/trinana (left), Swastika (below), Srivatsa (right), Indra-dhvaja (below)

Issued by Chatukulanda(Based on brahmi legend) cha tu ku la nam da sa.

Weight: 17.13g

Diameter: 2.8cm

The Chutus of Banavasi and their Coinage by Michael Mitchiner in The Numismatic Chronicle, Volume 143

http://coins.techcollections.info/2015/09/lead-coins-of-chutus-of-banavasi.html

Satavahana dynasty of (Kannada: ಚುಟು) ruled parts of the Deccan region of South Indiain the 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE with its capital at Banavasi in modern Uttara Kannada 

district of Karnataka state.

• Chutukulananda (30 BCE–70 CE)
• Mulananda (78–175 CE)
• Sivalananda (175–280 CE)

Anandas of Karwar (Chutus of Banavasi), Mulananda, Lead, 9.55g

Obv: Tree in 4-bracketed railing, Triratna above Swastika to left, Srivatsa over standard "Y" symbol to right. 
Rev: 8-arched chaitya (stupa) with a big central arch, river flowing below, circular legend around in Brahmi "Ra(j)no Mulamdasa" (i.e. Mulananda).

http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?topic=20790.0

Silver coin of the Kuninda Kingdom, c. 1st century BCE. Obv: Deer standing right, crowned by two cobras, attended byLakshmi holding a lotus flower. Legend in Prakrit (Brahmi script, from left to right): Rajnah Kunindasya Amoghabhutisya maharajasya ("Great King Amoghabhuti, of the Kunindas"). Rev: Stupa surmounted by the Buddhist symbol triratna, and surrounded by a swastika, a "Y" symbol, and a tree in railing. Legend in Kharoshti script, from righ to left: Rana Kunidasa Amoghabhutisa Maharajasa, ("Great King Amoghabhuti, of the Kunindas").

Kuninda (or Kulinda in ancient literature) was an ancient centralHimalayan kingdom from around the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century, located in the modern state of Uttarakhand and southern areas of Himachal in northern India.

Triratna symbol on the reverse (left field) of a coin of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II (r.c. 35-12 BCE)

Coin of Zeionises (c. 10 BCE – 10 CE). Obv: King on horseback holding whip, with bow behind. Corrupted Greek legend MANNOLOU UIOU SATRAPY ZEIONISOU "Satrap Zeionises, son of Manigul". Buddhist Triratna symbol. Rev:King on the left, receiving a crown from a city goddess holding a cornucopia. Kharoshthi legend MANIGULASA CHATRAPASA PUTRASA CHATRAPASA JIHUNIASA "Satrap Zeionises, son of Satrap Manigul". South Chach mint.

Chukhsa was an ancient area of Pakistan, probably modern Chachh, west of the city of Taxila.

Zeionises was an Indo-Scythian satrap of the area of southern Chach (Kashmir) for king Azes II.

Necklaces with a number of pendants

aṣṭamangalaka hāra

aṣṭamangalaka hāra  depicted on a pillar of a gateway(toran.a) at the stupa of Sanchi, Central India, 1st century BCE. [After VS Agrawala, 1969, Thedeeds of Harsha (being a cultural study of Bāṇa’s Harṣacarita, ed. By PK Agrawala, Varanasi:fig. 62] The hāra  or necklace shows a pair of fish signs together with a number of motifsindicating weapons (cakra,  paraśu,an:kuśa), including a device that parallels the standard device normally shown in many inscribed objects of SSVC in front of the one-horned bull. 

•

(cf. Marshall, J. and Foucher,The Monuments of Sanchi, 3 vols., Callcutta, 1936, repr. 1982, pl. 27).The first necklace has eleven and the second one has thirteen pendants (cf. V.S. Agrawala,1977, Bhāratīya Kalā , Varanasi, p. 169); he notes the eleven pendants as:sun,śukra,  padmasara,an:kuśa, vaijayanti, pan:kaja,mīna-mithuna,śrīvatsa, paraśu,

darpaṇa and kamala. "The axe (paraśu) and an:kuśa pendants are common at sites of north India and some oftheir finest specimens from Kausambi are in the collection of Dr. MC Dikshit of Nagpur."(Dhavalikar, M.K., 1965, Sanchi: A cultural Study , Poona, p. 44; loc.cit. Dr.Mohini Verma,1989, Dress and Ornaments in Ancient India: The Maurya and S'un:ga Periods,Varanasi, Indological Book House, p. 125). 

After Pl. 30 C in: Savita Sharma, 1990, Early Indian symbols, numismatic evidence, Delhi, Agama Kala Prakashan; cf. Shah, UP., 1975, Aspects of Jain Art and Architecture, p.77)

In his 1890 monograph, Theobald lists 312 'symbols' deployed on punch-marked coins. He revises the list to 342 symbols in his 1901 monograph. It should be noted that many of the symbols recorded on punch-marked coins also survive on later coinages, in particular of Ujjain and Eran and on many cast coins of janapadas. DR Bhandarkar’s view is that the early punch-marked coinage in Hindustan is datable to 10^th century BCE though the numismatists claim that the earliest coinage is that of Lydia of 7^th century BCE.

“The coins to which these notes refer, though presenting neither king’s names, dates of inscription of any sort, are nevertheless very interesting not only from their being the earliest money coined in India, and of a purely indigenous character, but from their being stamped with a number of symbols, some of which we can, with the utmost confidence, declare to have originated in distant lands and in the remotest antiquity…The coins to which I shall confine my remarks are those to which the term ‘punch-marked’ properly applies. The ‘punch’ used to produce these coins differed from the ordinary dies which subsequently came into use, in that they covered only a portion of the surface of the coin or ‘blank’, and impressed only one, of the many symbols usually seen on their pieces…One thing which is specially striking about most of the symb ols representing animals is, the fidelity and spirit with which certain portions of it may be of an animal, or certain attitudes are represented…Man, Woman, the Elephant, Bull, Dog, Rhinoceros, Goat, Hare, Peacock, Turtle, Snake, Fish, Frog, are all recognizable at a glance…First, there is the historical record of Quintus Curtius, who describes the Raja of Taxila (the modern Shahdheri, 20miles north-west from Rawal Pindi) as offering Alexander 80 talents of coined silver (‘signati argenti’). Now what other, except these punch-marked coins could these pieces of coined silver have been? Again, the name by which these coins are spoken of in the Buddhist sutras, about 200 BCE was ‘purana’, which simply signies ‘old’, whence the General argunes that the word ‘old as applied to the indigenous ‘karsha’, was used to distinguish it from the new and more recent issues of the Greeks. Then again a mere comparison of the two classes of coins almost itself suffices to refute the idea of the Indian coins being derived from the Greek. The Greek coins present us with a portrait of the king, with his name and titles in two languages together with a great number and variety of monograms indicating, in many instances where they have been deciphered by the ingenuity and perseverance of General Cunningham and others, the names of the mint cities where the coins were struck, and it is our ignorance of the geographical names of the period that probably has prevented the whole of them receiving their proper attribution; but with the indigenous coins it is far otherwise, as they display neither king’s head, neame, titles or mongrams of any description…It is true that General Cunningham considers that many of these symbols, though not monograms in a strict sense, are nevertheless marks which indicate the mints where the coins were struck or the tribes among whom they were current, and this contention in no wise invalidates the supposition contended for by me either that the majority of them possess an esoteric meaning or have originated in other lands at a period anterior to their adoption for the purpose they fulfil on the coins in Hindustan.” (W. Theobald, 1890, Notes on some of the symbols found on the punch-marked coins of Hindustan, and on their relationship to the archaic symbolism of other races and distant lands, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Bombay Branch (JASB), Part 1. History , Literature etc., Nos. III & IV, 1890, pp. 181 to 184)

W. Theobald, Symbols on punch-marked coins of Hindustan (1890, 1901)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/12919753/theobaldpunchmarkedsymbolshindustan

W. Theobald, 1890, Notes on some of the symbols found on the punch-marked coins of Hindustan, and on their relationship to the archaic symbolism of other races and distant lands, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Bombay Branch (JASB), Part 1. History , Literature etc., Nos. III & IV, 1890, pp. 181 to 268, Plates VIII to XI

W. Theobald, 1901, A revision of the symbols on the ‘Karshapana’ Coinage, described in Vol. LIX, JASB, 1890, Part I, No. 3, and Descriptions of many additional symbols, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Bombay Branch (JASB), No. 2, 1901 (Read December, 1899).

Plates VIII to XI of Theobald, 1890 listing symbols on punch-marked coins...

http://www.scribd.com/doc/12921150/Survival-of-Hieroglyphs-on-Punch-Marked-Coins

The 'symbols' which are a continuum from Indus script hieroglyphs all of which relate to metalwork are:

Meluhha glosses read rebus related to metalwork for these Indus script hieroglyphs are detailed in the book, Indus Script -- Meluhha metalwork hieroglyphs (2014).

The date 1800 BCE is significant in the context of the Ganga River valley of Indian civilization. In the sites of Dadupur, Lahuradewa, Malhar, Raja Nal-ka-tila, iron smelting activities have been attested with the remains of a smelter discovered, dated to ca. 1800 BCE. (Rakesh Tewari, 2003,The origins of iron-working in India: new evidence from the Central Ganga Plain and the Eastern Vindhyas  

http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/tewari/tewari.pdf 

Tewari, R., RK Srivastava & KK Singh, 2002, Excavation at Lahuradewa, Dist. Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, Puratattva 32: 54-62).

Dates for early iron use from Indian sites (After Table 1. Rakesh Sinha opcit.)

Technologies used in Mehergarh (5500 - 3500 BCE) included stone and copper drills, updraft kilns, large pit kilns and copper melting crucibles.

Nageshwar: Fire altar (After Fig. 3 in Nagaraja Rao, MS, 1986).

http://asi.nic.in/nmma_reviews/Indian%20Archaeology%201983-84%20A%20Review.pdf

Large updraft kiln of the Harappan period (ca. 2400 BCE) found during excavations on Mound E Harappa, 1989 (After Fig. 8.8, Kenoyer, 2000). See: Discussion on stone structures in Dholavira:  http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-metallurgical-roots-and-spread.html

Lothal. Bead-making kiln. Rao,S.R. 1979. Lothal--A Harappan Port Town 1955-62, Vol. I. New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India.; Rao, S.R. 1985. Lothal--A Harapan Port Town 1955-62. Vol. II. New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India.

Harappa. Bead makers' kiln where the heat was distributed equally to all the holes. The 8-shaped stone structure indicates that this is a bead-maker's kiln. The 8-shaped stone structures with an altar or stone stool in the middle can thus be explained functionally as an anvil used by the bead makers to drill holes through beads and to forge material including metal artifacts.

Vitrified kiln walls were discovered in Harappa.

Harappa. Kiln (furnace) 1999, Mound F, Trench 43: Period 5 kiln, plan and section views.

Damaged circular clay furnace, comprising iron slag and tuyeres and other waste materials stuck with its body, exposed at lohsanwa mound, Period II, Malhar, Dist. Chandauli. (After Rakesh Sinha opcit.)

The Sindhu-Sarasvati river valley Indian civilization life-activities of metalwork thus continues into the Ganga river valley. The extension of the civilization into the third river valley of Brahmaputra (another perennial Himalayan river system) is as yet an open question subject to archaeological confirmation. The mapping of bronze age sites along the eastern and northeastern parts of India and extending into the Burma, Malay Peninsula and eastwards upto Vietnam (coterminus with the Austro-Asiatic language speaking communities along the Himalayan rivers of Irrawaddy, Salween and Mekong) point to the possibility that the transition of chalco-lithic cultures into the Bronze-iron age (or Metal Alloys age) was a continuum traceable from Mehergarh to Hanoi (Vietnam). 

This continuum of metalwork as a principal life-activity (and trade) may also explain the remarkable discovery of the Bronze Age site of Ban Chiang in Thailand (dated to early 2nd millennium BCE). It should be noted that the site of Ban Chiang is proximate to the largest reserves of Tin (cassiterite) ore in the world which stretched along a massive mineral resource belt in Malay Peninsula into the Northeast India (Brahmaputra river valley). The chronological sequencing of metalworking with tin is an archaeometallurgical challenge which archaeologists and metallurgicals have to unravel in a multi-disciplinary endeavour.

The exploration metalwork in the in Northeastern India, in Brahmaputra river valley can relate to the remarkable fire-altar discovered in Uttarakashi:

Syena-citi: A Monument of Uttarkashi Distt. Fire-altar shaped like a falcon.
Excavated site (1996): Purola Geo-Coordinates-Lat. 30° 52’54” N Long. 77° 05’33” E "The ancient site at Purola is located on the left bank of river Kamal. The excavation yielded the remains of Painted Grey Ware (PGW) from the earliest level along with other associated materials include terracotta figurines, beads, potter-stamp, the dental and femur portions of domesticated horse (Equas Cabalus Linn). The most important finding from the site is a brick alter identified as Syenachiti by the excavator. The structure is in the shape of a flying eagle Garuda, head facing east with outstretched wings. In the center of the structure is the chiti is a square chamber yielded remains of pottery assignable to circa first century B.C. to second century AD. In addition copper coin of Kuninda and other material i.e. ash, bone pieces etc and a thin gold leaf impressed with a human figure tentatively identified as Agni have also been recovered from the central chamber.Note: Many ancient metallic coins (called Kuninda copper coins) were discovered at Purola. cf. Devendra Handa, 2007, Tribal coins of ancient India, ISBN: 8173053170, Aryan Books International."

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/11/syena-orthography.html

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/03/x.html?q=a+temple+at+sanchi

Meluhha hieroglyphs: 1. Dhokra kamar lost-wax metal caster; 2. Dance-step of Mohenjo-daro metal cast 

Background

Cire perdue or lost-wax casting metallurgy spread from Meluhha into the Fertile Crescent (Nahal Mishmar). See: html http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-metallurgical-roots-and-spread.html

Tin Road stretched from Meluhha in the east into the Fertile Crescent (Kultepe, Anatolia) defining the Bronze Age. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-and-tracking-tin-road-after-all.

