PANIMALAR ENGINEERING COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)

TAMILS AND TECHNOLOGY (SUBJECT CODE: 23TA1201)

QUESTION BANK
SEM – II
PART–A QUESTIONS
UNIT-1 WEAVING AND CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY

1. What are the evidences of clothing in sangha period?

In the sangha period, the reference of wearing Thazhaiyudai, Marauri and kachai is found
in kurunji Thinai songs.
Kuravars wore dresses woven from Kartazhai and the Kurinji land Kodichiyars wore leaf
dresses made from the shoots of Ashoka tree.
2. What are the names of clothes in sangha period?
1.Thazhai dress 2.Thugil -Kalingam 3.kachai-Kachu 4.Padam -Meippai
5.Sithar-Sitharvai 6.Kazhagam 7. Aruvai 8. Kandam
3. Who were the weaving women or cotton women?
The women who plucked the cotton and cleaned it by removing the nuts and seeds from it
were called” Cotton Women”. Bow was used to extract the cotton from its cocoon. Sangam
literature states that cotton cocoon was thoroughly pounded to remove the outer skin and dust.
Cotton Women were engaged in this work even at night with lanterns.
4. Give the meaning of Kachai and Kachu

(i) Sirupanartupadai tells us that Archunan wore a broad Kachai having flower designs.
(ii) Nedunelvadai says that the queen had tied ‘Vambu’(katchu) on her chest.
5. Give the meaning of Thughil and Kalingam
The king was wearing thughil which was washed with mush. The queen during separation
from her husband wore Kalingam a garment made by dirty thread.
6. What are the various steps involved in making garments?

The various steps involved in making garments are as follow

1. Ginning
2. Spinning
3. Processing (Paavottudhal)
4. Dyeing
5. Weaving Cloth
6. Selling Women Garments
7. What is the meaning of Pavu?
Keeping the threads to the required width and wrapping the threads in a cylinder to the
length of 10,15 sarees or dhotis is called ‘Pavu’.
8. What is meant by spinning and paavottudhal?

Spinning is the process of converting cotton balls into fibers or yarn.

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 Paavottudhal is the process of converting the yarn into a suitable form to manufacture cloth.

9. What are called as Kurukai?

Larger size pots are called as Kurukkai. Grains like paddy are stored in these.

10. What mineral was used for the red and black color in black red pottery?
Spectroscopic analysis test showed that hematite an iron mineral was used for the red
color of black red pottery and Charcoal an organic material was used for the black color.
11. What are the types of rotators?
There are two types of Thiruvais in Tamilnadu and they are
(i) Ball tipped rotator
(ii) Cone-slot rotator
12. What is Pre-Tamil Brahmi script?
Brahmi is the earliest Indian alphabetical script. It reflected the thinking of the Paleolithic
and Iron age people.

PART – B QUESTIONS
1. Explain the different types of clothes worn by people during sangha period?
2. How was the weaving industry during the sangha period and explain in detail the various
steps involved in making garments.
3. What is polished and unpolished pottery? Explain the method of making pottery in
detail.
4. Give a detailed accout on Black and Red potteries.
5. Write in detail the scratch marks engraved on potteries in ancient India.

PART – B QUESTIONS

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1. Explain the different types of clothes worn by people during sangha period?
The name of various types of clothing used by the sangam people can be seen from the details
given in “Pathuppattu”
(i) Leaf Dress
a) Narikurava women wore bunches of mango leaves in between and wore a veil of
leaves which they placed around the bouquets.
Proof: Thirumuruga lines 201-203
b) Neithal women wore a leafy dress made of shoots, leaves and flowers
Proof: Pattinapalai line 91

(ii) Thughil-Kalingham
The king was wearing Thukil (clothe) which had been washed with mush. The queen
wore a flower-Designed dress so that her husband would not leave her. During
separation from her husband she wore kalingam(Garment) made by dirty thread.
Proof: Nedunalvadai 145-6
From this evidence it is clear that ‘Thukil’ is a type of clothing and it is also understood
that ‘Kalingam’ is another type of clothing.

