Aspirant Academy
ENHI

RAS question

Navdatoli on the Narmada (Malwa culture) was excavated by:

Correct answer: (B) H.D. Sankalia.

Navdatoli on the Narmada, associated with the Malwa culture, was excavated by H.D. Sankalia in 1957-59.

  1. (A)

    V.S. Wakankar

  2. (B)

    H.D. Sankalia

  3. (C)

    Mortimer Wheeler

  4. (D)

    B.B. Lal

Explanation

The point being tested is the excavator-site association, not a broad chronology of central Indian prehistory. H.D. Sankalia excavated Navdatoli in 1957-59. Sahapedia states that Sankalia tried to bridge the gap between prehistoric and historic sites by excavating Navdatoli and Maheshwar. Navdatoli matters here because its excavation yielded a rich Chalcolithic assemblage: Malwa ware pottery, cotton and linen cloth, and evidence for cultivation of wheat, rice, lentil and other crops. That material package explains why the site is asked under Malwa culture in RAS ancient-history questions.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) V.S. Wakankar is not identified as the excavator of Navdatoli; Sahapedia identifies H.D. Sankalia.
  • (C) Mortimer Wheeler appears in Sahapedia as a scholar who urged attention to central India after Partition, not as the excavator of Navdatoli.
  • (D) B.B. Lal is not named as the excavator of Navdatoli; H.D. Sankalia is.

Concept

This tests the ancient-history habit of linking archaeological sites with their excavators and diagnostic cultural material. It recurs in RAS because Chalcolithic sites such as Navdatoli are often asked through one precise anchor: site, culture, excavator or key finds.

Source

Related questions