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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/Topic/Prehistoric Archaeology
Topic Explorer · Paper I & II

Prehistoric Archaeology Questions in UPSC Anthropology Optional Mains

Dating methods and the broad sweep of cultural evolution from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age — including India's own prehistoric sequence, the Harappan civilization and the Indian palaeo-anthropological record.

Filter Answer available 95 questions · 79 answered

Syllabus context

Paper I 2 · Paper II 1.1–1.2 — Prehistoric Archaeology, Chronology and Indian Prehistory

All year-wise Prehistoric Archaeology questions

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? Soon 2026 Discuss with examples, how general comparative analogy has been used in ethnoarchaeological studies in India. Answer 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. Answer 2026 Ethnoarchaeology and classical archaeology. Answer 2026 Give the distribution of Palaeolithic sites around the Himalayan and Sub-Himalayan areas, highlighting the typo-technologies of the tools. Answer 2026 Thermoluminescence dating method. Answer 2026 Write a detailed note on the characteristic features, chronology, geographical distribution, tool types and lifeways of Magdalenian cultural tradition of Europe. Answer 2025 What are the major theories proposed in support of the origin of food production? How the change in subsistence economy brought revolution during this period? Answer 2025 'Soanian cultural' tradition Answer 2025 Discuss the palaeoanthropological significance of Siwaliks of India giving its subdivisions, fossil primate fauna and major primate fossil localities. Answer 2025 Describe the distinctive features and distribution of Upper Palaeolithic of India. Answer 2025 Lothal dockyard and international trade relations Answer 2025 Osteodontokeratik culture and its makers. Soon 2025 Write a note on Mousterian tool tradition, Mousterian culture and its makers. Answer 2025 Fission track dating method and its applications. Answer 2024 Harappan maritime trade Answer 2024 Describe the evidences of food production and domestication of animals with special reference to Mehrgarh. Throw light on its significance. Answer 2024 Discuss the Acheulian and Oldowan traditions of Indian Paleolithic cultures with suitable illustrations. Answer 2024 Chronometric dating Answer 2024 Critically describe evidences from Rakhi Garhi and its linkages to Harappan civilization. Soon 2024 Describe the important Paleolithic sites from South India with suitable examples. What is the significance of South Indian Paleolithic cultures? Answer 2023 Prehistoric significance of Rakhigarhi Answer 2023 Material culture and archaeology Answer 2023 Prehistoric rock arts from Uttarakhand Answer 2023 “Indus Valley was the first settlement of the big civilization.” Comment critically. Answer 2023 Was Mesolithic culture the first step towards sedentary way of life? Illustrate your answer by citing suitable examples. Answer 2023 Ramapithecus-Sivapithecus debate Answer 2023 “Siwalik deposits show a variety of Neogene fossil primates.” Critically examine. Answer 2023 Cultural impact of Iron Age Answer 2023 Discuss the Paleolithic environment in light of available evidences with special reference to India. Answer 2023 Identify the major Mesolithic sites and describe the typo-technological features with special reference to India. Answer 2022 Mesolithic rock art in Indian subcontinent Soon 2022 Discuss with suitable examples the typo-technological problems in Indian palaeolithic industry with reference to environmental hypotheses. Soon 2022 Enumerate the evidence of animal domestication in Indian microlithic industry. Soon 2022 Pit-dwellers of Kashmir Answer 2022 What are the arguments for excluding Narmada Man from Homo erectus category? Answer 2022 Make a critical appraisal of Megalithic tradition in India with special reference to North-East India. Answer 2022 Describe briefly the proto-history of Gujarat. Discuss the significance of Gujarat proto-history in international trade. Answer 2021 Thermoluminescence (TL) dating Answer 2021 Describe the features of early farming cultures and Neolithic of the Near East. Answer 2021 Discuss the salient features of different traditions of European Mesolithic. Soon 2021 Harappan seals Answer 2021 Critically discuss the origin of Indus Valley Civilization. Mention the evidences of its endogenous origin from the pre-Harappan sites. Answer 2021 Give the distribution and characteristic features of Upper Paleolithic culture in India. Soon 2021 Discuss the morphological features and phylogenetic position of Ramapithecus. Answer 2020 Discuss the contribution of V. N. Misra to Archaeological Anthropology in India. Answer 2020 Discuss the importance of Ethnoarchaeology in reconstructing the Past citing Indian examples. Answer 2020 'Narmada' Man Answer 2020 Discuss the characteristic features of 'Neolithic culture' in India. Answer 2020 Natufian culture Answer 2020 Differentiate between Lower Palaeolithic culture and Middle Palaeolithic culture with suitable examples. Answer 2020 Contribution of Robert Bruce Foote to Indian Archaeology Answer 2020 Debates on 'Aryan' invasion Answer 2019 Discuss briefly the major traditions in the Upper Palaeolithic culture of Europe. Soon 2019 Discuss with examples the Megalithic culture of India in the archaeological context. Answer 2019 Phylogenetic position and morphological features of Ramapithecus. Answer 2019 Ethno-archaeological analysis of hunting activities of contemporary tribal communities. Soon 2019 Describe the Palaeolithic culture with special reference to Soanian tradition. Indicate the problems of describing the Indian Palaeolithic. Answer 2019 What kind of society may be reconstructed from the archaeological evidences of Harappan culture ? Soon 2019 Distribution of Neolithic sites in India. Answer 2019 Relative Dating Methods Answer 2019 Elucidate Mesolithic culture and associated rock art with examples from India. Answer 2018 Town Planning of Harappan Culture Answer 2018 Give an account of the consequences of food production of Neolithic culture. Answer 2018 Explain the impact of discovery of iron technology on contemporary society. Answer 2018 Describe the principles of radiocarbon dating. Mention its limitations. Answer 2018 Give an account of the field methods used in the study of Archaeological Anthropology. Answer 2018 Ethnoarchaeology as a research strategy Answer 2018 Describe the salient features of Sivapithecus. Answer 2018 Examine the regional variations of mesolithic cultures of India. Answer 2017 Salient features of Mesolithic culture Answer 2017 What are dating methods? Discuss one absolute method and one relative method in detail. Answer 2017 Neolithic cultures of South India. Answer 2017 Ethno-archaeology. Answer 2017 Describe the salient features of chalcolithic cultures of the Deccan. Answer 2017 Describe the salient features of Ramapithecus. Answer 2017 Describe various aspects of trade and religion of Harappan civilization. Answer 2017 Discuss the relevance of art and craft traditions in the understanding of Indian archaeology. Soon 2016 Ethno-archaeological evidences for the survival of hunting-gathering traditions in India Answer 2016 Delineate the salient characteristics of 'Narmada Man' and examine its phylogenetic significance. Answer 2016 Give a detailed appraisal of skeletal remains from Chalcolithic culture of undivided Punjab. Answer 2016 Delineate the salient features of Chalcolithic cultures. Answer 2016 Neolithic Cultures of India Answer 2016 Significance of Mesolithic findings from Belan Valley Answer 2015 Palaeolithic culture. Answer 2015 South Indian Paleoliths Soon 2015 Describe the paleoanthropological fossil finds from Siwalik hills. Examine the contribution of Siwalik fossils to paleoanthropological knowledge. Soon 2015 Prehistoric Rock Art of Central India Soon 2015 Discuss the significance of Harappan Civilization sites from India. Soon 2014 Describe what is known of Harappan Religion. Have some of its elements continued into later Hinduism ? Discuss. Answer 2014 Discuss the importance of the ethno-archaeological approach to the study of indigenous craft in India. Answer 2014 Describe the evolutionary significance of the fossil finds of the Narmada Basin. Answer 2014 Describe the absolute dating methods in Archaeology, highlighting the importance of each method. Answer 2014 Describe the Neolithic culture of India. Answer 2014 Neolithic cultures of N-E India Answer

