Consider the following statements : 1. Terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali (Haryana). 2. There is evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan associated with the mature phase of the Harappan civilization. 3. The ploughed field at Kalibangan had two sets of furrows crossing at right angles to each other suggesting two different crops were grown together in it. Which of the statements given above are correct ?
- (a)1, 2 and 3
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)None of the above
Correct — C, 1 and 3 only. Statements 1 and 3 are straight out of the standard school account of Harappan agriculture — terracotta models of the plough have indeed been found at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali in Haryana, and the ploughed field recorded at Kalibangan did carry two sets of furrows crossing at right angles, which archaeologists read as two different crops grown together in the same plot. Statement 2 changes one detail and thereby fails: the Kalibangan field is associated with Early Harappan levels, not with the mature phase of the civilisation. So the first and third statements stand and the second does not.
- (a)1, 2 and 3 — This accepts the misdated statement. The ploughed field at Kalibangan belongs to the Early Harappan levels at the site; attaching it to the mature phase is the single change the examiner has made.
- (b)2 and 3 only — It keeps the misdated statement and throws away a correct one. The terracotta plough models from Cholistan and Banawali are among the best-known pieces of evidence for Harappan ploughing and are reported in the textbook itself.
- (d)None of the above — Much too strong. Two of the three statements are textbook-accurate, so rejecting all three cannot be right; this option only tempts a candidate who has spotted that something is wrong but cannot locate what.
Direct evidence for how the Harappans farmed is thin, so archaeologists build the picture from indirect traces: models of implements, marks left in the ground, animal remains and representations on seals. Terracotta plough models show the implement existed; a preserved field surface at Kalibangan shows it was used; and depictions of the bull on seals and in terracotta are the basis for inferring that oxen drew it. The crossing furrows at Kalibangan are the strongest single hint of intercropping, two crops raised together in one plot.
This is a date-swap item, the commonest way an examiner turns three true statements into two. Everything about statement 2 sounds right — the site is right, the find is right, the civilisation is right — and only the phase has been shifted from Early Harappan to mature. Kalibangan makes the swap especially easy to miss, because the site's other headline find, its fire altars, is usually taught alongside the mature phase, and the field is often described simply as the earliest ploughed field known from archaeology without the phase being stated. Statement 3 is also worded a shade differently from the textbook, which ends 'two different crops were grown together'; adding 'in it' changes nothing of substance.
- Terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali in Haryana.
- The ploughed field at Kalibangan in Rajasthan is associated with Early Harappan levels, not the mature phase.
- That field preserved two sets of furrows at right angles to one another, taken to mean two crops were grown together.
- Representations of the bull on seals and in terracotta are the basis for inferring that oxen were used for ploughing.
- Missing a swapped phase label; the site and the find can be perfectly correct while the period is not.
- Assuming that a statement quoting an exact site name must be true — the specificity is what makes it convincing.
- Confusing the fire altars at Kalibangan with the ploughed field; they are separate finds at the same site.
Asked as a statements-and-code item on Harappan material culture, with the discrimination hidden in a single phase label.
Which one of the following ancient towns is well-known for its elaborate system of water harvesting and management where a series of bunds created check-dams and canals carried the water to connected reservoirs?
- (a) Dholavira
- (b) Kalibangan
- (c) Rakhigarhi
- (d) Ropar
Answer(a) Dholavira
The same habit of testing Harappan sites by their signature finds, and it puts Kalibangan among the distractors — a reminder to keep each site tied to the right discovery.
Regarding the Indus Valley Civilization, consider the following statements : 1. It was predominantly a secular civilization and the religious element, though present, did not dominate the scene. 2. During this period, cotton was used for manufacturing textiles in India. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
Tests Harappan material culture in the same statements format, and its cotton statement belongs to the same body of agricultural evidence as the ploughed field.
At which among the following Harappan sites are fire altars found?
- (a) Kalibangan
- (b) Harappa
- (c) Mohenjo-daro
- (d) Rakhi Garhi
Answer(a) Kalibangan
Asks about the other famous find at the very site in this question, which is exactly why students blur the two and misdate the field.
Which one of the following Harappan sites was a specialised centre for making shell objects?
- (a) Lothal
- (b) Balakot
- (c) Amri
- (d) Kot Diji
Answer(b) Balakot
Same style of site-and-find recall on the Harappan world, and a reminder that the NDA papers return to this topic through specific sites rather than general description.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Evidence of a ploughed field with two sets of furrows crossing at right angles has been found at
- (a)Lothal
- (b)Kalibangan
- (c)Dholavira
- (d)Rakhigarhi
Answer(b) Kalibangan — the crossing furrows preserved there are read as two different crops grown together in the same plot.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Terracotta models of the plough associated with the Harappan world have been reported from
- (a)Cholistan and Banawali
- (b)Mohenjo-daro and Chanhudaro
- (c)Sanchi and Sarnath
- (d)Inamgaon and Daimabad
Answer(a) Cholistan and Banawali — these models are the standard evidence that the Harappans used a plough.