Consider the following pairs: [Ancient India]
Historical Place Well-known for
1. Burzahom : Rock-cut shrines
2. Chandra-Ketugarh : Terracotta art
3. Ganeshwar : Copper artifacts
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2
(c) 3 only
(d) 2 and 3
Answer: d
Explanation:
Burzahom
● During the Pleistocene era, the Kashmir valley was a gigantic lake and the neolithic sites are located on the remnants of the ancient lake beds known as karewas.
● In the Kashmir valley, there are several neolithic sites , these include Burzahom, Gufkral, Hariparigom, Jayadeviudar, Olchibag, Pampur, Panzgom, Sombur, Thajiwor, Begagund, Waztal, Gurhoma Sangri, and Damodara.
● Burzahom, is located on a terrace of karewa clay above the flood plain of the Jhelum river, northeast of Srinagar.
● The site was discovered in 1935 by de Terra and Paterson
● Burzahom is a Kashmiri word meaning ‘place of birch’, burnt birch trees were excavated , indicates that birch trees grew in the area in neolithic times
● There are four periods of occupation at Burzahom. The first two are neolithic, the third megalithic, and the fourth early historical.
● A distinguishing feature Burzahom is the presence of mudplastered pit dwellings
● Other finds included ill-fired, handmade, coarse pottery in grey, red, brown, and buff colours.
● Burzahom had a well-developed bone tool industry
● At Burzahom neolithic humans were sometimes buried along with wild animals such as deer, wolf, ibex, nilgai, snow leopard, and pig, and domesticated animals such as cattle, buffalo, dog, sheep, and goat . The joint burials of humans and animals at Burzahom reflect a close relationship between people and the animals concerned.
● Hunting and fishing were important parts of the lives of the neolithic people of Burzahom.
Hence, 1st pair is incorrectly matched
Chandraketugarh
● Chandraketugarh, is located in the Ganga delta in 24 Parganas district of West Bengal
● In early historic times, Chandraketugarh was connected to the Ganga by the Vidyadhari river and must have been an important centre of trade, and possibly also a political centre.
● Chandraketugarh major centre of terracotta craft during 200-300 C.E.
Hence, 2nd pair is correctly matched.
The Ganeshwar–Jodhpura culture
The Ganeshwar–Jodhpura culture was located in the north-eastern part of Rajasthan.
Jodhpura, on the banks of the Sahibi river, is the first site where evidence of the Ganeshwar–Jodhpura culture was identified.
The typical pottery here is wheel-made, orange to red in colour, with incised designs. Shapes include dishon-stand with a thick slip
Pottery similar to that found at Jodhpura was later discovered at Ganeshwar, near Nim-ka-Thana
There are three cultural phases at Ganeshwar. The dates for
● Period I are from c. 3800 BCE onwards,
● Period II from c. 2800 BCE, and
● Period III from c. 2000 BCE.
Period I reflects a hunting-gathering community using microliths made of chert and quartz. Charred bones, almost all belonging to wild animals, were found.
Period II was marked by the beginning of metallurgy. A few copper objects were found—five arrowheads, three fishhooks, one spearhead, and one awl.
People lived in circular huts with floors paved with pebbles and rock fragments.
Both handmade and wheel-made pottery was found.
There was a profusion of Ganeshwar– Jodhpura ware, a poorly fired pottery made of micaceous clay, with a bright red slip
Period III had a wide range of pots. Hundreds of copper objects of different types— arrowheads, spearheads, celts, chisels, rings, bangles, balls, etc were found. This shows that Ganeshwar was a major centre for the manufacture of copper artefacts .
Hence, 3rd pair is correctly matched.
Hence, option d is correct.
Read: Previous Year UPSC History Questions (PYQs) With Explanation 2021