Themes I - Chapter 1

Question 1

What is the Harappan civilisation also known as?

Answer 1

Indus Valley Civilisation

Question 2

What is the time span of the Harappan Civilisation?

Answer 2

6000 BCE to 1300 BCE

Question 3

What was the most prosperous phase of Harappan Civilisation called?

Answer 3

Mature Harappan (2600–1900 BCE)

Question 4

What is the stone used to make Harappan seals?

Answer 4

Steatite

Question 5

How many major Harappan cities have been identified?

Answer 5

Five (Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Ganweriwala)

Question 6

What do we call the specialist who studies ancient plant remains?

Answer 6

Archaeo-botanist

Question 7

Which crops were common in Harappan sites?

Answer 7

Wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, sesame

Question 8

What rare crop was found in Harappan Gujarat sites?

Answer 8

Millets and rice

Question 9

What was the main animal used for ploughing?

Answer 9

Ox

Question 10

Where was the ploughed field with cross furrows found?

Answer 10

Kalibangan (Rajasthan)

Question 11

Which Harappan site had a reservoir system?

Answer 11

Dholavira

Question 12

What tool did Harappans use for grinding grains?

Answer 12

Saddle quern

Question 13

What were Harappan bricks typically made of?

Answer 13

Baked or sun-dried mud

Question 14

What was the standardized brick ratio in Harappa?

Answer 14

4:2:1

Question 15

What divided the city of Mohenjodaro into two parts?

Answer 15

Citadel and Lower Town

Question 16

What was the Great Bath used for?

Answer 16

Possibly ritual bathing

Question 17

Who is considered the ‘Father of Indian Archaeology’?

Answer 17

Alexander Cunningham

Question 18

What was the name of the street drain cover material?

Answer 18

Loose bricks or limestone

Question 19

How many wells were found in Mohenjodaro?

Answer 19

About 700

Question 20

Which part of Harappan cities housed public buildings?

Answer 20

Citadel

Question 21

What are faience objects made of?

Answer 21

Ground sand or silica with color and gum

Question 22

Where was specialized craft production found?

Answer 22

Chanhudaro

Question 23

Which material was used to make red beads like carnelian?

Answer 23

Carnelian (fired yellowish raw material)

Question 24

What were ‘hoards’ in archaeological terms?

Answer 24

Objects stored and not retrieved, like jewelry

Question 25

Which two sites were known for shell object production?

Answer 25

Nageshwar and Balakot

Question 26

What raw material came from Shortughai (Afghanistan)?

Answer 26

Lapis lazuli

Question 27

What did Harappans possibly obtain from Oman?

Answer 27

Copper

Question 28

What do Mesopotamian texts call the Harappan region?

Answer 28

Meluhha

Question 29

What items were traded from Meluhha to Mesopotamia?

Answer 29

Carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold, wood

Question 30

What writing system did Harappans use?

Answer 30

Undeciphered script, possibly pictographic

Question 31

How many signs are estimated in the Harappan script?

Answer 31

375 to 400

Question 32

What was the direction of Harappan writing?

Answer 32

Right to left

Question 33

What was used to seal trade goods in Harappa?

Answer 33

Seals and sealings

Question 34

What stone was used to make Harappan weights?

Answer 34

Chert

Question 35

What measurement systems did Harappans use?

Answer 35

Binary and decimal systems

Question 36

What statue is assumed to be a religious figure?

Answer 36

Priest-king

Question 37

What are archaeologists' theories on Harappan rulers?

Answer 37

No ruler / multiple rulers / single state authority

Question 38

What possibly ended the Harappan Civilisation?

Answer 38

Climate change, floods, drying rivers

Question 39

Which archaeologist linked Harappa with Rigveda’s Indra?

Answer 39

R.E.M. Wheeler

Question 40

Which site is the largest Harappan site?

Answer 40

Rakhigarhi

Question 41

What does archaeogenetic research say about Harappans?

Answer 41

They were indigenous; ancestors of modern South Asians

Question 42

Who reconstructed the DNA of Harappans?

Answer 42

Deccan College, CCMB, Harvard Medical School

Question 43

Who first excavated Harappa in 1921?

Answer 43

Daya Ram Sahni

Question 44

Who discovered Mohenjodaro?

Answer 44

Rakhal Das Banerji

Question 45

Who announced the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilisation?

Answer 45

John Marshall

Question 46

Which archaeologist introduced military precision to excavation?

Answer 46

R.E.M. Wheeler

Question 47

What is stratigraphy in archaeology?

Answer 47

Study of layers in archaeological sites

Question 48

What is the term for barren archaeological layers?

Answer 48

Sterile layers

Question 49

What are archaeologists' challenges in interpretation?

Answer 49

Lack of written evidence, decayed materials

Question 50

What do some believe the 'proto-Shiva' seal represents?

Answer 50

Proto-Shiva or a shaman

Question 51

What items were possibly used in Harappan board games?

Answer 51

Conical stones and small figurines