State PCS
The Lower Palaeolithic site of Isampur, known for its ancient stone-tool quarry, is located in:
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Answer: Option B — Karnataka
Detailed Solution
Isampur is a Lower Palaeolithic site in the Hunsgi valley, in the Yadgir district (earlier part of Gulbarga or Kalaburagi district) of northern Karnataka.
About Isampur:
- It is one of the most important Acheulian sites in India.
- It was a quarry and workshop where early humans collected limestone blocks and made stone tools.
Excavations there were led by the archaeologist K. Paddayya of the Deccan College, Pune.
Thousands of artefacts were found, including handaxes, cleavers, choppers, cores and waste flakes, showing all the stages of tool-making.
Scientific dating suggests that the site is more than a million years old, making it one of the earliest Acheulian sites in India.
About the Acheulian culture:
- It is named after Saint-Acheul in France, where such tools were first identified.
- Its typical tools are handaxes and cleavers, shaped on both sides ("bifacial").
- It is associated with early humans such as Homo erectus.
- In India, Acheulian tools are found in many places, including the Hunsgi-Baichbal valleys, the Narmada valley, the Belan valley and Tamil Nadu.
About the Hunsgi-Baichbal valleys:
- These valleys in northern Karnataka have many Lower Palaeolithic sites.
- They are important for understanding how early humans used the landscape, water and raw materials.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Andhra Pradesh has prehistoric sites such as the Kurnool caves.
- ✗Tamil Nadu has well-known Lower Palaeolithic sites near Chennai.
- ✗Odisha has prehistoric sites in the Mahanadi and Brahmani basins.
Quick tip
Remember: Isampur = Karnataka (Hunsgi valley, Yadgir district; Acheulian quarry and workshop, over a million years old; excavated by K. Paddayya).
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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.