RAS question
Ahar (Tambavati) is called 'place of copper' because:
Correct answer: (B) Large quantities of copper objects were found there.
Ahar, also called Tambavati, is known as a place of copper because large quantities of copper objects were found there.
Explanation
Ahar near Udaipur belongs to the Chalcolithic, or copper-stone, cultural horizon of south-eastern Rajasthan. India's Ancient Past, R. S. Sharma places Ahar with Gilund among settlements that show a large number of copper objects, and Ahar yielded copper sheets and had copper available locally. The people of Ahar practised smelting and metallurgy from the very outset, and Tambavati means a place that has copper. The reason the MCQ asks for is therefore the archaeological evidence of many copper objects at the site, not a claim about coinage or the first discovery of copper. Its black-and-red ware pottery and rural Chalcolithic setting complete the identification.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Ahar's Tambavati name is linked to copper remains and metallurgy, not to the first minting of copper coins.
- (C) Copper was locally available, but the explanation for the name rests on copper objects found at Ahar, not on copper mines being located there.
- (D) Although Ahar's people practised smelting and metallurgy from the outset, copper was not first smelted there.
Concept
This tests Chalcolithic cultures of Rajasthan, especially how archaeological finds identify sites such as Ahar. RAS repeatedly uses such questions to connect material culture, pottery and regional prehistoric sites.