Indus Valley Civilization
PART-A Unit-III: History, Culture of India, and Indian National Movement
Previous Year Questions (PYQ) for this topic
Every TNPSC question asked from this topic, compiled as a PDF. · PDF 11.8 MB
Indus Valley Civilization – PYQ Points
• First Visitor: Charles Masson (1826).
• First Discovered by: Alexander Cunningham.
• Director General: Sir John Marshall (He used the term Indus Civilization).
• Area: Total 1.5 million sq. km in India and Pakistan.
• First Discovered by: Alexander Cunningham.
• Director General: Sir John Marshall (He used the term Indus Civilization).
• Area: Total 1.5 million sq. km in India and Pakistan.
1. Important Cities and Excavators
| City | Excavator | River Bank / Location |
|---|---|---|
| Harappa | D. R. Sahni | Ravi River (Punjab, Pakistan) |
| Mohenjo-daro | Sir Mortimer Wheeler / R. D. Banerji | Indus River (Larkana, Pakistan) |
| Chanhu-daro | N. G. Majumdar | Indus Region |
| Lothal | S. R. Rao | Bhogava River (Gujarat) |
| Kalibangan | -- | Ghaggar River (Rajasthan) |
| Dholavira | J. P. Joshi | Gujarat (Rann of Kutch) |
| Rakhigarhi | Amarendra Nath | Haryana |
2. Town Planning and Architecture
- Buildings: Baked bricks were used for constructing houses. Unbaked bricks were used in Kalibangan and Lothal.
- Features: Every street had street lights, dustbins, and excellent drainage systems.
- Mohenjo-daro: Means "Mound of the Dead." The Great Bath and granary (nine mud platforms) were discovered here.
- Lothal: A port city. In Gujarati, it means "dead." An artificial brick dockyard was found here.
- Chanhu-daro: The only city without a citadel.
3. Social and Economic Life
- Occupation: The main occupation was agriculture. Wheat, barley, and cotton were cultivated.
- Trade: Trade relations existed with Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and Afghanistan. Cotton was an important textile product.
- Metals: They knew copper and bronze. They did not know iron and horse.
- Measurement System: Bronze scale and ivory scale (Lothal) were used. Smallest weight: 0.875.
4. Religious Beliefs and Arts
- Worship: Mother Goddess worship was predominant. The Peepal tree was considered the tree of creation and knowledge.
- Pashupati Seal: It contains four animals – elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, and buffalo.
- Script: Pictographic script (written both right to left and left to right). I. Mahadevan relates it to Tamil.
- Sculptures: The Bronze Dancing Girl statue was discovered at Mohenjo-daro.
5. Boundaries and Settlements
| North | Shortugai (Afghanistan) |
| South | Daimabad (Maharashtra) |
| East | Alamgirpur (Uttar Pradesh) |
| West | Sutkagendor (Pakistan–Iran Border) |
6. Important Discoveries – Match the Following
| Old Stone Age Tools (1863) | Robert Bruce Foote |
| Discovery of Iron | Aryans |
| Beginning of Agriculture | Neolithic Age |
| Discovery of Fire | Mesolithic Age |
| Garden of the Indus | Mohenjo-daro |
Decline: The Harappan Civilization is believed to have declined after 1750 BCE due to reasons such as earthquakes, floods, or Aryan invasion.
• Book Reference: "The Indo-Sumerian Seals Deciphered" – Lawrence Waddell.
• Stone Used: Rohri Chert was used for making blades.
• Stone Used: Rohri Chert was used for making blades.