CHAPTER 1 THEME Bricks, Beads and Bones THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION Questions at the end of the Chapter 6. Describe some of the distinctive features of Mohenjo-Daro. Answer. The unique feature of Mohenjo-Daro is the planned layout of the city in 125 hectares. The city had an upper area on an elevation, called the Citadel, and a lower area called the Lower Town. The distinctive features of this planned city are the geometrical placement of roads laid with sun baked bricks, the underground drainage system that follows a grid pattern, in which the residential street drains intersect at right angles, the Great Bath, and the unique seals made of steatite. The drainage system is the oldest in the world, as it has not been found in any of the other ancient sites. The Lower Town provides evidence of layout of residential houses. The houses were centred around a courtyard that had rooms on all sides. Due to concerns for privacy, there are no windows along the ground level, and the main entrance does not give a direct view of the inner courtyard. Some houses have evidence of stairways going to the roof or second storey. Every house had its own bathroom paved with bricks and a drain connecting to the street drain. There was a well within the house. 7. List the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappa civilisation and discuss how these might have been obtained. Answer. Copper, bronze and gold were the main metal for the Harappa Civilisation. Copper was obtained from Khetri region Rajasthan. Crafts included metal work, shell cutting, bead making, weight making and seal making. While seals were mostly made of steatite, which is a very soft stone, a variety of material was used for making beads. Carnelian stone that had a beautiful red colour, jasper, crystal, quartz, shell, faience and terracotta were used for beads. Some beads are made of two or more stones cemented together. Some stones also had gold caps. The beads 10x10 Learning TM Page 1
were in many shapes, such as disc shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel shaped segmented. Some were decorated by incising or painting. 8. Discuss how archaeologists reconstruct the past. Answer. The archaeologists attempt to study the remaining parts of stone or metal tools, beads, vessels, pottery pieces, farming equipment, and remains of house sites or a furrowed field that have been found in the excavations. First, the archaeological remains are carbon dated through a scientific method, to confirm their time period and antiquity. Then the archaeologists apply present day understanding and comparisons to understand the utility of those tools in ancient civilizations. They attempt to create a narrative or the big picture of the social and economic life in those times. Agricultural technologies and transportation modes are reconstructed. The remains of bones of animals also help in this reconstruction. 9. Discuss the functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan society. Answer. The Harappan city and smaller trading centres, have a clear layout of an upper area or citadel, and a lower area. The granary is a distinct part of the lay out. This indicates a social segregation of an administrative class with more powers and the civilian society of common persons. The remains of agricultural tools and furrowed field technologies confirm the practice of agriculture. Surplus grain was transported to the city and trade centres for sale and storage in the granary. The surplus grain was also traded as is indicated by the existence of seals and seal making factories. Therefore, the functions of rulers in Harappan society were to determine the rules of: a) Security from attack by hostile forces. b) Control of trade and collection of tax on trade. c) Determining the entry tax in the city and its collection d) Control over manufacturing of terracotta seals. e) Maintenance of Records of the grain stored in the granary. f) Control and record of trade by sea and river. g) Control of ports and their safety. h) Celebration of major festivals and other occasions. i) Responsibilities and conduct of the rulers and commoners 10x10 Learning TM Page 2
j) Rules for barter and exchange in the market k) Social norms of public behaviour and marriage. l) Maintenance and regular provisions of the city s Bath and drainage system m) Securing the commoners against floods. Objective Questions 1. The Harappan seals are made of a) Stone b) Steatite c) Clay d) Rock 2. Early Harappan sites include a) Kot Diji b) Siswal c) Damb Sadaat d) Amri Nal e) All the above 3. Archaeological evidence of a Harappan ploughed field from Harappan has been found in: a) Kalibangan in Rajasthan b) Cholistan c) Banawali in Haryana d) Dholavira in Gujarat 4. The source of copper for Harappan sites was : a) Khetri region in Rajasthan that supported Ganeshwar Jodhpura culture b) Lothal in Gujarat c) Shortughai in Afghanistan d) Nageshwar and Balakot areas 5. Terracotta models of the plough have been found in: a) Kalibangan in Rajasthan b) Cholistan and Banawali in Haryana 10x10 Learning TM Page 3
c) Dholavira in Gujarat d) Harappa History Class 12 Book 1 Chapter 1 2017 6. A water reservoir with excellent masonary work has been found in a) Dholavira b) Kot Diji c) Siswal d) Damb Sadaat 7. Harappan metal tools were made of : a) Copper b) Bronze c) Iron d) Tin 8. Which of the following are correct about the Drain system: a) A well laid out underground drain system existed in Mohenjo-Daro b) Drains were not only in big cities but also in smaller settlements. c) In Lothal the drains were made of burnt bricks d) All the above are correct. 9. The Great Bath and the Granary are found only in: a) Mohenjodaro b) Harappa c) Lothal d) Kalibangan 10. The various abbreviation for dates in study of history include which of the following: a) BP means Before Present. b) BCE stands for Before Common Era. c) CE stands for Common Era as per which the current year is dated 2018. d) Small c. with a full stop, is the Latin word circa which means approximate. e) All the above are used in history. 10x10 Learning TM Page 4
11. Chanhudaro was a small settlement of about 7 hectares that was exclusively devoted to: a) crafts production b) Grains production c) Trade through river and seas d) None of the above. 12. Crafts in Chanhudaro included which of the following: a) Bead making from stones and metals. b) Seal making from steatite. c) Weight making from stone and steatite d) Shell cutting e) Metal working mainly copper, bronze, gold. f) All the above. 13. Bead making included all of the following: a) Beads of different shapes and sizes such as disc shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel shaped segmented, decorated by incising or painting. b) Beads made from stones such as carnelian stone, jasper, crystal, quartz, and steatite, metals such as copper, bronze and gold, shells faience terracotta or burnt clay. c) Cementing of two or more stones to make one bead. d) Giving gold caps on some beads. 14. Sources for various materials included the following: a) Shells from Nageshwar and Balakot. b) Lapis lazuli, that was a valuable blue stone from Shortughai in Afghanistan. c) Carnelian from Lothal and Bharuch in Gujarat d) Steatite from south Rajasthan and north Gujarat e) Copper from Khetri mines in Rajasthan. f) Gold from south India. 15. The un-deciphered Harappan script has been found on: a) Seals. b) Copper tools. c) Rims of jars. 10x10 Learning TM Page 5
d) Copper tablets. e) Terracotta tablets f) Jewellery. g) Bone rods. h) One signboard. 16. Weights were made from : a) a stone called chert. b) steatite c) terracotta d) copper History Class 12 Book 1 Chapter 1 2017 10x10 Learning TM Page 6