Here are important questions from the chapter In The Earliest Cities.

1. Harappa is in present day ……………………….

Pakistan

2. The Harappan cities developed around ……………………….

4700 years ago

3. What were the two parts of the Harappan cities?

Harappan cities were typically divided into two or more parts. Citadel or the part to the west was smaller and higher. The part to the east was larger and lower. There were walls of baked bricks around each part. Sometimes there were special buildings on the citadel.

4. The Great Bath was a special tank found in ……………………………

Mohenjodaro

5. Write a short note on the Great Bath

This was a special tank found at Mohenjodaro. It was lined with bricks, coated with plaster and made water proof with a layer of natural tar. The tank had steps leading down to it from two sides and there were rooms on all sides.

6. Write a short note on houses in Harappan cities.

Generally, houses were one or two storeys high. They had rooms around a courtyard and a separate bathing area. Some of them even had wells.

7. ………………………. were people who knew how to write.

Scribes

8. Scribes helped prepare …………………………..

seals

9. Stone weights in Harappa were made of ………………………….

chert

10. ……………………….. was a beautiful red stone used to make beads.

Carnelian

11. Harappans used …………………….. and …………………… to make tools, weapons, ornaments and vessels.

copper and bronze

12. Harappans used ……………………. and ………………….. to make ornaments and vessels

gold and silver

13. In Harappan cities, seals were made out of ………………………

stones

14. Harappan seals usually had an ……………………….. drawn on them.

animal

15. Cotton was probably grown at ………………………. from about 7,000 years ago.

Mehrgarh

16. What is faience?

It is an artificially produced material by shaping sand or powdered quartz into an object using gum. These objects were then glazed so that they would have a shiny or glassy surface.

17. In the Harappan times, a ………………………….. was a person trained to do only one kind of work.

specialist

18. The Harappans probably got copper from ………………………..

Rajasthan

19. Name some plants that the Harappans grew

Harappans grew wheat, barley, pulses, peas, rice, sesame, linseed and mustard

20. The city of ……………………. was located on Khadir Beyt in the Rann of Kutch.

Dholavira

21. Dholavira was divided into …………………… parts.

three

22. The city of ………………………. was near a tributary of the Sabarmati.

Lothal

23. ………………………. was an important centre for making objects out of stone, shell and metal.

Lothal

24. Harappan cities began to end around ………………………………. years ago.

3900

Textbook questions and answers

1. How do archaeologists know that cloth was used in the Harappan civilisation?

Actual pieces of cotton have been found attached to the lid of a silver vase and some copper objects at Mohenjodaro. Archaeologists have also found spindle whorls used to spin thread from Mohenjodaro.

2. Match the following (Answers)

Copper – Rajasthan

Gold – Karnataka

Tin – Afghanistan

Precious stones – Gujarat

3. Why were metals, writing, the wheel and the plough important for the Harappans?

Metals

Metals were useful to Harappans because they made tools, weapons, ornaments and vessels.

Writing

Harappans knew how to write. There were specialists called scribes whose job was to write. They prepared the seals and perhaps also wrote on other surfaces that did not survive long.

Wheels

Harappans used to transport goods from long distances. They used wheels to draw carts. Wheels were also used for spinning clothes. Potters may also have used wheels to make and shape pots.

Plough

Harappans used plough to prepare the land for sowing seeds.

True or false

a) The great bath is at Mohenjodaro – true

b) There were fire altars at Kalibangan – true

c) Harappa is in present day Rajasthan – false (it is in present day Pakistan)

d) Elaborate store houses were found at Lothal – true

e) Red pottery with black designs were a common feature of Harappan sites – true

f) Harappans used gold and silver ornaments – true

g) Terracota toys were found in Harappa – true

h) Harappan cities had well-maintained  drainage systems -true

i) Harappans knew how to embroider clothes – true

j) Harappans are likely to have engaged in trade with Oman and Afghanistan – true

k) Citadel was the lower part of Harappan cities – false