Dhokra kamar as a Meluhha hieroglyph: Dholavira, Mohenjo-daro seals Rebus: lost-wax casting
The rectangular tablet on the Dholavira tablet is a takhte, 'writing tablet'. takhta 1 तख््त (sometimes written takta तक्त) (for 2, see [takhth] ) । दारुमयी पट्््टिका m. a plank, board, slab (W. 12); a platform; a table; a bench, stool; a sheet of paper; a sheet or expanse of cloth (cf.jāma-takta, p. 373b, l. 32). -bôru  । दारुपट्््टसमूहः m. a load of boards, planks, or slabs of wood (tied in a bundle, and carried from the forests for sale in the towns). -püṭü -प&above;टू&below; । दारुपट्््टखण्डः f. (sg. dat. -pacĕ -पच्य), a sawn plank of wood; a small board.(Kashmiri)  Ta. takaṭu quality of being thin and flat (as a plate of metal), metal plate, leaf blade, outer petal, layer of earth. Ma. takaṭu, takiṭu thin metal plate, spangle; takiṭa copper leaf written over and worn as amulet. Ka. tagaḍu metal beaten into a plate, flat piece or sheet of metal. Tu. tagaḍu thin metal plate. Te. tagaḍu plate, sheet, leaf or foil, of metal. / Cf. Mar. takaṭ, takṭẽ metal beaten into a plate or leaf.  (DEDR 2995) தகடு takaṭu, n. [T. K. tagaḍu.] 1. Quality of being thin and flat, as plate of metal; மென்மையுந் தட்டையுமான வடிவு. (பிங்.) 2. Metal plate; உலோகத்தட்டு. தமனியத் தகடுவய்ந்தென(கம்பரா. நகர்நீ. 28). 3. Foil set below a precious stone to enhance its lustre; வருணத்தகடு. தகட்டி லழுத்தின மாணிக்கம்போலே (ஈடு). 4. Leaf blade; இலை. (பிங்.) 5. Black betel-leaf; கம்மார்வெற்றிலை. (தைலவ. தைல. 85.) 6. Outer petal; பூவின் புறவிதழ். கருந்தகட்டுளைப் பூமருதின் (திருமுரு. 27). 7. Layer of earth; மண்படை. (J.) 8. Closeness, thickness, as of hair; அடர்ச்சி. (யாழ். அக.)The incised speech is called takshat vAk.  A synonym of 'visible language' is 'incised speech' takshat vAk , (a metaphor used in what is possibly the oldest human document, the Rgveda. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2015/06/tvastr-is-metaphor-for-veneration-of.html 

Tvaṣṭr̥ is a metaphor for veneration of metalwork artificers, Bhāratam Janam, in Rigveda
Tvaṣṭr̥ is Vis'vakarma, ancient artificer of Bhāratam Janam 'metalcaster 
folk', who created -- त्वष्टा वज्रम् अतक्षद आयसम्(RV 10.48.3)-- metal vajra 
weapon in a smithy-forge. The Meluhha gloss is kole.l; the same gloss 
also means 'temple' -- Smithy is a temple. 

Dholavira molded terracotta tablet with Meluhha hieroglyphs written on two sides. Hieroglyph: Ku. ḍokro, ḍokhro ʻ old man ʼ; B. ḍokrā ʻ old, decrepit ʼ, Or. ḍokarā; H. ḍokrā ʻ decrepit ʼ; G. ḍokɔ m. ʻ penis ʼ, ḍokrɔ m. ʻ old man ʼ, M. ḍokrā m. -- Kho. (Lor.) duk ʻ hunched up, hump of camel ʼ; K. ḍọ̆ku ʻ humpbacked ʼ perh. < *ḍōkka -- 2. Or. dhokaṛa ʻ decrepit, hanging down (of breasts) ʼ.(CDIAL 5567). M. ḍhẽg n. ʻ groin ʼ, ḍhẽgā m. ʻ buttock ʼ. M. dhõgā m. ʻ buttock ʼ. (CDIAL 5585). Glyph: Br. kōnḍō on all fours, bent double. (DEDR 204a) Rebus: kunda ‘turner’ kundār turner (A.); kũdār, kũdāri (B.); kundāru (Or.); kundau to turn on a lathe, to carve, to chase; kundau dhiri = a hewn stone; kundau murhut = a graven image (Santali) kunda a turner’s lathe (Skt.)(CDIAL 3295) Tiger has head turned backwards. క్రమ్మర krammara. adv. క్రమ్మరిల్లు or క్రమరబడు Same as క్రమ్మరు (Telugu). Rebus: krəm backʼ(Kho.)(CDIAL 3145) karmāra ‘smith, artisan’ (Skt.) kamar ‘smith’ (Santali) 

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/06/ancient-near-east-evidence-for-mleccha.htmlAncient Near East evidence for meluhha language and bronze-age metalware

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-metallurgical-roots-and-spread.html?q=dhokraMeluhha: spread of lost-wax casting in the Fertile Crescent. Smithy is the temple. Veneration of ancestors.

The hieroglyph of an old female with breasts hanging down and ligatured to the buttock of a bovine is also deployed on a Mohenjo-daro seal:

Mohenodaro seal. Pict-103 Horned (female with breasts hanging down?) person with a tail and bovine legs standing near a tree fisting a horned tiger rearing on its hindlegs.

Hieroglyph: N. dhokro ʻ large jute bag ʼ, B. dhokaṛ; Or. dhokaṛa ʻ cloth bag ʼ; Bi. dhŏkrā ʻ jute bag ʼ; Mth. dhokṛā ʻ bag, vessel, receptacle ʼ; H. dhukṛīf. ʻ small bag ʼ; G. dhokṛũ n. ʻ bale of cotton ʼ; -- with -- ṭṭ -- : M. dhokṭī f. ʻ wallet ʼ; -- with -- n -- : G. dhokṇũ n. ʻ bale of cotton ʼ; -- with -- s -- : N. (Tarai) dhokse ʻ place covered with a mat to store rice in ʼ.2. L. dhohẽ (pl. dhūhī˜) m. ʻ large thatched shed ʼ.3. M. dhõgḍā m. ʻ coarse cloth ʼ, dhõgṭī f. ʻ wallet ʼ.4. L. ḍhok f. ʻ hut in the fields ʼ; Ku. ḍhwākā m. pl. ʻ gates of a city or market ʼ; N. ḍhokā (pl. of *ḍhoko) ʻ door ʼ; -- OMarw. ḍhokaro m. ʻ basket ʼ; -- N.ḍhokse ʻ place covered with a mat to store rice in, large basket ʼ.(CDIAL 6880) Rebus: dhokra ‘cire perdue’ casting metalsmith. 

Plate II. Chlorite artifacts referred to as 'handbags' f-g (w 24 cm, thks 4.8 cm.); h (w 19.5 cm, h 19.4 cm, thks 4 cm); j (2 28 cm; h 24 cm, thks 3 cm); k (w 18.5, h 18.3, thks 3.2) Jiroft IV. Iconography of chlorite artifacts. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/jiroft-iv-iconography-of-chlorite-artifacts
Mohenjo-daro, ancient Indus Valley Civilization, Dancing Girl in Pakistan

Published on May 22, 2012

Mohenjo-daro (Mound of the Dead), is an archeological site situated in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BC, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. It is in UNESCO World Heritage List. This video is from Pakistan National Art Gallery. They permorformed this dance for Turkish Culture and Tourism delegation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR_oMwDr4Gs

Lost-wax casting. Bronze statue, Mohenjo-daro. Bronze statue of a woman holding a small bowl, Mohenjo-daro; copper alloy made using cire perdue method (DK 12728; Mackay 1938: 274, Pl. LXXIII, 9-11)

Dance-step of Mohenjodaro as a hieroglyph. Rebus: metal, 'iron'

Dance-stepas hieroglyph on a potsherd, Bhirrana.

meṭ sole of foot, footstep, footprint (Ko.); meṭṭu step, stair, treading, slipper (Te.)(DEDR 1557). Rebus:meḍ ‘iron’(Munda); मेढ meḍh‘merchant’s helper’(Pkt.) meḍ  iron (Ho.) meṛed-bica = iron stone ore, in contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Munda)

The ‘Dancing Girl’ (Mohenjo-daro), made by the lost-wax process; a bronze foot and anklet from Mohenjo-daro; and a bronze figurine of a bull (Kalibangan). (Courtesy: ASI) "Archaeological excavations have shown that Harappan metal smiths obtained copper ore (either directly or through local communities) from the Aravalli hills, Baluchistan or beyond. They soon discovered that adding tin to copper produced bronze, a metal harder than copper yet easier to cast, and also more resistant to corrosion.

Whether deliberately added or already present in the ore, various ‘impurities’ (such as nickel, arsenic or lead) enabled the Harappans to harden bronze further, to the point where bronze chisels could be used to dress stones! The alloying ranges have been found to be 1%–12% in tin, 1%–7% in arsenic, 1%–9% in nickel and 1%–32% in lead. Shaping copper or bronze involved techniques of fabrication such as forging, sinking, raising, cold work, annealing, riveting, lapping and joining. Among the metal artefacts produced by the Harappans, let us mention spearheads, arrowheads, axes, chisels, sickles, blades (for knives as well as razors), needles, hooks, and vessels such as jars, pots and pans, besides objects of toiletry such as bronze mirrors; those were slightly oval, with their face raised, and one side was highly polished. The Harappan craftsmen also invented the true saw, with teeth and the adjoining part of the blade set alternatively from side to side, a type of saw unknown elsewhere until Roman times. Besides, many bronze figurines or humans (the well-known ‘Dancing Girl’, for instance) and animals (rams, deer, bulls...) have been unearthed from Harappan sites. Those figurines were cast by the lost-wax process: the initial model was made of wax, then thickly coated with clay; once fired (which caused the wax to melt away or be ‘lost’), the clay hardened into a mould, into which molten bronze was later poured. Harappans also used gold and silver (as well as their joint alloy, electrum) to produce a wide variety of ornaments such as pendants, bangles, beads, rings or necklace parts, which were usually found hidden away in hoards such as ceramic or bronze pots. While gold was probably panned from the Indus waters, silver was perhaps extracted from galena, or native lead sulphide...While the Indus civilization belonged to the Bronze Age, its successor, the Ganges civilization, which emerged in the first millennium BCE, belonged to the Iron Age. But recent excavations in central parts of the Ganges valley and in the eastern Vindhya hills have shown that iron was produced there possibly as early as in 1800 BCE. Its use appears to have become widespread from about 1000 BCE, and we find in late Vedic texts mentions of a ‘dark metal’ (krṣnāyas), while earliest texts (such as the Rig-Veda) only spoke of ayas, which, it is now accepted, referred to copper or bronze.

Note: 

Damaged circular clay furnace, comprising iron slag and tuyeres and other waste materials stuck with its body, exposed at lohsanwa mound, Period II, Malhar, Dist. Chandauli. http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/iron-ore.html

Meluhha: the Indus Civilization and Its Contacts with Mesopotamia (Oriental Institute lecture 58:48)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zcGLlLEbmI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdGbamPgf8o&list=PL01A404D5E75BB79C

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dIZWnwI47M

Glyph: araṇe 'lizard' (Tulu) Rebus: eraṇi f. ʻ anvil ʼ (Gujarati); aheraṇ, ahiraṇ, airaṇ, airṇī, haraṇ f. ‘anvil’(Marathi)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qREtAv9hwo

The Mother Goddess folk bronze from bastar

Published: April 6, 2010 16:01 IST | Updated: April 6, 2010 16:05 IST

Bastar art goes global, but artisans battle for survival

IANS

The HinduBastar artisan Sonadhar Poyam Vishwakarma displays his artefacts at an exhibition in Chennai. File photo: K. Pichumani

The intricately carved metal bell, wood and bamboo products adorn many a home in India and abroad. But the nearly 20,000 tribal families in Chhattisgarh who crafted them remain mired in poverty, with no direct access to the market that is giving increasing shelf space to the figurines and wall hangings.

“There is rising demand for our products from foreign countries as well as from various regions of India, but despite the market boom, poverty is worsening day by day,” said Sonu Mandwai, a 33-year-old artisan from the interior Abujmad area of Narayanpur district in Bastar.

The thickly forested Abujmad area is part of the 40,000 sq km tribal-dominated Bastar region, a stronghold of Maoists.

Comprising the districts of Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, Bastar and Dantewada, the Bastar region is home to roughly 20,000 artisans with traditional expertise in making world-class handicraft items in bell metal, wood, wrought iron, terracotta, bamboo, leather and from horn and bone.

However, the artisans are unable to make money from their products as the middlemen or traders who supply the markets purchase the finished items from them at low cost and sell it in the market at a price twenty times higher.

The middlemen are especially active in the main artisans’ centres of Kondagaon, Keshkal, Pharasgaon, Narayanpur and Bade Dongar.

Shyamsundar Vishwakarma, a Chhattisgarh State award winner for iron craft, said, “It is not a profitable business at all. People appreciate my products, but the overall lack of direct marketing channels of Bastar handicraft items in national and international market keep the artisans battling to survive.”

Sharda Salam, another artisan in Abujmad’s Bhutakhar village who makes 15 designs of bamboo craft, said, “Rising poverty is killing the Bastar artisans despite some government support. We make items so we can prosper but the profit goes to middlemen and we continue to struggle to feed our families.

“If this trend continues, the nation will see the end of Bastar’s art,” she said.

