What is the similarity between Jharol (Udaipur), Kurada (Nagore) and Sabania (Bikaner) ?
- (1)Centre of Chalcolithic culture
- (2)Centre of Palaeolithic age
- (3)Minor stone implements found
- (4)Storehouse of copper implements
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), Storehouse of copper implements.
Kurada and Sabania are both recorded for copper finds. R.C. Agrawala and Vijay Kumar, writing in Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective (ed. G.L. Possehl, 1982), describe a Kurada (District Nagaur) hoard that originally held 103 copper objects.
Those were seven flat celts, 11 chisels, 21 curved blades, 55 rings, four plain bowls and five channel-spouted bowls. At Sabania, Indian Archaeology 1968–69 records two flat copper celts found by a farmer ploughing his field.
For Udaipur, Agrawala and Kumar list 'Jhadol, District Udaipur (near Jai Samand Lake)', where vestiges of copper were found with Ahar pottery. They spell it Jhadol, and no source cited here says whether it is the question's Jharol.
The idea to remember: Kurada (Nagaur) and Sabania (Bikaner) are copper find-spots; RPSC's key groups Jharol (Udaipur) with them.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Centre of Chalcolithic culture — The shared feature is copper finds, not a settled Chalcolithic culture. Kurada is recorded as a hoard and Sabania as two celts turned up by a plough; neither report describes a settlement.
'Centre of Chalcolithic culture' fits a site such as Ahar, near Udaipur, whose lower period the Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology classes as Chalcolithic. Agrawala and Kumar's Jhadol copper did come with Ahar pottery, but that label does not fit Kurada or Sabania.
- (2)Centre of Palaeolithic age — Palaeolithic sites are known for stone tools, and the reports on Kurada and Sabania describe copper objects.
A Rajasthan example of a Palaeolithic find-spot is Dabok, in Udaipur district, which the Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology lists for Lower Palaeolithic (Series I) tools as well as microliths.
- (3)Minor stone implements found — 'Minor stone implements' means microliths, the small stone tools typical of the Mesolithic. Kurada and Sabania are recorded for copper.
A Rajasthan site known for microliths is Bagor in Bhilwara district. The Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology says its microliths are densest in Phase I, and its five copper objects came from burials of Phase II.
Concept
A copper hoard is a group of copper objects found together. The Kurada hoard and the Sabania celts were recorded as finds, not as excavated settlements.
Agrawala and Kumar tie the ancient sites of the Sikar–Jhunjhunu area to the copper available there, in the Khetri belt.
They also argue that finished copper goods made near Ganeshwar were supplied to other places, so a find-spot need not be where its objects were made.
RPSC's 2023 syllabus lists "Pre-historical sites of Rajasthan- from Palaeolithic to Chalcolithic and Bronze Age."
The Kurada hoard has two names in print. Indian Archaeology 1960–61 records it as a copper hoard 'from Khurdi' in the Jodhpur Museum; Agrawala and Kumar call that name incorrect and give the find-spot as Kurada.
Agrawala and Kumar count only ten of Kurada's 103 objects as preserved, in the Government Museum, Jodhpur.
Key facts
- Agrawala and Kumar (1982) list Jhadol (Udaipur), Kurada (Nagaur) and Sabania (Bikaner) among Rajasthan's protohistoric copper sites.
- The Kurada hoard held 103 copper objects: 7 flat celts, 11 chisels, 21 curved blades, 55 rings, 4 plain bowls and 5 channel-spouted bowls.
- Agrawala and Kumar count ten Kurada objects preserved in the Government Museum, Jodhpur; Indian Archaeology 1960–61 recorded the hoard under the name Khurdi.
- Indian Archaeology 1968–69: two flat copper celts from Sabania, each 23 × 9 cm, weighing 1,350 g and 1,550 g, later sold to the Gurukul Museum, Jhajjar.
- Agrawala and Kumar place Jhadol near Jaisamand lake and report vestiges of copper there with Ahar pottery.
Sources: Agrawala and Kumar (1982); Indian Archaeology 1968–69. These sources do not say whether Jhadol is the question's Jharol.
Study next
Common traps
- Treating every copper find as a Chalcolithic centre: Kurada is a hoard and Sabania a pair of celts found while ploughing, not excavated settlements.
- Missing the Kurada hoard under another name: Indian Archaeology 1960–61 prints it as Khurdi, a name Agrawala and Kumar call incorrect.
- Confusing stone with metal: Palaeolithic tools and microliths are stone, while Kurada and Sabania are recorded for copper.
A question can list several sites and ask what they have in common, such as copper finds, microliths or Chalcolithic settlements.
A question can also match sites with districts or with their finds, or ask which site yielded a copper hoard.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 here once that paper is published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
A hoard of 103 copper objects, including channel-spouted bowls, was found at which place in Rajasthan?
- (a)Kurada (Nagaur)
- (b)Sabania (Bikaner)
- (c)Bagor (Bhilwara)
- (d)Rairh (Tonk)
Answer(1) — Agrawala and Kumar describe the Kurada hoard of 103 copper objects, including five channel-spouted bowls. Option (2) yielded two copper celts; option (3) is known for microliths; option (4) for iron-working. - practice — not a real PYQ
The two flat copper celts reported from Sabania in Indian Archaeology 1968–69 were found in which district?
- (a)Nagaur
- (b)Udaipur
- (c)Bikaner
- (d)Tonk
Answer(3) — Indian Archaeology 1968–69 records the Sabania celts under District Bikaner. Option (1) is Kurada's district; option (2) is the district of Agrawala and Kumar's Jhadol; option (4) is Rairh's.