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RAS question

Malwa culture of the Chalcolithic period had its type site at:

Correct answer: (C) Navdatoli on the Narmada.

The type site of the Chalcolithic Malwa culture was Navdatoli on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh.

  1. (A)

    Inamgaon on the Bhima

  2. (B)

    Daimabad on the Pravara

  3. (C)

    Navdatoli on the Narmada

  4. (D)

    Prakash on the Tapti

Explanation

Navdatoli on the Narmada is identified with the Malwa culture because the INFLIBNET chapter notes that it is more appropriate to call this tradition the Navdatoli Chalcolithic Culture, since the evidence for it was first reported from excavations at Navdatoli and only later from Maheshwar. That is exactly what a type site does in archaeology: it anchors the recognition of a culture through its diagnostic excavated material. The exam-relevant chronology is c. 1600-1400 BCE, and the site matters beyond nomenclature: Navdatoli had the largest Chalcolithic settlement area, and Malwa pottery is regarded as the richest among Chalcolithic ceramics.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Inamgaon is listed by INFLIBNET e-PG Pathshala among Malwa-culture sites in Maharashtra, but the culture's first reported evidence is tied to Navdatoli, not Inamgaon.
  • (B) Daimabad appears as another Malwa-culture site, yet it is not the site from which the culture was first reported.
  • (D) Prakash is mentioned as a Malwa-culture site in Maharashtra, but the type-site logic points to Navdatoli because the earliest reported evidence came from there.

Concept

This tests the type-site identification of Chalcolithic cultures, a standard Ancient India mapping theme. RAS often asks such questions because sites, rivers, pottery traditions and cultural labels are easy to confuse across Malwa, Ahar and Jorwe contexts.

Source

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