Prehistoric period MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Prehistoric period - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is Alamgirpur.Key Points

• Alamgirpur was discovered by Bharat Sevak Samaj on the bank of river Hindon.
• Excavation was done in 1958 under the directions of Yag Dutt Sharma.
• Alamgirpur is a late-Harappan site situated on the banks of the river Hindon, a tributary of Yamuna river.
• It is the eastermost site of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
• It is located near Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
• The people of Alamgirpur were involved in the cultivation of cotton and lived in villages.

Additional Information

• Belan Valley
  • ​Belan Valley is an old stone age site.
  • It is located in Uttar Pradesh.
  • It is situated on the northern spurs of the Vindhyas and middle part of Narmada valley.
  • All the three phases of stone age i.e., palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic ages are found here.

The correct answer is Bronze Age.

Key Points

• Indus valley civilization is a Bronze age civilization.
• Bronze age spanned from  3,000 B.C. to 1,300 B.C.
• Indus Valley Civilization was at its zenith from 2500–1700 B.C.

Additional Information

The pre-historic period (No documentation) of human civilization is divided broadly into three ages:

Stone age ( 30,000 B.C - 3,000 B.C)

• It is named so because of the main technological tool developed at that time i.e. stone.
• This era is marked by the use of stone tools and the eventual transformation from a culture of hunting and gathering to farming and food production.

Bronze age ( 3,000 B.C. - 1,300 B.C.)

• Advances in metalworking were made and Bronze an alloy of copper and tin was discovered.
• Bronze tools and weapons replaced those of stone.
• This time period also brought advances in architecture and art, including the invention of the Potter’s wheel.

Iron age (1,300 B.C. - 900 B.C.)

• Ways to heat the Iron were discovered.
• Wrought Iron is easy to manufacture than manufacturing Bronze.
• There was mass production of steel tools and weapons.
• The age saw even further advances in architecture, with four-room homes, some complete with stables for animals.
• Early city planning also took place.
• Agriculture, art, and religion all became more sophisticated.
• Writing systems and written documentation, including alphabets, began to emerge, ushering in the Early Historical Period.

• Sinauli, an archaeological site is located in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh.
• 125 graves belonging to Indus Valley Civilization were found in this site.
• These graves are oriented in a north-south direction.
• Most of them are identified as primary human burials.

The Harappan towns Dholavira and Lothal are located in Gujarat.

Key Points

• The Harappan Civilization prospered around 4700 years ago.
• The cities of the Harappan Civilization flourished mainly in the valley of the river Indus and are the earliest cities in the Indian subcontinent. 
• These cities were located in the Punjab and Sind in Pakistan, and in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and the Punjab in India.
• The Harappan towns Dholavira and Lothal are located in Gujarat.
• Dholavira:
  • The city of Dholavira was located on Khadir Beyt (also spelled as Bet) in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, where there was fresh water and fertile soil.
  • Unlike some of the other Harappan cities, which were divided into two parts, Dholavira was divided into three parts, and each part was surrounded with massive stone walls, with entrances through gateways. 
• Lothal:
  • The city of Lothal stood beside a tributary of the Sabarmati, in Gujarat, close to the Gulf of Khambat.
  • It was situated near areas where raw materials such as semi-precious stones were easily available. 

  • It also had a dockyard.

Hence, we can conclude that The Harappan towns Dholvira and Lothal are located in Gujarat.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Bolan.

Key Points 

• Mehrgarh, on the bank of river Bolan, is an important site located in the Kacchi plains, about 150 km from Quetta in Baluchistan. Hence, option 4 is the correct answer.
• This site covers an area of 200 ha.
• The site has given evidence of pre-ceramic Neolithic up to the Harappan culture. 
• The first cultural period of the Neolithic culture at Mehrgarh dates from c. 7000 to 5500 BCE.
• It is a pre-pottery Neolithic culture.
• The semi-nomadic, pastoral groups began to settle at this place.
• These people used polished stone axes, querns, microliths, and bone tools.
• They did not use pottery, but cultivated six-row barley, emmer, and einkorn wheat, and domesticated sheep, goat, and cattle.
• Seeds of plum, dates, and jujube were found at this site suggesting gathering activities of the inhabitants.
• Bones of gazelle, swamp deer, and antelopes indicate that they hunted wild animals too.

The correct answer is Rakhigarhi.

