Rusted Ruins

Archaeology trapped in jingoist trenches

- PA Krishnan

ARCHAEOLOGY is closely connected with science. It is a far distance away from politics. But in India, it is a far distance away from science and closely connected with politics. This is true at both the national and the regional level. The recent announcement by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin that the Iron Age began in Tamil Nadu is a case in point. It is not an accident that the findings of Tamil Nadu archaeologists did not appear in a scientific journal, but in a glossy pamphletstyle book titled, Antiquity of Iron—Recent Radiometric Findings from Tamil Nadu, published by the Tamil Nadu government, with the usual blessings from the emperors of power. Yes, a few experts joined them and made some non-committal remarks, without critically evaluating the actual findings.

The Iron Age

The Iron Age was the final technological and cultural stage in the Stone-Bronze-Iron Age sequence. The date of the Iron Age, in which this metal, for the most part, replaced bronze in implements and weapons, varied from area to area. It began in the Middle East and southeastern Europe about 1200 BCE, but in China not until about 600 BCE. With the large-scale production of iron implements, agriculture became significantly easier and more efficient, allowing people to cultivate more land and produce more crop yields. It also resulted in increased population and new settlements. The utilisation of iron for weapons meant that many more people carried arms than previously, setting off a series of large-scale movements that changed the face of the world.