Chapter 10 The Harappan Civilization

Punjab State Board PSEB 6th Class Social Science Book Solutions History Chapter 10 The Harappan Civilization Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.

PSEB Solutions for Class 6 Social Science History Chapter 10 The Harappan Civilization

SST Guide for Class 6 PSEB Early Man: The Stone Age Textbook Questions and Answers

I. Answer the following questions in brief:

Question 1.
Name some important cities of the Harappan Civilization.
Answer:
Some important cities of the Harappan Civilization were Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Banawali, etc.

Question 2.
What do you know about the social life of the Indus Valley people?
Answer:
The social life of the Indus Valley people was highly developed. The people ate wheat, barley, rice, pulses, fruits, vegetables, and drank milk. They also ate meat and fish. Both cotton and woollen clothes were worn. The women wore a long skirt and blouse, the skirt being held at the waist by a girdle. The men wrapped long pieces of cloth around themselves. Both men and women were fond of fashion and wearing ornaments. Rich people wore gold, silver and precious stones whereas the poor people wore jewellery made of bones, terracotta and semi-precious beads.

People were fond of games. Dancing and singing, playing of dice and chess, hunting, etc. were the main sources of amusement. For the children, there were toys made of clay.

Question 3.
Write a note on the town planning of the Indus Civilization.
Answer:
The town planning of the Indus Civilization was remarkable. The cities were usually divided into two parts. The upper part built on raised platforms was the citadel. It included the public buildings, the granaries, the more important workshops and the religious buildings. The lower part was inhabited by common people. If the city was attacked or threatened by floods, the inhabitants of the lower city found refuge in the citadel. The cities had wide and straight roads and streets that intersected at right angles. The drainage system was quite good that helped in the cleanliness of cities.

Question 4.
What were the causes of the decline of the Harappan Civilization?
Answer:
The Harappan Civilization lasted for about a thousand years. By 1500 B.C., when the Aryans began to arrive in India, the Harappan Civilization had collapsed. Nothing can be said in certain how this civilization declined.

Various scholars have mentioned different reasons for the decline of the Harappan Civilization.

• The Aryans waged a war against the people of the Harappan Civilization and defeated them. Consequently, the Harappan Civilization was ruined. But this view is not supported these days.
• Regular floods in the river Indus and its tributaries destroyed this civilization.
• About 1900 B.C. the river Sarasvati got dried and the Harappan people moved towards east in the Ganga plain.
• Earthquakes or an epidemic destroyed this civilization.
• The climate began to change and the region became more and more dry, like a desert. It resulted in unproductivity of the land.

Question 5.
What were the economic activities of the Indus Valley Civilization people?
Answer:
The Indus people led a prosperous economic life. Agriculture was the main occupation of the people. Plenty of wheat, barley and cotton were grown. Animals like sheep, bulls, cows, pigs, camels and elephants were reared. People living in cities were traders. They had good trade contacts with foreign lands like Mesopotamia. Pottery and brick-making were important industries. Metal workers made tools and implements. Women were engaged in spinning and weaving.

Question 6.
Write about any two centres of Harappan Civilisation in Punjab.
Answer:
1. Sanghol: Sanghol is situated in the Ludhiana district. This town was excavated in 1968 A.D. by S.S. Talwar and R.S. Bist. A number of statues and utensils of Indus valley have been found here. This centre had a big trench which always remained full with water.

2. Sunat: This site is also situated in Ludhiana district. It was excavated in 1983-84 A.D. The remains found here give us good information about the last period of Harappan Civilization.

II. Fill in the blanks :

Question 1.
Harappan civilization was about ________ times bigger than the Egyptian civilization.
Answer:
20

Question 2.
In Punjab, ________, ________, ________ and ________ yielded remains of this civilization.
Answer:
Sanghol, Rohira, Surat, Kotla Nihang Khan

Question 3.
Houses were made of ________ and ________
Answer:
baked bricks, wood

Question 4.
A large ________ hall has been discovered at Mohenjodaro.
Answer:
pillared

Question 5.
Men and women were fond of jewellery and ________
Answer:
other fashions

Question 6.
The people worshipped ________
Answer:
Mother Goddess

Question 7.
The Peepal tree was considered ________
Answer:
sacred.

III. Match the columns :

Question 1.

