UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Important archaeological finds

Q1. Under whose direction was the joint Oxford University–Field Museum of Natural History expedition to Kish (Tell al-Uhaymir) carried out?

  • A. Leonard Woolley
  • B. Stephen Langdon
  • C. Henry Field
  • D. Ernest Mackay

Q2. The 2025–26 re-excavation at Lothal, resumed after a gap of about six decades, is being conducted by which body?

  • A. The Archaeological Survey of India
  • B. The Anthropological Survey of India
  • C. The National Monuments Authority
  • D. The Gujarat State Department of Archaeology

Q3. The three complete human skeletons recently transferred for advanced scientific study were recovered from Mound No. 7 at Rakhigarhi during which excavation season?

  • A. 1997–98
  • B. 2013–14
  • C. 2025–26
  • D. 2021–22

Q4. The Rakhigarhi skeletal remains were transferred by the ASI for ancient-DNA and osteological study to which institution?

  • A. The Archaeological Survey of India
  • B. The Anthropological Survey of India
  • C. The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences
  • D. The Geological Survey of India

Q5. To which cultural phase of the Indus Valley Civilization is the newly discovered site of Ratadiya Ri Dheri, Jaisalmer, dated?

  • A. Early Harappan (c. 3300–2600 BCE)
  • B. Mature Harappan (c. 2600–1900 BCE)
  • C. Late Harappan (c. 1900–1300 BCE)
  • D. Post-Harappan Chalcolithic (c. 1300–800 BCE)

Q6. The Archaeological Survey of India, which is responsible for protecting newly discovered Harappan sites such as Ratadiya Ri Dheri, functions under which Union Ministry?

  • A. Ministry of Culture
  • B. Ministry of Tourism
  • C. Ministry of Education
  • D. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

Q7. In the context of the Indus Valley Civilization, the term 'Dholavira Signboard' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A row of ten large Indus-script signs made of white gypsum, set near the northern gateway
  • B. A boundary stone marking the division between the citadel and the lower town
  • C. A steatite seal recording maritime trade with Mesopotamia
  • D. An inscribed slab listing the succession of Harappan rulers

Q8. Systematic archaeological excavation and custody of protected Harappan monuments such as Dholavira and Lothal are the responsibility of which organisation?

  • A. The Archaeological Survey of India
  • B. The National Monuments Authority
  • C. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
  • D. The Anthropological Survey of India

Q9. Under the AMASR (Amendment) Act, 2010, which single authority was created as the apex body for managing the prohibited and regulated areas around centrally protected monuments?

  • A. The National Monuments Authority
  • B. The Central Advisory Board of Archaeology
  • C. The Archaeological Survey of India
  • D. The National Culture Fund