RAS question
Which metal tools were predominantly found at Ahar, earning it the ancient name 'Tambavati'?
Correct answer: (B) Copper.
Ahar was associated chiefly with copper tools and artefacts, which explains its ancient name Tambavati.
Explanation
Ahar is linked with copper because excavations recovered copper tools, copper artefacts, and heaps of slag-like material from the site. Ahar, near Udaipur, was the first site in south-east Rajasthan to provide evidence of copper mining and metallurgy. Scientific analysis identified the slag as metallurgical waste, and the presence of copper artefacts with copper-smelting remains shows that Ahar was probably a copper-smelting centre around 2000 BCE. Chalcolithic copper objects at Ahar were made from ore extracted from chalcopyrite deposits in the Aravalli Hills. That is why the traditional name Tambavati of Ahar fits the archaeological evidence: copper, not iron, gold, or bronze, is the defining metal here.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Iron does not explain the name Tambavati, and Chalcolithic Ahar evidence is dominated by copper tools and copper-smelting remains.
- (C) Gold does not fit the Ahar evidence, which consists of copper tools, copper artefacts, slag, and local copper ore.
- (D) Bronze may appear as an alloy in wider metal-working contexts, but Ahar's name and archaeological evidence point specifically to copper as the dominant metal.
Concept
This tests the Chalcolithic Ahar culture and the link between archaeological finds and historical place-names. RAS often asks such questions because Rajasthan's early cultures are identified through material evidence, especially metals, pottery, and settlement sites.