Iron Age and Early Urbanisation Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The key marks option B: black and red ware with pipal motif, ochre coloured ware, P. G. ware, N. B. P. ware.

The last two positions are firm: Painted Grey Ware (about 1100-500 BCE) comes before Northern Black Polished Ware (about 700-200 BCE). The keyed order puts the black and red ware with the pipal motif before Ochre Coloured Ware, which rests on the key, since the two ceramics overlap in time. Options A and D put the N.B.P. ware before the P.G. ware, and option C starts with the late N.B.P. ware, which reverses the order.

Answer: C

Black slipped ware is considered a forerunner of the Northern Black Polished ware, option C. In the middle Ganga plain the black slipped ware of the Chalcolithic and early Iron Age phases is regarded as the earlier form of the lustrous black pottery of the NBPW. The Painted Grey Ware (A) and the Black-and-Red ware (B) are separate ceramic traditions, and the lustrous red ware (D) belongs to a later and different series of fine wares.

Answer: D

The key gives the Saraswati, option D, as the most important river of the Rigvedic age. The Rigveda praises the Saraswati as the best of rivers (naditama), and the river is addressed in many hymns, whereas the Ganga is mentioned only once and the Yamuna a few times. The Sindhu (C) is also a major river of the Rigveda and is the one most often named, but the key prefers the Saraswati for the importance given to it in the hymns.

Answer: C

Both statements are correct, and the reason is stated by the key as not the correct explanation, option C. The megalithic burial complexes of south India are dated to the Iron Age, so the assertion holds, and it is true that very few habitation sites of the megalith builders have been excavated. The scarcity of excavated habitation sites does not explain why the burials belong to the Iron Age, so the reason is not an explanation. The other options call a true statement wrong.

Answer: B

The key gives option B, both statements correct and the reason the correct explanation. The Second Urbanization, the rise of cities in the Ganga plain around the sixth century BCE, marks the beginning of the early historical period in India. It is linked with the extensive use of iron implements, which made forest clearance, farming and the surplus that supports cities possible. Options A, C and D call a statement wrong or deny the link, which the key rejects.

Answer: C

The cultural sequence of the middle Ganga plain is Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Iron Age, which is III, I, II, IV (option C). Mesolithic sites such as Sarai Nahar Rai and Mahadaha are followed by Neolithic sites such as Chirand and Koldihwa, then by Chalcolithic sites, then by the Iron Age levels. Option A puts the Neolithic before the Mesolithic, option B starts with the Chalcolithic and option D reverses the sequence.

Answer: C

The author is primarily concerned with the process of migration of the Vedic people from the Saraswati and Drishadvati valleys to the east.

The passage traces the movement of Aryan settlement from the Punjab and the Saraswati and Drishadvati valleys into Madhyadesha and the Doab, then into eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with the clearing of forests and the use of iron. Expansion of painted grey ware and black-and-red ware is only the archaeological evidence cited at the end, expansion in Madhyadesha is only one stage, and the division of Vedic culture into Rigvedic and Late Vedic is not the theme, so options A, B and D are narrower or off the point.

Answer: B

A distinct black-and-red ware level between the ochre coloured pottery and the painted grey ware levels is found at Noh and Atranjikhera, which is the code “ii and iii”. The sequence at these sites shows the BRW layer between the two cultures. Kayatha and Gilund are not given for the sequence, so the codes that include them are wrong. Each remaining option names a place, period or person that belongs to a different context, so reading them against the facts above leaves only the keyed answer standing.

Answer: B

The Ganga plain sites from which the early use of iron is reported are Malhar and Dadupur, which is the code “i and iii”. Both are in Uttar Pradesh. Malwa is a region and Koldihwa is a Neolithic and later site in the Belan valley, so the other combinations do not fit the question. The question is about the Ganga plain, so sites outside it are not acceptable even if iron is found there. Each remaining option names a place, period or person that belongs to a different context, so reading them against the facts above leaves only the keyed answer standing.

Answer: A

Iron is found at BRW level at the Central Indian sites of Nagda and Eran, which is the code “i and ii”. Both are in Malwa and have an iron-bearing level in the BRW phase. Bhimbetka and Sonabhir are not accepted by the key for the BRW iron level, so the other codes are wrong. Each remaining option names a place, period or person that belongs to a different context, so reading them against the facts above leaves only the keyed answer standing.