UPSC Ancient India – Chapter 2: Prehistoric India – Stone Ages, Chalcolithic and Megalithic Cultures (21 MCQs)

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UPSC Ancient India – Chapter 2: Prehistoric India – Stone Ages, Chalcolithic and Megalithic Cultures (21 MCQs) – 21 questions, subject: History. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

Microliths are characteristic of the:

Correct Answer: A [Mesolithic]

Explanation:

Microliths, tiny stone tools hafted in wood or bone for arrows and sickles, mark the Mesolithic, about 12,000 to 10,000 years ago.

2.  

The first Palaeolithic tool in India was found by Robert Bruce Foote at:

Correct Answer: B [Pallavaram]

Explanation:

Robert Bruce Foote found India's first Palaeolithic tool, a hand axe, at Pallavaram near Chennai in 1863.

3.  

The rock shelters of Bhimbetka are in:

Correct Answer: C [Madhya Pradesh]

Explanation:

The Bhimbetka rock shelters lie in Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh, and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003.

4.  

Pit-houses and dogs buried with their masters are associated with:

Correct Answer: D [Burzahom]

Explanation:

NCERT notes pit-houses and dogs buried with their masters at Burzahom, the Neolithic site in Kashmir.

5.  

The earliest known farming village of the subcontinent is:

Correct Answer: B [Mehrgarh]

Explanation:

Mehrgarh near the Bolan Pass in Baluchistan, about 8,000 years ago, has the earliest wheat, barley, sheep and goats of the subcontinent.

6.  

Ash mounds of the southern Neolithic are associated with:

Correct Answer: D [burnt cattle dung at pastoral camps]

Explanation:

Ash mounds at Sanganakallu, Utnur and Piklihal are heaps of cattle dung burnt at Neolithic pastoral camps.

7.  

Inamgaon is best known as a settlement of which Chalcolithic culture?

Correct Answer: D [Jorwe]

Explanation:

Inamgaon on the Ghod river near Pune is the best-studied Jorwe settlement, with granaries, embankment and floor burials.

8.  

A megalithic burial marked by a single tall standing stone is a:

Correct Answer: C [menhir]

Explanation:

A menhir, from Breton for 'long stone', is a single tall standing stone marking a burial.

9.  

The pottery most commonly associated with South Indian megaliths is:

Correct Answer: A [black-and-red ware]

Explanation:

Black-and-red ware, together with iron tools and beads, is typically found in South Indian megalithic graves.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. Polished stone tools are characteristic of the Neolithic.
2. Pottery is a characteristic feature of the Neolithic.
3. Hand axes are characteristic of the Upper Palaeolithic.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Polished stone tools and pottery mark the Neolithic, while hand axes belong to the Lower Palaeolithic, so statement 3 fails.

11.  

Assertion (A): Neolithic people lived in permanent villages.

Reason (R): Farming required people to stay near their fields.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

Both are true, and farming explains settlement: crops had to be sown, tended and harvested, so people stayed near their fields.

12.  

Bhimbetka was discovered in 1957 by:

Correct Answer: B [V.S. Wakankar]

Explanation:

Archaeologist V.S. Wakankar discovered the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh, in 1957.

13.  

Bagor and Adamgarh are known for early evidence of:

Correct Answer: A [domestication of animals]

Explanation:

The Mesolithic sites of Bagor in Rajasthan and Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh give some of India's earliest evidence of animal domestication.

14.  

Chandraketugarh is located in:

Correct Answer: D [West Bengal]

Explanation:

Chandraketugarh, an early historic urban and trading centre, lies in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal.

15.  

Acheulian tools dated to about 1.5 million years have been reported from:

Correct Answer: B [Attirampakkam]

Explanation:

Acheulian tools from Attirampakkam near Chennai were dated in 2011 to about 1.5 million years ago.

16.  

Bronze figures of a chariot with a rider, a rhinoceros, an elephant and a buffalo were found at:

Correct Answer: C [Daimabad]

Explanation:

Daimabad in Ahilyanagar district, Maharashtra, yielded bronzes of a chariot with rider, a rhinoceros, an elephant and a buffalo.

17.  

Arrange the following in chronological order of discovery or recognition:

1. Bhimbetka inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List
2. Foote's hand axe at Pallavaram
3. Narmada fossil skull at Hathnora
4. Bhimbetka discovered by Wakankar

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [2-4-3-1]

Explanation:

Order: Foote's hand axe at Pallavaram (1863) → Bhimbetka discovered by Wakankar (1957) → Narmada fossil skull at Hathnora (1982) → Bhimbetka inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (2003).

18.  

The Soanian tradition of choppers is named after a river valley in:

Correct Answer: A [the north-west of the subcontinent]

Explanation:

The Soan valley, which gives the Soanian chopper tradition its name, lies in the north-west of the subcontinent, now in Pakistan.

19.  

Salihundam in Andhra Pradesh is known for:

Correct Answer: B [Buddhist stupa and monastery remains]

Explanation:

Salihundam in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, has remains of Buddhist stupas and monasteries.

20.  

Hallur in Karnataka, a megalithic site, is known for:

Correct Answer: D [early evidence of iron]

Explanation:

Hallur has some of the early iron of peninsular India.

21.  
UPSC Prelims 2024

Consider the following information:

Archaeological Site : State : Description

1. Chandraketugarh : Odisha : Trading Port Town
2. Inamgaon : Maharashtra : Chalcolithic site
3. Mangadu : Kerala : Megalithic site
4. Salihundam : Andhra Pradesh : Rock-cut cave Shrines

In which of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

Correct Answer: B [2 and 3]

Explanation:

Inamgaon is a Chalcolithic site and Mangadu a Megalithic site.

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