Prehistoric Archaeology

95 questions

5(b) 'Narmada' Man

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.2 Palaeo-anthropological evidences from India > Narmada Man
2020Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

5(a) Chronometric dating

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Prehistoric Archaeology > Chronology and Dating > Chronometric (absolute) dating methods
2024Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(b) Cultural impact of Iron Age

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(b) Cultural Evolution > Iron Age
2023Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(b) Debates on 'Aryan' invasion

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Post-Harappan cultures > Aryan debate
2020Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(d) Ethno-archaeology.

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.3 Ethno-archaeology in India > The concept of ethno-archaeology
2017Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(b) Harappan maritime trade

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Prehistoric Archaeology > Chalcolithic and Bronze Age > Harappan civilization; maritime trade
2024Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(c) Harappan seals

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Indus (Harappan) Civilization
2021Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(a) Natufian culture

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(b) Cultural Evolution: broad outlines of prehistoric cultures > Mesolithic > Natufian
2020Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

5(c) Neolithic Cultures of India

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(b) Cultural Evolution: broad outlines of prehistoric cultures > Neolithic
2016Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(a) Neolithic cultures of N-E India

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Neolithic > North-East India
2014Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(a) Neolithic cultures of South India.

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Neolithic > South India
2017Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(c) Osteodontokeratik culture and its makers.

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Prehistoric Archaeology > Early Tool Traditions > Osteodontokeratic culture; australopithecine makers
2025Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyAnswer coming soon

5(a) Palaeolithic culture.

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(b) Cultural Evolution: broad outlines of prehistoric cultures > Palaeolithic
2015Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(a) Pit-dwellers of Kashmir

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Neolithic > Burzahom
2022Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

5(b) Ramapithecus-Sivapithecus debate

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.2 Palaeo-anthropological evidences from India > Siwaliks
2023Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(e) Relative Dating Methods

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(a) Chronology: relative and absolute dating methods
2019Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(a) 'Soanian cultural' tradition

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Prehistoric India
2025Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(c) South Indian Paleoliths

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Prehistoric > Palaeolithic in South India
2015Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyAnswer coming soon

1(e) Thermoluminescence (TL) dating

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(a) Chronology: relative and absolute dating methods
2021Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

5(e) Thermoluminescence dating method.

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > Archaeological Anthropology > Dating methods > Thermoluminescence
2026Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(c) Town Planning of Harappan Culture

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(b) Cultural Evolution: broad outlines of prehistoric cultures > Chalcolithic and Harappan
2018Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available