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UPSC CSE Harappan Civilisation — practice questions

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A museum label says a Harappan seal is carved from a soft stone. Which stone is it?The Mature Harappan civilisation is dated to which period?Grains found at Harappan sites include wheat, barley, lentil and chickpea. Which grain is relatively rare?Terracotta models of a plough have been found at Cholistan and at which Haryana site?At which Rajasthan site was a ploughed field with two sets of furrows at right angles found?Traces of canals have been found at which Harappan site in Afghanistan?Water reservoirs that may have stored water for farming were found at which Gujarat site?Who was the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, called the father of Indian archaeolMohenjodaro is divided into a small high western part and a larger lower eastern part. What are these called?Harappan bricks followed a standard ratio. Length and breadth were how many times the height?About how many wells did Mohenjodaro have, by scholars' estimate?The Great Bath tank was made watertight with bricks set on edge and a mortar of what?Which tiny settlement of under 7 hectares was devoted almost wholly to craft production like bead-making?Nageshwar and Balakot, both near the coast, specialised in making objects from which material?Harappans may have sent expeditions to the Khetri region of Rajasthan for which metal?Mesopotamian texts call the Harappan region by which name?The Harappan script has how many signs, showing it was not alphabetical?Harappan weights were usually cubical and made of which stone?By about which year BCE had most Mature Harappan sites in Cholistan been abandoned?Who announced the discovery of the Indus valley civilisation to the world in 1924?Which ASI Director-General, from 1944, insisted on following the stratigraphy of a mound?Fire altars regarded as ritual structures have been found at Lothal and which other site?Mesopotamia, the land between the Euphrates and Tigris, lies mostly in which modern country?The word Mesopotamia comes from Greek words meaning what?The urbanised south of Mesopotamia in early recorded history was called:Sumerian, the first known language of Mesopotamia, was replaced by which language around 2400 BCE?Archaeology in Mesopotamia began in which decade?Agriculture in the north-eastern Mesopotamian plains began between which dates?The first Mesopotamian tablets, written around 3200 BCE, recorded what?The wedge-shaped Mesopotamian script is called:Cuneiform writing in Akkadian remained in use until when?Which early ruler of Uruk is linked in an epic to the first trade and the invention of writing?Around 3000 BCE Uruk grew to about 250 hectares. How did this compare with Mohenjo-daro?Mesopotamian seals differed from Indian stamp seals in what way?Ur's ordinary houses were dug up in the 1930s. Which feature of Mohenjo-daro did Ur lack?The kings of Mari belonged to which people and raised a temple to Dagan, god of the steppe?The palace at Mari belonged to which king who ruled 1810-1760 BCE?The Gilgamesh Epic was written on how many tablets?Dividing the day into 24 hours and the hour into 60 minutes came to us from whom?The Assyrian empire was at its height between which years?Which Assyrian king collected a library of some 30,000 tablets at Nineveh?Who freed Babylonia from Assyrian domination in 625 BCE?The Achaemenids of Iran conquered Babylon in which year?Nabonidus repaired a broken statue inscribed with the name of which king of Akkad?Engineers first stumbled upon the site of Harappa while laying:Harappan cities developed about how many years ago?The smaller, higher western part of a Harappan city is called the:The Great Bath, lined with bricks and sealed with natural tar, was built in the citadel of:Fire altars where sacrifices may have been performed were found at Lothal and:Harappan seal signs are the earliest known form of what in the subcontinent?Harappan stone weights were made of:Many Harappan beads were made of a beautiful red stone called:Which artificially produced glazed material did Harappans use for beads and bangles?Cotton was probably grown at Mehrgarh from about how many years ago?Harappans probably got copper from Rajasthan and from which West Asian land?Tin, mixed with copper to make bronze, may have come from Iran and:Gold for the Harappans could have come from present-day:Unlike most Harappan cities, Dholavira was divided into:Dholavira is located on Khadir Beyt in the:Lothal stood beside a tributary of which river in Gujarat?Which Harappan city had a huge tank that may have been a dockyard?The impression of a seal pressed on wet clay is called a:The decline of the Harappan cities began about how many years ago?After the Harappan decline, new cities emerged about how many years later?Most Harappan houses had which feature, often connected to street drains?Harappan crops included wheat, barley, pulses, peas, rice, sesame, linseed and:Harappan seals were made of a stone called:The Mature Harappan civilisation is dated between about:Terracotta plough models were found at Cholistan and:Evidence of a ploughed field with two sets of furrows at right angles was found at:Traces of Harappan canals were found at:Water reservoirs, possibly for agriculture, were found at:The smaller, higher section of Mohenjodaro is called the:Laying Mohenjodaro's foundations alone is estimated to have needed how many person-days?Which settlements were fortified as a whole, with walled sections inside?The estimated number of wells in Mohenjodaro is about:The Great Bath was made watertight with bricks set on edge and a mortar of:Faience, used for small precious pots, was made of:Chanhudaro, a tiny settlement, was almost exclusively devoted to:Nageshwar and Balakot were specialised centres for making objects of:Shortughai in Afghanistan lay near the best source of:Harappans may have sent expeditions for copper to which region of Rajasthan?Copper from Oman and Harappan artefacts both contain traces of:Mesopotamian texts call the Harappan region:The longest Harappan inscription contains about how many signs?The Harappan script was written:Most Mature Harappan sites in Cholistan were abandoned by about:Who announced the discovery of the Indus civilisation to the world in 1924?The arts of the Indus Valley Civilisation emerged during the second half of the:Along the Indus, Harappa lies in the north and which city in the south?Lothal and Dholavira, important Indus sites in India, are in:The bust of the bearded priest from the Indus Valley is carved in:The shawl of the bearded priest is decorated with:Harappan bronze statues were made using which technique?Daimabad, a late Harappan site with fine metal-cast sculptures, is in:The most important Indus terracotta figures represent the:Most Indus seals were made of:The purpose of producing Indus seals was mainly:The Indus seals carry a script that is:On the Pashupati seal, which animals appear to the right of the seated figure?Seals like the Pashupati seal date from between:Indus Valley pottery consists chiefly of:Perforated Indus pottery, with a large hole at the bottom and small holes all over, was probably used for:A Harappan cemetery where bodies were buried with ornaments has been found at Farmana in:Bead factories of the Indus Valley have been discovered at Lothal and:Spindles and spindle whorls in Indus houses show that people commonly practised:Indus people used which mineral as a cosmetic and face-paint?The Dancing Girl of Mohenjodaro is a copper figure about how tall?Around her neck, the Dancing Girl wears a necklace of:The red sandstone male torso has socket holes in the neck and shoulders for attaching: