Ancient Indian History MCQs

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Mohenjo-daro is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley civilization. Various discoveries at Mohenjo-daro include- Great Bath (the biggest bath ghat), Great granary, Bronze dancing girl, Bearded man, terracotta toys, Bull seal, Pashupati seal, three cylindrical seals of the Mesopotamian type, a piece of woven cloth.

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Sulvasutras deal with complex fire altars of various shapes constructed with bricks of specific shapes and area. So it deals with geometry.

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The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire existing from the mid-to-late 3rd century CE to 543 CE. Rashtrakutas was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent . They are the contemporaries.

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“Baladhikarana” in the Gupta Age is the Head of the army. The Gupta Empire is referred to as the Golden Age of India because of the extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy that illuminated the elements of Hindu Culture.

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Taxila was the most famous leaning centre during the Mauryas. Taxila was absorbed into the Mauryan empire founded by Chandragupta, under whom it became a provincial capital.

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Manu, Yajnavalkya, Narada, and Brihaspati were law givers of ancient India. Manu is traditionally regarded as the author of the Manusmriti, a foundational text on Hindu law. Yajnavalkya is known for the Yajnavalkya Smriti, which also addresses legal and social issues. Narada is a sage often associated with legal and ethical discussions in texts like the Narada Smriti. Brihaspati, while primarily known as a deity of wisdom, is also linked to legal principles in ancient texts. These figures played crucial roles in shaping the legal framework of ancient Indian society.

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Mohenjodero was located on banks of river Indus. Harappa on Ravi. Chanhudaro is in Pakistan now. Lothal was on mouth of Gulf of Cambay.

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Kalibangan was abandoned, perhaps due to an earthquake, but in the Mature Harappan period a new settlement was constructed.

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The earliest of the Hindu sacred text, Rig-veda refers to the Saprasindhava, Panchanada, Madhydesa and Praki. These were perhaps the first references to the emergence of regions. The geographical location of these regions suggests that the Indo- Aryans preferred to settle down along the banks of the rivers-Sindhu (Indus), Vitasta, Jhelum), Asikni also known Chandrabhaga (Chenab). References are also found to Airavati (Ravn. Parushuni or Vipasa (Dcas), Saradru (Saduj) and the Saraswati. There is a general agreement that the region known as Panchanada included the plains of the five great eastern tributaries of the Sindhu river. Further east, the land between the Saraswati and Drishadvati was known to the IndoAryans as Brahmavarta. On the periphery of these plains lie the alluvial basins of the Gomti (Gomal), Krumu (Kurrum) and Kubha (Kabul). It is believed that these were the earliest Indo-Aryan settlements. Literary evidence suggests eastward march of the Indo-Aryans led to their settlements to the Madhyadesa regions. (Source: Geography of the South Asian subcontinent: a critical approach By Aijazuddin Ahmad)

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The earliest evidence of existence of human in India had been found the banks of the Narmada at Madhya Pradesh’s Hathnora village. Narmada Human also known as Narmada Man belongs to the category of Homo erectus, preceding Homo sapiens, the modern human species. Geologist Arun Sonakia was the main person involved in this most tantalising fossil discovery of a human ancestor.