<Dd> Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details </Dd> <Dd> Prehistoric (or Proto - historic) Iron Age Historic Iron Age </Dd> <P> The history of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent began during the 2nd millennium BC . Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in present - day Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period 1800--1200 BC . Archaeological excavations in Hyderabad show an Iron Age burial site . Rakesh Tewari believes that around the beginning of the Indian Iron Age (13th century BC), iron smelting was widely practiced in India . Such use suggests that the date of the technology's inception may be around the 16th century BC . </P> <P> The beginning of the 1st millennium BC saw extensive developments in iron metallurgy in India . Technological advancement and mastery of iron metallurgy was achieved during this period of peaceful settlements . One iron working centre in east India has been dated to the first millennium BC . In Southern India (present day Mysore) iron appeared as early as 12th to 11th centuries BC; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country . The Indian Upanishads mention metallurgy. and the Indian Mauryan period saw advances in metallurgy . As early as 300 BC, certainly by AD 200, high quality steel was produced in southern India, by what would later be called the crucible technique . In this system, high - purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in a crucible and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon . </P>

When did the use of iron began in the subcontinent