Mastery

The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation — Mastery

30 questions 30 min Full-chapter mastery

Q1. Why is 'some form of government and administration' regarded as a feature of civilisation in the chapter?
- A. To decorate the king's palace
- B. To replace all crafts and trade
- C. To manage a more complex society and its many activities
- D. To stop people from farming
Q2. The chapter says the story of Indian civilisation begins in which part of the Indian Subcontinent?
- A. The eastern coast
- B. The far south
- C. The northwest region
- D. The central plateau
Q3. In Mohenjo-daro, from where did people mostly draw their water?
- A. From a single central reservoir only
- B. From hundreds of wells made of bricks
- C. From the sea
- D. From rainwater stored on rooftops
Q4. According to the timeline (Fig. 6.2), the mature Indus-Sarasvatī civilisation lasted roughly between which dates?
- A. About 4000 to 3000 BCE
- B. About 1900 to 1000 BCE
- C. About 2600 to 1900 BCE
- D. About 6000 to 5000 BCE
Q5. Some large Harappan buildings seem to have been used for collective purposes. What is given as an example?
- A. Cinemas
- B. Hospitals with machines
- C. Warehouses where goods to be transported were stored
- D. Banks with vaults
Q6. A Harappan ivory comb found on the coast of Oman is best used as evidence for which conclusion?
- A. The Harappans traded with regions outside India by sea
- B. The Harappans never left their cities
- C. Oman was ruled by the Harappans
- D. Ivory was unknown to the Harappans
Q7. What was the chief purpose of the thousands of small Harappan seals, according to the chapter?
- A. To decorate temples
- B. To record poems
- C. To serve as coins for buying food
- D. To help traders identify their goods and one another
Q8. How do archaeologists know the Harappans domesticated animals for meat and also fished?
- A. From written recipe books
- B. From large numbers of animal and fish bones found during excavations
- C. From paintings in caves
- D. From their seals only
Q9. Among Harappan 'cultural and symbolic objects', one seal depicts a three-faced deity seated on a raised platform, surrounded by what?
- A. Sailing ships
- B. Soldiers with shields
- C. Powerful animals
- D. Modern machines
Q10. After the cities were abandoned, why did the remaining Harappans adopt a rural lifestyle?
- A. Because a rural lifestyle gives easier access to food and water than an urban one
- B. Because villages had better palaces
- C. Because they were forced by an emperor
- D. Because cities were buried under the sea
Q11. 'Urbanism' as a feature of civilisation generally includes which of the following, according to the chapter?
- A. Only hunting and gathering
- B. Banning all trade
- C. Only growing one crop
- D. Town-planning, the growth of cities, water management and drainage
Q12. What does the chapter say about the wide streets of larger Harappan cities?
- A. They were curved and random
- B. They were often oriented to the cardinal directions
- C. They had no connection to houses
- D. They were made of glass
Q13. Approximately what were the dimensions of Mohenjo-daro's Great Bath tank?
- A. About 4 × 4 metres
- B. About 217 × 36 metres
- C. About 73 × 73 metres
- D. About 12 × 7 metres
Q14. Which statement about the Harappans and copper is correct?
- A. They mastered the art of working copper, a soft metal
- B. They never used copper at all
- C. They used copper only as money
- D. They believed copper was magical and untouchable
Q15. A student argues, 'The civilisation should only be called Indus Valley.' Why is this view weak, based on the chapter?
- A. Because the Indus had no valley
- B. Because all sites are in Mesopotamia
- C. Because the Indus is not a real river
- D. Because important sites also lie along the Sarasvatī, far beyond the Indus region
Q16. In which ancient text is the Sarasvatī River first mentioned, worshipped both as a goddess and as a river?
- A. The Arthashastra
- B. The Ṛig Veda
- C. The Meghadūtam
- D. The Charaka Saṃhitā
Q17. Why is the Harappans growing cotton considered especially significant?
- A. Because cotton is poisonous
- B. Because cotton was only used as fuel
- C. Because cotton replaced all their food crops
- D. Because they were the first in Eurasia to grow it and wove it into clothes
Q18. Which group of daily-use objects from Dholavira is mentioned in the chapter?
- A. A bronze mirror, a terracotta pot, stone weights and a bronze chisel
- B. A television, a fan and a clock
- C. Glass bottles and steel knives
- D. Plastic toys and rubber balls
Q19. Although Harappan cities disappeared, what does the chapter say about their culture and technology?
- A. Much of it survived and passed on to the next phase of Indian civilisation
- B. All of it was completely lost forever
- C. It was carried away to Egypt
- D. It turned into the Gupta Empire overnight
Q20. Why is 'a productive agriculture' included as a feature of civilisation?
- A. To feed only wild animals
- B. To produce enough to feed not just the villages but also the cities
- C. To stop trade between cities
- D. To make pottery faster
Q21. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, the first two to be identified in this civilisation, were identified roughly how long ago?
- A. Only last year
- B. About 5,000 years ago
- C. About 50 years ago
- D. About a century ago, in the 1920s
Q22. Which two interpretations of the Great Bath's purpose are still debated by archaeologists?
- A. A bath for the royal family and a tank for religious rituals
- B. A public bath and a granary
- C. A swimming pool and a fish farm
- D. A well and a drain
Q23. What is the most likely function of Lothal's huge basin, and what does it suggest about the Harappans?
- A. A temple; that they worshipped water
- B. A football ground; that they played sports
- C. A dockyard; that they sent and received boats for transporting goods
- D. A reservoir; that they only stored rain
Q24. Assertion (A): Harappan seals were made of steatite. Reason (R): Steatite is a soft stone that could be hardened by heating. Choose the correct option.
- A. Both A and R true, R is the correct explanation of A
- B. Both A and R true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
- C. A is true, R is false
- D. A is false, R is true
Q25. B.B. Lal's quotation suggests the Harappan society was one where differences between rich and poor were 'not glaring'. Which feature best supports this?
- A. Palaces made of gold for the elite
- B. A separate city only for the poor
- C. Slaves chained in the lower town
- D. Similar quality of construction for small and big houses
Q26. The clay model of a plough from Banawali is best used to show that the Harappans
- A. Used farming tools, some forms of which are still used today
- B. Had no interest in farming
- C. Only hunted wild animals
- D. Imported all their food
Q27. Match the city to its modern state: Rakhigarhi is in __, and Kalibangan is in __.
- A. Haryana; Rajasthan
- B. Gujarat; Punjab
- C. Sindh; Haryana
- D. Punjab; Gujarat
Q28. What does Dholavira's system of at least six large reservoirs, connected by underground drains, mainly reflect?
- A. A careless attitude to water
- B. A preference for sea travel
- C. Skilled water harvesting and distribution in a dry region
- D. A lack of any planning
Q29. The 'Dancing Girl' figurine wears bangles covering an entire arm. Where does the chapter say this practice is still visible today?
- A. Only in Kerala
- B. In parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan
- C. Only in the Himalayas
- D. Nowhere in modern India
Q30. Which statement best captures the chapter's overall view of the Harappan decline around 1900 BCE?
- A. A sudden war wiped out everyone instantly
- B. The Harappans simply vanished without any cause
- C. Climatic and environmental changes led to gradual abandonment and a return to rural life
- D. A foreign emperor conquered and renamed all cities

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