Q 1 – Write a note on the Drainage system of the Harappans.
Ans. One of the striking features of this town was a well-planned drainage system. The
drains were made of mortar, lime and gypsum. They were covered with big bricks and
stones which could be lifted easily to clean the drains. Smaller drains from houses on both
the sides of the streets came and joined a brick laid main channel. Bigger drains which cleared the rain water were 2 and half feet to 5 feet in circumference. For sewage from the
houses, pits were provided at either side of the street. All this shows that the Indus valley
people took great care to keep their cities clean.
Q 2 – Give any two features of Harappan writing.
Ans. The two features of Harrapan script are –
1. It was pictographic in nature as the script consisted of designs of animals,fishes and various forms of human figure too.
2. It was found to be inscribed on seals, terracota tablets, etc.
Q 3 – What were the differences in the techniques adopted by Marshall and Wheeler in studying Harappan civilization?
Ans. Marshall tended to excavate along regular horizontal units, measured uniformly
throughout the mound, ignoring the stratigraphy of the site. This meant that all the artefacts recovered from the same unit were grouped together, even if they were found at different stratigraphic layers. As a result, valuable information about the context of these finds was irretrievably lost. R.E.M. Wheeler rectified this problem. Wheeler recognised that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig mechanically along uniform horizontal lines.
Q 4 – “Our knowledge about the Indus Valley Civilization is poorer than that of the other Civilizations”. Explain it by your arguments?
Ans. Yes, our knowledge about the Indus Valley Civilization is poorer than that of the other
because of the following reasons:
1. The script of that age has hitherto not been deciphered.
2. The easy method behind seeking knowledge about other Civilizations such as that of Egypt,
Mesopatamia, China etc. was the deciphering of their scripts. Scripts is that sole basis
through which we can gather through knowledge about the art, literature, customs, dresses,
function and religion etc. of any Civilizations.
Q 5 – How can you say that the Harappan culture was an urban one.
Ans. We can say that the Harappan culture was an urban one, due to the following reasons:
· The cities were well planned and thickly populated.
· The roads were straight and wide.
The houses were made of burnt bricks and contained more than one storey.
· Every house had a well and a bathroom.
· The drainage system was excellent with house drains emptying into street drains.
· The citadel of Harappa had public buildings
· Lothal was a dockyard and important trading centre.
· After the decline of the Harappan culture, town planning was forgotten and there was
absence of city life for about thousands of years.
Q 6 – Write a note on the agricultural technology of Harappans.
Ans. Agriculture was the chief occupation of the Harappans. The prevalence of agriculture is
indicated by finds of grains. But it is more difficult to reconstruct actual agricultural
practices.
Archaeologists have found evidence of ploughed field at Kalibangan.
Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was known, and
archaeologist extrapolate from this that oxen were used for ploughing.
Terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali. The field had two sets of furrows at right angles to each other, suggesting that two different crops were grown together. Most Harappan sites are located in semi-arid lands, where irrigation was probably required for agriculture.
Traces of canals have been found at the Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan. It is also likely that water drawn from wells was used for irrigation. Besides, water reservoirs found in Dholavira may have been used to store water for agriculture.
Q 7 – List the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan Civilisation and discuss how these might have been obtained.
Ans. Following is the list of materials required for craft production in the Harappan Civilisation:
- Stone, clay, copper, tin, bronze, gold, faience, shell, camelian, jasper, crystal, steatite, quartz, timber.
- Some of the raw materials were locally available whereas some were purchased from the distant places.
- Soil and wood were locally available raw materials. Stones, ¦ne quality wood, metals were procured from distant places.
- Settlements of the Harappans were situated at such places where raw materials were easily available.
- Nageshwar and Balacot were famous for shell. Some places were famous for Lapis Lazuli like Shortughai in Afghanistan. Rajasthan and Gujarat were famous for copper. Lothal was famous for camelian.
- Another way of obtaining raw material was sending expeditions to different places.
- Evidences show that expedition was sent to Khetri region of Rajasthan for copper and to South India for Gold.
- Through these expeditions local communities were contacted. Harappan evidences found at these places indicate contacts between each other. Evidences found at Khetri region were given the name of Ganeshwar Jodhpura Culture by archaeologists. Huge reserves of copper products were found here. It is assumed that inhabitants of these area sent copper to Harappan people.
Q 8 – Discuss how archaeologist reconstruct the past.
Ans. Archaeologists excavate the sites of the ancient past related to culture or civilization. They find out the art and craft such as seal, material, remains of houses, buildings, pots, ornaments, tools, coins, weights, measurements and toys, etc.
