Module: | Archaeological Discovery & Civilization Decline
Q47: Consider the following statements regarding the early 20th-century discoveries that led to the identification of the Harappan civilization:
1. Archaeologist Daya Ram Sahni discovered Harappan seals at the site of Harappa in stratigraphic layers that were definitively older than Early Historic levels.
2. Shortly after, Rakhal Das Banerji found almost identical seals at Mohenjodaro, leading to the groundbreaking conjecture that these two distant sites were part of a single ancient culture.
3. Based entirely on these specific discoveries by Sahni and Banerji, Alexander Cunningham formally announced the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilization to the world in 1924.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
2. Shortly after, Rakhal Das Banerji found almost identical seals at Mohenjodaro, leading to the groundbreaking conjecture that these two distant sites were part of a single ancient culture.
3. Based entirely on these specific discoveries by Sahni and Banerji, Alexander Cunningham formally announced the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilization to the world in 1924.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
✅ Correct Answer: A
🎯 Quick Answer:
Option A is the correct answer because statement 3 incorrectly identifies the individual who announced the discovery to the world.Structural Breakdown: The puzzle was solved by connecting artifacts from two different sites.
Daya Ram Sahni's excavations at Harappa yielded seals from deep, pre-historic layers.
When Rakhal Das Banerji found identical seals at Mohenjodaro (hundreds of miles away) in 1922, it provided the definitive proof of a widespread, unified ancient culture.
Historical/Related Context: This realization shattered the existing historical timelines, pushing India's urban history back by thousands of years, making it a contemporary of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Causal Reasoning: Statement 3 is false because Alexander Cunningham had already retired and passed away long before these discoveries.
It was actually John Marshall, the then Director-General of the ASI, who compiled the data from Sahni and Banerji and formally announced the discovery of the new civilization to the global archaeological community in 1924.