Evolution of the Indian Culture and Civilization: Anthropology Optional PYQs

1.1 Evolution of the Indian Culture and Civilization:

Prehistoric (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Neolithic-Chalcolithic) Protohistoric (Indus Civilization): PreHarappan, Harappan and postHarappan cultures. Contributions of tribal cultures to Indian civilization.

1. Write a note on Correlation between major environmental changes and cultural stages during pleitocene period in N.W. India. (200 words)  (1981)
2. Write a note on the economic bases of Indus civilization. (200 words) (1981)
3. What are the main achievements of Indian civilization in the protohistoric period ? (1982)
4. Examine the evidence of upper paleolithic cultures in different regions of India. · (1982)
5. What are the important features of mesolithic phase of Indian prehistory ?).(1983)
6. Write a note in 200 words : Neolithic revolution in India. (1984)
7. Place the Soan culture in the palaeolithic chronology in India and point out how it is distinguished from the Madrasian culture. (1984)
8. What are the main features of Mesolithic cultures in general ? What do you know about the origin and distribution of Mesolithic cultures in India ? (1985)
9. What is meant by Neolithic Revolution ? What kind of evidence do we get about  Neolithic revolution in india.(1986)
10. Bring out the features which make the Indian palaeolithic complex distinctive. (1987)
11. India’s protohistoric civilization is unique in the world. Discuss. (1988)
12. Write a note on Indus Valley Civilization is regarded as the beginning of urban life of India. Discuss. (1989)
13. Discuss the stratigraphic and chronological position of the Middle Stone Age industries in India and describe their significant features.(1989)
14. What are the important features of Indus Valley Civilization? Examine the conditions that may have led to urbanization in the Indian region (1990)
15. Discuss the nature of urbanization in the Indus Valley Civilization. What factors led to its decline ? (1991)
16. Describe the salient features of the Neolithic culture of the Indian subcontinent. (1992)
17. To what extent could the Mesolithic culture be attributed to a phase of transition between Palaeolithic and Neolithic cultures? Illustrate the answer with apt. examples. (1993)
18. Write a note on Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization (1994)
19. Point out the salient features of Middle Palaeolithic industries and their makers. Illustrate your answer with examples from India. (1994)
20. Bring out the salient features of Lower Palaeolithic Culture complex in the Peninsular and extra Peninsular India. (1995)
21. Write a note on Neolithic tool typology and technology of fabrication (l996)
22. Discuss the cultural characteristics of Upper Palaeolithic period. Indicate. Its genesis and development in Indian context pointing to distribution and chronology. (1996)
23. Write a note on Dating methods in Prehistory (1997)
24. Describe the distinguishing characteristic features of South Indian Megaliths and compare these with either Central Indian or North-eastern Indian Megaliths. (1997)
25. Write a note on Components of cultures and its link with civilization. (1997)
26. Describe the socio-cultural characteristics of the Neolithic period in India with suitable examples. 
27. (1998)
28. Write a note on Proto-Neolithic (1999)  Critically examine various sources of India’s culture and civilization. Also distinguish between primary and secondary civilization. (1999)
29. Write a note on Criteria of civilization (2000)
30. Describe the geographical spread of Indus valley civilization. What were the causes of its decline ? (2000)
31. Write a note on Ecological adaptation during Mesolithic. (2001)
32. Write a note on Traditional culture as concept. (2001)
33. Critically examine evidence of Upper Paleolithic in India. Discuss its characteristics. (2001)
34. Name a few Chalcolithic sites in India and describe their most salient features.  (2002)
35. Write a note on Town planning in Indus cultures. (2003)
36. Critically ‘examine the contributions of tribal cultures to the development of Vedic culture. (2003)
37. Write a note on Typo-technology of Indian Palaeolithic Culture. (2004)
38. Write a note on Mesolithic culture in India (2005)
39. Discuss the economic basis of Indus Civilisation. What were the factors of its decline ? (2005)
40. Write a note on Burzahom. (2006) 
41. Write a note on Initial period of Tribal Studies in India. (2006) 
42. Write a note on Neolithic Culture. (2007)
43. Write a note on ‘Langhnaj’. (2008)
44. Examine the contribution of Mesolithic culture to rise of Neolithic culture.(2009)
45. Write a note in 150 words on Neolithic culture in India. (2010)
46. Write a note in 150 words on Urban planning in Harappan culture. (2010)
47. Comment in detail on the socio-cultural life of the people of the Indus Valley Civilization. (2010)
48. Examine Gordon Childe’s statement, “Neolithic culture is a revolution”. (2010)
49. Write a note in 150 words on Iron Age in Gangetic region. (2011)
50. Describe the characteristic features of Mesolithic Cultures in India. (2011) 
51. Discuss the significance of Sohan in Indian Prehistory. (2011) 
52. Write a note in 150 words on Palaeolithic Art. (2012) 
53. Compare the salient features and distribution of the Mid.die Palaeolithic and Upper Palaeolithic cultures in India. Add a note on the tool traditions of the Upper Palaeolithic period. (2012)
54. Write a note in 150 words : Discuss salient features of Mesolithic culture in India with special reference to western India.(2013)
55. Indian Paleolithic culture can neither be conceived chronologically homogeneous nor as a uniform cultural homogeneous nor as a uniform cultural phase. Discuss. (250 words) (2013)
56. Discuss the contributions of H.D. Sankalia to prehistoric anthropology in lndia. (250 words) (2013)
57. Write a note in 150 words on Neolithic cultures of N-E India. (2014)
58. Describe what is known of Harapan Religion. Have some of its elements continued into later Hinduism ? Discuss. (2014)
59. Write a note in 150 words on South Indian Paleoliths (2015)
60. Write a note in 150 words on Prehistoric Rock Art of Central India (2015)
61. Discuss the significance of Harappan Civilization sites from India. (2015)
62. Write a note in 150 words on Significance of Mesolithic findings from Belan Valley. (2016)
63. Give a detailed appraisal of skeletal remains from Chalcolithic culture of undivided Punjab. (2016)
64. Write a note in 150 words on Neolithic cultures of South India. (2017)
65. Describe the salient features of chakolithic cultures of the Deccan. (2017)
66. Describe various aspects of trade and religion of Harappan civilization. (2017)
67. Explain the contribution of tribal cultures to Indian civilization. (2018)
68. Examine the regional variations of mesolithic cultures of India. (2018)
69. Describe the Palaeolithic culture with special reference to Soanian tradition. Indicate the problems of describing the Indian Paleolithic. (2019)
70. What kind of society may be reconstructed from the archaeological evidences of Harappan culture ? (2019)
71. Write a note in 150 words on Distribution of Neolithic sites in India.(2019)
72. Discuss the characteristic features of ‘Neolithic culture’ in India. (2020)
73. Write short notes on “Harappan seals” in about 150 words. (2021)
74. Critically discuss the origin of Indus Valley Civilization. Mention the evidences of its endogenous origin from the pre-Harappan sites.(2021)
75. Give the distribution and characteristic features of Upper Paleolithic culture in India. (2021)

