CBSE Class 12 History Bricks Beads Bones Harappan Civilization Worksheet Set B

The Harappan Civilization

Key concepts in nutshells

Period:

• I. Early Harappan culture - Before 2600 BCE
• II. Mature Harappan culture - 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE
• III. Later Harappan culture - After 1900 BCE

Extent of Harappan civilization:

• Northern boundary - Manda
• Southern boundary - Daimabad
• Eastern boundary - Alamgirpur
• Western boundary - Sutkagendor

Characteristics of the Harappan Civilization:

• (i) Planned Urban centre - unique feature of Mohenjo-Daro - two Sections:
  • a. The Citadel
  • b. The Lower Town
• (ii) Laying out drainage
• (iii) Domestics Architecture:
  • (a) warehouse / Granary
  • (b) Great Bath
  • (c) Bricks used for construction of buildings
  • (d) Double story building
• Other features:
  • (i) Seals and Sealings used to facilitate long distance communication
  • (ii) Use of weights, usually made of stone called chert, generally cubical, with no marking.
  • (iii) Burials - to lay the dead in pits were found in Harappan Civilization; some graves contained pottery and ornaments indicating a belief that these could be used in after life.
  • (iv) Use of enigmatic script - writing found in objects like seals, copper tools, rims of jars, terracotta tablets, jewellery, bone rods.
• Rulers: Some archaeologists are of the opinion that Harappan society had no rulers, whereas other archaeologists feel that there was no single ruler but several rulers.
• Decline: Several explanations for the decline of Harappan civilization are climatic changes, deforestation, excessive floods, the shifting and / or drying up of rivers.
• Metals Known: Gold, Silver, Copper, Bronze.

Scripts

• The Harappan scripts are not yet deciphered. There are 375-400 signs.
• The script was written from right to left.

Craft

• Chanhudaro was totally involved for craft production.
• They were experts in bead making, shell cutting, seal making, and weight making.
• Lothal was also one of the important places for craft production.

Modes of Transportation

• Bullock carts and Boats.

List of centres from where craft production materials were found

• 1. Nageshwar & Balakot: Shell
• 2. Shortughai (Afghanistan): Lapis Lazuli (A Blue precious stone)
• 3. Lothal: Carnelian
• 4. From South Rajasthan & North Gujarat: Steatite
• 5. Khetri [From Rajasthan]: Copper metal
• 6. South India: Gold

OTQ (1 MARKS)

Question 1. Which of the following name is appropriate, Indus valley civilization or Harappan Culture?
Answer: Harappan Culture.

Question 2. Which was the first site of Indus valley civilization where this unique culture was discovered?
Answer: Harappa.

Question 3. Where was evidence of ploughed field found in Indus Valley Civilization?
Answer: Kalibangan.

Question 4. Terracotta models of the plough have been found at which sites in Indus valley Civilization?
Answer: 1. Cholistan, 2. Banawali (Haryana)

Question 5. From which traces of canals have been found in Indus valley Civilization?
Answer: Shortughai (Afghanistan)

Question 6. Where was water reserve found in Indus valley Civilization?
Answer: Dhaulavira (Gujarat)

Question 7. Name any two structures which were found in the Citadel?
Answer: 1. The warehouse (in Harappa), 2. The great bath (in Mohenjodaro)

Question 8. In Mesopotamians texts Dilmun, Meluhha and Magan words are used for which centres?
Answer: Dilmun for Bahrain, Meluhha for Harappa, Magan for Oman.

Question 9. The longest signs containing inscription contains how many signs?
Answer: 26 Signs

Question 10. Harappa Script was written from which side?
Answer: From Right to left.

Question 11. Weights were usually made of which stone in Indus valley Civilization?
Answer: Chert.

Question 12. Weights were generally made in which form?
Answer: Cubical with No markings.

Question 13. What was the type of the lower denomination of weights?
Answer: Binary (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 upto 12,800)

Question 14. what was the type of the higher denominations of weights?
Answer: Decimal System

Question 15. Who was the first Director General of A. S. I. ?
Answer: Cunningham.

Question 16. What was the time period of Cunningham’s main interest in history?
Answer: 600 B.C.E. to 400 C. E.

