Metallurgy, Materials & Chemistry
Etched carnelian beads
3rd millennium BCEHarappan artisansIndus Valley sitesIndus / NW (now Pakistan/Afghanistan)
3,000 BCE
Decorative beads made by an alkaline-etching technique that whitens designs on carnelian.
- Dated
- 3,000–2,001 BCE
- As scholars put it
- 3rd millennium BCE
- Originator
- Harappan artisans
- Source text
- Indus Valley sites
- Region
- Indus / NW (now Pakistan/Afghanistan)
- Discipline
- Metallurgy, Materials & Chemistry
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Verified-web
Meanwhile in the West
A distinctive Harappan chemical craft.
Fair to say
A specialised craft technique.
Path to modern innovation
An early example of applied surface chemistry.
3,000 BCEEtched carnelian beadsTransmission
Traded from China to Greece.
Museum objects
Bead
BeadReferences
- 1Indus archaeology
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-103 on GitHub.