RAS question
Chirand, a Neolithic site on the north bank of the Ghaghra, is in which state?
Correct answer: (D) Bihar.
Chirand, a Neolithic archaeological site associated with the bank of the Ganga, is in Bihar.
Explanation
Chirand is placed in Bihar, so option D is the only correct answer. It is in Saran district and yielded a continuous Neolithic-to-Chalcolithic sequence, with bone tools, polished stone axes and evidence of rice cultivation. The official Bihar Directorate of Archaeology page supports the core identification: in its overview of Bihar's archaeological importance, it says a Neolithic settlement was discovered at Chirand on the bank of the Ganga, and in its activities section it lists Chirand among the significant Neolithic sites excavated by the Directorate. That is why the state matters here: Chirand is not merely a prehistoric site somewhere in the middle Ganga plain; it is part of Bihar's documented archaeological record.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) West Bengal is wrong because the Bihar Directorate of Archaeology treats Chirand as part of Bihar's archaeological heritage, not Bengal's.
- (B) Jharkhand is wrong because Chirand is in Saran district, Bihar, while the Directorate of Archaeology, Government of Bihar also discusses it under Bihar archaeology.
- (C) Uttar Pradesh is wrong because the Directorate of Archaeology, Government of Bihar identifies Chirand within Bihar's archaeological record, and Chirand is in Bihar's Saran district.
Concept
This tests the mapping of important Neolithic sites to their present-day states. RAS repeats such site-location questions because prehistoric evidence, especially tools and early cultivation, is often asked through named archaeological sites.