DPPH-7 February
Objective Problems:
1. Consider the following statements about the Indus Valley Civilization:
i. The largest number of Harappan sites has been found on the bank of the river Indus.
ii. Sites such as Kalibangan and Lothal had fire altars, where sacrifices may have been performed.
iii. The tools and metals provide the idea of the specialised artisans.
iv. The dock yards have been found at Lothal, Dholavira and Mohenjodaro.
v. Some sites like Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and Lothal had elaborate store houses.
Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) i, ii and v
(b) i, ii, iii and v
(c) ii, iii and v
(d) All are correct
2. Consider the following statements about the Harappan Civilization?
i. Chahnudaro was the biggest industrial site of Harappan Civilization.
ii. The Harappans made seals out of stone. These are generally rectangular and usually have an animal carved on them.
iii. Oxen, Buffaloes and goats were domesticated animals in Indus Valley Civilization.
iv. People of Indus Valley Civilization did not practice agriculture
Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) i, ii and iii
(b) i, ii, iii and v
(c) i, ii and iii
(d) ii and iii
3. Which animal is most frequently depicted on the Harappan seals?
(a) Horse
(b) Lion
(c) Rhino
(d) Unicorn
4. A recent report by the Archaeological Survey of India claims that:
i. Bhirrana is the oldest Harappan site
iii. Mehrgarh is the oldest Harappan site
iii. Rakhigarhi the biggest Harappan site
iv. Modenjodaro is the biggest Harappan site.
Correct answers are:
(a) i and iii
(b) i and iv
(c) ii and iii
(d) ii and iv
5. Consider the following statements:
i. A stone statue, probably of a priest, are found from Mohenjodaro shows him wearing an embroidered garment.
ii. The Harappan bricks were made in a particular ratio.
iii. For small measurement binary system and for big measurement decimal system were used in harappa.
iv. Recurrent Floods were not the reason of the end of Harappan Civilisation.
Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) i and iii
(b) ii and iv
(c) i, ii and iii
(d) All are correct
6. Consider the following statements:
A. Chanhudaro was an Harappan site which had no citadel?
B. Chanhudaro was famous for bead making shop.
Which of the following is correct option?
(a) Only A is correct
(b) Only B is correct
(c) Both A and B are correct
(d) None are correct
7. Match the following
(A) Horse bones (i) Daimabad Alamgirpur
(B) Stone cut water Reservoir (ii) Mohanjodaro
(C) Pashupati Mahadev Seal (iii) Surkotada
(D) Absence of seal (iv) Dholavira
(A) (B) (C) (D)
(a) (iv) (iii) (i) (ii)
(b) (iv) (iii) (ii) (i)
(c) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
(d) (iii) (iv) (ii) (i)
8. Which of the following is wrong?
(a) Microliths were used to make composite tools because they were able to economize raw materials.
(b) Experiments in the realm of domestication of animals and cultivation of plants were made in Mesolithic period
(c) The Harappan bricks were mainly made in an open mould.
(d) Decline of Harappan city was sudden because of Aryan invasion.
9. In which Age, human passed from the stage of food gathering to the food producing:
(a) Palaeolithic Age
(b) Chalcolithic Age
(c) Mesolithic Age
(d) Neolithic Age
10. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the code given below:
List-I List-II
A. Paleolithic i. Ground stone tools
B. Mesolithic ii. Flaked stone tools
C. Upper Paleolithic iii. Microlithic tools
D. Neolithic iv. Rock painting
A B C D
(a) i iv ii iii
(b) ii iii iv i
(c) iv iii i ii
(d) ii iii i iv
Mains Questions (For GS and Optional):
Q.1 Write a brief notes on “The burial customs in the Indus Valley Civilization.” [200 words]
References:
Q.2 What were the main features of the religion of the Indus Valley Civilization? [200 words]
References:
1) b
2)d
3) d
4)c
5) c
6) –
7)-
8) d
1. C
2. A
3. D
4. C
5. D
6. C
7. D
8. D
9. D
10. A
Try to solve mains question also.
1d
2c
3d
4a
5d
6b
9c
Try to solve mains question also.
Dear sir
Where is Discuss platform to write mains answer.
As of now, you can post mains answers here only.
OK sir
Try to answer all problems. Model answers of main questions will be provided within a week.
1 b
2 d
3 d
4 c
5 c
6 b
7 –
8 –
9 c
10 a
Sir, I would like to know exact answers to this objective questions
Answers will be posted next day of posting the questions.
Hi Sir,
Please review my answer and provide your comments.
Write a brief notes on “The burial customs in the Indus Valley Civilization.”