B.K. Sahu, officer in charge of Bastar region of the State government’s Chhattisgarh Hastshilp Vikas (Handicrafts Development) Board that is assigned to launch schemes to care of artisans, admitted the artisans were still stuck in poverty though their products were selling in India and abroad.

“Their economic condition is improving with the rise in demand of their products such as the bamboo flute which are unmatched in the national and global market. They are recovering from poverty, but the recovery pace is extremely slow,” Sahu told IANS on the sidelines of a function organised by the State government to showcase tribal art in Raipur’s Guru Ghasidas Museum complex.

Dozens of Bastar artisans had put up stalls at the function, which ended Sunday.

“In a just concluded week-long fair in Raipur at ‘Chhattisgarh Haat’, the handicraft items of Bastar artisans made a sale of over Rs.1.25 million, which was much higher than my expectations. It is just an indication how perfectly they carve out their products,” Sahu said.

“In the past one year, their products made record sales in Italy, France, Britain and other European nations and now we are targeting to enter the US market,” he said, adding that the board had just launched an “Abujmad to America” campaign.

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/crafts/bastar-art-goes-global-but-artisans-battle-for-survival/article389506.ece?css=print

Bastar Art in chhattisgarh

http://chhattisgarhhandicrafts.blogspot.in/2010/06/bastar-art.html

Bastar Art in Chhattisgarh Rajyotsava 2011

DHOKRA - LOST WAX METAL CASTING

Dhokra, the tradition of making lost wax cast ritualistic and utility objects is a finely developed art of Chhattisgarh, with a large concentration of craftspersons in Bastar region. However this evolved art is practiced in many places extending from Orissa to West Bengal.

The process involves many stages: making of the core in fine sand and clay; making an armature with wax threads and strips that depict the image; encasing it with a clay mould with vents and inlet; pouring molten brass and casting; removing the cast, finishing and polishing with sandpaper. In Bastar, the Gharuas use wax for metal casting the idols, which they install in the devgudi, village shrine, of a deity under the trees. There are three variations of cast forms - two have only metal content and these are usually flat motifs or thin walled hollw containers or figurines without a clay core, while the third type includes objects of larger volumes such as animals and lamp stands, where a clay core is retained inside a thin layer of metal as an economic measure. In some cases, when the outer layer is a lattice , then this core is mechanically removed in the finishing stage. Rice husk is added to the core to reduce its weight. The decorative parts of the object are separately added with wax filled cavity. Alternately, the entire assembly is fired in an open kiln and when the heated wax starts to evaporate, the liquefied metal is poured in the central cavity.

Inset : A rare artifact from Pahad Chidwa - a lamp on a tortoise`s back. Many such artifacts come from this little known village, where one family has been producing delightful work.

http://www.cohands.in/handmadepages/book480.asp?t1=480&lang=English

A group of musicians from Bison Horn Maria tribe, Ektal
Ritualistic lamp gifted to a daughter by her father on her wedding, Ektal.

Cast figurine of a goddess.
The mahua tree depicts people celebrating the Karma festival, Ektal.


Toys form another range of products that are made in Ektal. Toys are generally small (not more than a few inches). Shown below is a bullock on wheels, the wheels are attached separately with a metal wire. 

Friday, June 22, 2012

Chhattisgarh: Ektaal – A crafts Village

Ektaal, a village located near Raigarh is a small and very basic village, what makes it special is the fact it is home to many national and state level award-winning artisans. The whole village is engaged in making handmade metal craft popularly known as Dokra art. They continue to use the age-old technique of Lost Wax method that was used even during the times of Indus Valley Civilization. Designs are made on a clay tablet with threads of bee wax. Wax strands are also made using a small wooden machine using simple pressing method. Another layer of clay is added to mould after the wax settles and then the molten metal is put between the two clay layers. The wax burns out and the metal settles in its place and when the clay mould is broken the shining metal comes out in the desired shape.

We found women were engaged in laying the design part on clay tablets, while men were taking care of the rest of the activities like making wax stands, putting the slay moulds on fire, breaking it, arranging the finished product and making an effort to sell it. Most of the designs revolve around tribal deities and folk characters and their stories. They are slowly trying to come up with designs on usable items like cutlery etc., though I think a lot can be done to use the same art for the changing needs of the world.

I enjoyed my small conversation with the national award winner Smt Budhiarin Devi who proudly showed us her latest creation that won her the state level award. It was interesting to hear about her travels and her impression of the places she has visited. These expert artisans travel around the country showcasing their art. From time to time they get invited to conduct workshops on their craft in other states. Their craft has in a way become their vehicle to see the world while providing the world a window into their own culture. Is that not one of the prime purposes of the art – to communicate across all man made divides.

I remember visiting the Chhattisgarh state emporium in Raipur that is run by a committee with a curious name – Jhitku Mitki. I enquired by guide about Jhitku Mitki, he said they are just a part of folklore but could not tell the story associated with the name, but something kept telling me that there must be a story associated with these names. I came back and searched on the Internet and found this story: Mitki was a young girl in a family of seven brothers that lived in the area of Bastar. As Mitki grew up her brothers brought home Jhitku, a young man to marry her, and both Jhtiku Mitki fell in love with each other. After a while the family needed someone to be sacrificed for a religious ritual and as they could not find anyone else, they sacrificed Jhitku. Mitki could not take this and she also killed herself and since then the tribes of Bastar worship them as a couple. People here believe that all your wishes come true when you worship Jhitku Mitki. They are also known by other names like Gappa Dei and Lakkad Dei, or Dokra-Dokri. They have also become an essential part of artwork that this area creates.

Most of the villagers in Ektaal belong to Jhara tribe, which is a sub-tribe of Gonds. They migrated here from Orrisa sometime back. 

http://anuradhagoyal.blogspot.in/2012/06/chhabeela-chhattisgarh-viii-ektaal.html

Dhokra Art 

Published on Sep 2, 2012

For World Craft Council...This video was shot at Urban Haat Hazaribagh, We really thank The Artisans, MD Jharcraft, Munmun Biswas, Swati Mittal, Raman Poddar, Akash Mitra, Mangkhankhual for all their support.......
Mritunjay Kumar and Chirapriya Mondal
Design Programme, IITK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIdj2SsY20A

The Dokhra Metal Casters of West Bengal Parts 1-3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnPL0b_ytU4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFkj6d0aN1g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-fCL9GlVQg

Uploaded on Dec 30, 2008

The Dokhra or Dokra group of tribal craftsmen who live in an around West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh create wonderfully sculpted products of cast metals. What makes Dokhra metal casting unique is that it uses the lost wax process or Cire Perdue to cast brass or bronze. The word Dokhra in Bengali denotes contempt for those who are socially low and despised. Within all the social hierarchy in West Bengal, these metalworkers are the most persecuted. The Dokhras currently live in the western part of West Bengal in four districts namely, Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura and Burdwan. The metalworkers in this film are from Burdwan. These Dokhra casters make various kinds of images and figures of deities like Siva and Ganesh, and animals such as owls, horses and strangely enough (considering that they live inland) fish.

The film provides a brief context in which the Dokhra craftsmen live and then moves on to describe the casting process. A documentary by Gillian Bormann and Alex Senior.

Bell Metal Craft_Making Process

Uploaded on Nov 9, 2011
'Bell metal crafts of Sarthebari' is Design Resource From IIT Guwahati.

Bell Metal Craft - Sarthebari is home to the bell metal industry, the second largest handicraft of Assam. Bell metal is an alloy of copper and tin and utensils made from it are used for domestic and religious purposes. 

Bell Metal Craft_ Making Process - The craftsmen in Sarthebari (also referred as Kahar or Orja) still resort to the age old tools required for burning and shaping the metal. The process is as below.
-Processing the raw material
-Solidifying the molten metal
-Filing of the rough edges 
-Scraping off the burnt layer 
-Carving imprints on the bell metal ware
-Bhor mara or carving rings on the bowl 

For more information on resources visit http://www.dsource.in
Write to us at contact@dsource.in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XidvVCiQsQw



Masters of Fire: Hereditary Bronze Casters of South India
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SuEzTXCk4c

Uploaded on May 27, 2010
Featuring UC San Diego archaeology professor Tom Levy, this video is based on ethnoarchaeological research in the town of Swamimalai in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. For centuries Swamimalai has been the center of bronze Hindu icon manufacturing in the region, with its workshops passed down from generation to generation of hereditary sthapathis ('artisans' in Tamil).


Imagecasting in Swamimalai

Published on Mar 12, 2013
visiting a bronze casting workshop in Swamimalai, India
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0The8sbE-0g


Casting a Metal Statue, Swamimalai

Uploaded on Feb 18, 2010

Suri Narayanan shares and demonstrates to the participants of the 2010 South Indian Odyssey about the traditional process of casting a metal statue. Suri lives in Swamimalai, South India and creates amazing metal statues for temples and homes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoEW85KDZKQ

A ‘Sheffield of Ancient India’: Chanhu-Daro’s Metal working Industry. Illustrated London News 1936 – November 21^st, p.909. 10 x photos of copper knives, spears , razors, axes and dishes.

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-hieroglyphs-1-dhokra-lost-wax.html

Meluhha dhokra art from 5th millennium BCE at Nahal (Nachal) Mishmar, transiting into Bronze Age 

Konerirajapuram

 - Worlds Largest Bronze Nataraja.This is the largest bronze Nataraja in the world approx. 8ft high, bigger than the Chidambaram Nataraja.Chola Bronze at Thirunallam. Konerirajapuram is about half hour drive from Kumbakonam, in Mayiladithurai taluka of Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu. 

The word dhokra is represented as a hieroglyph on two Indus seals from Dholavira and Mohenjo-daro. Now we know that the word means 'cire perdue' or lost-wax technology for metal alloys to create bronze/brass statues, tools and weapons. This was arrival of the bronze age with a bang! contributed by dhokra artisans who live today in India and are called dhokra kamar.

Hieroglyph:

ḍŏkuru-ḍŏkuru ; । कुब्जावस्था m. (sg. dat. ḍŏkaris-ḍŏkaris ड्वकरिस््-ड्वकरिस्), the condition of a bent or humpbacked person (from old age, injury to the spine, or the like). Cf. ḍŏkhürü and dọ̆ku. -- dyunu --  । कार्श्ये&1;पि कार्यविधानम् m.inf. to do a little work as best one can when one is bent by old age.(Kashmiri) 1. Ku. ḍokro, ḍokhro ʻ old man ʼ; B. ḍokrā ʻ old, decrepit ʼ(CDIAL 5567).


ټوقړ ṯṯūḳaṟṟ s.m. (5th) An old or decrepit man. Pl. ټوقړان ṯṯūḳaṟṟān. See ټاقړ (Pashto)

?Allograph: 1. N. ḍhoknu, ḍhognu ʻ to bow down before, salute respectfully ʼ; H. ḍhoknā ʻ to lean against ʼ; -- Ku. ḍhok ʻ obeisance ʼ, N. ḍhok, ḍhog -- bheṭ (whence -- g in verb), H. ḍhok f., OMarw. ḍhoka f.2. H. dhoknā ʻ to bow down before ʼ, dhok f. ʻ obeisance ʼ.(CDIAL 5611). Go. (Mu.) doṛī- to bow (DEDR 3525).

தொக்கடி tokkaṭi , n. (W.) 1. A kind of ola covering to protect fruits on the tree; மரத் திற் பழங்களைப் பொதிந்துவைக்கும் ஓலைமறைவு. 2. A small ola-basket for fruit; பழம் வைக்குஞ் சிறு கூடை. See other etyma embedded from CDIAL in an earlier blogpost URL cited.

Rebus:

dŏkuru  परिघः a kind of hammer for use in metal-work, with a drum-shaped head. (El. dauker; L. 46, dokar; Śiv. 1563.) dŏkȧri-dab दब् । कूटाघातः m. hitting with a hammer, esp. the welding together of heated metal. -- dan -दन् । लघुकूटदण्डः m. the wooden handle of such a hammer. (Kashmiri)

धोकाळ [ dhōkāḷa ] m C A large blazing fire.(Marathi)

dukra दुक्र । वाद्यविशेषः m. a certain musical instrument, described as consisting of linked rings fixed to a staff. Cf. dahara.(Kashmiri)

Dhokra kamr or gharua of Bankura, Purulia, Midnapore, Burdwan in West Bengal, Malhars of Jharkhand and Sithrias of Orissa and Vis'wakarma of Tamil Nadu and Kerala also use the dhokra technique of metal casting.

That we are discussing dhokra art still practiced in India today may be seen 

from 

 

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-metallurgical-roots-and-spread.html 

Dhokra. Mother with five children.

"The specialty of Dhokra handicraft is that each relic seems to have been made up of a seamless wire coiled around the clay article. This is indeed an illusion as the metal casting is done using the lost-wax technique which forms the main attraction of this craft. It is believed that the lost-wax technique for copper casting had been found in other East Asian, Middle-East and Central American regions as well. In Purulia, the Dhokras make mixed aluminum by the lost wax process but do not make any images or figures; they rather make paikona, dhunuchi, pancha pradeep, anklets, and ghunghrus.  

Dhokra metal casting is generally famous for unique artefacts like animals, jewelry, piggybank (Buli), ornamented pots and various deities. In the genre of jewelry: payeri (anklets), hansuli (necklace), earrings and bangles are most in demand because of the style statement they impart. The single and multiple diya lamps are, even molded in the forms of elephants, and are considered auspicious for many Hindu occasions. Dhokra is the only live example of the metal casting in the East India as other similar crafts have faded away with time. But unfortunately, no substantial initiatives have been taken to promote and help sustain the Dhokra art in recent times in West Bengal." http://indianscriptures.com/vedic-society/arts/arts-and-traditions-of-west-bengal

"Carbon-14 dating of the reed mat in which the objects were wrapped suggests that it dates to at least 3500 B.C." http://www.metmuseumorg/toah/hd/nahl/hd_nahl.htm 

" I-1819, which comes from a piece of cloth found in a burial in nearby Cave 2, is slightly younger, but another short-lived sample, I-616 from the Cave of Horror at Nahal Hever, gave a result in the late 5th millennium." https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/viewFile/879/884

תודה על המאמר. מעיון ראשון, ההתיחסות למטמון נחל משמר מענינת אבל דורשת עדכון- סדרת תאריכי פחמן חדשה יחסית (2011) מצביעה על 4400± לפנה״ס, לא סוף האלף ה ד׳.

