INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

EXTRA QUESTIONS

Q1. Define:

a.       Citadel: A fortified area which housed important civic and religious public buildings including granaries and residencies of the ruling class.

b.      Lower Town: Large residential areas meant for the lower masses.

c.       Gabarbands: also known as nalas, enclosed by dams for storing water. They were found in parts of Baluchistan and Afghanistan.

d.      Dancing lady: Famous bronze figurine found in the Harappan civilization.

Q2. Describe the characteristics of a civilization.

Ans. A society is called a civilization if it had the following characteristics:

                             

 Unique  art and architecture styles

 Written language

 Systems for administering territories

 Specialization of labour

 Class structured society

 Large urban centres

Q3. Name some important sites if Harappan civilization.

Ans. Some important sites of Harappan civilization are:

-          Manda in Jammu and Kashmir

-          Harappa in Western Punjab (Pakistan)

-          Kalibangan in Rajasthan

-          Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat

-          Banawali and Rakhigarhi in Haryana

-          Sutkagen dor in Makran Coast

-          Alamgirpur in Western U.P

Total area= 12, 99,600km

Q4. Based on what pattern was the city planning done?

Ans. City planning roughly followed the grid pattern with streets cutting each other at right angles, thus, dividing the city into a number of rectangular blocks.

Q5. What were the granaries used for?

Ans. The Great Granary found in the Harappa civilization was used to store surplus grains. They were built close to the river, so that the surplus grains could be easily transported to other places.

Q6. How do we know that the Indus Valley people had an excellent drainage system?

Ans. The drainage system in the Indus Valley had following features:

-          Was elaborate, planned and underground

-          Drains built alongside road

-          Houses connected to main drains with manholes

-          House drains emptied waste water into street drains

-          They were mostly made of bricks

-          Gypsum and lime made them watertight

-          Drains were covered with stone slabs which could be removed for cleaning

Q7. What do you understand about the first urbanisation in India?

Ans. Rise of towns in the Indus was based on agricultural surplus, the making of bronze tools, various crafts and widespread trade and commerce. This is known as the first urbanization in India.

Q8. Describe the following:

a.       Bead Making: Beads made of gold, silver, copper, shell, and semi precious stones were known. They were cut in different shapes and sizes such as- disc shaped, spherical, and cylindrical, barrel shaped, segmented.

b.        Pottery: Usually made of bright or dark red colour. Different types like glazed, polychrome, incised, perforated and knobbed were known. Designs included flora, fauna, geometrical designs and scenes from forest life.

Q9. What was found in Lothal and Dholavira?

Ans. Lothal:

-          A dock and a warehouse

-          Terracotta seals

-          Series of weights similar to Assyrian weights

Dholavira:

-          Covers about 100 hectares

-          Cemetery

-          Grave having a skeleton with a copper mirror

-          Smaller graves, cists