A	B
(i) Pasupati	(a) Port city
(ii) Mohenjodaro	(b) Writing
(iii) Lothal	(c) God
(iv) Pictograph	(d) Great Bath

Answer:
Correct columns:

A	B
(i) Pasupati	(c) God
(ii) Mohenjodaro	(d) Great Bath
(iii) Lothal	(a) Port city
(iv) Pictograph	(b) Writing

IV. Write ‘true’ or ‘false’ in the brackets given after each statement:

Question 1.
Ropar (Roopnagar) is located in Pakistan.
Answer:
False

Question 2.
Mother Goddess was not worshipped by the Harappan people.
Answer:
False

Question 3.
Punjab has no remains of the Indus Civilization.
Answer:
False

Question 4.
The Indus people did not know the art of writing.
Answer:
False

V. Activities (Something To Do) :

Question 1.
Visit the museum and see the excavated articles of the Harappan civilization.
Answer:
Do it yourself.

Question 2.
On a map of India mark the cities of the Harappan civilization.
Answer:
Do it yourself.

Question 3.
Draw sketches of the seals and the jewellery of the Harappan people and display them in your class.
Answer:
Do it yourself.

PSEB 6th Class Social Science Guide The Harappan Civilization Important Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
Name some special buildings which were constructed on the citadel.
(A) The Great Bath
(B) Fire altars
(C) Elaborate Store houses
(D) All of these.
Answer:
(D) All of these.

Question 2.
Which of these materials is used to make things found by archaeologists in Harappan cities?
(A) Stone
(B) Metal
(C) Shell
(D) All of these.
Answer:
(D) All of these.

Question 3.
Which of these metals was used in Harappan civilisation?
(A) Gold
(B) Copper
(C) Silver
(D) All of these.
Answer:
(D) All of these.

Question 4.
The weights were generally made of ________
(A) Chert
(B) Silver
(C) Gold
(D) Stone.
Answer:
(A) Chert.

Question 5.
The Harappan also made seals out of ________
(A) Gold
(B) Silver
(C) Stone
(D) Chert.
Answer:
(C) Stone.

Question 6.
Gold and silver were used to make ornaments and
(A) vessels
(B) chariots
(C) weights
(D) none of these.
Answer:
(A) vessels.

Question 7.
________ was a very special tank found in Mohenjodaro.
(A) The Great Bath
(B) Fire altars
(C) Elaborate storehouses
(D) None of these.
Answer:
(A) The Great Bath.

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Name the Indians who started excavations in Harappa for the first time. When did they excavate?
Answer:
The Indians who started excavations in Harappa for the first time were Daya Ram Sahni and R.D. Banerjee. They excavated in 1921-22 A.D.

Question 2.
What was found at Lothal (Gujarat)?
Answer:
The ruins of a port were found at Lothal (Gujarat).

Question 3.
Which pictures were mostly depicted on seals found out during excavations?
Answer:
The pictures of animals, birds, trees and gods and goddesses were depicted on seals.

Question 4.
Which was the oldest city discovered in India?
Answer:
The oldest city discovered in India was Mohenjodaro. Now it is in Pakistan.

Question 5.
Name the people with whom the Harappans had trading contacts.
Answer:
The Harappans had trading contacts with the Sumerians.

Question 6.
Which was the centre of foreign trade in India during the Harappan Civilization?
Answer:
Lothal (Gujarat) was the main centre of foreign trade in India during the Harappan Civilization.

Question 7.
Name the script used by the Harappan people. Has it been deciphered by now?
Answer:
The Harappan people used the pictographic script. This script has not yet been deciphered.

Question 8.
Which metals did the Harappan people use?
Answer:
The Harappan people used copper, bronze, lead, tin, silver and gold.

Question 9.
Name a tree which the Harappan people treated as sacred.
Answer:
Peepal.

Question 10.
Which crops were widely grown during the Harappan Civilization?
Answer:
Wheat and barley were widely grown during the Harappan Civilization.

Question 11.
When did the Harappan Civilization come to light?
Answer:
Harappan civilization came to light with the Harappan discovery located in Montgomery district of Punjab and Mohenjodaro in the Larkana district of Sind in 1921-22.

Question 12.
Why was a large pillared hall used at Mohenjodaro?
Answer:
Large pillared hall was probably used for public meetings or for some religious purpose.

