Painted Grey Ware (PGW) is one of the important ceramic types of the Iron Age, regarded as characteristic of a culture which covered most of the Punjab in India and Pakistan as well as the Ganga valley in Uttar Pradesh. It dates from around 1100-350 BC, during which period there was a re-emergence of urbanism in South Asia, and cities developed such as Hastinapura, one of the largest of the time

Painted Grey Ware is a thin-sectioned, wheel-thrown ware, made from finely-mixed clay. It is grey in colour, and painted with black or red geometric patterns and floral designs, but no inscriptions. Shapes include straight-sided vases, small bowls and dishes, though no complete examples have survived.

In the past PGW has been associated with a so-called 'Aryan invasion'. This hypothesis, based on linguistic evidence and elements of the Rigveda(a religious text dating to around 3000 years ago), suggests that an influx of peoples from Central Asia was responsible for introducing 'Vedic culture' to South Asia. Whether such a population movement took place has prompted an emotive debate within the study of Indian history. Archaeologists have recently emphasised continuities between PGW and other indigenous material cultures, and drawn attention to its discontinuities with Central Asian types and styles.