Artifacts of smelted iron are found in India dating from 1800 to 1200 BC, and in the Levant from about 1500 BC (suggesting smelting in Anatolia or the Caucasus). Alleged references (compare history of metallurgy in South Asia) to iron in the Indian Vedas have been used for claims of a very early usage of iron in India respectively to date the texts as such. The rigveda term "ayas" (metal) probably refers to copper and bronze, while iron or "śyāma ayas", literally "black metal", first is mentioned in the post-rigvedic Atharvaveda.