Question 13.
Which ornaments were used by the Harappan people?
Answer:
Harappan women wore necklaces, bangles, ear-rings, etc. and men wore earrings, bracelets and pendants.

Question 14.
Which were the favourite pastime games of the Harappan people?
Answer:
Harappan people were fond of both outdoor and indoor games. Playing of dice and chess, dancing, racing, hunting etc. were some of their favourite pastimes.

Question 15.
Which Gods and Goddesses were worshiped by the Harappan. people?
Answer:
Harappan people worshiped Mother Goddess. They also worshiped, Pasupati the another name of God Siva. He was also worshiped in the form of Sivalinga.

Question 16.
When Indus Valley Civilization came to an end?
Answer:
Around 1500 B.C., Indus Valley Civilization came to an end.

Question 17.
What was Granary?
Answer:
In the citadel at Harappa, the most impressive buildings were the granaries. These buildings were neatly laid out in rectangles and in them grain was stored.

Question 18.
What was the Great Bath?
Answer:
The best known building in the Mohenjodaro citadel was the Great Bath. It was 39 feet long, 23 feet broad and 8 feet deep.

Question 19.
What is meant by Pictographs?
Answer:
The Harappan people knew how to write apd their language was written in picture like signs, called pictographs.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Why is the Harappan Civilization also called the .Indus Valley Civilization?
Answer:
The cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro were discovered in the Indus Valley. Some other sites sharing the same culture were found in the Indus Valley. That is why the Harappan Civilization is also called the Indus Valley Civilization.

Question 2.
Describe the buildings of the Harappan Civilization.
Answer:
The buildings of the Harappan Civilization were built of baked bricks. The walls were plastered and coloured. The roofs were flat. The buildings had a few windows and plenty of doors. In the building, there was a courtyard. Some buildings had their own wells. Every building had its own bathroom and kitchen.

Question 3.
What do you know about the roads and streets of the Harappan Civilization?
Answer:
The roads and streets of the Harappan Civilization were well planned. They were wide. They ran straight and intersected one another at right angles. The houses were built on both sides of streets.

Question 4.
Describe the Great Bath of Mohenjodaro.
Answer:
The Great Bath is the most remarkable structure found in Mohenjodaro. It was a common bathing place. It had galleries all around. There were many rooms on either side, for changing dress. On one side, there were steps leading into the bath. Arrangements were made to drain the used water through a network of the drainage system.

The Great Bath at Mohenjodaro

Question 5.
Discuss the religion of the Harappan people.
Answer:
We cannot give any definite opinion about the religion of the Harappan people. No temples or houses of worship could be traced from the ruins so far. The female terracotta figurines discovered from various sites indicate that people worshipped Mother Goddess. Some seals bearing the picture of Pasupati (God Shiva) have been found. He was also worshipped in the form of Sivalinga. The Harappan people also worshipped bull and peepal tree.

Question 6.
Which were the main centres of the world’s earliest civilizations?
Answer:
There were four main centres of the world’s earliest civilization and these were :

• The Valley of river Nile (Egypt)
• The Valley of rivers Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia)
• The Valley of river Indus (Indus Valley)
• The Valley of rivers Hwang-Ho and Yangtse Kiang.

Long Answer Type Question

Question 1.
Describe the centres of the Harappan Civilization in Punjab.
Answer:
During excavations, the Archaeological Department of Punjab has discovered several places in Punjab which belong to the Harappan Civilization.

A brief account of these centres is as follows :
1. Sanghol: Sanghol is situated in District Ludhiana. The town was excavated in 1968 A.D. by S.S. Talwar and R.S. Bist There have been found many utensils and statues of the Harappan Civilization. This centre had a big trench which always remained full with water. It was built so that the city could be protected from enemies.

2. Rohira: Rohira, is situated in Sangrur District. This place was excavated in 1976-1977 A.D. There found the utensils, bricks, and toys made of clay, etc. It looks like that the Harappan Civilization and the Rohira Civilization had been contemporary to each other.

3. Sunat: Sunat is situated in Ludhiana District. It was excavated in 1983-84 A.D. The remains found at Sunat give us great information about the last period of the Harappan Civilization.

4. Kotla Nihang Khan: Kotla Nihang Khan is situated in District Ropar. It was discovered in 1953 A.D. by Y.D. Sharma The utensils, tools, and ornaments found here are very much similar to those found in the Harappan Civilization.