Question 17. Who announced the discovery of a new civilization in the Indus valley?
Answer: John Marshall.

Question 18. Who has written “The story of India Archaeology”?
Answer: S.N. Roy

Question 19. Who was the first professional archaeologist to work in India?
Answer: John Marshall

Question 20. What was the new technique that was followed by R.E.M. Wheeler?
Answer: To Follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than digging horizontal lines.

Question 21. How did the Harappans obtain red colour of carnelian?
Answer: Harappans obtained red colour of carnelian by firing the yellowish raw material and beads at various stages of production.

Question 22. How do we know about the social differences among the Harappans?
Answer: By study of the structure of burials and things found from these burials. By classifying artifacts into useful and luxurious things.

Question 23. What were the animals of Harappans civilization?
Answer: Pet animals: Cattle, Sheep, Goat, Buffalo, Pig. Wild animals: Boar, Deer, Ghariyal.

Question 24. List the food items available to the people in Harappan civilization?
Answer: Products taken from plants; Fish and flesh; wheat, millet, pulses, rice etc.

S. A (3 Marks)

Question 25. Our Knowledge about the Indus Valley Civilization is poorer than that of other civilizations, why?
Answer: Our knowledge is poorer because:

• We could not read the script of that age till now.
• Dependency on only archaeological sources i.e. buildings, seal, beads etc.
• For other civilizations literary sources are available unlike Indus Valley Civilization.

Question 26. List the raw material required for craft production in Indus Valley Civilization and how these might have been obtained?
Answer: Raw materials required for craft production include:

• Stone like carnelian, jasper, crystal, quartz, and steatite.
• Metal like copper, bronze, gold.
• Shell, faience and terracotta.

Method of procuring material:

• They established settlements near the source of material e.g., Nageshwar, Balakot.
• They might have sent expeditions to areas such as the Khetri region of Rajasthan (for copper) and south India (for gold).

Question 27. What was the confusion in the mind of Cunningham while studying Harappan Civilization?
Answer: Cunningham's confusion stemmed from:

• He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited India between the fourth and seventh century.
• He thought that Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga Valley.

Question 28. What were the differences in techniques adopted by Marshall and Wheeler in studying Indus Valley Civilization?
Answer: The differences in techniques were:

• Marshall tended to excavate along regular horizontal units, measured uniformly throughout the mound, ignoring the stratigraphy of the site. Due to this technique, valuable information about the context of these finds was irretrievably lost.
• Wheelers recognized that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than digging mechanically along uniform horizontal lines.

Question 29. What were the features of settlements of pre-Harappa period?
Answer: Features of pre-Harappa settlements:

• They had no large buildings.
• There was a prevalence of agriculture and cattle rearing.
• Some people were also engaged in sculpture.
• There was no well-planned network of roads and drainage system.

Question 30. How you can say that the people of Mohenjodaro were concerned about their privacy?
Answer: Mohenjodaro's concern for privacy is evident from:

• The design of residential buildings & special structures.
• The main entrance of the houses was made in such a way that it did not give a direct view of the interior or the courtyard.
• There were no windows in the walls along the ground level.

Question 31. Mention any four items found in the graves of the Harappans?
Answer: Items found in graves include jewellery of both men and women, ornaments consisting of three shell rings, a jasper (semi-precious stone) beads, and a copper mirror.

Question 32. How you can say that there was a break between the early Harappan and the late Harappan Civilization?
Answer: A break between the early and late periods is indicated by:

• Evidence of large scale burning at some places or sites.
• The abandonment of certain settlements.
• Drastic changes in town planning, drainage system and other patterns.

Question 33. Why is Harappan script considered an enigmatic script or mysterious script? OR What are the main characteristics of Harappan Script?
Answer: Main characteristics of the Harappan script:

• Because it is yet to be deciphered; its mystery has still not been solved yet.
• It was not alphabetical. It had too many signs (375 to 400); all the signs symbolized certain things.
• The script was written from right to left.
• The script has been found on a variety of objects.

Question 34. Write a note on the agriculture technology of Harappans?
Answer: Agriculture technology of the Harappans:

• The prevalence of agriculture is indicated by finds of grains in various sites. Archaeologists have found evidence of a ploughed field; seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was known and oxen were used for ploughing.
• Two different crops were grown together.
• Canals and wells were constructed for irrigation. Traces of canals have been found in the Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan; water reservoirs have been found in Dhaulavira.

