text: Copper technology may date back to the 4th millennium BCE in the Himalaya region.
  It is the first element to be discovered in metallurgy,
  Copper and its alloys were also used to create copper-bronze images such as Buddhas or Hindu/Mahayana Buddhist deities. Xuanzang also noted that there were copper-bronze Buddha images in Magadha. In Varanasi, each stage of the image manufacturing process is handled by a specialist.
  Other metal objects made by Indian artisans include lamps. Copper was also a component in the razors for the tonsure ceremony.
  One of the most important sources of history in the Indian subcontinent are the royal records of grants engraved on copper-plate grants (tamra-shasan or tamra-patra). Because copper does not rust or decay, they can survive indefinitely. Collections of archaeological texts from the copper-plates and rock-inscriptions have been compiled and published by the Archaeological Survey of India during the past century. The earliest known copper-plate known as the Sohgaura copper-plate is a Maurya record that mentions famine relief efforts. It is one of the very few pre-Ashoka Brahmi inscriptions in India.