The burial customs of a civilization are often used by archaeologists in identifying the social or economic differences amongst people living within a particular culture. For example: The great pyramids of Egypt.
The Harappan burials throw great light on the customs of Indus Valley Civilization.
• The burials were generally placed in an oval or rectangular pit, the head to the north and feet to the south indicating similarities with Indian religion
• The differences in the way the burial pits in Harappan sites indicate the variations in the social status
• The evidences of pottery and ornaments in some cases indicate a belief in afterlife. But on the whole, the Harappans did not believe in burying precious things with the dead
• Women were often buried with a mirror to look into the spirit of afterlife which indicates the belief in Shamanism
• The graves found at Lothal contained bones of two individuals, one male and the other female, which might lead to the practice of Sati although it is not proved
• Excavations at Kalibangan points to other possible Harappan funerary rites such as cremation or exposure to allow excarnation
You have presented it nicely. Keep going. Only one correction I would suggest: Harappan burials show little evidence of social hierarchies, unlike Mesopotamian. Though some books mention about social hierarchies, general acceptance is that Harappan burials show no social hierarchy.
Hi Sir,
Please find my answer for Q2. Please check and provide comments for improvement.
2. What are the main features of the religion of the Indus Valley Civilization
The religious practices of Indus Valley Civilization are usually interpretations of the historians and archaeologists as the writing script was never deciphered. This in turn leads to a mystery as on the one hand, the excavations at various sites point to a number of terra-cotta figurines of women regarded as mother goddesses indicating a belief in religion and on the other hand, the absence of temples, altars, shrines or any definite cult objects points to a nonbelief in religion.
Points in favor of religious practices:
• Terracotta figurines of women, heavily jeweled regarded as mother goddesses
• Status of men in standardized postures, seated with a hand on the knee – such as the “Priest King”
• Structures such as Great Bath in Mohenjo-Daro for ritual bathing
• Fire altars in Lothal and Kalibangan
However, we should note that the above conclusions are based on archaeological and historical interpretations and whether religion is truly practiced or not could not be proved beyond doubt.
You answer is good but you should have focused more on the features of religion rather than critically analysing it. If the question is: ” Critically analyse the religion of the Indus Valley Civilization” then you answer fits nicely. So you can cut short those critical parts otherwise your attempt is good. Keep writing.
What were the main features of the religion of the Indus Valley Civilization?
Ans – The major portion of Harappan religion was outlined by the John Marshall. Though some of his interpretations were criticized because of his tendency to read features of later Hinduism into it.
The most striking feature of Harappan religion is the worship of female figurine sometimes referred to as the ” Mother Goddess”. Though none of them was found in the context of temple most of them found in broken and discarded state so some historians are careful not to label every female figurine as religious figurine rather some can be cultic figure too.
The Harappans do worship the male figurine also as was evident from the famous Pashupati seal that was found in Mohenjodaro. Some historians are a skeptic to label it the rudimentary version of Shiva.
The unearthing of fire altar in Kalibangan gives ample proof that there were some forms of sacrificial elements in their religion. The terracotta cake found in Kalibangan depicts an animal being dragged by a rope by a human. The Kalibangan cylindrical seal depicts a women flanked by two men, one of the male have caught her with one hand and in another hand sword over her head.
The religious and burial practice of the Harappan civilization shows greater variety. The danger is to see the features of Harappan culture through the lens of later day Hinduism though some of the features do depict the reminiscent of later day religion.
Good answer. This will fetch you at least 5/10. Keep writing.
Thanks. I will try my best to be consistent.
Thank you Sir. Will practice.
Ans 1. Though the burial practice was not as elaborate as contemporary cultures such as the Pyramids of Egyptian culture or the Royal cemetery of Mesopotamia but it still was an important aspect of Harappan civilization.
The most common method was to put dead in the extended position with the head in the north direction in the simple pit or brick chambers.
One can find the grave goods such as food, pottery, tools etc but not in the lavish way as they have a notion of using materials while living rather than when dead
These are major types of burial found in Harappan civilization
– Evidence of Urn burial which is suggestive of cremation was there
– Symbolic burial with grave goods but no skeleton found in Kalibangan
– Lothal had multiple burials of men and women
– Fractional burial found in Mohenjodaro
– Coffin burial also found at Harappa
There are huge diversities in the burial practices in Harappa civilization and this indicates the complex feature of urban settlement. So oversimplification with regard to the religion or precisely burial practices could backfire.
Good. You have covered enough points. Keep writing and also see the answers posted.
Great job sir.