Skulls, bones, jaws, teeth of the dead bodies and materials kept with these dead bodies are also helpful for archaeologists. With the help of the botanists, and zoologists, archaeologists study the plants and animal bones found at different places.
Archaeologists try to find out the tools used in the process of cultivation and harvesting. They also try to find out traces of wells, canals, tanks, etc. as they served means of irrigation.
Different layers of sites are observed to ¦nd out different things. These things give the picture of socioeconomic condition such as religious life and the cultural life of the people.
Q 9 – Discuss the functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan society.
Ans. Tools, unfinished products, waste materials, help in identifying the centres of craft production. Indirect evidences also help the archaeologists in reconstructing the past.
Archaeologists develop frames of references, It can be better understood by this fact that the first Harappan seal that was found could not be understood till archaeologists had a context in which to place it-both in terms of cultural sequence in which it was found and in terms of a comparison with finds in Mesopotamia.
Examination of seals help in constructing the concept of religious belief of the period. Seals depict religious scenes. Some animals such as the one-homed animal, often called the unicorn depicted on the seals appear mythical, composite creatures. In some seals, a figure has been shown sitting crossed legs in a yogic posture. All these represent the religious concept of the period.
Q 10 – Who was Cunningham? Mention any one account used by him to locate the early settlements of Harappa civilization.
Ans. The main features of each settlements were:
(i) The first settlement was smaller in size but it was located on the higher ground because it was built upon mud platform. It has the Great Bath and the Warehouse.
(ii) The second settlement was much larger than the first one but it was situated on lower location.
Q 11 – On the given political outline map of India, locate and label the following Harappan Sites.
(i) Harappa
(ii) Lothal
(iii) Mohenjodaro
(iv) Nageshwar
(v) Banawali
(vi) Rakhigarhi
(vii) Kalibangan
(viii) Kot Diji
Ans.
Q 12 – Write any three characteristic features of the bricks used in the Harappan settlements.
Ans. 1. Bricks were either sun dried.
2. Bricks were baked in the kilns.
3. They had standardized ratio and had uniformity throughout all the harappan sites i.e length and breath were four times our twice the height.
Q 13 – Mention the causes of the disappearance of the Harappan Culture.
Ans. The decline of Harappan culture has evoked the historians to find out its causes.
1. Law of Nature:
Renowned historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee has categorized the decay of a culture as its final stage after a culture is born and grows to its highest point of efficacy. The Harappan culture was no exception to this general law of nature. Its decline set in around 1800 B.C. and in course of time came its extinction.
2. Floods:
The massive floods in the Indus must have been a potent cause for the extinction of the Harappan culture. The point is proved by the silt-clay that covers the collapsed houses at Mohenjo-Daro. Repeated floods must have forced the people to flee the inundated places and set up permanent habitat elsewhere. As a consequence came the decline of Harappa.
3. Earthquakes:
Geographically, the Harappan culture occupied an area that was prone to earthquakes as it came under a seismographic zone. Repeated seismographic vibrations must have led to erosion that brought down the buildings. Earthquakes constitute an important reason for the decline of Harappan culture.
4. Change of the Course of the Indus:
Some Historians attribute the decline of the Harappan culture to the river Indus changing its course frequently. As such the Indus delta shifted away from Mohenjo-Daro and water became scarce. Water scarcity must have led to the exodus of the Harappan people to other places. Yet, the change of course of the Indus is not reason enough for the decline in Lothal, Kalibangan, Rupar etc. because the Mohenjo-Daro situation did not occur in these regions.
5. Plague:
Outbreak of the plague epidemic is shown as a reason for the decline of Harappan civilization. Skeletal remains from the main roads of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro as found out through archaeological efforts tell a sad story. When an epidemic like plague visits a human habitation, it leaves its trail of death everywhere. The scattered skeletal remains therefore lead some to attribute it to epidemic like plague, though there is no concrete proof of outbreak of plague in the region.
6. Foreign Invasion:
Sir Mortimer Wheeler however is of the opinion that the Aryan invasion is the reason for the decline of Harappan culture. There is archaeological proof of genocide and unburied skeletal remains scattered everywhere in Mohenjo-Daro. An autopsy on these skeletons reveals damages that must have been caused by sharp objects or weapons. Knowledge and use of iron as weapons was known to the Aryans, not to the Harappan people. Defeat and death of the Harapan people must have come at the hands of the invading Aryans.
Q 14 – What were the seals & the purpose of seals ?
