RAS question
The fire altars discovered at Kalibangan suggest the practice of:
Correct answer: (D) Vedic-type fire rituals.
The fire altars discovered at Kalibangan suggest the practice of Vedic-type fire rituals during the Harappan period.
Explanation
Kalibangan's fire altars point to ritual practice because they were not ordinary hearths or work furnaces. The ASI excavation report describes a ritual room with fire altars sunk into the floor, clay-lined, containing ash and charcoal, and fitted with a central stela and terracotta cakes placed as offerings. In the citadel area, seven contiguous fire altars were found on a platform, aligned north-south, with a nearby jar containing ash and charcoal, apparently to keep fire ready for the ritual. The report also notes a well and bathing pavement near the altars, linking the arrangement with worship rather than everyday cooking. This supports the answer: Vedic-type fire rituals.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Metal smelting is not supported here because the described remains are clay-lined ritual altars with ash, charcoal, stelae and offerings, not furnaces or smelting installations.
- (B) Animal sacrifice is too broad for these particular fire altars: the ASI report links animal bones to a separate pit, while the altars themselves indicate fire worship and ritual use.
- (C) Pottery making does not fit the evidence because pottery kilns are production features, whereas these altars are described with ritual markers such as stelae, terracotta cakes, bathing arrangements and worship orientation.
Concept
This tests the archaeology of Rajasthan's Harappan sites, especially how structural remains are interpreted. It recurs in RAS because Kalibangan is one of Rajasthan's signature ancient-history sites and its fire altars are a standard excavation-based fact.