(iii) Katchai-Katchu(Dress)
a) The chief son(lover) of Kuriniji land was wearing a finely carved girdle.
Proof: Kurinji line125
b) Sirupanartupadai tells us that Archunan wore a broad Kachai(Dress) having flower
designs.
Proof:Sirupanatrupadai Line:239

C) Nalloor Naththathanar while talking about Veeman says that like Archuna, Veeman
was also a great warrior and wore the dress having flower designs.
Proof:Nednalvadai
d)Nedunalvadai says that the queen had tied ‘ Vambu’(Kachu) on her chest.
Proof:Nednalvadai Line 145-150

(iv) Padam(Shirt)
a)’Padam’ means shirt. Perumpanartuppadai says that the soldiers guarding the
highways of Thondai Country wore shirts.
Proof: Nachinarkiniyar Urai Line 69, Mullaipattu Thodar Line 66

b)During the sangam period, Yavanans traded in Tamilnadu. During their

stay here, they wore saree dress on their waist. Above their waist, they
wore meipai(shirt).
Proof: Mullaipattu Line 59-61

(V) Sithar-Sitharvai
Dirty torn rags were called ‘Sithar’ and ‘Sitharvai’
Proof: Porunarartrupadai Line 154 & 468

(vi)Kaazhagam
It is a type of garment, wore by sages and monks. It is a garment woven and sent from a
Town called Kadaram.
(vii) Aruvai
It is the highest quality fine embroidered dress.
It was worn by kings and the Rich.
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 (viii) Kandam
The rough clothes used to wrap around the tent like a wall was called
Kandam.
Proof: Nachinarkiniyar, Mullai 44
2. Explain in detail the various steps involved in making garments.

Tamil Civilization is ancient. The relationship with cotton and India is ancient. Artifacts found
in the Indus Valley Civilization shows that the ancients knew the art of weaving cotton cloth. Foreign
references and archeological evidence confirm the Indian origin of cotton. Before the rest of the world
became civilized, the people of India learned to produce and weave clothes from cotton. Tamils knew
how to spin yarn from cotton through rattan, handloom and sewing. Weaving is the art of making
garments like dhoti, sari or shawl.

VARIOUS STEPS INVOLVED IN WEAVING

1. Cleaning of cotton - Ginning
2. Spinning of yarn- Spinning
3. Sizing of yarn - Paavottudhal
4. Dyeing
5. Weaving cloths
6. Selling woven garments

CLEANING OF COTTON
The raw material of the textile industry is cotton. Cotton was grown in abundance in the Mullai
lands. The cotton pulp had to be collected and cleaned to remove seeds, unwanted dirt etc and make it
suitable for weaving is called Ginning. [Ginning is a process in which the cotton fibers are separated
from the cotton seeds]. The Sangam period people used tools like bows and steel to beat the cotton.
Then the outer shell of the cotton and the nut were thoroughly scrubbed to remove dirt and dust. This
can be known from the tamil literature called Natrinai.

WOMEN SPINNING YARN: [cotton women]) Sangam women were skilled at spinning yarn with
cleaned cotton. Also women who have lost their husbands work during night to fulfill the economic
needs of their families. They were called Paruthi Pendir. Spinning wheel charkha, and takli are used in
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making yarn from cotton ball by the process known as spinning. This can be known from Sangam
classical songs

SIZING OF YARN (paving or pavottudhal)

It is the process of converting the yarn that is used to manufacture cloth into a form suitable for use in
handloom.

The yarn is first soaked in gruel, then split, beaten with a stick, dried in the sunlight and used as a weft
for handlooms. People of the sangha period called the structure suitable for weaving as ‘pa’. It is
nowadays rendered as ‘paavaatrudhal’ or ‘paavottudhal’.

It can be seen that the word ‘pa’ is used in the meaning of paavudhal (Parappudhal – spreading).

Keeping the threads to the required width and wrapping the threads in a cylinder to the length of 10, 15
sarees or dhotis is called ‘pavu’.

DYEING:

The people of the Sangam period had done the process of dyeing the woven cloth perfectly. As
people like to wear multi-colored clothes they use many colors like red, yellow, blue and black to make
cloth. Avuri, saffron, turmeric, mustard, lacquer, konrai, and dye root kasukatti are used for making
dye. Excavations have confirmed this. Excavations at Arikamedu unearthed two brick- built dye tanks
used for dyeing white clothes. Excavations during the sangham period have uncovered the ruins of a
dye tank used for weaving.

