Humans first began to migrate from Australia to the Indian sub-continent around 60,000 years ago. These early settlers were descendants of the Australoid aborigines, and became the known as the Dravidian, whose reach extended from India to Iran.
Early Indus Valley jewelry consisted of strands of simple beads that were carved from soft stone, or fashioned from shells. The Harappans were expert craftsmen, making beads fromagate, amethyst, carnelian, lapis lazuli and turquoise. Some stones were heated to produce a reddish color which was prized by the early Indus civilization [4].
Jewellery of the Harappan Culture
During the Late Harappan period craftsmen began to work with bronze, copper silver, andgold, fashioning simple necklaces, head-bands, bangles and other ornamentation from cast metalwork, glazed faience (a non-clay ceramic), terracotta, shells, and carved ivory. Copper was mined locally by the Harappans, in Baluchistan and Rajasthan [9]. Examples of this early jewelry can be seen on the cast-bronze statuette of the 'Dancing girl of Mohenjo Daro' (Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan), believed to have been made in 2,500 BCE (above, left).
The Harappans were also accomplished sailors and navigators, helping them to expand the boundaries of trade Bahrain and Sumer For navigation, the Harappans carved compasses from conch shell, which they used to measure the angle between stars.
Jewelry was also made in the form of anthropomorphic symbols such as animals, trees, and sexual organs, due primarily to their pagan, and matriarchal spiritual beliefs. Jewelry was worn predominantly by the female, and was not buried with the deceased, but passed on to their heirs. Another popular Harappan spiritual motif was the Shiva Pashupati, or Yogic "Lord of Beasts."
Jewels of the Indian Subcontinent
As India's abundance of mineral wealth became known throughout the world, the indigenous people became increasingly wealthy and their lifestyle grew in opulence. Beginning in the time of India's Maha Janapadas, or "Great Kingdoms" (700—300 BCE), the region's wealth and power steadily increased, reaching its zenith during the Mughal Empire which spanned from the 16th century to the mid-19th century, and who's empire extended from Indian sub-continent to Afghanistan.
Gemstone use in India was well documented in the 6th century BCE Sanskrit encyclopedia known as the Brihat-Samhita (Utpalaparimalä,), written by Daivajna Varahamihira (505-587). Varahamihira, who was an astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer from Ujjain, categorized twenty-two gems, or "ratnas," which included: Marakata (emerald), Mukta (pearls), Padmaragaor Mänikya (ruby), and Vajra (diamond), as well as Brahmamani (bicolored tourmaline), Gomeda(jacinth or zircon), Indranila (sapphire), Jyotirasa, Karketana (chrysoberyl), Pravals (coral), Pulaka(garnet), Pushparaga (topaz), Rajamani (royal gem), Rudhirakhya (carnelian), Sasikanta(moonstone), Saugandhika (sapphire variety), Sphatika (rock crystal), Sasyaka (copper sulphate), Vaidurya (Lápiz lazuli), and Vimalaka (pyrite).
The classification of gemstones were further divided into distinct categories by the disiplin ofJyotish, which is an ancient Indian system of astronomy and astrology. Gems were divided intomahäratna (major gems) and uparatna (minor gems), with the former group being tied to the nine planets or astrological signs: Diamond (Venus), Ruby (Sun), Emerald (Mercury), Topaz or Yellow Sapphire (Jupiter), Garnet (Rahu), Blue Sapphire (Saturn), Pearl (Moon), Red Coral (Mars), Cat's-Eye Chrysoberyl (Ketu) as nine stones. These nine stones were typically set in aNavaratna (nine gems) setting system, with ruby (the sun) at its center.
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