Prelims 2017 · Q2
MediumWith reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1.Rigvedic Aryans used the coat of mail and helmet in warfare whereas the people of Indus Valley Civilization did not leave any evidence of using them.
- 2.Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron.
- 3.Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Statement 2 is the one to reject: Harappan metal workers used gold, silver, lead and copper, and iron came into use in the subcontinent only around 1000 BCE, long after the Harappan cities. The other two statements reflect the standard contrast between a warlike, horse-centred Rigvedic society and the Harappan record.
- ✓ 1. Rigvedic Aryan warriors are described as fighting in coats of mail and headgear, whereas Harappan sites have yielded no armour, and re-examination of Mohenjodaro found no warriors clad in armour.
- ✗ 2. Harappans worked gold, silver, lead and copper, and alloyed copper with tin and arsenic. Iron belongs to a much later phase, around 1000 BCE, so 'only copper and iron' is wrong on both counts.
- ✓ 3. The horse-drawn chariot was one of the two new instruments of combat the Rigvedic Aryans brought, and the horse is central to the Rigveda. Harappan seals show the bull, rhinoceros, tiger, elephant, bison, goat and buffalo, but not the horse, which is why the key treats it as absent.
Remember · Harappans: bronze-age, knew gold, silver, copper, lead, tin; no iron (iron c. 1000 BCE). Horse and armour are Rigvedic hallmarks, not Harappan.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 8 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 1 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 8 “They melted and forged a variety of objects from metals such as lead, silver, gold and copper. They improved the hardness of copper for making artefacts by using tin and arsenic.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 1 “Chalcolithic (first use of copper) 2600 BCE Harappan civilisation 1000 BCE Early iron, megalithic burials”
- NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 2 “with beautiful figures of animals, such as unicorn bull, rhinoceros, tiger, elephant, bison, goat, buffalo, etc.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 1 “no sign of extensive burning, no bodies of warriors clad in armour and surrounded by the weapons of war.”
- India Science Heritage portal (National Council of Science Museums, Ministry of Culture): War Technology in Ancient India ↗ “Aryan infantry fought in close lines of groups identified with localities and tribes wearing brazen coats of mail and headgears. … These were horse drawn chariot and composite bow.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·