Q1. Which of the following is correctly matched?

Select the correct answer from codes given below

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (c) Explanation:

Harappa

1. It was situated on the left bank of river Ravi in Montgomery District in West Punjab (present-day Pakistan) and was excavated by Dayaram It was the First Indus Valley Site to be discovered and thus the entire civilization is also named as Harappan Civilization.
2. It is also known as ‘a city of granaries’ as 12 granaries were found in two rows (each had six).
3. Town planning consisted of horizontal and vertical roads, and a centre bounded by fortified walls called ‘citadel’, outside which H type cemetery was found. It establishes the fact that Harappa must have been attacked by foreigners as the H type cemetery was alien to Harappa. In Rigveda, Harappa has been mentioned as ‘Hariyupaya’.

Mohenjo-Daro (In Sind)

1. It means ‘mound of the dead’. It is situated on the right bank of river Indus. It was excavated by R. D. Banerjee in 1922 and is the third biggest site.
2. It can be considered as a model city for the entire IVC (Indus Valley Civilization) in town It was also the most populated city. It had the biggest granary called ‘The great granary’. It also had a big assembly, temple-like structure and the great bath. The great bath was used for communal bathing, rituals, offering, and other ceremonies.

Q2. Which of the following is correctly matched?

Select the answer from codes given below

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (d) Explanation:

Inscriptions

Inscriptions have played hence a very vital role in the reconstruction of ancient Indian history. It is estimated that 80% of our knowledge of the history of India before about A.D 1000 is derived from inscriptional sources. Without inscriptions, we would have only the vaguest notion of the history of the Mauryan empire. The Asokan inscriptions were engraved on rocks and pillars. These are valuable sources for the Mauryan Empire. The Hathi Gumpha inscription of King Kharavela found at Udayagiri, the Nasik prasasti of Gautamiputra Satakarni, the Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II, the Junagarh inscriptions of Rudradaman are very important sources materials of those rulers.

Q3. Consider the following statements

Assertion (A): Inscriptions provide almost the only solid chronological foundation for modern historically oriented studies Reason (R): It is true primarily because inscriptions are datable either by explicit dates or palaeographic estimates

Select the answer from codes given below

1. Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A
2. Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A
3. Only A is true
4. Only R is true

Answer (a) Explanation:

The inscriptions cannot be tampered so their authenticity is unquestionable. Epigraphy material, directly or indirectly, provides almost the only solid chronological foundation for modern historically oriented studies. This is true primarily because inscriptions are datable either by explicit dates or palaeographic estimates.

Q4. Which of the following is NOT correctly matched?

Select the answer from codes given below

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (b) Explanation:

Inscriptions have played hence a very vital role in the reconstruction of ancient Indian history. It is estimated that 80% of our knowledge of the history of India before about A.D 1000 is derived from inscriptional sources. Without inscriptions, we would have only the vaguest notion of the history of the Mauryan empire. The Asokan inscriptions were engraved on rocks and pillars. These are valuable sources for the Mauryan Empire. The Allahabad prasasti of Samundra Gupta and the Gwalior prasasti of Bhoja give information about them.

Q5. Consider the following about the iron pillar in Qutub Minar complex Delhi

1. It is famous for its rustlessness
2. It is ascribed to the Samudragupta

Which of the above is/are correct?

1. 1. 1 only
   2. 2 only
   3. Both 1 and 2
   4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (a) Explanation:

The Delhi Iron Pillar

The second advanced iron is the one used in the famous 1,600-year- old Delhi Iron Pillar, which, at a height of 7.67 m, consists of about six tons of wrought iron. It was initially erected by Chandra as a standard of Vishnu at Vishnu Padagiri’, according to a six-line Sanskrit inscription on its surface. ‘Vishnu Padagiri’ has been identified with modern Udayagiri near Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh, and ‘Chandra’ with the Gupta emperor, Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–414 CE). In 1233, the pillar was brought to its current location in the courtyard of the Quwwat-ul Islam mosque in New Delhi’s Qutub complex, where millions continue to come and see this ‘rustless wonder’.

But why is it rustless, or, more precisely, rust-resistant? Here again, numerous

experts, both Indian and Western, tried to grasp the secret of the pillar’s manufacture. Only recently have its rust-resistant properties been fully explained. They are chiefly due to the presence of phosphorus in the iron: this element, together with iron and oxygen from the air, contributes to the formation of a thin protective passive coating on the surface, which gets reconstituted if damaged by scratching. It goes to the credit of Indian blacksmiths that through patient trial and error they were able to select the right type of iron ore and process it in the right way for such monumental pillars.

Metallurgy contributed substantially to India’s wealth since India was for a long time a major exporter of iron. In the late 1600s, shipments of tens of thousands of wootz ingots would leave the Coromandel Coast for Persia every year. India’s iron and steel industry was intensive until the 18th century and declined only when the British started selling their own products in India while imposing high duties on Indian products. Industrially produced iron and steel unavoidably put a final stop to most of India’s traditional production.

Q6. Consider the following statements

1. Aryabhata calculated the approximate value of pi
2. He also calculated the length of a solar year

Which of the above is/are correct?

1. 1. 1 only
   2. 2 only
   3. Both 1 and 2
   4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (c) Explanation:

Earliest known precise celestial calculations:

Aryabhata (c. 500AD) accurately calculated celestial constants like earth's rotation per solar orbit, days per solar orbit, days per lunar orbit. In fact, no source from prior to the 18th century had more accurate results on the values of these constants. Aryabhata's 499 AD computation of pi as 3.1416 (real value 3.1415926...) and the length of a solar year as 365.358 days were also extremely accurate by the standards of the next thousand years.