להתראות, עוזי.

………………..Dr. Uzi Avner

I deeply appreciate the help provided by Dr. Uzi Avner for this update. I will provide the 2011 citation for the new C-14 dating in an addendum in due course.

Dr. Uzi Avner notes that "The first seminar, the reference in Nahal Mishmar hoard interesting but requires updating - a series of dates Carbon relatively new (2011) indicates ± 4400 BC, not the end of the fourth millennium."

This insight of Dr. Uzi Avner has a profound impact on chronology studies of the evolution of bronze age and writing systems.

Presence of dhokra (lost-wax artisans) in Nahal (Nachal) Mishmar is stunning and points to ancient Israel-India connections from 5th millennium BCE. I had noted that the two pure tin ingots found in Haifa shipwreck had Meluhha hieroglyphs to denote tin. ranku 'antelope'; ranku 'liquid measure' Rebus: ranku 'tin (cassiterite) ore'. S. Kalyanaraman, 2010, The Bronze Age Writing System of Sarasvati Hieroglyphics as Evidenced by Two “Rosetta Stones” - Decoding Indus script as repertoire of the mints/smithy/mine-workers of Meluhha, Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies, Number 11, pp. 47-74

A surprise that these were found in a shipwreck in Haifa !

Dhokra cire perdue (lost-wax) is a brilliant bronze age invention and should herald a new approach to explain the hieroglyphs on thousands of cylinder seals of the Fertile Crescent right from the chalcolithic times (ca. 5th millennium BCE -- now based on Nahal Mishmar new carbon-14 datings)  into the bronze age.

Also that harosheth hagoyim is cognate with kharoṣṭī goya lit. 'blacksmith lip guild'.

It is interesting that Dr. Moti Shemtov refers to Nahal Mishmar as Nachal Mishmar. It is similar to the change from Meluhha to Mleccha !

This Nahal Mishmar copper stand might have held a storage pot with a pointed bottom or a pot like the Susa pot which had a 'fish' hieroglyph and metal artifacts of tools and vessels. The Meluhha hieroglyph 'fish' read: ayo 'fish' (Munda) Rebus: ayo 'metal alloy' (Gujarati. Pali) 

It could also have held a Burzahom type-pot with beads and a buffalo-horn hieroglyph. 

 Glyph: kuṇḍī ‘crooked buffalo horns’ (Lahnda.) Rebus: kuṇḍī = chief of village (Prakrit). The artisan is kundakara— m. ‘turner’ (Skt.); H. kũderā m. ‘one who works a lathe, one who scrapes’ (CDIAL 3297). ḍabe, ḍabea ‘large horns, with a sweeping upward curve, applied to buffaloes’ (Santali) Rebus: ḍab, ḍhimba, ḍhompo ‘lump (ingot?)’, clot, make a lump or clot, coagulate, fuse, melt together (Santali) கண்டி kaṇṭi buffalo bull (Tamil) Pk. gaḍa -- n. ʻlarge stoneʼ? (CDIAL 3969) K. garun, vill. gaḍun ʻ to hammer into shape, forge, put together ʼ. (CDIAL 3966). kaḍiyo [Hem. Des. kaḍa-i-o = (Skt. Sthapati, a mason) a bricklayer, mason (G.)]

English: Pot depicting horned figure. Burzahom (Kashmir), 2700 BC. National Museum, New Delhi. Noticed in the museum : the pot depicts horned motifs, which suggests extra territorial links with sites like Kot-Diji, in Sindh.

Français : Pot orné d'incisions et de motifs peints portant de grandes cornes recourbées, qui laissent supposer des liens extra territoriaux avec des sites tels que Kot-Diji, dans le Sindh. H env. 50cm. Site archéologique de Burzahom (Kashmir) daté 2700 av. J.-C. Musée National, New Delhi

Part of the copper hoard discovered in 1961, in Nahal Mishmar. "Hidden in a natural crevice and wrapped in a straw mat, the hoard contained 442 different objects: 429 of copper, six of hematite, one of stone, five of hippopotamus ivory, and one of elephant ivory. Many of the copper objects in the hoard were made using the lost-wax process, the earliest known use of this complex technique. For tools, nearly pure copper of the kind found at the mines at Timna in the Sinai Peninsula was used. However, the more elaborate objects were made with a copper containing a high percentage of arsenic (4–12%), which is harder than pure copper and more easily cast.Radiocarbon dating showed that they were from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, between 4000 and 3500 BC." (Note: Now revised date points to 4400 BCE).

The most common objects were 118 of these "standards" or "scepters." What they really were is anybody's guess. Some had traces of reeds or wood in the holes, suggesting that they were attached to poles.

There are ten of these cylindrical objects in the hoard. They are conventionally known as "crowns," but more archaeologists think they were stands for vessels with pointed bottoms. 

What is one to make of this hippopotamus ivory object, essentially a slice from a hippo's tooth drilled with as many holes as would fit?

This object seems to be proof that the pushmi-pullyu really existed in the Chalcolithic era. 

The closest major site of this period is a shrine at the oasis of Ein Gedi, 7 miles (12 km) away, and the objects may have been hiddenwhen the shrine was under some kind of threat. The cave is in a steep ravine, accessible only with ropes and ladders, so it would have made a good hiding place. So good that this amazing collection of objects remained hidden for 5500 years.

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

http://benedante.blogspot.in/2012/04/treasure-of-nahal-mishmar.html

Nahal Mishmar treasure was discovered by chance , tucked in a secluded niche corner of a cave inhabited calcolítica located on the north side of the Nahal Mishmar throat , in the wilderness of Judah. Was wrapped in a mat and contained 442 different objects, 429 of copper, 6 oligisto , stone 1 , 5 , 1 hippo ivory elephant ivory . A collection of strange and unique findings and seems to have been hastily collected and hidden in the final days of occupation of the cave. In view of this, it has been suggested , plausibly , that the whole is the sacred shrine Enguedi treasure (which is apparently devoid of found objects), located just eight miles .


Most treasure objects are made of copper containing a variable percentage of arsenic, but always high ( 4 % -12 %). Most surprising is that this special copper was used only on objects made ​​with the lost wax technique rather simple chisels and hammers, lso found that 16. This distinction is also present in other sites . There is therefore a clear difference in the use of the two types of copper . For votes almost pure copper was used , although softer , for special objects no longer , harder and easier to empty arsenical copper was used.


The whole treasure is a magnificent collection of art objects. The objects are made of valuable materials , maintain high technological quality and have a superior finish . Their shapes witness to a developed artistic sense. It can be assumed , in view of the decorative motifs , which is a rich repository of religious symbolism.



a) Crowns


The cache ten cylindrical objects that seem crowns, with a diameter of 15'6 to 19 inches , and a height of 7 inches to 11'7 found. Two are provided with small feet. The body sometimes takes an incised decoration varied design : parallel lines , triangles and bands as Fishbone .


b ) The scepters



This is a group of 118 different objects , with lengths ranging from 7 to 40 inches. Some of the scepters retained traces of wooden handles or cane , and some was a black sticky substance. This has led archaeologists to conclude that the objects were taken on long poles , perhaps in sacred processions. A linen thread found in one of the Sceptres may indicate that they are bound lightweight materials such as tapes . All scepters are similar in shape but differ greatly in their size and detail of its decoration. The most splendid has five heads of animals (four of ibex and an animal with twisty horns) . It should be noted that similar scepters found at other sites .


c ) The poles


This term describes a group of stylized , long and solid scepters . Three of them appear refined versions of scepters with curved ends. The fourth is like the stem of a plant and the fifth has a flat head hooked .


d ) The sets standards



The three splendid banners of this group were definitely mounted on poles . The first is a hollow pear-shaped object with two twins ibex represented with one body , four legs and two heads. Each ibex is facing one of the biggest arms, one ax-shaped and the other knife , leaving the piriform body . The second banner has a short hollow columnilla a rectangular panel that extends from the center , made ​​in the form of a vulture with outstretched wings. The third is more modest ; swelling part of his plans four protruding out in four different directions.


e) The horn-shaped objects


Three objects in the form of curved horn emphasize the importance of the horns in the Chalcolithic ritual. Two of the horns lead schematic figures of birds.


f ) Containers


A jug turtleneck beautiful proportions , a cup or deep bowl and three cups shaped basket with high vertical handle are the only containers found in the treasure.


g) maceheads


The largest group of objects with a total of 261 , including several thickened (rounded , pear-shaped , elongated or discoidal ) forms that are usually called " mace heads " objects. All have a hole in the center to insert a handle . Some specimens preserved remains of wooden handles . The surface is well polished and all undecorated .


Although the mace-head was a common weapon in Mesopotamia and Egypt , these objects may not to be considered as weapons. Their presence in the treasure seems, rather, a ceremonial use. If similarity with convex parts of the banners and scepters supports this view .


Six mace heads were made of hematite , Natural iron oxide . Were emptied but not drilled , as yet no technology known iron work . Another club head is made of hard limestone .


h ) The objects made of hippo tusk



Five mysterious objects were hidden along with objects of copper hippopotamus ivory , sectioned along the tusk shaped scythe. Are perforated by three rows of round holes , and in the middle of each there is a hole with a protruding edge .


i ) Cash ivory


A final object of one type is an ivory box 38 inches long made ​​with a piece of elephant tusk well polished .
Translation from Spanish.http://curiosomundoazul.blogspot.in/2011/07/el-tesoro-de-nahal-mishmar.html

Mysteries of the Copper Hoard Fifty years have passed since Pessah Bar-Adon discovered, in a cave in the Judean Desert canyon of Nahal Mishmar, the biggest hoard of ancient artifacts ever found in the Land of Israel: 429 copper objects, wrapped in a reed mat. Five decades and dozens of academic papers after their discovery, the enigma of how and why these 6,000-year-old ritual objects ended up in a remote cave in the Judean Desert is still unsolvedBy Yadin Roman Extracted from ERETZ Magazine, June-July 2011
The Forum for the Research of the Chalcolithic Period, "a group of academics interested in this prehistoric age", according to Dr. Ianir Milevski (Israel Antiquities Authority), gathered on June 2 at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in order to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of the most important find from this period: the Nahal Mishmar copper hoard. After a day of presenting new insights pertaining to the copper objects, the conference wrapped up with a discussion on the source of the items in the cave and the reason they were hidden there. The debate emphasized what has remained unsolved after 50 years of research: while it is widely accepted that the hoard is an assembly of ritual objects, there still is no agreement or plausible reason as to where the objects came from and why they were stashed away. The treasure was found while looking for something completely different. In 1947, Bedouins from the Ta’amireh tribe, who roamed the Judean Desert, discovered ancient parchments hidden in the caves of the sheer cliffs of the canyons leading down to the Dead Sea. Once it was discovered that these brittle parchments could bring in money when sold to dealers in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the Bedouins turned into avid archaeologists, scouring the desert caves in search of ancient scrolls. In the 1950s, new scrolls sold to the dealers in Bethlehem, which was part of Jordan at the time, led archaeologists working in Jordan to discover letters and other artifacts in Nahal Murabba’at, south of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls had been found. As more pieces of ancient scrolls began to appear in the antiquities market, it was clear that some of them were coming from the Israeli side of the Judean Desert. The desert border between Israel and Jordan was a straight unmarked line on the map, inaccessible to vehicles. The Bedouins, even if they had heard of the newly set-up border, did not recognize it and crossed over freely from side to side. Immediately after the War of Independence, Prof. Eliezer Sukenik, the dean of Israeli archaeologists and the father of Yigael Yadin, discussed the need to survey the caves on the Israeli side of the Judean Desert. Sukenik had purchased the first three complete Dead Sea Scrolls on the eve of the War of Independence and his son would later purchase the four remaining complete scrolls in New York. The year that Sukenik died, 1953, the first, impromptu Israeli desert cave survey was conducted.

http://www.eretz.com/NEW/articlepage.php?num=27

Addendum on carbon-14 dating of Nahal Mishmar finds to ca. +4400 BCE:

Table 10.6 Radiocarbon determinations from Nahal Mishmar

Source: https://www.academia.edu/3427110/_2010_Developmental_Trends_in_Chalcolithic_Copper_Metallurgy_A_Radiometric_Perspective_Shugar_and_Gohm_

https://www.academia.edu/attachments/31198898/download_file  10. Developmental Trends in Chalcolithic Copper Metallurgy: A Radiometric Perspective -- Aaron N. Shugar and Christopher J. Gohm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/198085507/Shugar-and-Gohm-Chapter-10-2010-in-Print 

Shugar and Gohm Chapter 10 2010 in Print

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-dhokra-art-from-5th-millennium.html

Revisiting cire perdue in archaeological context and Meluhha hieroglyphs. 

Master's of fire: copper age art from Israel are exhibited in New York, March - June 8, 2014. The exhibits include some artefacts from Nahal Mishmar, the site extraordinaire evidencing cire perdue technology. 

Executive summary

This monograph reports that the profession of the specialist working with metals using the specialized technique of cire perdue (lost-wax casting) during the early bronze age was called dhokra kamar. 

