NCERT 6th Class (CBSE) Social Science: The Birth of a Civilization

Question: Into how many parts were most Indus cities divided? Describe them.

Answer: Most cities were divided into two parts:

1. Citadel or acropolis was built on raised ground. It had high walls made of bricks, which provided protection during floods. The citadel contained public buildings, structures and granaries. The ruler and the ruling class, consisting of rich merchants and priests probably lived there.
2. The lower town: Residential buildings have been found in the lower town. The houses were one or two storeys high. They were built of baked bricks. Most houses had a courtyard with rooms around it bathroom, a kitchen and a well.

Question: What do you know about the drainage system of the Indus Valley civilization?

Answer: The drainage system of the cities was very well planned. The bathrooms had sloping floors and had drains which were connected to street are drainage. The kitchen also had drains connected to the main street drains. The street drains ran along the side of the street. They were covered with bricks and were cleaned from time to time.

Question: What occupations and crafts did the Harappan practice?

Answer: The harappan were following different occupations such as farming, weaving, pottery, jewellery making, metal-working, toy-making, stone cutting, slal making, spinning, stitching, masonry and trading.

Question: Why is Indus Valley civilization also called the Harappa civilization?

Answer: The Indus valley civilization is also reffered to the Harappan civilization because harappa was the first site to be discovered and features of the other sites are similar to Harappa.

Question: Name some of the important cities of the Indus Valley Civilization?

Answer: Many sites have been discovered but the two most important sites are Harappa and Mohenjodaro now in Pakistan. Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat, Kalibangan in Rajsthan, ropar in Punjab, Banawali in Haryana, Alamjirpur in Uttar Pradesh, Kot Diji and chanhudaro in Sindh, Rakhighr in Haryana are some of the other sites that have been discovered.

Question: Describe the reals found at Mohenjodaro. What were they used for?

Answer:

1. Seals were made of terracotta, copper and steatite.
2. They were mostly square shaped through seals of other shapes and sizes have also been found.
3. With inscriptions at top, the seals were engraved with figures of humans or animals such as the mythical unicorn, humped bull, rhinoceros, buffalo, goat ,tiger etc.
4. Historians assumed that these were used for trading purpose as some of them have been found in ancient Mesopotamia.