Module: General Practice
Q20: Consider the following statements comparing Harappan civic amenities with those of contemporary ancient civilizations:
1. The intense municipal focus on grid-iron town planning and elaborate street drainage was largely unmatched by contemporary civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
2. In contemporary Mesopotamian cities like Ur, excavations reveal a severe lack of town planning, characterized by narrow, winding streets and irregular house plots.
3. Textual evidence confirms that Mesopotamian kings sent urban planners to Mohenjodaro to study and successfully replicate the Harappan grid system in the city of Babylon.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
2. In contemporary Mesopotamian cities like Ur, excavations reveal a severe lack of town planning, characterized by narrow, winding streets and irregular house plots.
3. Textual evidence confirms that Mesopotamian kings sent urban planners to Mohenjodaro to study and successfully replicate the Harappan grid system in the city of Babylon.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
✅ Correct Answer: A
🎯 Quick Answer:
Option A is the correct answer because statement 3 is a historical hallucination with no archaeological or textual backing.Structural Breakdown: When archaeologists compare Mohenjodaro (c. 2500 BCE) with Ur in Mesopotamia (c. 2000 BCE), the contrast is stark.
The Harappans laid out exact grids, aligned streets to cardinal directions, and routed wastewater underground.
Ur, conversely, featured organic, haphazard growth with winding alleys where wheeled carts could barely pass, and domestic rubbish was frequently swept directly into the unpaved streets, causing street levels to rise over time.
Historical/Related Context: While Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations directed immense state resources toward building massive monuments (Ziggurats and Pyramids) glorifying kings and gods, the Harappan state apparently directed its centralized authority toward public works, standardization, and infrastructure.
Causal Reasoning: Statement 3 is completely false.
While there is definitive evidence of trade contact between Meluhha (Harappa) and Mesopotamia, there is zero archaeological or textual evidence to suggest technology transfer of urban planning, nor did Mesopotamian cities ever adopt the strict Harappan grid-iron street drainage system during that era.