This professional title, dhokra kamar, is evidenced by Meluhha hieroglyphs on a seal from Mohenjo-daro and on a tablet from Dholavira of Sarasvati Civilization. In ancient Indian texts, the cire perdue technique is referred to as madhucchiṣṭa vidhānam.  मधु madhu -उच्छिष्टम्,-उत्थभ्,-उत्थितभ् 1 bees'-wax; शस्त्रासवमधूच्छिष्टं मधु लाक्षा च बर्हिषः Y.3.37; मधूच्छिष्टेन केचिच्च जध्नुरन्योन्यमुत्कटाः Rām.5.62.11.-2 the casting of an image in wax; Mānasāra; the name of 68th chapter. This technique was clearly attested in the Epic Rāmāyaṇa. मधुशिष्ट madhuśiṣṭa 'wax' (Monier-Williams, p. 780).

First recorded use of wax for casting by sculptors (After figure in LB Hunt (embedded) document)

This note is a sixth sequel to the work: Philosophy of symbolic forms in Meluhha cipher. 

See the first to fifth sequels at: 

1.http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/meluhha-metallurgy-hieroglyphs-of.html Meluhha metallurgy: hieroglyphs of pomegranate, mangrove date-palm cone (raphia farinifera), an elephant's head terracotta Nausharo, Sarasvati civilization 

• 2.http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/ant-twisted-rope-and-other-meluhha.html  Twisted rope, ant and other Meluhha hieroglyphs on Ancient Near East and Indian seals.

3.http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/perforated-plaques-of-tello-lagash.html Perforated plaques of Tello, Lagash, Sumerian artifacts, and Meluhha hieroglyphs 

4.http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/zimrilims-palace-mural-painting-and.html  Zimrilim's palace mural painting and Meluhha hieroglyphs (Compliments to Jack M. Sasson) 

5. http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/tin-road-assur-kanesh-trade.html Tin road -- Assur-Kanesh -- trade transactions and Meluhha hieroglyphs 

Lost-wax casting. Bronze statue, Mohenjo-daro. Bronze statue of a woman holding a small bowl, Mohenjo-daro; copper alloy made using cire perdue method (DK 12728; Mackay 1938: 274, Pl. LXXIII, 9-11) 

Muhly speculates on the possible reason for using of hard alloy for lost-wax castings: "...perhaps arsenical copper was used at Nahal Mishmar not because it was harder, more durable metal but because it would have facilitated the production of intricate lost-wax castings." (Muhly, J., 1986, The beginnings of metallurgy in the old world. In Maddin R, ed., The beginning of the use of metals and alloys, pp. 2-20. Zhengzhou: Second International conference on the beginning of the use of metals and alloys.)

Dancing girl of Sarasvati civilization. 4.3 in. h. Mohenjo-Daro. “Metallurgists smelted silver, lead, and copper and worked gold too. Coppersmiths employed tin bronze as in Sumer, but also an alloy of copper with from 3.4 to 4.4 per cent of arsenic, an alloy used also at Anau in Transcaspia. They could cast cire perdue (lost wax) and rivet, but never seem to have resorted to brazing or soldering.” (Childe, Gordon, 1952, New light on the most ancien East, New York, Frederick A. Praeger)

 

'Dancing girl' 10.8 cm. from Mohenjo-daro of Sarasvati civilization dates to the early 2nd millennium BCE. (Marshall, 1931, Mohenjo-daro and the Indus civilization, Vol. I, London, Arthus Probsthain, p. 345; pl. 94). 

It is unclear if the following artefacts were also made by the cire perdue (lost-wax) casting technology: a bronze foot and anklet from Mohenjo-daro; and a bronze figurine of a bull (Kalibangan). (Courtesy: ASI) 

"Archaeological excavations have shown that Harappan metal smiths obtained copper ore (either directly or through local communities) from the Aravalli hills, Baluchistan or beyond. They soon discovered that adding tin to copper produced bronze, a metal harder than copper yet easier to cast, and also more resistant to corrosion."

Dance-step as hieroglyph on a potsherd, Bhirrana. Hieroglyph: meṭ sole of foot, footstep, footprint (Ko.); meṭṭu step, stair, treading, slipper (Te.)(DEDR 1557).  Rebus: meḍ ‘iron’(Munda); मेढ meḍh‘merchant’s helper’(Pkt.)  meḍ  iron (Ho.)  meṛed-bica = iron stone ore, in contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Munda)

Yuval Gorden notes:"While the traditional manifestation of the technology has vanished from many parts of the world, it has survived in some areas of India. The tradition is carried on in the manufacture of small pieces by tribal groups or by Hindu metalworkers. These tribal people live in the districts of Bankura, Burdwan, and Midnapore in West Bengal...The Dhokra apply two or more layers of clay on top of the wax model. First, a thin clay paste is added and allowed to dry; then a layer of rougher clay mixed with rice husks is added and also allowed to dry. A hole is sometimes cut through the top of the clay coverings to allow for the entrance of the molten metal. Likewise, a channel is made in the bottom to let the wax flow out of the mold. Metal wires are then tied around the whole construction to keep it intact. The mold is heated
until the wax is melted and poured out...Once the mold mixture has set hard, the molds are placed in a furnace and heated until the wax is melted and integrated into the rather spongy fabric of the mold. Then the heating continues until the metal is melted, made evident by a green tinge of the fire, at which point the molds are turned upside down and filled with the liquid metal from the flask. This point is extremely important for our discussion, because it indicates that crucibles are not necessarily used in the process of lost wax casting, in contrast to open casting, where their use is mandatory."

Ibex and birds on Nahal Mishmar artefacts

After examining several artefacts of Nahal Mishmar hoard, Goren concludes: "The results of this study indicate that all the examined materials were the remains of the casting molds...This indeed indiates that the Chalcolithic technology of mold construction for the lost wax casting technique was well established and performed by specialists. Moreover, the emphasized homogeneity of the materials and technology in use, regardless of the location of the find, stands against the possibility of production by itinerary craftsmen and supports the idea that all of these items were produced by a single workshop or workshop cluster. The results make it clear that, although Chalcolithic mold production and casting techniques can be compared to some extent with the methods of traditional craftsmen such as the Dhokra of India, they are far more sophisticated and thus more analogous with the mold construction techniques used today by modern workshops...some motifs...specifically depict ibexes and vultures...It is likely that these animals were seen as protectors of this highly skilled metallurgy... (ibex) representation in the En Gedi sanctuary might be related to the special role of this animal in the decoration fo the Chalcolithic metal artifacts as well as ossuaries. (p.393)"

[Yuval Goren, 2008, The location of specialized copper production by the lost wax technique in the chalcolithis southern Levant, Geoarchaeology: An international Journal, Vol. 23, No. 3, 374-397 (2008), p. 377].
http://www.scribd.com/doc/220039411/Yuval-Goren-2008-The-location-of-specialized-copper-production-by-the-lost-wax-technique-in-the-chalcolithis-southern-Levant-Geoarchaeology-An-int

Radiocarbon dating of Nahal Mishmar reed mat  by Arizona AMS laboratory takes at least some of (the finds to 5375 +_ 55 to 6020+_60 BP). (Aardsman, G., 2001, New radiocarbon dates for the reed mat from the cave of the treasure, Israel, Radiocarbon, Volume 43, number 3: 1247-1254). This indicates the possibility that cire perdue technique was already known to the metallurgists who created the Nahal Mishmar artefacts. There is, however, a possibility that all the artefacts of the Nahal Mishmar hoard may not belong to the same date and hence, cire perdue artefacts might have been acquisitions of a later date. (Shlomo Guil 

https://www.academia.edu/5689136/Reflections_Upon_Accepted_Dating_of_the_Prestige_Items_of_Nahal_Mishmar)

I suggest that an alternative interpretation for the use of ibex and birds on Nahal Mishmar artefacts. They may be Meluhha hieroglyphs describing the specific metallurgical skill of and materials used by the artisans.

The double ibex was made using a complicated wax and ceramic mold..Standard (scepter) 

with ibex heads.


Dm. mraṅ m. ‘markhor’ Wkh. merg f. ‘ibex’ (CDIAL 9885) Tor. miṇḍ ‘ram’, miṇḍā́l ‘markhor’ 

(CDIAL 10310) Rebus: meḍ (Ho.); mẽṛhet ‘iron’ (Munda.Ho.) dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'. āra‘six’ Rebus: āra ‘brass’

Nahal Mishmar. Crown with building facade decoration and birds.

karaṇḍa ‘duck’ (Sanskrit) karaṛa ‘a very large aquatic bird’ (Sindhi) Rebus: करडा [karaḍā] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi) dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'.

sã̄gāḍā m. ʻ frame of a building ʼ (M.)(CDIAL 12859) Rebus: jaṅgaḍ ‘entrustment articles’ sãgaṛh m. ʻ line of entrenchments, stone walls for defence ʼ (Lahnda).(CDIAL 12845) Allograph: saṅgaḍa ‘lathe’. 'potable furnace'. sang ‘stone’, gaḍa ‘large stone’. dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'. koḍ ‘horns’ Rebus: koḍ‘artisan’s workshop’.

[quote] Among the items displayed in ISAW’s Masters of Fire exhibit are Nahal Mishmar finds—intricately crafted scepters and mace heads—that were made using the relatively advanced lost-wax castingtechnique, in which a mixture of copper, arsenic, antimony, and nickel is poured into a mold. One highlight is a circular metal object with decorative horns and vultures (birds) protruding from the top—but don’t let its shape fool you, notes curator Michael Sebanne of the Israeli Antiquities Authority. This “crown” was probably too heavy, and too small in circumference, to be worn; it’s more likely a model of a temple or a tomb, Sebanne says.

We know that people living in the Middle East more than 6,000 years ago raised livestock for dairy, crafted exquisite vessels out of copper, and took great care in burying their dead. But what did they believe? How did they view the world? Did they conceive of the beautiful objects they made as art?

These are the questions at the heart of Masters of Fire: Copper Age Art From Israel, a current NYU Institute for the Study of the Ancient World exhibit displaying 157 items from the Chalcolithic Era (4500-3600 BCE)—otherwise known as the Copper Age. Over the past eight decades of archaeological discovery, scholars have determined that this was the period in which the people of the Southern Levant first settled in organized villages headed by tribal chiefs; first imported raw metals from great distances to forge tools; and first dedicated sanctuaries for cults and rituals. For the first time, workers specialized in agriculture and particular crafts, and wool, cheese, olives, and dates were produced on a large scale.

But mysteries still remain. To look at these artifacts is to confront adistant, and yet recognizable, ancestor—foreign, and yet somehow familiar.

---

Video: Were people 6,000 years ago “just like us”?

Jennifer Y. Chi, ISAW Exhibitions Director and Chief Curator,introduces Masters of Fire.[unquote]

http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/nyu-stories/a-sneak-peek-at-isaw-s--masters-of-fire-.html

"The technical aspects of the lost-wax technique have also been discussed in three early Sanskrit texts, the Manasollasa, the Silparatna and the Manasara, in the context of solid or hollow casting of idols. The 12th-century Manasollasa describes the making of lost-wax moulds with a smooth paste made by grinding a mix of clay, rice husks, 'cotton severed a hundred times' and salt. The paste was smeared over the wax (thin enough to be transparent). After drying for two days a second then a third coat were applied, each being thicker than the previous one (Krishnan, MV, 1976, Cire perdue casting in India, New Delhi, Kanak, p.2). The 16th-century Silparatna also describes the making of lost-wax moulds by applying very soft wet clay to the wax followed by a coat of soft clay once it had dried. Finally, hard clay was applied. Hard clay was made from material procured from an ant hill mixed with brick powder and arecanut husk juice. Soft clay was made from four parts of pot clay and ten of ordinary clay. Very soft clay was soft clay mixed with cow dung (Krishnan, MV, 1976, Cire perdue casting in India, New Delhi, Kanak, p.4). While these descriptions postdate the period of interest, they do provide an insight into traditional practices of lost-wax casting that predate the use of modern materials and they illuminate the issues that are important for the study of the history of the process." (Davey, Christopher J., The early history of lost-wax casting, in: J. Mei and Th. Rehren, eds., Metallurgy and Civilisation: Eurasia and Beyond Archetype, London, 2009, ISBN 1234 5678 9 1011, pp. 147-154;p.149)

Pliny (1st century) refers to lost-wax casting: "The first person to make a plaster likeness of a human being from the actual face, and having poured wax on to (into) this plaster mould, to make final corrections to the wax cast, was Lysistratus of Sicyon, the brother of Lysippus I have mentioned... Lysistratus also invented the taking of casts from statues, and this practice became so widespread that no statues or figures were made without a clay model." (Pliny the Elder,2004, Natural History: A selection, JF Healy, trans., London, Penguin Books, p.336f.)

Detail of the lost-wax mould from Tell edh-Dhiba'i showing its layered construction. 1st half of 2nd millennium BCE (After Fig. 2 CJ Davey)

"Pins with round heads have been found in Early Dynastic graves.  The ‘A’ cemetery at Kish, for example, has a number of pins, the round heads of which were deemed by the excavators to be cast (Mackay, E., 1929, A Sumerian palace and the 'A' cemetery at Kish, Mesopotamia, Chicago, Field Museum Press. 171, pl. 40). This cemetery has been redated to Early Dynastic III (2500–2600 BC) by Whelan (Whelan, E., 1978, Dating the A cemetery at Kish: a reconsideration, Journal of Field Archaeology 5: 79-96;p.96) that is about contemporary with the royal cemetery of Ur. This reliably attests to this process of lost-wax casting in Mesopotamia at about 2500 BCE...

"The ease with which a round cross-section can be formed using a soft wax material explains much of the attractiveness of lost-wax casting. The shape thus formed may not be complex, but it has smooth curved surfaces and it is this feature that is the hallmark of objects produced by lost-wax casting. Objects with delicate round sections such as the Mohenjo-daro dancing girl are classical lost-wax casting shapes."(Davey, Christopher J., The early history of lost-wax casting, in: J. Mei and Th. Rehren, eds., Metallurgy and Civilisation: Eurasia and Beyond Archetype, London, 2009, ISBN 1234 5678 9 1011, pp. 147-154;pp.149-150).

