Which one of the following Harappan sites was a specialised centre for making shell objects?
- A.Lothal
- B.Balakot
- C.Amri
- D.Kot Diji
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Balakot. Balakot, along with Nageshwar in Gujarat, is described as a specialised centre for making shell objects. Both settlements lay near the coast, where shells were easy to collect, and excavations there have found large amounts of shell waste, unfinished pieces and finished items. Craftsmen turned shells into bangles, ladles, inlay pieces and other objects, which were then carried to other Harappan cities, including large centres such as Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Balakot is in the Las Bela region of Balochistan, near the Arabian Sea coast. Option A is wrong because Lothal in Gujarat is famous for its dockyard and as a centre of bead-making and trade, not as the specialised shell centre. Option C is wrong because Amri in Sindh is known as an early, pre-Harappan settlement with its own pottery. Option D is wrong because Kot Diji in Sindh is known for its fortified early Harappan phase. Exam tip: Nageshwar and Balakot for shell, Chanhudaro for beads, Lothal for the dockyard.
Practice Questions
View allWhich among the following struggles, based on Gandhi's philosophy of Satyagraha, involved the industrial working class?
- A.Champaran
- B.Kheda
- C.Ahmedabad
- D.Bardoli
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The Ahmedabad mill strike of 1918 was Gandhi's satyagraha for industrial workers. A dispute arose between the cotton mill owners and the workers over the plague bonus, which the owners wanted to withdraw.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the Indo-Roman trade in ancient India, the term 'aurei' refers to :
- A.Perfume
- B.Wine
- C.Black Pepper
- D.Coins
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Aurei (singular aureus) were the gold coins of the Roman Empire, and large numbers of them reached India in payment for Indian goods.
Read the full explanation →Which European traveller had observed, "A Hindu woman can go anywhere alone, even in the most crowded places, and she need never fear the impertinent looks and jokes of idle loungers"?
- A.Francois Bernier
- B.Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
- C.Thomas Roe
- D.Abbe J. A. Dubois
Show answer
The remark comes from Abbé Jean-Antoine Dubois, a French Catholic missionary who lived in south India, mostly in Mysore, from 1792 to 1823.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following scholars of Akbar's court translated Bhaskaracharya's Lilavati into Persian?
- A.Abul Fazl
- B.Faizi
- C.Fathullah Shirazi
- D.Ataullah Rashidi
Show answer
Faizi, Akbar's poet laureate and the elder brother of Abul Fazl, translated the Lilavati into Persian in 1587. The Lilavati is the arithmetic part of the Siddhanta Shiromani, written by the mathematician Bhaskaracharya (Bhaskara II) in the twelfth century, and it covers numbers, fractions, progressions and measurement.
Read the full explanation →Which of the pairs of Ashokan inscription and location is/are correctly matched ?
1. Jaugada : Karnataka
2. Bahapur : New Delhi
3. Rajula-Mandagiri : Andhra Pradesh
Select the answer using the codes given below :
- A.1 only
- B.1,2 and 3
- C.3 only
- D.2 and 3 only
Show answer
Jaugada is in Odisha, not Karnataka, so only pairs 2 and 3 are right. Jaugada, in Ganjam district of Odisha, is one of the two places, with Dhauli, that carry Ashoka's Separate Kalinga Edicts.
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