Question 35. How can you say that the Harappan culture was an urban one?
Answer: Harappan culture was an urban one because:

• The cities were well planned into upper and lower town.
• 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 bathroom.
• The drainage system was excellent with house drains emptying into street drains.
• Existence of public buildings.
• Lothal had a dockyard and was an important trading centre.

Question 36. Write a note on the drainage system of Harappa?
Answer: Drainage system of Harappa:

• The drainage was made of mortar, lime, and gypsum.
• They were covered with big bricks and stones which could be lifted easily to clean the drain.
• Smaller drains from houses on both sides were laid on the main channel.
• Pits were provided for sewage for the houses.

Question 37. Discuss the functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan civilization?
Answer: Functions likely performed by Harappan rulers:

• Some archaeologists say the society had no rulers and everybody enjoyed equal status, while others feel there were several.
• Under the guidance and supervision of rulers, plans and layouts of the city were prepared.
• Big buildings, palaces, forts, tanks, wells, canals, granaries etc., were constructed under the supervision of rulers.
• Roads and drains were constructed, and cleanliness was maintained under the overall supervision of the ruler.
• The ruler might have taken interest in promoting farmers to increase production and craftsmen to promote different handicrafts.
• He maintained and controlled extraordinary uniformity of Harappa's artefacts like seals, weights, and bricks.
• During foreign attacks and natural disasters, he played an active role by providing security and food.
• He used to issue common acceptable coins or seals, weights, and measurements.

Question. Q 38- Write a short note on the seals of Indus valley people.
Answer:

• More than 2000 seals have been found at the various sites.
• They are made up of various materials such as steatite, faience, ivory, pottery etc.
• They are very informative regarding dress, ornaments, hair styles etc.
• By the seals we know about the religions, commercial activities, etc.

Question. Q 39. What do you know about trade and commerce of Indus valley civilization?
Answer:

• Internal Trade: - was advanced Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa were main trade Centre. Heavy and small weight has been found at these sites. These are made up in the multiple of two as \( 1:2:4:8:16 \) upto \( 12,800 \).
• There was strict control on weight and measure.
• International trade - They had trade relation with other countries such as Egypt, Oman.
• The trade was carried both by sea and land.
• Probably the metals like gold, silver, Tin and copper and precious stones were imported from the other countries.

Question. Q 40- How did Harappan civilization come to an end?
Answer: Some schools have tried to explain the important causes which led to the abandonment of the mature Harappan sites by 1800 B.C. E. Some of them are as follows:

• By Floods - It is speculated that a sudden flood might have submerged the various town and buried them under the thick layer of mud.
• Due to the change in the course of Indus River.
• Climatic change - It is also possible that there was climate change and drought took place due to deforestation.
• Earthquakes - It is also probable that the nature itself turned the whole land upside down.
• Aryan Invasion - Some scholars say that Aryans were responsible.

Value Based Questions

Question. Q 41:- What value do you attach to the work of Sir John Marshall in leaving India three thousand years older than he had found her?
Answer:

• He was the director general of Archaeological Survey of India.
• By his effort it was proved that there existed a great civilization in India which was contemporary of Mesopotamia.
• For this great - work we attach the value of thankfulness, indebtedness.

Long Answer 

Question. Q.42: How do archaeologists reconstruct the past?
Answer:

• Recovering artefacts through excavation.
• Classification of finds that finds are whether tools or weapons or ornaments or both or something meant for ritual use.
• An understanding of the function of an artifact is often shaped by it resemblance with present day things. Beads, pots are obvious examples.
• Archaeologists reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by examining seals, some of which seem to depict ritual scenes.
• Archaeologists often move from known to unknown that is from present to past regarding the reconstruction of religious practices.
• Remains of crops or pits are studied to identify food.
• By observing the different layers of sites they try to find out different things for the information of Socio-economic conditions, religious and cultural life of past people.
• Archaeologists also try to identify the function of an artefact by investigating the context in which it was found.
• Use of indirect evidence eg. for clothing they depend on indirect evidence like description in sculpture.

