ST.
PETER’S SCHOOL, RAEBARELI
CLASS - IX A & B
SUB: HISTORY AND CIVICS
1. Project Work: Complete the Projectwork.
“Make comparative study of the Harappan and the
Mesopotamian Civilization”
POINTS TO BE TAKEN CARE WHILE WRITING THE PROJECT.
❖ Handwriting should be neat and words should be clearlywritten
❖ Headings and sub-headings should behighlighted
❖ Pictures should be pasted neatly and captions should bewritten
❖ No sparkles or expensive decorative material should beused
❖ The project should be handwritten on plain or linedsheets.
❖ Coloured paper can be used for pastingpictures.
❖ Your project must have a table of contents, an introduction, body and conclusion. You need not
write these headings but the headings must be kept in mind while writing. Accuracy of facts is of
primeimportance.
❖ The file should be covered neatly and the heading, the name, and class of the student written onit.
Sr. Anita Rodrigues
16.04.2021
CHAPTER -1
THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
I Short answer questions:
1. Name two important sources of information on the Harappan Civilization.
Ans: The two important sources of information on the HarappanCivilizationare:
(i). The Great Bath, (ii) The Citadel, (iii) Seals, (iv) Bearded man, (v) Script, (vi) Dancing
Girl
2. Name one important public building of Indus Valley Civilization and its importance.
Ans: The important public building of Indus Valley Civilization is the GreatBath.
It’s importance:The Great Bath is one of the largest public buildings at [Link]
scholars agree that the Great Bath have been used for religious purposes and suggest that it was
meant for some kind of a ritual bath. This indicates the importance attached to ceremonial bathing
in sacred tanks, pools and rivers since timeimmemorial.
3. Give any two characteristic features of theCitadel.
Ans:The two characteristic features of theCitadel are:
(i) It owed its height to the buildings constructed on mud brick platforms.
(ii) The citadel points to the elaborate planning that went into the development of cities and
justifies that the Harappan civilization was an urban civilization.
4. How were seals used? What information do they give about Harappantrade?
Ans: The seals used by the Harappans show their artistic skills. They were used by the tradersto stamp
their goods. After a bag with goods was tied, a layer of wet clay was applied on the
knot, and the seal was pressed on it. These seals were found in different regions. This
indicates that the Harappan trade had spread over a vast area.
Harappansealsprovideusefulinformationaboutthescript,trade,religion,andbeliefsofthe
Harappans. Seals of Pashupati show that people believed in Shiva. The Unicorn sealshows
their mythicalbeliefs.
5. Briefly describe the granaries atHarappa.
Ans:[Link]
working floors consisting of rows of circular brick platforms were discovered. It is
believed that these floors were meant for threshing grain because wheat and barley grains
were found in the crevices of thefloors. The granary had ventilation to prevent grains
from decaying.
6. Briefly describe the ornaments worn by theHarappans.
Ans: Ornaments were worn by both men and women. Some of the common ornaments were:
necklaces, finger- rings, bangles, armlets, anklets, nose rings, fan shaped head dress and
earrings. They were made of gold, silver, precious stones and ivory.
7. Briefly describe the statue of a dancinggirl.
Ans: The bronze statue of a dancing girl was found at Mohenjo-Daro. The figure shows
vigour, variety and ingenuity. The right arm of the dancing girl rests on the hip and the left
arm is heavily bangled. It holds a small bowl against her left leg.
8. Mention the types of dress worn by the Indus Valleypeople.
Ans: The Harappan mostly used to wear cotton clothes. Men used to wear a dhoti and a shawl as
an upper garment. The women wore a skirt and used a cloak to cover their arms and shoulders.
9. State two features of the internal trade in the Indus Valley civilization.
Ans: (i) The Harappans carried on considerable trade in stone, metal, shell, etc.,
within the Indus civilization zone.
(ii) They did not use metal money but carried on all exchanges through barter.
10. State any two evidences that show the Harappans alsohad trade relations with foreign
countries.
Ans: The two evidences that show the Harappans also had trade relations with foreign countries
are: (i). Harappans seals found in Mesopotamian cities provide evidence of extensive
overseas trade.