"The use of fine and coarse clays reveal that the practices described by the Sanskrit and medieval texts were established by 1700 BCE in Mesopotamia. The attention to the quality of the casting's surface represents an advance in the technology of lost-wax casting." (Davey, Christopher J., The early history of lost-wax casting, in: J. Mei and Th. Rehren, eds., Metallurgy and Civilisation: Eurasia and Beyond Archetype, London, 2009, ISBN 1234 5678 9 1011, pp. 147-154;p.150).

"Benoit Mille has drawn attention to copper alloy 'amulets' discovered in the early Chalcolithic (late 5th millennium) levels of Mehrgarh in Baluchistan, Pakistan. He reported that metallographic examination established that the ornaments were cast by the lost-wax method (Mille, B., 2006, 'On the origin of lost-wax casting and alloying in the Indo-Iranian world', in Metallurgy and Civilisation: 6th international conference on the beginnings of the use of metals and alloys, University of Science and Technology, Beijing, BUMA VI). The amulets were made from copper alloyed with lead. Mehrgarh is well recognised as a centre for early pyrotechnologies. The wax models of the amulets would have been solid and may have had a simple core inserted. This is understandably the first stage in the technology. Mille also draws attention to the 'Leopards weights' from Baluchistan, dating to about 3000 BCE which were made using a complex core keyed into the investment mould."(Davey, Christopher J., The early history of lost-wax casting, in: J. Mei and Th. Rehren, eds., Metallurgy and Civilisation: Eurasia and Beyond Archetype, London, 2009, ISBN 1234 5678 9 1011, pp. 147-154; p. 151).

http://www.scribd.com/doc/219986780/Davey-Christopher-J-The-early-history-of-lost-wax-casting-in-J-Mei-and-Th-Rehren-eds-Metallurgy-and-Civilisation-Eurasia-and-Beyond-Archety

The Leopards weight from Shahi Tump - Photography and 30 MeV accelerator tomodensimetry showing the copper shell and the lead filling.(Science for Cultural Heritage: Technological Innovation and Case Studies in Marine and Land Archaeology in the Adriatic Region and Inland : VII International Conference on Science, Arts and Culture : August 28-31, 2007, Veli Lošinj, Croatia, World Scientific, 2010. The aim of the conference was to discuss the contribution of physics and other sciences in archaeological research and in the preservation of cultural heritage.) 

Shahi Tump. Kech valley, Makran division, Baluchistan, Pakistan (After Fig. 1 in Thomas et al)

See: 

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/02/identity-of-ancient-meluhha-blacksmiths.html  

Identity of Ancient Meluhha blacksmiths, using archaeometallurgy and cryptography in a socio-cultural context

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-metallurgical-roots-and-spread.html  

Meluhha: spread of lost-wax casting in the Fertile Crescent. Smithy is the temple. Veneration of ancestors. The monograph is presented in the following 9 parts to demonstrate the trail of lost-wax metallurgy from roots in Meluhha. 

"The elemental composition determination of ancient copper-based artefacts is an important tool to address archaeometallurgical issues, such as the assessment of technological skills and metal circulation in a definite chrono-cultural context. The rise of a new generation of inductively-coupled-plasma atomic-emission spectrometry has led us to reconsider the whole analytical protocol, resulting in significant improvements of the performance: an increased number of elements determined, lower limits of detection and a better reliability were achieved together with a diminishing of sample quantity and time of analysis. The archaeometallurgical studies take full benefit of these improvements, as exemplified by the major results regarding technological practices in antiquity brought to light by the study of a Greek bronze masterpiece, the Vix crater." (D Bourgarit and B Mille 2003 Meas. Sci. Technol. 14 1538) 

doi:10.1088/0957-0233/14/9/306

The elemental analysis of ancient copper-based artefacts by inductively-coupled-plasma atomic-emission spectrometry: an optimized methodology reveals some secrets of the Vix crater

http://iopscience.iop.org/0957-0233/14/9/306/pdf/0957-0233_14_9_306.pdf

Mehergarh. 2.2 cm dia. 5 mm reference scale. Perhaps coppper alloyed with lead. [quote]Bourgarit and Mille (Bourgarit D., Mille B. 2007. Les premiers objets métalliques ont-ils été fabriqués par des métallurgistes ? L’actualité Chimique . Octobre-Novembre 2007 - n° 312-313:54-60) have  reported the finding (probably in the later still unreported excavation period) of small Chalcolithic “amulets” which they claim to have been produced by the process of Lost Wax. According to them, “The levels of the fifth millennium Chalcolithic at Mehrgarh have delivered a few amulets in shape of a minute wheel, while the technological study showed that they were made by a process of lost wax casting. The ring and the spokes were modelled in wax which was then coated by a refractory mould that was heated to remove the wax. Finally, the molten metal was cast in place of the wax. Metallographic examination confirmed that it was indeed an object obtained by casting (dendrite microstructure). This discovery is quite unique because it is the earliest attestation of this technique in the world.” They then, further on, state that “The development of this new technique of lost wax led to another invention, the development of alloys...Davey (Davey C. 2009.The Early History of Lost-Wax Casting, in J. Mei and Th. Rehren (eds), Metallurgy and Civilisation: Eurasia and Beyond Archetype, pp. 147-154. London: Archetype Publications Ltd.) relies only upon these Mehrgarh findings , as well as on the Nahal Mishmar hoard, to claim that Lost Wax casting began in the Chalcolithic period before 4000 BCE.” [unquote]  (Shlomo Guil) https://www.academia.edu/5689136/Reflections_Upon_Accepted_Dating_of_the_Prestige_Items_of_Nahal_Mishmar

Cireperdue method was used in Uruk, ca. 3500  BCE. to make a recumbent ram in silver which is mounted on pins and dowelled into the center of a cylinder seal. This was a hieroglyph, tagged to cylinder seal method of writing by impressing an agreement to a transaction or to indicate ownership. This cylinder seal is carved with figures of cattle. Ashmolean Museum, Univ. of Oxford. "The Ashmolean Museum describes this item as a cylinder seal showing a herd of cattle and reed huts  containing calves and vessels. The seal itself is made of magnesite (MgCO3 ) with small (a few centimeters)  cast silver ram-shaped finial. No claim is made by the museum that it was produced by the Lost Wax process and it is dated by the museum to the Late Uruk period or “around 3200 BCE”. The item has been purchased by the museum but its provenance is unknown and therefore cannot be precisely dated." (Shlomo Guil)https://www.academia.edu/5689136/Reflections_Upon_Accepted_Dating_of_the_Prestige_Items_of_Nahal_Mishmar

Bull figure with a vertical hole Maykop kurgan (Oshad) Middle of the 4th millenium B.C.E.Silver Bull figure with a vertical hole Maykop kurgan (Oshad)Middle of the 4th millenium B.C.E.Gold. 

http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/04/b2003/hm4_2_013_1.html  

"Maykop culture (also spelled Maikop), ca. 3700 BC—2500 BC, was a major Bronze Age archaeological culture in the Western Caucasus region of Southern Russia. It extends along the area from the Taman Peninsula at the Kerch Strait to near the modern border of Dagestan and southwards to the Kura River."http://www.pinterest.com/pin/42925002672130103/  "The skeleton of a chief, thickly covered with cinnabar, (red mercury sulphide) lay in the southern half of the chamber. Ten objects, made of arsenical copper were placed on a woven mat along with three stone objects. Also found were about twenty silver and gold vessels, kettles, a bucket and bowls all made of arsenical copper. Next to the body lay hollow rods of silver and gold compound, some of which were inserted into gold and silver bull figures of approximate height of 8 cm. There were four bulls in all, two of gold and two of silver. There is no doubt that the bull statuettes were produced by the Lost Wax technique."  (Shlomo Guil) https://www.academia.edu/5689136/Reflections_Upon_Accepted_Dating_of_the_Prestige_Items_of_Nahal_Mishmar

Rhyton in shape of a Zebu, Eastern Iran/Western Central Asia, late 3rd to early 2nd millennium B.C.E. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/23643966766824376/ 

Standard with two long–horned bulls, 2400–2000 B.C.; Early Bronze Age III North central Anatolia Arsenical copper; H. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm) This pair of long-horned bulls probably served as a finial for a religious or ceremonial standard. Cast separately, they are held together by extensions of their front and back legs, bent around the plinth. A pierced tang at the base suggests that the pair was connected to another object.   http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/55.137.5

Bronze bull. 5 in. h. X 7 in. l. Empty eye-sockets possibly held semiprecious stones. The small hump on its back, amove the forelegs, identifies this as a “Zebu bull” (Bos indicus), a species that originated in India, but which was present in the Near East as early as the fourth millennium B.C.E. Prof. Amihai Mazar, 1983, Bronze Bull Found in Israelite “High Place” from the Time of the Judges, BAR 9:05, Sep/Oct 1983 notes that the discovery was made on the summit of a hill in northern Samaria. Meluhha rebus readings:

khũṭ ‘zebu’. Rebus: khũṭ ‘guild, community’; adar ḍaṅgra ‘zebu or humped bull’; rebus: aduru ‘native metal’ (Kannada);  ḍhangar  ‘blacksmith’ (Hindi) 

A brief account of the remarkable find is provided: Bronze Bull, c. 1200 BCE

A bronze bull statuette measuring 5” x 7” was found on the ground surface at a hilltop site near Dothan in northern Samaria. The hump-backed Zebu bull depicted, not native to the region of Israel, was portrayed in drawings and figurines from second and first millennium Mesopotamia, Anatolia (ancient Turkey), Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Egypt. A bronze figurine comparable to the Bull Site example was found in a Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600-1200 BCE) temple at Hazor in northern Israel. The style of casting suggests northern manufacture, perhaps in Syria...

The Bull Site sacred precinct consisted of a stone border enclosing a 70-foot diameter elliptical circle. In addition to the bull, the enclosure contained a paving or platform of flat stones to level the bedrock and beside it a large, roughly hewn stone measuring 4 feet long, 3 feet high, and 1.75 feet thick. A piece of an Egyptian bronze mirror(?) and the ceramic base perhaps of an incense stand or miniature shrine lay nearby. Pottery in the vicinity dated the site to approximately 1200 BCE. Settlements in the surrounding area, all farmsteads, also dated to approximately 1200 BCE.

The Bull Site and Ancient Israel

The locale is an isolated hilltop in the central highlands near Mt. Gilboa, in the territory ascribed to the tribe of Manasseh. Both the bull figurine and the large stone, interpreted as a (reclining) standing stone (massebah) or an altar render the site cultic... 

For further reading see the popular, illustrated account by A. Mazar, “Bronze Bull Found in Israelite ‘High Place’ from the Time of the Judges” BAR 9.5 (1983) 34-40 or the more technical account in “Bull Site” NEAEHL I: 266-67. Mazar responds to M. Coogan’s challenging the cultic identification in “On Cult Places and Early Israelites: A Response to Michael Coogan” BAR 14.1 (1988). For the Tel Dan plaque see A. Biran, “Two Bronze Plaques and the Hussot of Dan” IEJ 49 (1999) 54, fig. 14.

Elizabeth Bloch-Smith

http://cojs.org/cojswiki/Bronze_Bull%2C_c._1200_BCE

Tell Judaidah (Amuq valley) bronze figurines, southern Turkey bordering Syria are the oldest examples of true bronze (combination of copper and tin) known. They date to about 3000 B.C.E. . Six figurines. Braidwood R, Braidwood L.1960. Excavations in the Plain of Antioch I .Chicago : The University of Chicago Press.plate 56. "Braidwood determined that the figurines were cast and after some considerations concluded that “there is no 

doubt that the figures were made by lost-wax casting process. The chemical composition of these items 

were found by him to be copper and tin. Yener and Wilkinson (Yener K. A and Wilkinson T. J . 1997. Amuq valley regional project, The oriental institute, Chicago) report that High-energy X rays analysis of one of the Tell Al-Judaidah figurines revealed signs of breakage at the knees and ancient welding with lead. Made of bronze with high amounts of tin, the figurine had silver gold decorations on its belt and chest and a silver helmet. The high peaks for barium suggest the use of flux." (Shlomo Guil) https://www.academia.edu/5689136/Reflections_Upon_Accepted_Dating_of_the_Prestige_Items_of_Nahal_Mishmar

Drink beer with the Code together with a lovemaking representation of a Sumerian clay tablets 

 over 1800BCE Louvre, France.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/219941226/Long-History-of-Lost-Wax-Casting-Lb-Hunt

"The earlier fourth millennium BC hoard of over 400 copper objects and thirteen of other materials discovered in 1961 in a cave in the Nahal Mishmar, west of the Dead Sea in Israel, is of worldwide significance for the earliest history of copper metallurgy. This paper, in seeking to make the hoard's significance more explicit, argues that it is all the product of settlements in the northern Negev of Israel probably obtaining their copper from mines in the Wadi Feinan, Jordan. It may originally have come from a local temple treasury." (P. R. S. Moorey,  1988, he Chalcolithic hoard from Nahal Mishmar, Israel, in context,  World Archaeology , vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 171-189, 1988).

