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Ancient India

Prelims · Ancient India · 9 questions

Prehistory & the Harappan civilisation

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Prehistory & the Harappan civilisation questions per year: 2016: 0, 2017: 1, 2018: 0, 2019: 2, 2020: 0, 2021: 2, 2022: 0, 2023: 0, 2024: 1, 2025: 1, 2026: 1 Asked in 6 of 11 years · most in 2021 (2)

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UPSC syllabus: “History of India and Indian National Movement.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

मोहनजोदड़ो से प्राप्त ‘नाचती हुई लड़की (डांसिंग गर्ल)’ नामक प्रख्यात नारी लघुमूर्ति किस पदार्थ की बनी है?

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The famous female figurine known as 'Dancing Girl', found at Mohenjo-daro, is made of

(a) carnelian · (b) clay · (c) bronze · (d) gold

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (c) कांस्य

The 'Dancing Girl' of Mohenjo-daro is a small bronze statue. NCERT calls it the best example of a human figure in bronze from the Indus Valley, and says Harappan bronze statues were made by the lost-wax method.

  • ✗ (a) Carnelian was a bead stone: NCERT lists it among the materials of Harappan beads, not of statues.
  • ✗ (b) Clay (terracotta or burnt clay) was a common Harappan material, but the Dancing Girl is a cast metal figure.
  • ✓ (c) NCERT names the statue of a girl popularly titled 'Dancing Girl' as the best example of a human figure in bronze.
  • ✗ (d) Gold appears in Harappan necklaces, earrings and beads, but the Dancing Girl is a bronze casting.

Remember · Dancing Girl (Mohenjo-daro): a small bronze statue of a girl, cast by the lost-wax method; the best-known Harappan human figure in bronze.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The Syllabus X-Ray of this topic

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  • HighHarappan sites, town planning & water management · 3 questions

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