G.S. PAPER-1 CHALLENGE QUESTIONS

“Describe some of the distinctive features of Mohenjodaro.   EXPLANATION   Some of the distinctive of Mohenjodaro are: • Planned City: Harappa was a planned urban centre. It had two parts. One part of the city was small .it was built on a higher place. The second part was comparatively large. it was built on a lower place. • The lower town: The Lower Town was also walled. Several buildings were built on platforms, which served as foundations.Once the platforms were in place, all building activity within the city was restricted to a fixed area on the platforms. So it seems that the settlement was first planned and then implemented accordingly. Other signs of planning include bricks, which, whether sun-dried or baked, were of a standardised ratio, where the length and breadth were four times and twice the height respectively. • Drainage system: One of the most distinctive features of Harappan cities was the carefully planned drainage system. roads and streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern, intersecting at right angles. It seems that streets with drains were laid out first and then houses built along them. The citadel: 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 is on the Citadel that we find evidence of structures that were probably used for special public purposes.It includes Warehouses and Great bath which were the two important constructions.  

Q.”How do archaeologists trace socio-economic differences in Harappan society? What are the differences that they notice? EXPLANATION : Following examples can be cited to show the existence of social and economic variations in the Harappan society: (i) Study of burials is the one example. In the Harappan sites, the deads were usually laid in pits. There were differences in the way the burial pit was made – in some instances, the hollowed-out spaces were lined with bricks. But these may not be taken as a social difference. (ii) Some graves contain pottery and ornaments, have been found. Jewellery has been found in burials of both men and women. These findings can point out social and economic differences. (iii) The artefacts, which archaeologists broadly classify as utilitarian and luxuries. The first category includes objects of daily use made fairly easily out of ordinary materials such as stone or clay. These include querns, pottery, needles, flesh-rubbers (body scrubbers), etc., and are usually found distributed throughout settlements. (iv) Objects of luxuries were rare or made from costly, non-local materials or with complicated technologies. Little pots of faience were considered as precious. They were also not easy to make. These show the existence of social and economic variations in the Harappan society.