Test 1 : Indian Architecture, Sculpture And Pottery - UPSC MCQ

Archaeologists have found numerous seals of different shapes and sizes all across the excavation sites. While most seals are square, it was found that triangular, rectangular and circular seals were also used. 

The script of Indus valley civilization is yet to be deciphered.

Seals were primarily used for commercial purposes and helped in communication. Discovery of various seals in Mesopotamia and various sites such as Lothal points to the fact that seals were extensively used for trade. 

Some seals with a hole on them have been found on dead bodies. This indicates they might have been used as amulets, carried on the persons of their owners, probably used as some form of identification. 

Mathematical images have also been found on some seals, which might have been used for educational purposes as well. Seals with symbols similar to 'Swastika' designs have also been found.

The Dancing Girl is the world's oldest bronze sculpture. Found in Mohenjo-Daro, this four-inch figure depicts a naked girl wearing only ornaments, which include bangles in the left arm, and amulet and bracelet on the right arm. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

She stands in a tribhanga dancing posture with the right hand on her hip. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Terracotta refers to the use of fire-baked clay for making sculptures. Compared to the bronze figures, the terracotta sculptures are less in number and crude in shape and form. They were made using a pinching method and have been found mostly in the sites of Gujarat and Kalibangan. 

Terracotta was generally used to make toys, animal figures, miniature carts and wheels, etc. Example: Mother Goddess, a mask of horned deity, etc.

The potteries found at the excavation sites can be broadly classified into two kinds - plain pottery and painted pottery. The painted pottery is also known as Red and Black pottery as it used red colour to paint the background and glossy black paint was used to draw designs and figures on the red background.

Trees, birds, animal figures and geometrical patterns were the recurring themes of the paintings. Most of the potteries that have been found are very fine wheel-made wares, with a very few being handmade. Some examples of polychrome pottery have also been found, though very rare. Plain pottery was used for household purposes, mainly storage of grains and water. Miniature vessels, generally less than half an inch in size, were used for decorative purposes.

Stupas were burial mounds prevalent in India from the Vedic period. It is a conventional representation of a funeral cumulus in which relics and ashes of the dead were kept. During the period of Ashoka, the art of stupas reached its climax. Almost 84000 stupas were erected during his period. 

Although a Vedic tradition, stupas were popularised by the Buddhists. After the death of Buddha, 9 stupas were erected. 8 of them had the relics of Buddha at their medhi while the ninth had the pot in which the relics were originally kept.

Caves in the Maurya period were generally used as Viharas. 

Interior walls were marked by a highly polished finish and decorative gateways.

Barabar and Nagarjuni caves in Bihar performed during the time of Dashrath, grandson of Ashoka.

Indus Valley civilization sites do not have large monumental structures such as temples or palaces for rulers, unlike Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilization.

The most famous example of a public bath is the Great Bath' in the excavated remains of Mohenjodaro. There are no cracks or leaks in the Great Bath.