(ii). Harappans had set up a trading colony in northern Afghanistan which facilitated
trade with Central Asia.
11. Name any three animals depicted on the Pashupatiseal.
Ans: The three animals that depicted on the Pashupati sealare:
• AnElephant
• ATiger
• ABuffalo
• A Rhinoceros
12. State any two causes that led to the decline of the HarappanCivilization.
Ans: (i). Deforestation: Indus valley civilization was a Bronze Age culture; enormous
quantities of wood was needed to produce bronze. This could have led to deforestation
leading to climate change in the region.
(ii). Attack: Mortimer Wheeler believed that the Aryans destroyed the Indus
[Link] to him in the last phase of Mohenjo-Daro men, women and
children were massacred in the streets and houses.
13. What types of weights and measures did the Indus peopleuse?
Ans: They used the stone weights. These people used sets of cubical stone weights. This basic
unit was 16. The larger weights were multiples of 16 like 32, 48, 64, and 128 and so on. The
smaller ones were all fractions of 16.
14. State any two ways to show the value of Indusscript as a source of historical information.
Ans: (i). The Indus script is regarded as pictographic since its signs represent birds, fish, and
varieties of the human form. The number of signs of Harappan script is known to be
between 375 and 400.
(ii). The script is found inscribed on a number of seals.
15. In what two respects is Harappan Civilization our greatestheritage?
Ans: (i). The Harappan way of making backed pottery, bricks, beads, jewelry, textiles etc was
adopted by the later Civilizations
(ii). OneofthemostremarkableachievementsoftheHarappanpeoplewasthecivilization of
cotton, which was adopted by the Egyptians after severalcenturies.
III. Structured Questions:
1. With reference to the sources of information about the Harappan civilization
describe the significance of each of the following:
a) Three significant features of the Great Bath:
(i) The Great Bath is one of the largest public buildings at Mohenjo-Daro.
(ii) It has a large rectangular tank in a courtyard surrounded by a corridor on all
four sides.
(iii) This structure with several distinctive features has left scholars to suggest that
it was meant for some kind of a ritual bath.
b) Social classification of Harappan’s as pointed out by the citadels:
(i) Citadel was the raised area in each city.
(ii) It shows that Harappan civilization was an urban civilization with some sort of
social classification as the citadel had the houses of the ruling class and some
important buildings.
(iii) In the Harappan civilization, the citadel represented a centralized authority.
c) Religion of the Harappans as depicted by the Seals:
(i) Seals of Pashupati show that people believed in Shiva.
(ii) Pashupati seal shows that Shiva was worshipped and he was considered as the
Lord of the Animals.
(iii) The unicorn seal shows their mythical belief.
2. With reference to the Harappan culture, answer the followingquestions:
a) Discuss briefly the indigenous origin of the Harapan civilization.
Ans: (i). The recent researches show that the Harappan civilization lie deep in the Indian soil
(ii). According to some historians, the urban Harappan culture was only an outgrowth of
the expensive local village cultures and not a forgein origin
(iii). These cultures probably contributed to the growth of the Harappan civilization
together with the external stimulus provided by trade contract with Mesopotamia.
b) Describe the extent of the Civilization.
Ans: (i) The entire area of the Harappan Civilization is triangular in shape and accounts for
about 1.3 million s.q. km. and was the largest area among the ancient civilizations.
(ii) It extended from Sutkagendor in the West, to Alamgirpur in the East and from Manda
in the North to Bhagatrav in Narmada estuary in the South.
(iii). The Harappan culture covered parts of Punjab, Haryana, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gujrat,
Rajasthan and the fringes of western Uttar Pradesh
c). Name any four cities of the Harappan Civilization and a significant feature of each city.