Key Points

• Rakhigarhi site of Indus valley civilisation situated at Rakhigarhi village in Hisar district.
• The site is located in the Sarasvati river plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river.
• The Global Heritage Fund declared Rakhigarhi one of the 10 most endangered heritage sites in Asia.
•  A team of Indian and South Korean researchers carried out excavations in Rakhigarhi.
• The team unearthed a fire altar, parts of a city wall, drainage structures as well as a hoard of semi-precious beads.

Additional Information

Important Sites of Harappan Civilization:

The correct answer is Lothal.

Key Points

• In Lothal Dockyard was found.
• List of Important sites with their features:

Additional Information

• The Indus Valley Civilization was spread from present-day North-East Afghanistan to Pakistan and North-West India.
• The civilization flourished in the river basins of the Ghaggar-Hakra river and the Indus.
• Indus valley civilization is one of the four oldest civilizations in the world.
• It is also known as Harappan Civilization and is well-known for its organized planning based on the grid system.

Important facts to be remembered.

• Social features:-
  • Indus valley civilization is the first urbanization in India.
  • It has a well-planned drainage system, grid pattern, and town planning.
  • They have possessed equality in society.

• Religious Facts:-
  • Matridevi or Shakti is the Mother goddess.
  • Yoni worship and Nature worship existed.
  • They worshipped trees like Peepal.
  • They also worshipped Fire worship called Havan Kund.
  • Pashupati Mahadeva is known as the lord of Animals.
  • The people of the Indus Valley Civilization worshipped Animal worship like unicorns and ox.
• Economic facts:-
  • Indus valley civilization is based on agriculture.
  • Trade and commerce flourished in this period.
  • A dockyard has been found at Lothal.
  • There were export and import.
  • Production of cotton was there.
  • At Lothal, weights and measures of truth existed in Harappan culture was seen.
  • The weights and were usually cubical in shape and were made of limestone, steatite, etc

The correct answer is Mehrgarh

Key Points:

• Mehrgarh is a neolithic site located near the Bolan pass on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan, Pakistan, to the west of the Indus River Valley.
• It is the earliest known neolithic site in the Northwest Indian sub-continent, with early evidence of farming (wheat and barley), herding (cattle, sheep, and goats), and metallurgy.
• The oldest known example of the wax-lost techniques comes from a 6000-year-old wheel-shaped copper amulet found at Mehrgarh.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Ropar.

Key Points

Given below is the list of Important Indus Valley civilization sites, year of excavation and River associated-

The Correct Answer is 1921.
Key Points

• Harappa was an Indus civilization urban centre.
• It lies in Punjab Province, Pakistan, on an old bank/bed of the River Ravi.
• Harappa was the first site of the civilization to be excavated in 1921.
• The excavation team was led by Daya Ram Sahni.

 Important Points

• Mohenjo-Daro was discovered in 1922 by R. D. Banerji.

• John Marshall was the first scholar who used the term 'Indus Civilization' for the Harappa Civilization. 
• The time period of this civilization was 2500 BC - 1750 BC. 
• This civilization was mainly known for its great urban planning and sewage system. 
• Rakhaldas Bandopadhyay was known for discovering the site of Mohenjodaro whereas Dayaram Sahni was known for his discovery of Harappa. 
• RS Bisht discovered the Indus Valley Civilization site Banawali in 1973. 

The correct answer is Chanhudaro.

Key Points

• The Harappan site of Chanhudaro was excavated by N.G. Mazumdar in 1931.
• Chanhudaro is located near the banks of the river Indus.
• Chanhudaro is located near Mohenjodaro in present-day Sindh, Pakistan.
• Chanhudaro was the only Harappan city without a citadel.
• Beads factory was found.
• Evidence of human sacrifice was found here.
• Chanhudaro didn't have any fortified structure.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Lothal.

Key Points

• Couple burial was found from Lothal at the Harappan sites.
• Lothal was one of the southernmost city of the ancient Indus valley civilisation located in the Bhal region of Gujarat.
• Burial or interment is the ritual act of placing a dead person or animals, sometimes with objects, into the ground.

The correct answer is 1-C, 2-B, 3-D, 4-A.

