Consider the following statements about the archaeological findings in Harappan towns:

  1. There is a wide occurrence of spindle-whorls in the houses, but the absence of spinning wheels.
  2. Weights and measurement scales, complete with graduations have been discovered.
  3. There are houses built in large part with baked bricks, around relatively spacious courtyards, with their own wells, bathing platforms, and large rooms.

Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above statements?

  1. Statement I suggests that spinning was a laborious activity done at home.
  2. Statement II suggests the extent of the scientific knowledge that the Harappans possessed.
  3. Statement III suggests the emergence of a common property system.

Select the answer using the code given below:

  • 1 and 2 only
  • 2 and 3 only
  • 1 and 3 only
  • 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Statement I

  • The Artifacts (Spindle-Whorls): Excavations across major Indus Valley sites—such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Chanhu-daro, and Lothal—have yielded a vast number of spindle-whorls (terracotta, faience, and shell versions). A spindle-whorl is a disc or spherical object fitted onto a spindle to maintain its whorling speed and stability.
  • The Absence of the Spinning Wheel: The mechanized or crank-driven spinning wheel (charkha) is historically absent from ancient world civilizations. It was invented much later (appearing in China and the Islamic world before arriving in India during the early medieval period / Delhi Sultanate).
  • The Inference (Laborious Household Activity): Because there were no mechanical spinning wheels, yarn production had to be carried out entirely by hand using drop spindles. This method requires manual dexterity, patience, and considerable time. The presence of these tools in almost every excavated house indicates that textile production was a decentralized, domestic, and labor-intensive household craft rather than a centralized factory operation.

Statement II

  • The Weights System: The Harappans possessed an extraordinarily standardized metrology system. Their weights, mostly carved from fine-grained stone called chert, were predominantly cubic. They followed a strict mathematical convention:
    • Lower denominations: Followed a binary system (doubling: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, up to 12,800). The 16th unit served as a foundational standard weight (roughly equivalent to 13.63 grams).
    • Higher denominations: Switched to a decimal system (multiples of 100, 200, 500, etc.).
  • The Linear Measuring Scales: Graduated linear scales have been physically recovered by archaeologists:
    • The Lothal Scale: An ivory scale showing fine divisions, with a unit length measuring approximately 1.7 mm.
    • The Mohenjo-daro Scale: A broken shell scale showing highly accurate markings.
    • The Kalibangan Scale: A terracotta piece with graduated incised lines.
  • The Inference (Scientific & Practical Knowledge): This empirical data directly validates Inference 2. Such uniform standardization across thousands of kilometers—from Sutkagan Dor in Balochistan to Alamgirpur in Uttar Pradesh—proves they possessed advanced practical knowledge of applied mathematics, engineering, geometry, and formal civic regulation to control commerce and construction.

Statement III (The Conceptual Catch)

  • The Architectural Evidence: Harappan domestic architecture is deeply private and autonomous. Houses were built facing inward toward an interior courtyard, with blank outer walls along public streets to ensure privacy. Most mid-to-large-sized townhouses featured:
    • Private brick-lined wells to secure their own water supply.
    • Dedicated bathing platforms carefully paved with water-tight, sawn bricks.
    • Sloping drains connected directly to the city’s municipal street drainage network.
  • Why Inference 3 is Structurally Flawed: Inference 3 suggests these layouts reflect a “common property system” (communal or public ownership). In archaeological interpretation, the opposite is true. Individual houses having their own enclosed wells, private bathing quarters, and restricted-access rooms indicate strong concepts of private residential autonomy, familial boundaries, and individual or private property rights.
  • Where Common Property Actually Exists: Public or common property frameworks are represented by the civilization’s large-scale civic works, such as:
    • The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro (a shared communal or ritual bathing facility).
    • The massive Granaries / Great Halls (state-controlled distribution or tribute collection points).
    • The interconnected stone Reservoirs of Dholavira (managed water infrastructure for the collective population).