Ans. a) The exquisite workmanship of the seals exhibit the great skill of the Harappan artists. They were square or rectangles, tablets of alloy brass on one side and engravings on the other.
i) The seals generally have a line of writing at the top which probably pertain to the name and title of the owner.
ii) They are engraved with figures of animals as unicorn, humped bull, buffalo, etc.
iii) Archaeologists consider these engravings were meant to convey a meaning to those who could not read.
b) Uses:
i) Seals also probably enabled long distance communication. Seals found in Mesopotamia indicate that they were used for trade purpose.
ii) They were used to stamp property as a means of identifying their owners.
Q 15 – Mention the architectural features of the Great Bath of Mohenjodaro.
Ans. The most striking of the Great Bath in the citadel area of Mohenjodaro are as follows:
i) It was a great rectangular tank in a courtyard that was surrounded by corridor on all four sides.
ii) There were two flights of steps on the north and south leading into the tank, which was made watertight by setting bricks on edge and using a mortar of gypsum.
iii) There were rooms on three sides, in one of which was a large well to fill the pool with water. After periodic cleaning of the tank, the water was discharged into a huge drain.
iv) Across a lane to the north lay a smaller building with eight bathrooms, four on each side of a corridor with drains that ran along the corridor.
Q 16 – What were the differences in the techniques adopted by J.Marshall and R.E.M. Wheeler in studing Harappan civilization ?
Ans. Marshall tended to excavate along regular horizontal units, measured uniformly throughout the mound, ignoring the startigraphy of the site.
This means that all the artifacts recovered from the same unit were grouped together, even if they were found at the different startographic layers. As a result, valuable information about the context of these find was irretrievably
lost. R.E.M. Wheeler rectified this problem. Wheeler rectified that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig mechanical along uniform horizontal line.
Q 17 – Read the passages carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Saddle querns … are found in considerable numbers … and they seem to have been the only means in use for grinding cereals. As a rule, they were roughly made of hard, gritty, igneous rock or sandstone and mostly show signs of hard usage.
As their bases are usually convex, they must have been set in the earth or in mud to prevent their rocking. Two main types have been found: those on which another smaller stone was pushed or rolled to and fro, and others with which a second stone was used as a pounder, eventually making a large cavity in the nether stone. Querns of the former type were probably used solely for grain; the second type possibly only for pounding herbs and spices for making curries. In fact, stones of this latter type are dubbed “curry stones” by our workmen and our cook asked for the loan of one from the museum for use in the kitchen.
Q 1. What materials were these querns made of ?
Ans. i) The querns were made of hard, gritty, igneous rock or sandstone.
Q 2. What are the two types of querns ?
Ans. a) The first querns were used for grain as smaller stone was pushed to and for over the base stone which were usually converse.
b) The Second quern was a pounder eventually making a large cavity in the nether stone. This was only used for pounding herbs and spices for making curries.
Q 3. Mention any two ways in which the archaeologists classify finds and one way they determine the function.
Ans. Archaeologists classified finds as below:
Material: It was made of clay, stone, metal etc.
Functions: They have to see as the objects is a tool, could have served both the purposes.
Functions of finds are determined by-
- The context with present day articles – beads and pots.
- The context in which it was found – in a house.
- They take the help of indirect things- traces of cotton at Harappan sites couled signify use of cloth was known.
Q 18 – Read the passages carefully and answers the questions that follow:
Much later, in 1947, R.E.M. Wheeler, then Director-General of the ASI, tried to correlate this archaeological evidence with that of the Rigveda, the earliest known text in the subcontinent. He wrote: The Rigveda mentions pur, meaning rampart, fort or stronghold. Indra, the Aryan war-god is called puramdara, the fort-destroyer.
Where are – or were – these citadels? It has in the past been supposed that they were
mythical … The recent excavation of Harappa may be thought to have changed the picture. Here we have a highly evolved civilisation of essentially non Aryan type, now known to have employed massive fortifications … What destroyed this firmly settled civilisation? Climatic, economic or political deterioration may have weakened it, but its ultimate extinction is more likely to have been completed by deliberate and large-scale destruction.
It may be no mere chance that at a late period of Mohenjodaro men, women, and children, appear to have been massacred there. On circumstantial evidence, Indra stands accused.
Q 1. What did the Rigveda mention about ‘pur’?
Ans. The Rigveda mentions pur: as rampart, fort or stronghold.
Q 2. According to wheeler what did excavations show ?
Ans. Highly evolved civilization of essentially non-Aryan type known to have employed massive fortifications.
Q 3. What do you conclude about the destruction of this civilization and Why ?
Ans. Destruction of civilization may have been due to the deterioration of climate, economics or political weakness. Its ultimate extinction is more likely to have been completed by deliberate and large scale destruction.