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WEAVING OF CLOTH:
The ancient people wove cloth with dyed yarn. A machine called loom) is used for weaving. A
garment is formed by combined efforts of different parts of the loom. The basic purpose of any loom is
to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. Weaving is the
most basic process in which two different sets of yarns or threads are interlaced with each other to form
a fabric or cloth. One of these sets is called warp which is the lengthwise yarn running from the back to
the front of the loom. Weaving methods include handloom weaving, finger weaving, upward weaving,
and downward weaving. In the Sangam period, clothes were woven with beautiful color work. The
ancient people wore clothes with beautiful embroidery like snake skin, the inner skin of a bamboo
tube.

SALE OF WOVEN GARMENTS

During the Sangam period weavers used to sell woven clothes in shops. Soft and high quality
textiles were woven and used in Tamil Nadu and were exported to foreign countries as well. In
Pandiyans kingdom woven cloths like Bandi was sold in the palaces of the kingdoms of Rome, Greece,
Egypt, Arabia, Gadaram, Savagam etc.
England Queen Elizabeth’s bed chamber was decorated with silk known as Bangaya silk. Sangam
period Tamils have been wearing cotton, silk and woolen clothes since ancient times and making
clothes with silk designing.

Fabric types of the Sangam period

Tamils wore different types of clothes according to their wealth and tradition.
Men - Dukil, Kalingam, Sargar, Siddar, Meipai, Korai.
Women - Mandukul, Nulutkul, Poontukul, Vantukul, Kotidukul, Kalingapatu

Sculptural evidence:
Women wore sarees that hung down to their knees. The sculptures show that they used to wear
various types of knots made of four-square pieces of cloth on their heads. Some of the sculptures found
at Amaravati and Jagkaiyapet, Andhra Nadu from 200BC -100AD show that men wore a turban, a
pleated garment hanging down to the knee, a flower worked girdle and a small stitched towel hanging
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 from it. Nakkirar one of the poets of the Sangha period says” It shows that ancient Tamils wore an
upper garment and a lower garment (vetti).
3. Explain the method of making pottery in detail.

Introduction:
Pottery is one of the oldest handicrafts of the Indian subcontinent.
Pottery refers to objects made of clay.
These are containers used to store water and other materials.

Clay pots were made in different sizes.

Pottery making is a very ancient profession in many parts of the world.
This profession is known as Kuyathozhil in tamil and the potters are known as
Kuyavar, Velar, Udaiyar and Chettiar

Polished Pottery
This type of pottery is believed to have started in the Mughal period. White and blue
patterned pottery is a trademark முத்திரை of polished pottery.
It does not use clay and terracotta as raw material.
Villages in places like Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Karigiri in TN are known for producing
polished pottery.

Unpolished Pottery
Clay and terracotta are the most commonly used materials for unpolished pottery in
india.
A hand or wheel is used to shape the clay into various steps.
In the graffito technique, the pot is polished, painted with red and white slips with
intricate patterns சிக்கலான வடிவங்கள்.
Pottery from the Kutch region, kangra in Himachal pradesh, Pokhran in Rajasthan,
Prabhum in Bengal, Meerut in UP are known for various types of unpolished pottery.

Pottery Making
Pottery items are made using a variety of methods. Among them pottery wheel is
important.

Potter’s Wheel

In the process of ‘throwing’,the clay is wheeled into the middle of the spinning
platform called ‘Chakrathali’.
The potter rotates the wheel with a stick at the required speed.
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 As the wheel rotates, the solid sphere of fine clay is pressed, squeezed and
gently pulled upward and outward to form a vacuum pot.
Then the vacuum pot with the hole should be slightly dried and enlarged with a stone
and a plank to close the hole.

Kinds of Rotators:
In Tamilnadu, there are two types of rotators
1.Ball Point Rotator
2.Cone Slot roatator

1.Ball point Rotator

 Hollow rotates can be rotated with a bar.
 At the bottom of the wheel there is a small
ball.
 It has a plinth with a small hollow for fitting it.

2.Cone-Slot Rotator

 Soil is mixed with wood or coconut fiber, Black stone.