Key Points

• Kalibangan:
  • Kalibangan is an archaeological site at Hanumangarh in Rajasthan near the Ghaggar river. 
  • Plough field, fire altars, bones of camel, burial in the circular and rectangular grave is found here. 
• Chahundaro:
  • Chahundaro is an archaeological site at Sindh in Pakistan near the Indus river.
  • we can find a bead factory and ornaments here which points towards good craftsmen in this area. 
  • No fortified structure in this place. 
  • It is the only Harappan city without a Citadel and evidence of human sacrifice is available here.
• Surkotda:
  • Surkotada is an Indus Valley Civilisation archaeological site located in Rapar Taluka of Kutch district, Gujarat. 
  • It is a smaller fortified Indus Valley Civilisation site with 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) in area.
  • Bones of horse and graveyard are found at Surkotda in Gujarat. 
• Mohenjodaro:
  • It is a planned settlement that is divided into two sections, one smaller but higher (Citadel) and the other much larger but lower (Lower Town).
  • The Citadel owes its height to the fact that buildings were constructed on mud-brick platforms.
    • It was walled, which meant that it was physically separated from the Lower Town.
    • It had structures that were probably used for special public purposes.
  • The Lower Town was also walled. Several buildings were built on platforms, which served as foundations

The correct answer is Bronze Age Civilization.

Key Points

• John Marshall was the first researcher to use the term, ‘Indus Valley Civilization’.
• Indus Valley Civilization spread from the year 2500 – 1750 BC according to radio-carbon dating.
• Indus Valley Civilization is Bronze Age Civilization.
• The most distinctive feature of the Harappan Civilization was its urbanization.
• Moreover, sheep and goats, dogs, humped cattle buffalo, and elephants were domesticated in the Indus Valley Civilization.
• The capital cities are Mohenjodaro and Harappa.

Additional Information

Some important features of architectures in the Indus Valley Civilization :

• Urban Cities - Remarkable town planning, and an excellent system of drainage and sanitation.
• Large cities divided into two parts-The ‘Citadel’ mound built on the high podium of mud-brick to the west. The town to the east was the main hub of the residential area, which was also surrounded by a massive brick wall.
• Streets-Fine drainage system, Well-arranged water supply system, The street lights system, Watch and ward arrangement during the night to oust the lawbreakers, Particular places to throw thrash and waste material, Public wells in every street, Well in every house, Main streets varying for 9 feet to as wide as 30-34 feet and were divided into networks of narrow lanes with great skills of dividing the cities.
• Building Materials-No stone-built house in the Indus cities and the staircases of big buildings were solid; the roofs were flat and were made of wood.
• Material used-Burnt bricks and Sun-dried bricks
• Drainage System-Advanced drainage and sanitation system. Each house had horizontal and vertical drains and the house drains were connected with road drains. There were underground drains for the streets and there drains were shielded by stone slabs. Bricks were used to make the soak pits.
• Great Granary-Great granary at Harappa measuring 169 fit x 135 fits. Attached to the granary were two-roomed tenements with a common courtyard.
• Great Bath-The overall dimension of the Great Public Bath is 180 feet by 108 feet. The bathing pool measured about 39 feet by 23 feet with 8 feet depth. There is a device to fill and empty the water of the bathing pool and the bathing pools were encircled with galleries and rooms.
• The urban planning of the Harappan has become a landmark for contemporary civilization and we can get a hint of the modern-day swimming pools and storehouses from their concept of bathing pools and granaries.
• Overall the Harappa town planning was very scientific and clearly indicates that the Harappan were chiefly urban people.

Important Points

Name of the major cities are given below:

• Mohenjodaro (Sind)-It is located on the right bank of the Indus.
• Kalibangan (Rajasthan)-It was on the banks of the river Ghaggar river.
• Chanhudaro - It lies on the left bank of the Indus in the south of Mohenjodaro.
• Lothal(Gujarat) - It is located at the head of the Gulf of Cambay.
• Surkotada (Gujarat) - It is at the head of the Rann of Kutch.
• Banawali (Haryana) - It was situated on the banks of the now-extinct Sarasvati.
• Dholavira (Gujarat) - It excavated is in the Kutch district.

Social features-

• Indus valley civilization is the first urbanization in India.
• It has a well-planned drainage system, grid pattern, and town planning.
• They have possessed equality in society.

Religious Facts-

• Matridevi or Shakti is the Mother goddess.
• Yoni worship and Nature worship existed.
• They worshipped trees like Peepal.
• People also worshipped Fire worship called Havan Kund.
• Pashupati Mahadeva is known as the lord of Animals.
• The people of Indus Valley Civilization worshipped Animal worship like Unicorn and ox.

Economic facts-

• Indus valley civilization is based on agriculture.
• Trade and commerce flourished in this period.
• A dockyard has been found at Lothal.
• There were export and import.
• Production of cotton was there.
• There was also the unit of measurement.
• Weights and measures of truth existed in Harappan culture was seen at Lothal.
• The weights were made of limestone, steatite, etc. and were usually cubical in shape.