Indus Valley Civilization

31. Consider the following statements about Harappan cities: 1. Roads were

Consider the following statements about Harappan cities:
1. Roads were not always absolutely straight and did not always cross one another at right angles.
2. A striking feature is the uniformity in the average size of the bricks for houses and for city walls.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-2 – 2016
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Both statements about Harappan cities are correct. The answer is C) Both 1 and 2.
Harappan urban planning was sophisticated, featuring a grid layout in major cities where main roads intersected at right angles. However, this was not universally applied to all roads and lanes within the city, and smaller streets or those in less prominent areas were not always perfectly straight or right-angled. Thus, statement 1 is correct. A highly distinctive feature of the Harappan civilization was the remarkable uniformity and standardization of brick sizes (typically in the ratio 1:2:4 for thickness, width, and length) used for construction across different sites, for both houses and city walls. This demonstrates advanced planning and organization, making statement 2 correct.
The uniformity in brick size is often cited as evidence of a strong central authority or at least a shared cultural and technical tradition across the vast expanse of the Harappan civilization. Other features of Harappan cities included elaborate drainage systems, a citadel or elevated area, and lower town where the majority of the population lived.

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32. From which one of the following factory sites were limestone and chert

From which one of the following factory sites were limestone and chert blades mass produced and sent to various Harappan settlements in Sindh?

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Sukkur and Rohri Hills
Khetri in Rajasthan
Chagai Hills
Hills of Baluchistan
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-1 – 2020
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The Sukkur and Rohri Hills region in Sindh is well-known as a major source of high-quality chert used for mass-producing blades during the Harappan period.
This region provided the raw material (chert) that was then processed into blades on a large scale and supplied to various Harappan settlements in the Indus Valley, highlighting organized resource exploitation and distribution networks.
Khetri in Rajasthan is known for its copper mines exploited by Harappans. While Harappan sites existed in Baluchistan and near Chagai Hills, Sukkur and Rohri Hills are specifically famous for large-scale chert blade production supplying sites in Sindh.

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33. Who among the following archaeologists was the first to identify simil

Who among the following archaeologists was the first to identify similarities between a pre-Harappan culture and the mature Harappan culture ?

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Amalananda Ghosh
Rakhaldas Banerji
Daya Ram Sahni
Sir John Marshall
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-1 – 2016
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Amalananda Ghosh was a pioneering archaeologist who, through his explorations, particularly in the Ghaggar valley (like at Kalibangan), identified sites showing characteristics of an early phase (pre-Harappan) that led directly into the Mature Harappan phase. His work provided crucial evidence for the evolutionary link and similarities between the pre-existing cultures and the developed Harappan civilization.
Amalananda Ghosh’s work was instrumental in establishing the indigenous origins and evolutionary nature of the Harappan Civilization by identifying similarities between its early and mature phases.
Rakhaldas Banerji and Daya Ram Sahni are credited with the initial discoveries of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, respectively, under the direction of Sir John Marshall, who officially announced the existence of the Indus Valley Civilization.

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