Ancient Indian History MCQs

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Sculptures found at Daimabad were: Copper Rhinoceros, Copper Elephant & Copper Chariot.

Notes:
The Kalinga War was fought in 261 BC. The war was fought between Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor, and the ruler of the State of Kalinga. The war was completed in the eighth year of Ashoka’s reign.
The Kalinga War was one of the most famous and bloodiest battles in world history. The war resulted in the deaths of 1,000,000 people, 150,000 captured, and an additional 1,000,000 died as a result of the conflict. The war was a turning point in Ashoka’s life. He vowed never to make war again and decided to devote the rest of his life to the spread of Dharma.

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Samantas was a name given to big landlords or warrior chiefs in different regions of the Indian subcontinent, by the existing kings of the seventh century. They were expected to bring gifts for their kings or overlords, be present in their courts and also provide them with military support.

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Rajendra Chola I was one of the greatest emperors of the Chola dynasty. Apart from reaching northwards to River Ganges and moving overseas to Maldives and Sri Lanka, he also invaded the Southeast Asian territories of Srivijaya in Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Thailand. He assumed the title ‘Gangaikonda Chola’ after defeating the Gangas, Chalukyas, Cheras, Palas, Pandyas, Kalinga and other rulers. He built a vast empire and a strong military and naval force. His rule came to be known as the ‘Golden Age of Cholas’.

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The Pallava architecture shows the transition from the rock cut temples to the stone built temples. A rock cut temple is carved from a large rock and excavated and cut to imitate a wooden or masonry temple with wall decorations and works of art. Pancha Rathas is an example of monolith Indian rock cut architecture dating from the late 7th century located at Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The term Palaeolithic is derived from the Greek word ‘palaeo’, which means old and ‘lithic’ meaning stone. Therefore, the term Palaeolithic age refers to the old stone age.

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The site of Banawali in Haryana has the rare distinction of having its lower town also protected by a separate massive brick wall around it, in addition to the citadel at the center. This further highlights the public resources available for organized defenses and communal infrastructure projects in mature Harappan cities. Significantly, Banawali’s defenses were constructed in the later Harappan phase after 2000 BCE when many cities were in decline, indicating continued governance and policies to provide security to maintain occupation.

Notes:
The potter’s wheel, a major technological innovation enabling more efficient shaping of earthen vessels, was first introduced around 4700 BCE at the site of Mehrgarh, located near the Bolan Pass in Balochistan, Pakistan. This early farming settlement predates the mature Harappan civilization. Mehrgarh displays the earliest evidence of ceramics in South Asia.

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There is no definitive evidence so far of sugarcane cultivation from any Harappan settlements. However, remains of wheat, barley, pulses, peas, sesame, cotton, dates, melons and Indian mainland millets have been confirmed through storage jars, grains, husks, leaves and artistic depictions. This indicates the Indus people practiced diverse agriculture with major staple cereal crops, fiber plants and fruits suited to the landscape.

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In the context of Harappan civilization, the term ‘English Bond’ refers to the brickwork bonding pattern where bricks are laid in alternating header (short side) and stretcher (long side) arrangement in successive courses. This interlocking arrangement created structural stability, detectible in granaries and walls at sites like Mohenjo-daro and Rakhigarhi. English bond provided earthquake resistant buildings reflecting the town planning Sophistication of these ancient cities.