Quick Review Flashcards - Click to flip and test your knowledge!
Question
In which year was the site of Harappa first discovered?
Answer
1921
Question
Which archaeological site gave the Harappan Civilisation its name?
Answer
Harappa
Question
Why is the Harappan Civilisation also known as the Indus Valley Civilisation?
Answer
Its first excavated sites were located in the valley of the river Indus.
Question
Concept: 'Culture' (archaeological definition)
Answer
A group of objects distinctive in style found together within a specific geographical area and period of time.
Question
Which period of human history is defined by the use of both stone and copper tools?
Answer
The Chalcolithic Period
Question
What metal was the first to be discovered and used for tools by man?
Answer
Copper
Question
Bronze is an alloy created by mixing copper with which two potential metals?
Answer
Tin or zinc
Question
Around which year did the four major Bronze Age civilisations emerge?
Answer
$2500$ BCE
Question
Name the four Bronze Age civilisations that emerged around $2500$ BCE.
Answer
Harappan, Mesopotamian, Chinese, and Egyptian civilisations.
Question
The Mesopotamian Civilisation was located on the banks of which two rivers?
Answer
The Euphrates and the Tigris.
Question
On which river banks did the Egyptian Civilisation emerge?
Answer
The Nile
Question
Why is our knowledge of the Harappan civilisation based entirely on archaeological remains?
Answer
No adequate written records have been deciphered.
Question
Which large public building at Mohenjo-daro features a rectangular tank surrounded by a corridor?
Answer
The Great Bath
Question
What materials were used to line the Great Bath to make it watertight?
Answer
Burnt bricks, mortar, bitumen, and gypsum.
Question
The presence of the Great Bath suggests that Harappan society was led by a _____ capable of mobilising labour.
Answer
ruling class
Question
Term: Citadel
Answer
The raised area of a Harappan city built on mud brick platforms, housing important public buildings.
Question
Which part of a Harappan city indicates the existence of social classification and political organisation?
Answer
The Citadel
Question
Approximately how many Harappan seals have been discovered by archaeologists?
Answer
About 2000
Question
What was the most common material used to manufacture Harappan seals?
Answer
Steatite
Question
Which deity is depicted on the 'Pashupati Seal' as a three-faced figure wearing a horned head-dress?
Answer
Shiva (identified as Pashupati Mahadeva).
Question
Name the four animals surrounding the deity on the Pashupati seal.
Answer
Elephant, tiger, buffalo, and rhinoceros.
Question
What was the primary commercial function of Harappan seals?
Answer
To stamp bags of goods to indicate ownership and ensure they had not been tampered with.
Question
The Harappan script is described as _____ because it uses signs representing birds, fish, and humans.
Answer
pictographic
Question
In what direction was the Harappan script written, as evidenced by the spacing on seals?
Answer
From right to left.
Question
What is the estimated range of the number of signs found in the Harappan script?
Answer
Between 375 and 400
Question
The 'Bearded Man' stone sculpture depicts a man with half-closed eyes, suggesting a state of _____.
Answer
meditation
Question
Where was the 'Dancing Girl' bronze statue discovered?
Answer
Mohenjo-daro
Question
By what specific metallurgical process were Harappan bronze statues created?
Answer
The lost wax process.
Question
At which site in Gujarat was a rectangular brick dockyard discovered?
Answer
Lothal
Question
What does the Lothal dockyard indicate regarding the Harappans' scientific knowledge?
Answer
Their knowledge of tides and hydraulic engineering.
Question
Where were the two rows of six granaries discovered?
Answer
Harappa
Question
What feature of Harappan granaries was designed to prevent food grains from becoming mildewed?
Answer
Ventilation
Question
What is the approximate total area covered by the Harappan civilisation?
Answer
$1.3$ million sq. km.
Question
What was the general geometric shape of the area covered by the Harappan civilisation?
Answer
Triangular
Question
Which Harappan site is located in the Larkana district of Sindh (Pakistan)?
Answer
Mohenjo-daro
Question
Who discovered the site of Mohenjo-daro in 1922?
Answer
R.D. Banerjee
Question
The two most important Harappan cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, were linked by which river?
Answer
The Indus
Question
Which Harappan site is located on an island in the Great Rann of Kutch?
Answer
Dholavira
Question
What was the most striking feature of Harappan urban planning?
Answer
The grid pattern of the streets.
Question
In Harappan cities, where were the residential buildings located?
Answer
The lower town
Question
Why were the streets in Harappan cities rounded at the corners?
Answer
To allow bullock carts to pass easily.
Question
What unique sanitary feature was found in every street of a Harappan city?
Answer
Brick-lined sewage channels.
Question
Why were Harappan houses built on high mounds?
Answer
To protect them from floods.
Question
Where were the entrances to Harappan houses typically placed?
Answer
In the narrow lanes (at right angles to the streets).
Question
What was the basic unit used in the Harappan system of stone weights?
Answer
16 (equivalent to 14 modern grams).
Question
How did the Harappans conduct trade given that they did not use metal money?
Answer
Through the barter system.
Question
Which site served as a major manufacturing centre for beads and had a dockyard?
Answer
Lothal
Question
What name did ancient Mesopotamian records use for the Indus region?
Answer
Meluha
Question
According to Mesopotamian texts, Meluha was known as a land of _____.
Answer
seafarers
Question
From which region did the Harappans import copper?
Answer
Rajasthan, Baluchistan, or Arabia.
Question
Where was gold imported from by the Harappan merchants?
Answer
North Karnataka and Afghanistan.
Question
What was the most common subject portrayed on Harappan terracotta figurines?
Answer
The Mother Goddess
Question
The Harappans were the first to cultivate which crop, later adopted by the Egyptians?
Answer
Cotton
Question
What modern vehicle is resembled by the terracotta models of carts found at Harappa?
Answer
The Ekka (horse-cart).
Question
Which Harappan site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2021?
Answer
Dholavira
Question
Around what year did the Harappan Civilisation begin to decline?
Answer
$1800$ BCE
Question
Which historian proposed the 'Aryan Attack' theory for the decline of the Harappan civilisation?
Answer
Mortimer Wheeler
Question
What environmental factor did scholars like D.P. Agarwal suggest caused the decline of the civilisation?
Answer
Increased aridity and the drying up of the river Ghaggar.
Question
How did deforestation contribute to the decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation?
Answer
Massive wood consumption for bronze smelting and brick baking led to climatic change.
Question
A recent study by the IITM suggests that the collapse was caused by changes in _____.
Answer
monsoon patterns (climate change).