印度是世界文明发源地之一。早在公元前第三千纪,印度河流域就孕育诞生了以哈拉帕(Harappa)文化为代表的印度河文明。这是南亚次大陆上最早的以使用青铜为特征的文明,在世界金属文化史上留下了光辉的一页。约公元前1200～1000年,也即印度古代史上的早期吠陀时代,印度先民逐渐认识并掌握了铁及其冶炼技术,从此,印度进入了铁器时代。约公元3—6世纪的笈多王朝 India is one of the cradles of world civilization. As early as the third millennium BC, the Indus Valley was born with the birth of the Indus civilization represented by Harappa culture. This is the earliest civilization featuring bronze in the South Asian subcontinent, leaving a glorious page in the world history of metal culture. From about 1200 to 1000 BC, that is, in the early Vedic era in ancient India, Indian ancestors gradually realized and mastered the technology of iron and smelting. Since then, India has entered the era of iron ware. About AD 3-6 century Xiong Dynasty