Source Based Questions

Read the given passage carefully and answer the Questions that follow:
"Evidence of an "invasion"
Deadman Lane is a narrow alley, varying from 3 to 6 feet in width. At the point where the lane turns westward, part of skull and the bones of the thorax and upper arm of an adult were discovered, all in very friable condition, at a depth of 4ft 2in. The body lay on its backs diagonally across the lane. Fifteen inches to the west were a few fragments of a tiny skull. It is to these remains that the lane owes its name. FROM JOHN MARSHALL, Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization, 1931.
Sixteen skeletons of people with the ornaments that they were wearing when they died were found from the same part of Mohenjo-Daro in 1925.
Much later, in 1947, R.E.M. Wheeler, then Director - General of the ASI, tried to correlate this archeological evidence with that of the Rig-Veda, the earliest known text in the subcontinent. He wrote:
The Rig-Veda mentions pur, meaning rampart, fort or stronghold. Indra the Aryan wargod is called purandara, 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 civilization of essentially non-Aryan type, now known to have employed massive fortification. What destroyed this family settle civilization?
Climatic, economics 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 Mohenjo-Daro men, women, and children, appear to have been massacred there. On circumstantial evidence, Indra stands accused.
FROM R.E.M. WHEELER, "Harappa 1946", Ancient India, 1947.
In the 1960s, the evidence of massacre in Mohenjo-Daro was Questioned by an archeologist named George Dales. He Demonstrated that the skeletons found at the site did not belong to the same period: Whereas a couple of them definitely seem to indicate a slaughter, the bulk of the bones were found in contexts suggesting burials of the sloppiest and most irreverent nature. There is no destruction level covering the latest period of the city, no sign of extensive burning, no bodies of warriors clad in armour and surrounded by the weapons of war. The citadel, the only fortified part of the city, yielded no evidence of a final defense.
FROM G.F. DALES, "The Mythical Massacre Mohenjo-Daro", Expedition, 1964.

Question. Q1. Name the archeologist who presented this source?
Answer: John Marshall

Question. Q2. Which argument for the destruction of Harappa civilization, does this excerpt indicates?
Answer: This excerpt indicates that the Harappa civilization was destroyed by foreign invasion.

Question. Q3:- Who corrected this evidence with Rig-Veda? Why?
Answer: R.E.M. Wheeler. Rig-Veda mentions pur, meaning rampart, fort or strong-hold. Indra, the Aryans' war-god is called purandara, the fort destroyer.

Question. Q4:- Who propounded the theory opposite to this? How?
Answer: George Dales. He hesitates to accept that this invasion was carried out by the Aryans. He demonstrated that the skeletons found at the site did not belong to the same period: Whereas a couple of them definitely seem to indicate a slaughter, the bulk of the bones were found in contexts suggesting burials of the sloppiest and most irreverent nature. There is no sign of extensive burning, no bodies of warriors clad in armour and surrounded by the weapons of war.

QUESTIONS BANK:

Question. Q 43.: Who is the father of Indian Archeology?
Answer: Alexander Cunningham

Question. Q.44: What were the main Industries in Indus Valley Civilization?
Answer: Bead-making, shell-cutting, seal-making, and metal-working were among the major industries.

SHORT ANSWERS

Question. Q 45: What is the meaning of culture?
Answer: Archaeologists use the term "culture" for a group of objects, distinctive in style, that are usually found together within a specific geographical area and period of time.

Question. Q.46: What are the sources to know about Indus Valley Civilization?
Answer: The sources include archaeological remains such as buildings, seals, pottery, ornaments, tools, and burials.

Question. Q. 47: Explain drainage system of this civilization.
Answer: One of the most distinctive features was the carefully planned drainage system. Roads and streets were laid out along an approximate "grid" pattern, intersecting at right angles. It seems that streets with drains were laid out first and then houses were built along them.

LONG ANSWERS

Question. Q.48 How do archaeologist reconstruct the past?
Answer: Archaeologists reconstruct the past by recovering artefacts through excavation, classifying finds based on material and function, and moving from known present-day objects to unknown past ones. They also examine the context of finds and use indirect evidence, such as artistic descriptions, to understand socio-economic, religious, and cultural life.