The role iron technology played in the development of a settled agrarian civilisation in India has long been controversially debated. In this volume, B.P. Sahu introduces a selection of seminal essays by leading scholars in the field, including D.D. Kosambi, R.S. Sharma, D.K.Chakrabarti and Shereen Ratnagar. Each thesis is placed in its historical and theoretical context, clarifying the dimensions of this ongoing and tangled debate. Seeking to give a fully comprehensive overview, Sahu also includes a collection of essays offering fresh regional perspectives on Northern and Central India, Kathiawar and Tamil Nadu.