Prehistoric metalworking in the southern Levant: Archaeometallurgical and social perspectives (Citations: 12)

• Thomas E. Levy, Sariel Shalev
  This paper examines some of the processes which may have led to the initial adoption of metallurgy during the Chalcolithic (ca. 4500–3200 BCE) period in ancient Palestine. An archaeometallurgical study of metal‐related finds from the Negev desert demonstrates the presence of two distinct metal industries during the Chalcolithic; one for the production of tools and the other for the ...
  Journal: World Archaeology , vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 352-372, 1989

The Emergence of Complex Metallurgy on the Iranian Plateau: Escaping the Levantine Paradigm (Citations: 2)

• Christopher Peter Thornton
  Models for the development of metallurgy in Southwest Asia have for a long time been focussed on research carried out in the lowland regions of the Levant and Mesopotamia. These models do not take into account the different developmental trajectories witnessed in the resource-rich highlands of Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Iran. In this paper, the beginnings of the use ...
  Journal: Journal of World Prehistory , vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 301-327, 2009

New Light on the Development of Chalcolithic Metal Technology in the Southern Levant (Citations: 1)

• Jonathan Golden
  Several decades after the discovery of the spectacular Nahal Mishmar Hoard (a collection of cast metal goods, some quite ornate, found in a cave high in the cliffs of the Judean Desert) many important questions about Chalcolithic metallurgy in the southern Levant remain unanswered. What is the origin of the materials used? Where were the final goods produced and what ...
  Journal: Journal of World Prehistory , vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 283-300, 2009

The location of specialized copper production by the lost wax technique in the Chalcolithic southern Levant(Citations: 3)

• Yuval Goren
  Journal: Geoarchaeology-an International Journal - GEOARCHAEOLOGY , vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 374-397, 2008

Risley defines 'Dhokra' as: "A sub-caste of kamars or blacksmiths in Western Bengal, who make brass idols." (Risley, HH ,1891, The Tribes and Castes of Bengal. Government of Bengal, Calcutta Vol. 1, p. 236)

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/meluhha-metallurgy-to-bronze-age.html 

Meluhha metallurgy to Bronze Age civilizations

Mohenjo-daro seal depicts a hieroglyph composition, comparable to the horned, decrepit woman with hanging breasts and ligatured to bovine hindlegs and tail as shown on one side of the Dholavira tablet. There is an added narrative of two hieroglyphs: horned tiger and a leafless tree.

I would like to comment on the following Fig. 16 of Parpola's paper (Beginnings of Indian astronomy (Asko Parpola, 2013) With reference to a parallel development in China. in: History of Science in South Asia 1 (2013), pp. 21-78):

Fig. 16 Two-faced tablet from Dholavira, Kutch, Gujarat, suggesting child sacrifice (lower picture) connected with crocodile cult (upper picture). After Parpola 2011: 41 fig. 48 (sketch AP). 'Crocodile in the Indus civilization and later south Asian traditions'. In Linguistics, archaeology and the human past: occasional paper 12, ed. Toshiki Osada & Hitoshi Endo. Pp. 1-58. Kyoto: Indus Project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature.

To compare the details provided by AP's sketch on this Fig. 16, I reproduce below a photograph of the tablet:

Even assuming that a seated person on the lower sketch figure with raised arms carries 'children' I do not see how Asko Parpola (AP the sketch-maker) can jump to the conclusion of 'suggested child sacrifice'.

Dholavira molded terracotta tablet with Meluhha hieroglyphs written on two sides. 

Some readings: 

Hieroglyph: Ku. ḍokro, ḍokhro ʻ old man ʼ; B. ḍokrā ʻ old, decrepit ʼ, Or. ḍokarā; H. ḍokrā ʻ decrepit ʼ; G. ḍokɔ m. ʻ penis ʼ, ḍokrɔ m. ʻ old man ʼ, M. ḍokrā m. -- Kho. (Lor.) duk ʻ hunched up, hump of camel ʼ; K. ḍọ̆ku ʻ humpbacked ʼ perh. < *ḍōkka -- 2. Or. dhokaṛa ʻ decrepit, hanging down (of breasts) ʼ.(CDIAL 5567). M. ḍhẽg n. ʻ groin ʼ, ḍhẽgā m. ʻ buttock ʼ. M. dhõgā m. ʻ buttock ʼ. (CDIAL 5585). Glyph: Br. kōnḍō on all fours, bent double. (DEDR 204a) Rebus: kunda ‘turner’ kundār turner (A.); kũdār, kũdāri (B.); kundāru (Or.); kundau to turn on a lathe, to carve, to chase; kundau dhiri = a hewn stone; kundau murhut = a graven image (Santali) kunda a turner’s lathe (Skt.)(CDIAL 3295) Tiger has head turned backwards. క్రమ్మర krammara. adv. క్రమ్మరిల్లు or క్రమరబడు Same as క్రమ్మరు (Telugu). Rebus: krəm backʼ(Kho.)(CDIAL 3145) karmāra ‘smith, artisan’ (Skt.) kamar ‘smith’ (Santali) Hieroglyph: krəm backʼ(Khotanese)(CDIAL 3145) Rebus: karmāra ‘smith, artisan’ (Skt.) kamar ‘smith’ (Santali)

Hieroglyphs to children held aloft on a seated person's hands: dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal' kuṛī 'girl, child' Rebus: kuṭhi ‘smelter furnace’ (Santali) kuṛī f. ‘fireplace’ (H.); krvṛi f. ‘granary (WPah.); kuṛī, kuṛohouse, building’(Ku.)(CDIAL 3232) kuṭi ‘hut made of boughs’ (Skt.) guḍi temple (Telugu)

Pa. kōḍ (pl. kōḍul) horn; Ka. kōḍu horn, tusk, branch of a tree; kōr horn Tu. kōḍů, kōḍu horn Ko. kṛ (obl. kṭ-)( (DEDR 2200) Paš. kōṇḍā ‘bald’, Kal. rumb. kōṇḍa ‘hornless’.(CDIAL 3508). Kal. rumb. khōṇḍ a ‘half’ (CDIAL 3792).

Rebus: koḍ 'workshop' (Gujarati) 

kāruvu ‘crocodile’ Rebus: khar ‘blacksmith’ (Kashmiri)  

kola 'tiger' Rebus: kol 'working in iron', kolhe 'smelters' kolle 'blacksmith''pañcaloha, alloy of five metals'.

Hieroglyph: dhokra ‘decrepit woman with breasts hanging down’. Rebus: dhokra kamar 'artisan caster using lost-wax technique'.

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-hieroglyphs-1-dhokra-lost-wax.html 

Meluhha hieroglyphs: 1. Dhokra kamar lost-wax metal caster; 2. Dance-step of Mohenjo-daro metal cast

kŕ̊tā -- ʻgirlʼ (RV); kuṛäˊ ʻgirlʼ (Ash.); kola ‘woman’ (Nahali); ‘wife’(Assamese). *kuḍa1 ʻ boy, son ʼ, °ḍī ʻ girl, daughter ʼ. [Prob. ← Mu. (Sant. Muṇḍari koṛa ʻ boy ʼ, kuṛi ʻ girl ʼ, Ho koa, kui, Kūrkū kōn, kōnjē); or ← Drav. (Tam. kur̤a ʻ young ʼ, Kan.koḍa ʻ youth ʼ) T. Burrow BSOAS xii 373. Prob. separate from RV. kŕ̊tā -- ʻ girl ʼ H. W. Bailey TPS 1955, 65. -- Cf. kuḍáti ʻ acts like a child ʼ Dhātup.] NiDoc. kuḍ'aǵa ʻ boy ʼ, kuḍ'i ʻ girl ʼ; Ash. kūˊṛə ʻ child, foetus ʼ, istrimalī -- kuṛäˊ ʻ girl ʼ; Kt. kŕū, kuŕuk  ʻ young of animals ʼ; Pr. kyútru ʻ young of animals, child ʼ, kyurú ʻ boy ʼ,kurīˊ ʻ colt, calf ʼ; Dm. kúŕa ʻ child ʼ, Shum. kuṛ; Kal. kūŕ*lk ʻ young of animals ʼ; Phal. kuṛĭ̄ ʻ woman, wife ʼ; K. kūrü f. ʻ young girl ʼ, kash. kōṛī, ram. kuṛhī; L. kuṛā m. ʻ bridegroom ʼ,kuṛī f. ʻ girl, virgin, bride ʼ, awāṇ. kuṛī f. ʻ woman ʼ; P. kuṛī f. ʻ girl, daughter ʼ, P. bhaṭ.  WPah. khaś. kuṛi, cur. kuḷī, cam. kǒḷā ʻ boy ʼ, kuṛī ʻ girl ʼ; -- B. ã̄ṭ -- kuṛā ʻ childless ʼ (ã̄ṭa ʻ tight ʼ)? -- X pṓta -- 1: WPah. bhad. kō ʻ son ʼ, kūī ʻ daughter ʼ, bhal. ko m., koi f., pāḍ.kuā, kōī, paṅ. koā, kūī. (CDIAL 3245)

kōla1 m. ʻ name of a degraded tribe ʼ Hariv. Pk. kōla -- m.;  B. kol  ʻ name of a Muṇḍā tribeʼ(CDIAL 3532).

Thomas, Romain, Margareta Tengberg, Christopher Moulherat, Vincent Marcon & Roland Besenval, 2012, Analysis of a protohistoric net from Shahi Tump, Baluchistan, Pakistan, in: Archaeol. Anthropol Sc. (2012) 4: 15-23.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/219996479/Thomas-Romain-Margareta-Tengberg-Christopher-Moulherat-Vincent-Marcon-Roland-Besenval-2012-Analysis-of-a-protohistoric-net-from-Shahi-Tump-Ba

 

 

Structure of a double-stranded S-lay cord obtained by the association of two Z-lay yarns. Examle of a S- and Z-lay mesh knots. The net discussed in the article was found in a burnt layer above the strands of the net, which have been 14C dated to be not later than 5125+_65 BP (3984-3803 cal BCE, Pa2399) and 5040+_30 BP (3938-3787 cal BCE, Pa 2396).

Dwarf palm N. ritchieana. Rope-making by plying (or twisting) four leaf strands of N.ritchieana, Makran, Pakistan. The rope-maker sits on a mat equally produced from palm leaves (photograph by M. Tengberg)

Leopards weight of Shahi Tump (Balochistan), National Museum, Karachi. The artefact was discovered in a grave, in the Kech valley, in Balochistan. ca. 4th millennium BCE. 200 mm. h. 13.5kg wt. The shell has been manufactured by lost-wax foundry of a copper alloy (12.6% Pb, 2.6% As), then it has been filled up through lead (99.5%) foundry. The shell is engraved with figures of leopards hunting wild goats, made of polished fragments of shellfishes. No identification of the artefact's use has been given. (Scientific team: B. Mille, D. Bourgarit, R. Besenval, Musee Guimet, Paris.

Meluhha hieroglyphs:

karaḍa  ‘panther’ Rebus: karaḍa ‘hard alloy’. mlekh 'goat' Rebus: milakkhu 'copper' (Pali)

(Source: 

B. Mille, R. Besenval, D. Bourgarit, 2004, Early lost-wax casting in Balochistan (Pakistan); the 'Leopards weight' from Shahi-Tump. in: Persiens antike Pracht, Bergbau-Handwerk-Archaologie, T. Stollner, R Slotta, A Vatandoust, A. eds., pp. 274-280. Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau Museum, 2004.

Mille, B., D. Bourgarit, JF Haquet, R. Besenval, From the 7th to the 2nd millennium BCE in Balochistan (Pakistan): the development of copper metallurgy before and during the Indus Civilisation, South Asian Archaeology, 2001, C. Jarrige & V. Lefevre, eds., Editions Recherches sur les Civilisations, Paris, 2005.)

Long History of Lost Wax Casting LB Hunt  http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/892/art%253A10.1007%252FBF03215456.pdf?auth66=1398436746_9cc28bfaacd05f9d399320082ee56bd2&ext=.pdf

http://www.scribd.com/doc/219968310/Southasia-world-coocan-jp-uesugi-2010b-pdf%E2%80%8E

Long History of Lost Wax Casting Lb Hunt

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/revisiting-cire-perdue-in.html

Meluhha standard compares with Nahal Mishmar standard. Meluhha (Asur) guild processions. 

 Nahal Mishmar hoard also had a copper alloy U-shaped vessel comparable in shape to the one shown on Meluhha standard as a crucible or portable furnace. The zig-zag shaped decoration on the copper vessel is comparable to the zig-zag shape shown on the 'gimlet' ligature on Meluhha standard (Mohenjo-dao seal m008). The zig-zag pattern shows the circular motion of the lathe --sangaḍa --Drawing showing three components of  Meluhha standard device: scepter, portable furnace, gimlet (lathe) juxtaposed to a standard in the Nahal Mishmar hoard of lost-wax castings. See, in particular, the three components of the Meluhha standard shown on Mohenjo-daro seal m008.

Mohenjo-daro seal m008 and variants of flagposts on Meluhha standard. (Note: Meluhha refers to mleccha vernacular language of the people of Indus-Sarasvati also called Harappa-Mohenjo-daro or Indus Valley Civilization Sets of Meluhha hieroglyphs refer to Indus script discussed in my book. Thus, Meluhha, mleccha vernacular of India is clearly attested in 4400 BCE at Nahal Mishmar.)

Executive Summary

This monograph suggests that the Nahal Mishmar standard is comparable to the Meluhha standard which carried hieroglyphs in a trade-guild procession. This complements the following blogpost: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-dhokra-art-from-5th-millennium.html   

Meluhha dhokra art from 5th millennium BCE at Nahal (Nachal) Mishmar, transiting into Bronze Age http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/meluhha-metallurgical-roots-and-spread.html 

Meluhha: spread of lost-wax casting in the Fertile Crescent. Smithy is the temple. Veneration of ancestors.

This blogpost compared Nahal Mishmar hoard with Meluhha artifacts, and in particular two Meluhha seals with inscriptions from Dholavira and Mohenjo-daro demonstrating the dhokra was a Meluhha word for cire perdue (lost-wax) casting method evidenced by Nahal Mishmar copper hoard and that dhokra metal casting is practiced even today in many parts of India

The hieroglyphs carried on the Meluhha standard represented the tools-of-trade and denoted professional competence of the Meluhha lapidary-smithy artisans as the artisans transited from the chalcolithic to true bronze-age with competence in creating metal alloys and cast objects using the lost-wax casting method as demonstrated by the over 429 copper alloy objects discovered in Nahal Mishmar (ca. 4400 BCE).

