Analysing the black polished pottery of proto-historic-early historic India

Abstract

The development of ceramic technology in India can be traced back to a hoary past. Highly sophisticated potteries like black slipped ware (BSW), black-andred ware (BRW), painted grey ware, grey ware and northern black polished ware (NBPW) were present in proto-historic and early historic times (circa 2000-300 BCE). The present communication aims to throw light on the technology of one of the important wares, viz. BSW especially from sites located in the Vindhya- Ganga region. Through analytical examination of the ware, the authors propose to fill in a lacuna in the field of ancient ceramics.