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Contents:

Preface. 1. Perceiving the Romanticized Status of Indian Iron and Wootz Steel: The Pre-Colonial Lens. 2. Exploring Her Resources and Potentials: Expansion of the Colonial Realm. 3. Everything Comes from the West? On the Origin of Iron. 4. A Colloquy between Archaeological Findings and Historical Writings. 5. Settlement Dynamics Based on the Use of Iron: A Case Study. Epilogue. Bibliography. Index. Integrating material culture with the worldview or mentalites of people a more comprehensive understanding of the historical significance of objects emerges. Reading the historians perceptions of the past, Iron in India: History and Historiography presents a transdisciplinary narrative aimed at a reconstruction of the history of Indian iron before its industrial production. This book looks at the pre-industrial period with a two-fold perspective: by understanding the material culture that has survived through the passage of time, and by examining the process through which historians have discovered, interacted, and interpreted those trails of the past. This book includes a detailed discussion on a new set of evidence unearthed in the recent years and examines diverse historical explanations/narratives such as the pre-colonial penchant for superior quality of Indian iron , details on Indian iron as a part of systematic knowledge production during the colonial period, and post-colonial interpretations of the subject mostly guided by colonial framework. It also highlights the nature of settlement dynamics with regards to the production and use of iron, thus establishing a meaningful synergy between archaeological findings and historical discourses.