 At the lower part of the upper wheel, there is a black
stone area with a conical structure and a flat ring around
it.
 It has a conical bottom so that it fits just right.
 The hole can be rotated and the rotator will not incline.
 Men sit in front of the rotator on the seat and shape the
soil.
 His wife would sit on the ground opposite to him and
spin the rotator
 Only a small amount of soil can be placed in ball point
rotator.
 Large amount of soil cam be placed in the cone-slot
rotator.

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 Evidences:
(i) Both types of rotators are shown on stone carvings on Thiruchengode Hill. The
stone and plate is carved along with the rotator.
(ii) In the Kovoorkizhar lyrics, only the cone-slot rotator is mentioned.

Drying and firing:

As a rough guide, modern earthen wares are normally fired at temperatures in the range of
about 1,000°C to 1,200 °C

Excavation Evidence:
The 17 pottery sherds found in the excavation were analyzed by the Geosciences of the
university of pisa in Italy. The pots found at Kizhadi were used for collecting water and for
cooking. Based on the nature of the minerals and rock particles found in these pots, it was
confirmed that these pots were made locally using a unique pottery technology. It was
identified by comparing the local soil sample.
It is understood in the pottery found at Kizhadi, the composition of elements prove the
nature of clay remained the same from the 6 th century BC to 2nd century BC ,according to the
study report by the University of Pisa in Italy.
The research report explains that some of the pottery samples are similar to the soil type
found in other parts of Tamilnadu and the period is considered to be 2nd Century BC.

Explain the salient features of Nano-technology in black-Red pottery and the scratch
4. marks engraved on potteries in ancient India.

Introduction

 After the development of civilization, during the historical period, black colored pots,
red pots, black and red mixed pots were made very elegant and beautiful.
 Earthenware was considered as the ideal material in Tamil life to store things, cook
food and use water.
Iron Age and Sangha Age people used black and red colors to make black and red pottery

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  Excavation conducted in keezhadi confirmed the existence of pottery.
 Samples of black and red pottery subjected to spectroscopic analysis
ஸ்பெக்ட்ரோஸ்கோபிக் பகுப்பாய்வு test showed that hematite an iron
mineral இரும்பு தாது was used for red colour of black pottery.
 It is also said that charcoal கரி an organic material was used for the black colour.

Nano -Technology In Black- Red Pottery:

 The world renowned journal ‘ The Nature Scientific Report’ published this article.
 Chemical Analysis of the interior part of the pot found at Kizhadi confirmed the
presence of nanotubes in the black paint.
 The researchers proved that the carbon nanotubes were responsible for the black
coating on the inner side of the pot that did not decay or lust.
 The tensile strength of carbon nanotubes is 100 times higher than that of the same size
steel. This tenacity is the reason why the black paint on the pottery does not
disintegrate even after 2000 years.
 Both single walled and multiwalled nanotubes were found in the pottery excavated at
Kizhadi.
 Carbon nanotubes are formed by heating a carbon based compound to a very high
temperature around 1200οC. So when the pots are heated at high temperature carbon
nanotubes are formed during the sangha period .

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Scratch Marks On Pottery:
 Scratched letters were found on the pot during the sangha period. These are called
Graffiti marks.
 The symbol used by people to speak and communicate were engraved on pottery. The
people inscribed the names of the person who possess the pot.
 Old tamil scripts are found in abundance on pot.
 There are two types of codes or marks placed on the pot. One is the mark placed on the
pottery before firing and another is the markings that are put on the pottery after it has
been fired.
 Of the 75 percent codes found in south India, Tamil nadu has the highest number.

Evidence Of Scratch Marks On The Vessel :

Evidences:
1.Excavations carried out at Adichanallur, korkai and mangalam in Tamilnadu have given pot
shells with symbols.
2.In Srilanka, objects with similar identations were also found in places like kantharodai,
manthai, Rithiyagama.
From the above evidences, it is certain that 75% of the symbols discovered in south india are
found in Tamil nadu.
Pre-tamil Brahmi script was a script that reflected the thinking of the Paleolithic and Iron Age
people. 1001 pot shells inscribed with such scratches found at Kizhadi indicate that sangam
people knew the basic writing system to express their thoughts.

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