Test: Indus Valley Civilization (UPSC Level) - UPSC MCQ

• Harappa was discovered in 1826 and first excavated in 1920 and 1921.
• Mohenjo-daro was excavated in 1924–25 and 1925–26.
• Chanhudaro was first excavated in March 1930.
• Banwali was excavated in 1973.

► Statement 1 is correct - Sumerian Origin - According to William Mortimer, the IVC people were actually of Sumerian origin.

► Statement 2 is incorrect - Proto-Dravidian Origin - the IVC people were originally Dravidian people who had come there from the Mediterranean region

► Statement 3 is correct - Aryan Origin - According to this theory, the Harappans were essentially the ancestors of the Vedic Aryans. 

► Statement 1 is correct - Banawali - It is an archaeological site belonging to Indus Valley Civilization period in Haryana. Also referred to as Vanavali, it is on the left banks of dried up Sarasvati River. Hence pair 1 is correctly matched. 

► Statement 2 is incorrect - Kalibangan - It is an ancient town located on the banks of the Ghaggar river in Rajasthan. It means 'black bangles' which it derives from the dense distribution of the fragments of black bangles which were found at the surface of its mounds 

► Statement 3 is correct - Dholavira - It is an archaeological site in Kutch District of Gujarat.

►  Statement 4 is incorrect - Shortughai - It is located in the Amu Darya (Oxus River) valley, in northern Afghanistan. There the remains of a small Harappan colony presumably sited to provide control of the lapis lazuli export trade originating in the neighbouring city of Badakhshan.

► Statement 1 is correct - Chanhudaro was about 130 km south of Mohenjodaro. Chanhudaro was an important centre of a craft activity. Some of the houses yielded raw material such as carnelian, agate, amethyst, and crystal as well as finished and unfinished beads and drills. More striking was the discovery of a bead factory, with lots of finished and unfinished beads, mostly made of steatite.

► Statement 2 is correct - Lothal is located between the Sabarmati river and its tributary, the Bhogava , in Saurashtra in Gujarat. The most distinctive feature of Lothal is the dockyard, which lies on the eastern edge of the site.

► Statement 3 is correct - Dholavira is located on Kadir island in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. The city had an impressive and unique water harvesting and management system. It can be noted that this area receives less than 160 cm of rain every year and is very prone to droughts.

1. Copper was the most common element used to make the seal.

   • This statement is incorrect. The most common material used to make Harappan seals was steatite (a type of soft stone), not copper.

2. Seals were used for the identification of persons.

   • This statement is correct. Seals were used for various purposes including trade and identification of ownership, which might include identifying persons.

3. Religious symbols were found in Harappan sites.

   • This statement is correct. Many Harappan seals feature symbols that are believed to have religious significance, such as depictions of animals, trees, and deities.

Thus, the correct statements are: 2 and 3 only

► Statement 1 is correct - In Harappa, numerous terracotta figurines of women have been found. In one figurine, a plant is shown growing out of the embryo of a woman. The image probably represents the goddess of Earth and was intimately connected with the origin and growth of plants. The Harappans, therefore, looked upon the Earth as a fertility goddess and worshipped her in the same way as the Egyptians worshipped the Nile goddess Isis.

► Statement 2 is incorrect - Evidently, therefore, the inhabitants of the Indus region worshipped gods in the form of trees, animals and human beings, but the gods were not placed in temples, a practice that was common in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. No temple has been discovered from the ruins of Harappa and Mahenjo-daro.

► Statement 1 is correct - the Indus civilization was highly developed & it was not bound by religious rule, it was a secular civilization. Sir John Marshall an archaeologist says that it was not a new civilization on Indian soil, it was quite old & developed

► Statement 2 is correct - Farmers in Indus valley civilization were the first to weave cotton textiles. Some of the cotton textiles were unearthed in 1929 in Mohenjo-Daro site which is now in Pakistan.

Like Kalibangan, the citadel and the town were fortified, each having independent entrances in the South and also an intercommunicating gate

• Chanhudaro and Desalpur are Harappan sites.
• Kot Diji is contemporaneous to Harappan era.
• Sohgura, on the other hand, is famous for the Ashokan era inscription.

Desalpur

• It is situated on the Bhadar River near Bhuj, Gujarat.
• It was a fortified township built of dressed stone with mud filling inside.
• The houses were constructed just against the fortification wall.
• In the centre, there was a building with massive walls and spacious rooms.
• Remains of a glazedware pottery were found here.

Banawali

• It is situated on the left bank of the dried up Saraswati River in Haryana, India.
• Similar to Kalibangan, Amri, KotDiji and Harappa, Banawali also shows two cultural phases: pre-Harappan and Harappan.
• Large quantities of barley, sesame and mustard were discovered here.
• A multi-roomed house having a kitchen and a toilet was found, indicating that it may have belonged to a rich person.
• The settlement at Banawali was in an oval shape.
• It is the only IVC city that had radial streets.

► Statement 1 is correct - Lothal - The discovery of weights and measures proves that they knew arithmetic as well which is shown by a scale found at Lothal.

► Statement 2 is correct - Kotdiji - Wheel made of painted pottery, traces of a defensive wall and well -aligned streets, knowledge of metallurgy, artistic toys etc.

► Statement 3 is correct - The discovery of a dog buried below a human oval pit burial is interesting.

► Statement 1 is correct - It is located on the seasonal Ghaggar-Hakar river plains in Haryana, India. The architecture here was similar to other Harappan cities.

► Statement 2 is correct - A unique feature from this site is that unlike other Harappan sites, here burials were also done in the prone position.

The correct answer is:

3. 1 only

Explanation:

1. Statement 1 is correct. Excavations at several Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) sites have revealed evidence of double-storied houses, indicating advanced architectural practices and town planning.

2. Statement 2 is incorrect. Chanduhara is not recognized as the only city without a citadel. In fact, most major Indus Valley sites, including Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, had citadels. Dholavira, an important site, is known for its complex system of fortifications but not for lacking a citadel. There isn't specific evidence to identify Chanduhara as unique in this regard.

Therefore, only Statement 1 is correct.

► Statement 1 is incorrect - Terracotta sculptures were often crude and lacked finesse.

► Statement 2 is correct - Terracotta refers to the use of fire-baked clay for making sculptures.

► Statement 1 is correct - A dog buried with human oval pit burials was discovered in Ropar, Punjab.

► Statement 2 is incorrect - The placing of the body in a foetal position is the hallmark of the early phase of IVC.

► Statement 3 is correct - In Kashmir’s Burzahom site, separate burial pits for dogs were discovered.

The presence of different seals suggests the high standards of craftsmanship, knowledge of metrology and flourishing trade and commerce. Seals were predominantly square-shaped although triangular, rectangular, circular and cylindrical seals existed as well.

► Statement 1 is correct - The script was usually written right to left and sometimes followed the boustrophedon method of writing.
Boustrophedon

• A type of bi-directional text, mostly seen in ancient manuscripts and other inscriptions.
• It literally means “ox-turning” in ancient Greek.
• In this system, alternate lines of writing are flipped.
• If the 1st line is read from right to left, then the 2^nd line would be read from left to right and so on.

► Statement 2 is correct - The characters are largely pictorial but include many abstract signs, thus it is possibly a logo-syllabic script.

A dog buried with human oval pit burials was discovered in Ropar, Punjab.

Import/export of other metals and stones – Silver – imported from Afghanistan and Turquoise from Iran. Besides ivory works, combs, pearls, cotton goods were exported to West Asia from the Indus cities.