The earliest works in Tamil, known as Sangam literature, were composed around 2300 years ago. These texts were called Sangam because they were supposed to have been composed and compiled in assemblies (known as Sangams) of poets that were held in the city of Madurai.

At shop of a smith, we can see a small bench on which iron tools are laid out, ready for sale. We can also see a bright fire burning and two men heating and. beating metal rods into shape
It is generally very hot and noisy, and yet it IS fascinating to watch what is happening.

Different archaeological evidences for crafts were found. It included extremely fine pottery, known as the Northern Black Polished Ware.
It gets its name from the fact that it is generally found in the Northern part of the sub-continent. It is usually black in colour, and has a fine sheen.

Blacksmiths, potters, carpenters and weavers would have been present in both villages and cities.

People living in Mathura were:
(i) Blacksmiths
(ii) Goldsmiths
(iii) Basket makers
(iv) Weavers
(v) Garland makers
The occupation, garland making was not practised in Harappan cities.

We find out about early cities of the sub-continent through the following sources:
(i) Stories The Jatakas were stories that were probably composed by ordinary people and then written down and preserved by Buddhist monks. The Jatakas throw sufficient light on the lives of the people who used to live there.
(ii) Accounts of travellers and sailors Another way of finding out about early cities is from the accounts of sailors and travellers who visited them.
(iii) Sculptures We can use other kinds of evidences to find out about life in some of these early cities. Sculptors carved scenes depicting peoples lives in towns and villages, as well as in the forest.
(iv) Archaeological findings In many early cities, archaeologists have found rows of pots or ceramic rings arranged one on top of the other. They have also found many silver and copper coins. From all these findings, many important facts about the early cities can be known.

(i) Arikamedu is located in Pondicherry. Between 2200 and 1900 years ago, this site was a coastal settlement where ships unloaded goods from distant lands.
(ii) A massive brick structure, which may have been a warehouse, was found at the site.
(iii) Other finds of Arikamedu included pottery from the Mediterranean region, such as amphorae, stamped red-glazed pottery, local made pottery which used Roman designs.
(iv) Roman lamps, glassware and gems have also been found at the site.
(vi) Small tanks have been found that were probably used to dye cloth.
(vii) There is plenty of evidence for the making of beads from semi-precious stones and glass.

In the Northern part of the country, the village headman was known as the grama bhojaka. The post was hereditary, i.e. men from the same family held the position for generations.
The grama bhojaka was often the largest landowner. He had slaves and hired workers to cultivate the land. The king often used him to collect taxes from the village. He also functioned as a judge and sometimes as a policeman.