Consider the following statements about the archaeological findings in Harappan towns:
I. There is wide occurrence of spindle-whorls in the houses but absence of spinning wheels.
II. Weights and measurement scales, complete with graduations have been discovered.
III. There are houses built in large part with baked bricks, around relatively spacious courtyards, with their own wells, bathing platforms, and large rooms.
Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above statements?
- 1.Statement I suggests that spinning was a laborious activity done at home.
- 2.Statement II suggests the extent of the scientific knowledge that the Harappans possessed.
- 3.Statement III suggests the emergence of a common property system.
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Spindle-whorls in ordinary houses with no spinning wheels point to slow hand-spinning done within the household. Standard weights and graduated scales show precise, mathematical measurement. But large, well-appointed private houses with their own wells and baths show private wealth and inequality, not common property.
- ✓ 1. A spindle-whorl is the weight on a hand spindle. Finding them in homes, with no spinning wheel anywhere, means thread was spun by hand at home, a slow and labour-heavy task.
- ✓ 2. Harappan weights followed a fixed system, binary for small units and decimal for large ones, and scales carried graduations; this reflects real knowledge of measurement and arithmetic.
- ✗ 3. Houses with their own courtyards, wells and bathrooms belonged to individual households. Big houses beside small ones point to private property and social differences, not a common property system.
Remember · Harappan evidence: domestic hand-spinning (spindle-whorls), standard binary-decimal weights, private houses with own bathrooms and wells.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 1 “lower denominations of weights were binary (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32), while the higher denominations followed the decimal system (160, 200, 320, 640).”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 1 “Every house had its own bathroom paved with bricks, with drains connected through the wall to the street drains.”
- NCERT Class 9 · Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Chapter 4 “Harappans had their own standard systems of weight and measurement.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·