Reassessing archaeological evidence for the Gandhāra still reconstruction and ‘Ancient Indian’ distillation hypothesis

The theory of ‘Ancient Indian’ distillation and its characteristic Gandhāra still are deeply entrenched in the historiography of science and technology. This paper advances recent critiques of this widely accepted hypothesis by presenting a new, systematic evaluation of the archaeological materials, typology, and chronology that underpin the Gandhāra still reconstruction. Ceramic vessels characterised as specialist components of a distillation apparatus dated to the late 1st mil. BCE - early 1st mil. CE have previously been framed as key evidence of a technological tradition integral to the global development of distillation. Central to this is a unique typological form known as the receiver-condenser, allegedly identified across South-Central Asia and displaying a continuity from its earliest ‘Indo-Greek’ shape to later Kushan forms. These morphological evolutions and cultural characterisations, often linked to narratives on major sociocultural processes, have become accepted without critical assessment. By presenting the first detailed survey of reported instances of the ‘receiver-condenser’, other specialist components within the Gandhāra still reconstruction, and their contexts, this paper highlights fundamental weaknesses within the distillation hypothesis. Survey results revealed that many reported components were consistently mistyped as apparatus parts, illustrating that ‘receiver-condensers’ did not follow consistent chronological phases or shapes. By challenging and deconstructing the Gandhāra still, this study calls for a re-examination of associated archaeological materials away from long-held assumptions on distillation. In tandem, the paper encourages wider re-evaluations of existing narratives on early distillation technology, exemplifying how archaeological typologies shape dialogues on technological innovations and their attached cultural labels.