Ans: The four most important Harappan cities and their significance are as follows:
i. Harappa in Montgomery district of Punjab and Mohenjo-Daro in Larkana district of
Sindh. These two cities are linked by the river Indus and hence the name of the
civilization is the ‘Indus valley civilization’.
ii. A third city lies at Chanhudaro, about 130 km south of Mohenjo-Daro
iii. The fourth city is at Lothal in Gujarat, at the head of the gulf of Cambay
iv. The Harappan culture has been found in its mature and flourishing state in these cities
3. With reference to the chief features of the Harappan Civilization answer the following:-
a) Any three main characteristic features of Town Planning are:
a) Each city was divided into two parts. The raised area was called the ‘citadel’ and
the lower town was called the ‘residential area’.
b) The main streets followed the grid pattern running from North to South or from East
to West
c) The streets crossed the main road at right angles, dividing the city into square or
rectangular blocks.
d) On each side of the streets were houses of various sizes.
b) Three special features of the houses of the people
Ans: The Three special features of the houses of the people are:
(i) The houses were situated on either sides of the streets
(ii) They were made of burnt bricks of higher quality
(iii) The houses had wells and bathrooms and were provided with covered drains connected to
streets drain
c) Mention any two common elements between Mohenjo-Daro and Harappan
Ans: The two common elements between Mohenjo-Daro and Harappan are:-
(i) Both are located on the river bank-Mohenjo-Daro on the right bank of the Indus, and
Harappan on the left bank of the river Ravi.
(ii) Both measured around 5.0km in circuit
4. With reference to art and culture of Indus Valley People answer the following questions:-
(a) Describe any important object of sculpture made by the Harappan
Ans: Harappan were excellent sculpturers and they made sculptures with material like
bronze, terracotta and stone.
Dancing Girl - Sculpture with Metal
(i). Bronze figure of a dancing girl with the right hand on her hip in dancing posture
(ii). The dancing girl shown wearing necklaces made ivory or bones
(iii). It indicates that people were fond of jewelry. Her hair is neatly fashioned in the form of a
bun
(iv). They used a special process in which the wax figures were covered with the quoting of
clay
(b) How did Indus pottery reflect the potter’s artistic skill?
a) Harappan’s produced their own characteristic pottery which was made glossy and
shining
b) Earthen vessels and pottery, crafted on the potter’s wheel, were decorated with black
geometrical designs
c) The large Jar with narrow necks and red pot with black decoration bear evidence of
their artistic skill
(c) Name and briefly describe the process by which sculpture in metal was done.
(i) The sculpture in metal was done through a special lost wax process
(ii) In this process wax figures were covered with a quoting of clay
(iii) Then the wax was melted by heating and the hollow mould thus created was
filled with molten metal which took the original shape of the object
5. Study the picture of the seal and answer the questions that follow:
a) Identify the seal in the given picture. Why were the seals used?
Ans: The seal in the given picture is Pashupati Seal. The seals were used by the traders to
stamp their goods. After a bag with goods was tied, a layer of wet clay was applied
on the knot, and the seal was pressed on it.
b) Of what material were these seals made? Name any four animals whose pictures were
inscribed on the seals.
Ans: The material used in making the seals comprises terracotta, steatite, agate, etc.
The four animals whose picture was inscribed on the seals are buffalo, tiger, goat, and
elephant.
c) What do the seals reveal about the Harappans?
Ans: Harappan seals provide useful information about the script, trade, religion and
beliefs of the Harappans.
6. Study the picture and answer the questions that follow.
(a) Identify the structure. List any two of its characteristic features.
Ans: The structure in the picture is the Great Bath.
The two characteristic features of this structure are:
i. It has a large rectangular tank in a courtyard surrounded by a corridor on all
four sides.
ii. Surrounding the bath, were porticos and sets of rooms, and a stairway which
led to an upper storey.
(b) State the importance of this structure as a source of information about Harrapan
civilizations.
Ans: (i) The great bath indicate that the art of building had reached a high degree of perfection
at that time
b) The massive structure points out that there might have existed a ruling class that
could mobilize labor collect taxes and build such a huge structure for the public.
c) Most of the scholars agree that the great bath might have been used for religious
purposes
d) The design of the great bath portrays the efficient planning in the structural features
relating to water supply and sewage disposal.
(c) Name another architectural structure of this period. How does this structure show that
Harrapan Civilization was highly developed civilization?
Ans: The citadel is another architectural structure of this period. The citadel points to the
elaborate planning that went into the development of cities and justifies that the Harappan
civilization was an urban civilization.
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