VAID'S ICS – Best UPSC Anthropology Coaching in Delhi Since 1985

Comprehensive Classroom Course · Admissions openRegister now
+91 93113 37737
  • +91-93113 37737, +91-99999 46748
  • 73(FF), Old Rajender Nagar Market, Delhi - 110060
  • MON to SUN 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
Facebook Youtube Instagram
Menu
Enquire Now
Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2016/Paper II/Prehistoric Archaeology
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2016 10 Marks Model Answer Available

Mesolithic Findings from Belan Valley — 2016 Paper II

Question · 2016 · Paper II · 10 Marks

Significance of Mesolithic findings from Belan Valley

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

Demand of Question: Identify the securely known Mesolithic evidence of the Belan Valley and explain why it is important for reconstructing the transition from late Palaeolithic foraging to more settled, diversified subsistence in north India.

Structuring the Response: Locate the valley and principal sequence -> describe lithic, settlement and subsistence evidence -> explain continuity and transition -> add chronological caution -> conclude with its wider prehistoric significance.

Key Dimensions to Cover: Chopani Mando; Epi-Palaeolithic to Mesolithic/proto-Neolithic sequence; non-geometric and geometric microliths; circular huts/post-holes; hearths and plant-processing evidence; nearby Koldihwa-Mahagara Neolithic; G.R. Sharma; cautious use of early dates.

Model Answer

Introduction

The Belan Valley of the Vindhyan-Ganga region is important because it preserves one of north India’s clearest archaeological sequences linking late Palaeolithic foragers with later food-producing communities.

Body

Material sequence: At Chopani Mando, G.R. Sharma’s excavations revealed an Epi-Palaeolithic phase followed by Mesolithic levels with non-geometric and later geometric microliths. Circular huts, post-holes, hearths and grinding equipment indicate repeated occupation and growing investment in place.

Subsistence and settlement significance: The assemblage implies broad-spectrum foraging, plant processing and increasingly semi-sedentary residence. More substantial huts and advanced technological experimentation show that these groups were not merely mobile ‘microlith makers’.

Long-term transition: The same valley later contains Neolithic Koldihwa and Mahagara. This continuity makes the Belan record valuable for studying a gradual shift from food collection to food production rather than an abrupt ‘Neolithic revolution’.

Critical caution: Absolute chronology remains uneven at several sites; therefore technological and stratigraphic continuity is more secure than some very early dates once assigned to individual horizons.

Conclusion

Thus, the Belan Valley is significant less for a single ‘first’ than for documenting a long, locally rooted transformation in technology, settlement and subsistence in the Ganga-Vindhyan zone.

2026 Write a detailed note on the characteristic features, chronology, geographical distribution, tool types and lifeways of Magdalenian cultural tradition of Europe. 2026 What are the evidences available regarding crops and domesticated animals of Indus Valley Civilization? What are the views of the scholars regarding Indus script? 2026 Discuss with examples, how general comparative analogy has been used in ethnoarchaeological studies in India. 2026 Make a critical appraisal of the mesolithic culture of Ganga basin with reference to artifacts, faunal and human skeletal remains excavated from different sites.

Want feedback on your answer?

Join the Anthropology workshop or get structured answer-writing guidance from VAID ICS.

Join Workshop Contact VAID ICS

UPSC Anthropology Optional 2016 — Paper II

28 questions

1(d) Impact of Jainism on Indian society

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 3.4 Impact of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity on Indian society > Jainism
2016Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

1(b) Linguistic elements in Indian population

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 2. Demographic profile of India > Linguistic elements and their distribution
2016Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

5(d) Tribe as a colonial construct

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 6.1 Tribal situation in India > Definition and construction of the category 'tribe'
2016Paper IITribal IndiaModel answer available