Final Test - Indus Valley Civilisation - 1 (History) - UPSC MCQ

• We know that at some cities of Indus valley civilisation, the gates have written texts as well as there are other evidences of writting. But these text are not deciphered and in very small volume which confirms that writing was in it's initial phase.
• The term proto history,  in this context, refers to the transition period between the advent of literacy and the writings of the earliest historians. Harappans knew writing but their script remains undeciphered and thus their culture has been termed as proto historical.

• The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization (3300-1300 BCE; mature period 2600-1900 BCE) extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three early civilizations of the Old World, and of the three the most widespread It flourished in the basins of the Indus River, one of the major rivers of Asia, and the Ghaggar- Hakra River,  which once coursed through northwest India and eastern Pakistan.
• At its peak, the Indus Civilization may have had a population of over five million. Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river valley developed new techniques in handicraft (carnelian products, seal carving) and metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead, and tin). The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and clusters of large non-residential buildings. 

Proto Harappan cultures are the pre-Harappan cultures, which also have some of the features of the mature Harappan phase. Thus, all proto Harappan cultures are pre Harappan ones, but all pre Harappan cultures are not proto Harappan cultures.

• Amri culture in Sindh and Balochistan province of Pakistan.
• Kot Dijian culture in Sindh province.
• Sothi-Siswal culture in Haryana area in India were some of the important proto-Harappan sites.
• Jornie culture is not one of them. 

They worshipped the bird Pigeon. The worship of mythical animals is evident from the existence of a human figure with a bull's horns, hoofs and a tail. Besides animals, these people also worshipped the Sun, the Fire and the Water. 

• Important burial sites of Indus Valley Civilization are Harappa, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Lothal, Rojdi, and Ropar.
• Lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilization.
• Evidence of double burial (burying a male and a female in a single grave) has been found here. The most common method of burial was found in Kalibangan.
• It was to place the body of the deceased in an extended position, with the head towards the north, in a simple pit or brick chamber. 
• Evidence of a pot-burial has been found in Surkotada. 

Most of the seals were made of steatite, which is a kind of soft stone. A few of them were also made of terracotta, gold, agate, chert, ivory and faience. The standard Harappan seal was square in shape with a 2 X 2 dimension. It is believed that the seals were used for commercial purposes. 

By 2600 BC, Mohenjodaro and Harappa are the major cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, which were built with blocks divided by a grid of straight streets and running north-south and east-west. Each block was subdivided into small lanes. 

• The Early Harappan Culture was the product of the gradual development of those early farming communities, which were emerged in greater Indus-Saraswati plain and piedmont areas.
• Across the border of India and Pakistan, known as the Pre-Harappan phase of Indus-Saraswati civilization. 

• 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. 

• Banawali, earlier known as Vanavali is a village and archaeological site situated around 15 km from Fatehabad district of Haryana, India. It belongs to the Indus Valley Civilization period which got settled on the left banks of dried river Saraswati.It was built on the upper middle valley compared to Kalibangan town which was on the lower part.
• Kalibangan, ancient site of the Indus valley civilization, in northern Rajasthan state, northwestern India.

• The first description of the ruins of Harappa is found in the Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and Punjab of Charles Masson.
• It dates back to the period of 1826 to 1838. In 1857, the British engineers accidentally used bricks from the Harappa ruins for building the East Indian Railway line between Karachi and Lahore.
• In the year 1912, J. Fleet discovered Harappan seals. This incident led to an excavation campaign under Sir John Hubert Marshall in 1921-1922.
• The result of the excavation was discovery of Harappa by Sir John Marshall, Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni and Madho Sarup Vats and Mohenjodaro by Rakhal Das Banerjee, E. J. H. MacKay, and Sir John Marshall. 

• Based on recent discoveries, there is reason to think the Indus Valley civilization may be at least 8,000 years old and this would also mean the Indus Valley civilization pre-dates Egypt’s pharaohs and Mesopotamia that is often mentioned as the cradle of human civilization.
• The Indus Valley civilization is one of the greatest and the least known early civilizations of the Old World.
• For hundreds of years, the Indus Valley civilization have troubled the world of archaeology and perhaps the only chance to learn the secrets of these people is to decipher the Indus script.
• Some of these secrets we already know. Harappans’ technological achievements are still recognizable today.
• Evidence shows that the Indus Valley people were both sophisticated and technologically advanced, they were very talented in many areas of science, technology and engineering. They developed new techniques in metallurgy and production of copper, bronze, lead and tin was possible because Harappans were skilled metallurgists who used several techniques in their work. 

• It was a small farming village. It is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia.
• Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization, displaying the whole sequence from earliest settlement and the start of agriculture, to the mature Harappan Civilisation.
• Most of its archaeological deposits are buried deep beneath accumulations of alluvium. 

• The male deity is represented on a seal from Mohenjodaro in the sitting posture of a Yogi.
• The god is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and a buffalo below his throne. At his feet appear two deer, and the depicted god is identified as Pashupati Mahadeva. 

Lion capital at sarnath was from the mauryan times and mural paintings were from ajanta caves during gupta period.