SSC
The Chalcolithic archaeological site of Inamgaon is located in:
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Answer: Option C — Maharashtra
Detailed Solution
Inamgaon is a Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone Age) archaeological site on the banks of the Ghod river, a tributary of the Bhima, in the Pune district of Maharashtra.
About Inamgaon:
It was excavated between 1968 and 1983 by the Deccan College, Pune, under the archaeologists H. D. Sankalia, M. K. Dhavalikar and Z. D. Ansari.
It was occupied from about 1600 BCE to about 700 BCE.
It is one of the largest and best-studied Chalcolithic village settlements in India.
It shows three main cultural phases: the Malwa phase, the Early Jorwe phase and the Late Jorwe phase. The Jorwe culture is named after the village of Jorwe in Ahmednagar district.
Important findings:
- More than 100 houses, first rectangular and later round, with mud walls and thatched roofs.
- Evidence of farming of crops such as wheat, barley, rice, lentils, millets and peas, and of artificial irrigation through a channel and an embankment to divert river water.
- Granaries, fire pits and storage jars.
- Copper tools and painted pottery (red with black designs).
Burials: the dead were usually buried under the floors of houses, often in urns. Adults were buried with their feet cut off, possibly to prevent the dead from "walking".
A famous "four-legged urn burial" of a man, possibly a chief, in a sitting position.
Terracotta figurines of a "Mother Goddess" without a head.
Other Chalcolithic sites in India:
- Ahar and Gilund (Rajasthan): the Ahar-Banas culture.
- Kayatha and Navdatoli (Madhya Pradesh): the Malwa culture.
Daimabad, Jorwe, Nevasa and Chandoli (Maharashtra): the Jorwe culture. Daimabad is famous for a hoard of bronze objects, including a chariot.
Chirand (Bihar).
About the Chalcolithic period:
People used both copper and stone tools, lived in villages, practised farming and animal herding, and made painted pottery.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Gujarat has Harappan sites such as Lothal and Dholavira.
- ✗Madhya Pradesh has Chalcolithic sites such as Kayatha and Navdatoli.
- ✗Karnataka has Neolithic sites such as Brahmagiri.
Quick tip
Remember: Inamgaon = Pune district, Maharashtra (Chalcolithic, Malwa and Jorwe phases; irrigation channel; burials under house floors); Daimabad = bronze chariot; Ahar = Rajasthan.
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Indus Valley Civilisation — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Indus Valley Civilisation, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
The Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation was one of the world's earliest urban civilisations, flourishing around 2500-1900 BCE. This topic covers its major sites, town planning, drainage, seals, script, trade, crafts, religious beliefs and the theories about its decline. Questions mostly link a site to its feature or its present-day location: the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro, the dockyard at Lothal (Gujarat), the ploughed field at Kalibangan (Rajasthan) and the water reservoirs at Dholavira. Remember that Harappa was the first site excavated, by Daya Ram Sahni in 1921, and that the Harappan script has still not been deciphered. Practise the Indus Valley Civilisation questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.