The shape of this standard compares with the standard which holds the 'standard device' often shown in front of one-horned young bull on many Meluhha (Indus script) inscriptions. 

The Meluhha standard holds two devices on top: 1. bowl-shaped crucible or portable furnace; 2. gimlet (lathe) There are two Mohenjo-daro tablets which show the Meluhha standared carried by a standard-bearer in a procession with three other standard-bearers bearing the standards of 'one-horned young bull', 'scarf', 'spoked nave of wheel'. 

The argument in the context of Indus writing is that these are Meluhha hieroglyphs read rebus . The readings are: sangad, 'lathe, portable furnace' rebus: 'entrustment articles of guild'; konda 'young bull' rebus: konda 'turner'; dhatu 'scarf' rebus: dhatu 'ore'; eraka 'nave of wheel'; ara 'spoke of wheel' rebus: eraka 'copper casting' ara 'brass (alloy)'.

Title of artifact: Procession with gods, musicians, animals and snake-god Marduk, 12th cent. b.C., from Susa (Sometimes also referred to as 'unfinished kudurru'). Location: Louvre

• 
  
• Unfinished" Kudurru
  Kassite period, attributed to the reign of Melishipak (1186-1172 BC)
  Susa (where it had been taken as war booty in the 12th century BC)
• Limestone J. de Morgan excavations Sb 25
• “The royal art of the Middle-Elamite period
  
  “Shilhak-Inshushinak was one of the most brilliant sovereigns of the dynasty founded by Shutruk-Nahhunte in the early 12th century BC. Numerous foundation bricks attest to his policy of construction. He built many monuments in honor of the great god of Susa, Inshushinak. The artists of Susa in the Middle-Elamite period were particularly skilled in making large bronze pieces. Other than the Sit Shamshi, which illustrates the complex technique of casting separate elements joined together with rivets, the excavations at Susa have produced one of the largest bronze statues of Antiquity: dating from the 14th century BC, the effigy of "Napirasu, wife of Untash-Napirisha," the head of which is missing, is 1.29 m high and weighs 1,750 kg. It was made using the solid-core casting method. Other bronze monuments underscore the mastery of the Susa metallurgists: for example, an altar table surrounded by snakes borne by divinities holding vases with gushing waters, and a relief depicting a procession of warriors set above a panel decorated with engravings of birds pecking under trees. These works, today mutilated, are technical feats. They prove, in their use of large quantities of metal, that the Susians had access to the principal copper mines situated in Oman and eastern Anatolia. This shows that Susa was located at the heart of a network of circulating goods and long-distance exchange.”[i]
  
  
  
  
  

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  [i]http://www.louvre.fr/media/repository/ressources/sources/illustration/atlas/image_66481_v2_m56577569830704548.jpg
• Beneath the rings of the serpent that lies coiled around the top of the kudurru, the principal deities of the pantheon are represented in symbolic form. Below them is a cortege of animals and deities playing musical instruments. Walls and crenellated towers surround a space left blank for an inscription that was never carved. A horned serpent, symbol of the god Marduk, is coiled round the base.

An anepigraphic kudurru

• This kudurru is one of a number of Mesopotamian works found in Susa. They were brought there by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte (late 12th century BC) as part of the spoils of his victorious campaigns in Mesopotamia. Kudurrus are characteristic of the Kassite Dynasty. They are decorated with bas-relief carvings, generally consisting of divine symbols and a text recording the details of royal gifts of land or privileges granted by the king to high-ranking dignitaries or members of his family. In this case, the decoration is divided into three registers, delineated at the top and base by two huge horned serpents. The lower register, where the text was to have been carved, is empty, although the surface was carefully prepared to receive the inscription: there are four polished zones demarcated by walls. Two of these zones are carved with horizontal lines ready for the cuneiform script.

Divine symbols

• The word 'kudurru' is an Akkadian term meaning a boundary stone. However, contrary to what this name suggests, kudurrus were in fact stored in temples. Although they were primarily legal documents, their iconography provides a precious record of the religious life of the rulers who commissioned them. The upper register depicts the symbols associated with the principal deities of the Mesopotamian pantheon. Their order reflects the accepted hierarchy of the gods. The first triad consists of the three great deities: Anu, the sky god; Enlil, the earth god; and Ea, the god of Apsu, the body of fresh water on which the earth was believed to float. The second level represented the astral deities: Sin, the moon god, and his two children Shamash, the sun god, and Ishtar, the planet Venus. Immediately below them are the deities most in favor in the 2nd millennium BC. Marduk and his animal attribute - a horned dragon named Mushussu - are given pride of place, reflecting the theological desire to establish a universal god for Babylon, the capital of Mesopotamia. The iconographic style of this stele is very close to that of the kudurrus dating from the reign of King Melishihu (1186-1172 BC). This kudurru can thus be dated to the same period.

An unusual procession

• While it was usual for kudurrus to be carved with a succession of divine symbols, in this case the carvings on the middle register are most unusual. They depict a procession of eight figures, all carrying bows and wearing the horned crowns that mark them out as gods. Seven of the figures are bearded gods, playing the lute and accompanied by animals. A goddess playing the tambourine and possibly dancing follows them. Although such friezes were very popular during the Kassite period, this composition is remarkable, even unique, in that it is most unusual to find two separate representations of the gods - one symbolic, one anthropomorphic - on the same monument. The ruler who commissioned the kudurru must have had a particular reason for including the procession as well as the more conventional symbolic representation. Unfortunately, this reason remains a mystery. The procession may refer to a ritual involving the minor deities, probably the protectors of animals. The figures may also possibly be foreign deities. Whatever the truth of the matter, the long lock of hair hanging from their headdress indicates that they are marginal figures in the classical pantheon.

Bibliography

• L'empire du temps : mythes et créations, catalogue d'exposition du musée du Louvre, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 2000, p. 44, cat. n 14.
  La cité royale de Suse : découvertes archéologiques en Iran conservées au musée du Louvre, catalogue d'exposition, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1994, pp. 178-180, fig. 116.
  Louvre, antiquités orientales : guide du visiteur, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1997.

• Statuette of a god wearing a coiled serpent and mounted on a chariot
  End of the Sukkalmah period, 16th-15th century BC
  Susa
• Copper
• J. de Morgan excavations
  Sb 2824

This god riding a chariot has the ears of a bull and a long beard edged with twisted locks, which enables us to identify him as Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of the devastating summer sun, sometimes associated with the Underworld. He is depicted here in a procession. His tiara headdress is crowned with a snake, a benevolent animal in Elamite mythology. This objects reflects the great skill of the Iranian metallurgists. It is part of a group of twenty-six objects found at the Susa acropolis.

A god with bull's ears

Sitting astride his chariot, the god is dressed in a kaunakes, a ruffled cloak in the Mesopotamian style. This garment was traditionally attributed to divine figures, while human beings customarily wore thin, draped fabrics. The figure is of human appearance but has the ears of a bull. This detail, along with the long beard divided into two separate parts edged with twisted locks, are the characteristics of the Mesopotamian death-god, Nergal, widely represented in Elam. This god of sickness and death was often portrayed in the form of terra-cotta figurines in Babylonia in the early 2nd millennium. However, none have been found at Susa. Holding a branch, the god is here shown in a procession, on the occasion of a religious feast of a visit to a deceased person. Texts attest to a funerary prayer that was addressed to a chariot-borne protector-god.

The snake, symbol of the forces of the underworld

The figure's tiara headdress is in the shape of a conical skull cap, formed in fact by a coiled snake whose head, facing right, is visible at the top. The presence of the snake places this figurine among the various images of the Elamite "snake god." This reptile, seen as a benevolent animal symbolizing the chthonic world and forces of the underworld, is a common motif in the art of ancient Iran. In the 2nd millennium, it was particulary associated with a god of uncertain identity known as the "god with snake and gushing water." Often shown coiled up, the snake was depicted with the god in various ways, notably on the latter's throne or headdress. Over time, its appearance evolved into that of a mythological creature, first a snake with a human head, later a dragon-snake.

A marked taste for metallurgy

The Susians were excellent metallurgists. This statuette is part of a series of twenty-six items found on the acropolis at Susa in 1904 near the temple of Inshushinak. Today, all are kept in the Louvre Museum. Some were plated with gold, like the figurine of the god with the golden hand (sb2823). The god and the chariot were each made in one casting, using the solid casting method. The metal of the chariot is more heterogeneous, however.

Bibliography

Borne interactive du département des Antiquités orientales.
Miroschedji Pierre de, "Le dieu élamite au serpent", in Iranica antiqua, vol. 16, 1981, Gand, ministère de l'Éducation et de la Culture, 1989, p. 20, pl. IV, fig. 1.
Tallon Françoise, "Un aspect de la métallurgie du cuivre à Suse. La petite statuaire au IIe millénaire", in Iranica Antiqua, vol. 24, 1989, Gand, ministère de l'Éducation et de la Culture, 1989, p. 123, pl. I, fig. 2.

 
The Susa panels show the standard bearers ligatured to the buttock of a bovine. This characteristic ligaturing style showing bovine features such as hindlegs of bovine, or bovine horns or tails, is also seen on Meluhha artifacts (seals and tablets).

Mohenjo-daro tablets. Standing person with horns and bovine features (hoofed legs and/or tail).

Pict-87 Standing person with horns and bovine features (hoofed legs and/or tail).

 Harappa tablets. Pict-85, Pict-86 Standing person with horns and bovine features (hoofed legs and/or tail).

Pict-90: Standing person with horns and bovine features holding a staff or mace on his shoulder.

Mohenodaro seal. Pict-103 Horned (female with breasts hanging down?) person with a tail and bovine legs standing near a tree fisting a horned tiger rearing on its hindlegs. 

These Susa panels of molded bricks were used to decorate the facade of the exterior temple on the Susa hill. This monument, dedicated to royal worship under the Shutrukid dynasty, was commissioned by the kings of this dynasty. Begun by Kutir-Nahunte (c. 1710 BCE), the work was completed by Shilhak-Inshushinak. The panels feature alternating figures of bull-men protecting a palm tree and Lama goddesses, also considered as protective divinities.

• Panels of molded bricks
  Mid 12th century BC
  Apadana mound, Susa

• Baked clay
  H. 1.355 m; W. 0.375 m
• Excavations led by Roland de Mecquenem 1913¿21; panels sb19575¿19577 were restored thanks to the Philip Morris Jury Prize, 1991
  Sb 2732, Sb 2733, Sb 2734, Sb 2735, Sb 14390, Sb 14391, Sb 19575, Sb 19576, Sb 19577 

A temple in honor of the Elamite Shutrukid dynasty

The king Shilhak-Inshushinak rebuilt the two great temples at Susa. The high temple on the acropolis was dedicated to Inshushinak, the great god of the Susian Plain. The exterior sanctuary, built on the Apadana mound, where Darius was to build his palace six centuries later, was primarily used for the royal worship of the Shutrukid dynasty, to which this king belonged. These panels of molded bricks were used to decorate the facade of the monument. Inscriptions half-way up the panels describe the circumstances of its construction. Kutir-Nahunte, brother of Shilhak-Inshushinak, ordered the erection of the building and its decoration with molded bricks, but died before seeing the project through. Shilhak-Inshushinak resumed and completed the work.

Goddesses and mythological creatures, protectors of nature and men

On the panels, the figure of a bull-man protecting a palm tree alternates with a Lama goddess. The bull-man, traditional guardian of temple gates, represented a combination of human genius and the strength and power of the bull. The bull-man is here shown wearing a tiara with several tiers of horns, a divine attribute. In Mesopotamian mythology, this figure is the acolyte of the sun-god Shamash. Pictured with a stylized palm tree, he evokes the crucial role of the sun in plant life. The date palm was a key element in Mesopotamian mythology, a major source of inspiration in Iranian thought. The date palm symbolized plant life as a whole: in a landscape of plains, where agricultural income was of the utmost importance, plant life was at the center of human concerns. The tree's thin palms suggest the rays of the sun that warm them. The Lama goddess, also considered a protective divinity, guarded the effigies of the royal family. The goddess is shown with arms raised in the traditional gesture of blessing. Thus, worshippers were welcomed by reassuring figures who ensured the serenity of the divine dwelling and the dynastic chapel.

The Mesopotamian influence

The terra-cotta bricks were molded. This type of architectural decoration had already been used in Mesopotamia, at Uruk, in the Kassite period, on the facade of the temple dedicated to the goddess Inanna. The method of production of these decorative elements and the figures represented on them show the strong influence of the Mesopotamian culture on the neighboring region of Elam. Several pictorial details are Iranian, however, such as the two lines marking the knees of the bull-men and the inscriptions in Elamite script.

Bibliography

Amiet Pierre, Élam, Auvers-sur-Oise, Archée éditeur, 1966, p. 390, fig. 296 et 299.
Amiet Pierre, Suse : 6 000 ans d’histoire, Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, coll. « Monographies des musées de France », 1988, pp. 98-99, fig. 57.
Benoit Agnès, Art et archéologie : les civilisations du Proche-Orient ancien, Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, coll. « Manuels de l’École du Louvre », 2003, pp. 360-361, fig. 181.
Borne interactive du département des Antiquités orientales.

• http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/panels-molded-bricks

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/06/asur-metallurgists.html Ancient Near East: Traditions of smelters, metallurgists validate the Bronze Age Linguistic Doctrine.

The doctrine notes that the Meluhha vernacular of the bronze age artisans can be found in the languages of Indian sprachbund (linguistic area

S. Kalyanarman Sarasvati Research Center April 1, 2016