1.2 Palaeo-anthropological evidences from India with special reference to Siwaliks and Narmada basin (Ramapithecus, Sivapithecus and Narmada Man).

1. Write a note on Homo erectus narmadenis. (1993)
2. Write a note on Paleoanthropological significance of Narmada Man (2008)
3. Write a note on Importance of the Siwaliks in Anthropology (2009)
4. Write a note in 150 words on Sivapithecus (2010)
5. Write a note in 150 words on Narmada Man. (2012)
6. Write a note in 150 words on Soan culture. (2012)
7. Write a note in 150 words : Examine the debates related to Ramapithecus. (2013)
8. Describe the evolutionary significance of the fossil finds of the Narmada Basin. (2014)
9. Describe the paleoanthropological fossil finds from Siwalik hills. Examine the contribution of Siwalik fossils to paleoanthropological knowledge. (2015)
10. Delineate the salient characteristics of ‘Narmada Man’ and examine itsphylogenetic significance.(2016)
11. Describe the salient features of Ramapithecus. (2017)
12. Describe the salient features of Sivapithecus. (2018) 
13. Write a note in 150 words on Phylogenetic position and morphological features of Ramapithecus. (2019)
14. Write short note on the ‘Narmada’ Man In about 150 words. (2020)
15. Discuss the morphological features and phylogenetic position of Ramapithecus.(2021)

1.3 Ethno-archaeology in India:

The concept of ethno-archaeology; Survivals and Parallels among the hunting, foraging, fishing, pastoral and peasant communities including arts and crafts producing communities.

1. Write a note on Food gatherers among Indian tribe. (200 words) (1981)
2. Write a note on (200 words) : Shifting cultivation of different geophysical contexts. (1982) 
3. Write a note on Peasant society. (1985)
4. Write a note on Pastoralism. (1985)
5. Give in detail the ethnographic profits of either a matrilineal or a polyandrous tribe of India. (1986)
6. Write a note on Hunting and foodgathering tribes of India. (1986)
7. Write a note on “Tribe” and “Caste” as closed ethnic groups. (1988)
8. Delineate the major social and cultural characteristics of Indian tribes at the hunting and food gathering stage.  How is their ecological adaptation reflected in the world-view ? (1991)
9. Write a note on Shifting cultivation in the context of land use pattern.(1993)
10. Write a note on Ethnographic profile of a polyandrous tribe (1996)
11. Write a note on Shifting cultivation, its merits and demerits (1997)
12. Write a note on Ethnographic profile of a matrilineal tribe in India (1998)
13. Write a note on Concept of Ethnoarchaeology.(2008) 
14. Write a note on New Archaeology (2009)
15. Write a note in 150 words on Future of Hunting and Gathering Tribes (2011)
16. Discuss alternatives for shifting cultivators in the context of ecological costs and humanistic concerns.(2013)
17. Discuss the importance of the ethno-archaeological approach to the study of indigenous craft in India. (2014)
18. Write a note in 150 words on Ethnoarchaeological evidences for the survival of hunting-gathering traditions in India (2016)
19. Write a note in 150 words on Ethno-archaeology. (2017)
20. Discuss the relevance of art and craft traditions in the understanding of Indian archaeology. (2017)
21. Write a note in 150 words on Ethnoarchaeology as a research strategy.(2018)
22. Write a note in 150 words on Ethno-archaeological analysis of hunting activities of contemporary tribal communities. (2019) 
23. What are the salient issues faced by pastoral communities in India ? Discuss with suitable examples. (2019)
24. Write short note on the Contribution of Robert Bruce Foote to Indian Archaeology in about 150 words. (2020)
25. Write short note on the Debates on ‘Aryan’ invasion in about 150 words (2020)
26. Discuss the contribution of V. N. Misra to Archaeological Anthropology in India (2020)
27. Discuss the importance of Ethnoarchaeology in reconstructing the Past citing Indian examples. (2020)