In the Earliest Cities

About a hundred years ago, archaeologists discovered the remains of Harappa, one of the earliest cities in the subcontinent, and found that it was about 4700 years old. Similar cities such as Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan, Lothal and Dholavira are together called Harappan cities. In this chapter you will learn that many of these cities were divided into two parts: a smaller, higher western part called the citadel and a larger, lower eastern part called the lower town. Special buildings included the Great Bath at Mohenjodaro, fire altars at Kalibangan and Lothal, and storehouses. Houses were built of baked bricks laid in an interlocking pattern, and covered drains ran along straight streets. The chapter describes the people who lived in these cities, including rulers, scribes and craftspersons, who made beads of carnelian, stone weights, seals, faience objects and copper and bronze tools. Raw materials came from distant places, and farmers grew wheat, barley, pulses, peas and sesame, using the plough. Around 3900 years ago, many of these cities were abandoned.

Detailed Worksheet: In the Earliest Cities Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. What is a citadel? How was it different from the lower town? (2 marks) 2. What was the Great Bath? Where was it found? (2 marks) 3. What were seals used for in Harappan cities? What materials were they made of? (2 marks) 4. What is faience? How was it made? (2 marks) 5. Who were scribes and craftspersons? Give one example of the work of each. (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. Harappa was discovered in the 1920s and the city is about 4700 years old. (i) Approximately in which year BCE was Harappa built, taking the present as 2000 CE? (ii) The cities declined around 3900 years ago; for about how many years did they flourish? (iii) How many years after the decline was Harappa discovered? (3 marks) 7. Name the source region from which Harappans obtained each raw material: (i) copper (name two regions) (ii) tin (iii) gold (iv) precious stones (name three regions). (3 marks) 8. Name the present-day state or country in which each site is located: (i) Harappa (ii) Mohenjodaro (iii) Kalibangan (iv) Lothal (v) Dholavira (vi) Rakhigarhi. (3 marks) 9. Harappan bricks were often in the ratio of length : breadth : height = 4 : 2 : 1. (i) If a brick is 28 cm long, find its breadth and height. (ii) If a brick is 10 cm wide, find its length. (iii) What does a standard ratio tell us about their building methods? (3 marks) 10. A set of Harappan weights followed a pattern in which each weight was double the previous one: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 units. (i) Write the next three weights. (ii) What was the material used for such weights? (iii) Why would traders need standard weights? (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. On an outline map of the Indian subcontinent, mark and label Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan, Lothal, Dholavira and the rivers Indus and Sabarmati. (4 marks) 12. Draw a labelled sketch of the Great Bath of Mohenjodaro, showing the steps, the tank, rooms around it and the drain. (3 marks) 13. Draw a labelled sketch of a Harappan street with houses on both sides and a covered drain, showing inspection holes and connecting house drains. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. The drains in Harappan cities were carefully planned. (i) Describe the drainage system. (ii) Why were drains covered? (iii) Why were inspection holes provided? (iv) What does this tell us about town planning? (5 marks) 15. Dholavira was located on Khadir Beyt in the Rann of Kutch. (i) In how many parts was the city divided? (ii) What was special about its walls and gateways? (iii) What large inscription was found there? (iv) How does Dholavira differ from Harappa in its layout? (5 marks) 16. Historians are not sure why the Harappan cities came to an end. (i) Give three possible reasons suggested by historians. (ii) Why is it difficult to be certain? (iii) What happened to settlements in Sind and west Punjab? (iv) Where did new settlements develop later? (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Draw maps and sketches neatly in pencil and label every site and feature.