UPHESC Assistant Professor Ancient History 2025 PYQs

Concept: The Indian itihasa-purana (historical) tradition is traced to the Atharvaveda, which is called the Bhrigvangirasa (Veda of the Bhrigu and Angiras families); its priestly bards preserved and later recast the epic-puranic material.

1. The Atharvaveda (XV.6) is the first Vedic text to speak of itihasa, purana, gatha and narashamsi as a class of literature.
2. The Bhargavas (Bhrigus) are credited with recasting the Mahabharata and the Puranas, so the Bhrigu–Angiras line is central to Indian historical tradition.
3. Gautama is a sage of law (dharmasutra); the Panis are cattle-thieves of the Rigveda; "Trijugath" has no role in this tradition.

Short trick: Atharvaveda = Bhrigvangiras = home of the itihasa-purana tradition.

Concept: Mandalas II–VII of the Rigveda are the "family books", each ascribed to one rishi family.

1. II – Gritsamada, III – Vishvamitra, IV – Vamadeva, V – Atri, VI – Bharadvaja, VII – Vasishtha.
2. Mandala III contains the Gayatri mantra (III.62.10), composed by Vishvamitra.

Short trick: G-V-V-A-B-V for II to VII: "Gritsamada, Vishvamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bharadvaja, Vasishtha".

Concept: Each Brahmana/Upanishad belongs to a particular Veda (shakha).

1. Kaushitaki (Shankhayana) Brahmana – Rigveda (iv).
2. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad – last part of the Shatapatha Brahmana – Shukla Yajurveda (iii).
3. Chhandogya Upanishad – Samaveda (i).
4. Mandukya Upanishad – Atharvaveda (ii). Code: iv, iii, i, ii.

Short trick: Rig: Aitareya-Kaushitaki; Sama: Chhandogya-Kena; Shukla Yajur: Brihadaranyaka-Isha; Atharva: Mundaka-Mandukya-Prashna.

Concept: Akalanka (8th century) was the great Digambara Jain logician of the Deccan.

1. He wrote the Tattvartha-Rajavartika (commentary on Umasvati's Tattvarthasutra), Ashtashati, Laghiyastraya, Nyayavinishchaya.
2. Aptamimamsa is by Samantabhadra (its "alankriti" commentary by Vidyananda).
3. Anekantajayapataka is by Haribhadra Suri; Nyayapravesha is a Buddhist logic text of Shankarasvamin.

Short trick: Akalanka → Raja-vartika ("royal commentary") on Tattvartha.

Concept: The Madala Panji is the temple chronicle of the Jagannatha temple, Puri, written in Oriya.

1. Its historically useful core is the record of the Eastern Ganga kings, who built the present Jagannatha temple (Anantavarman Chodaganga) and patronised it.
2. Its "Kesari" kings are largely legendary; the Senas (Bengal) and Palas (Bengal–Bihar) are not its subject.

Short trick: Puri temple chronicle → Ganga kings who built the temple.

Concept: Vedic texts describe Prajapati/Purusha as "shodashi" – having sixteen kalas – and Soma as born of and nourished by Rita (cosmic order).

1. The sixteen kalas of Purusha (Prashna Upanishad VI.4) begin with Prana; the Shatapatha Brahmana calls Prajapati "shodasha-kala". So Statement I is true.
2. In the Soma mandala (Rigveda IX) Soma is ritajata and ritavridh – born of Rita and grown by Rita. Statement II is true.

Short trick: Prajapati = 16 kalas starting with Prana; Soma = ritajata, ritavridh.

Concept: Bindusara is known by many names in the sources – Bhadrasara/Varisara (Puranas), Amitrochates (Greek), Simhasena (Jain).

1. The Manjushrimulakalpa states that Chandragupta was succeeded by his son, i.e. Bindusara (Bhadrasara) – Statement I is true.
2. In Hemachandra's Parishishtaparvan, Subandhu is a minister of Bindusara who intrigued against Chanakya, not his son – Statement II is false.

Short trick: Subandhu = Bindusara's minister (rival of Chanakya), not son.

Concept: Chopani Mando (Belan valley) and Mahadaha (Pratapgarh) were excavated by the University of Allahabad under G. R. Sharma.

1. The palynological (pollen) study for these Allahabad excavations was done by the Allahabad palaeobotanist D. D. Pant and published with the reports ("Beginnings of Agriculture").
2. M. D. Kajale (Deccan College) worked on Deccan/Chalcolithic plant remains; K. S. Saraswat and A. K. Pokharia (BSIP, Lucknow) are later archaeobotanists of the Ganga plain.

Short trick: Allahabad excavation → Allahabad palaeobotanist D. D. Pant.

Concept: Lothal (Ahmedabad, Gujarat; excavated by S. R. Rao) has a brick dockyard (c. 219 × 37 m).

1. The dock lies along the eastern flank of the town, linked by a channel to the old course of the Sabarmati/Bhogavo.
2. The warehouse and acropolis stood beside it on the eastern side.

Short trick: Lothal: Dock on the East.

Concept: Each scientific dating method is linked with its pioneer.

1. Dendrochronology (tree rings) – A. E. Douglass (iv).
2. Potassium–Argon – first proposed by C. F. von Weizsäcker, 1937 (iii).
3. Thermoluminescence – Farrington Daniels (i).
4. Radiocarbon (C-14) – Willard F. Libby, Nobel 1960 (ii). Code: iv, iii, i, ii.

Short trick: Libby = Carbon; Douglass = trees; Daniels = TL.

Concept: Match each site with its main cultural phase.

1. Mahadeo Piparia (Narmada valley, M.P.) – Acheulian factory site, Palaeolithic (iii).
2. Tilwara (Luni valley, Rajasthan) – Mesolithic camp site (i).
3. Marakdola – Neolithic (iv).
4. Mahidpur (Malwa) – Chalcolithic (ii). Code: iii, i, iv, ii.

Short trick: Only option (C) begins with Palaeolithic for Mahadeo Piparia and gives Tilwara as Mesolithic.

Concept: Allahdino (near Karachi, excavated by W. A. Fairservis) is a small Harappan village; Bhirrana (Fatehabad, Haryana, excavated by L. S. Rao) shows pre-Harappan to mature Harappan phases.

1. At Allahdino the classic black-painted red Harappan ware forms only about 1% of the pottery; most is plain local ware – Statement I true.
2. At Bhirrana a lapidary (bead-making) workshop with semi-precious stone debris was identified – Statement II true.

Short trick: Small village Allahdino = little classic ware; Bhirrana = bead workshop.

Concept: Three Harappan linear scales are known: shell (Mohenjodaro), ivory (Lothal) and bronze rod (Harappa).

1. Mohenjodaro – a fragment of a shell scale with divisions of about 0.67 cm (Mackay) – Statement I true.
2. Lothal – an ivory scale with fine divisions of about 1.7 mm – Statement II true.

Short trick: Shell–Mohenjodaro, Ivory–Lothal, Bronze–Harappa.

Concept: Match the site with the archaeologist who excavated it.

1. Kot Diji (Sindh) – F. A. Khan, 1955–57 (ii).
2. Manda (Jammu, on the Chenab) – J. P. Joshi and Madhu Bala, 1976–77 (iv).
3. Balakot (Las Bela, Baluchistan) – G. F. Dales, 1973–76 (i).
4. Rojdi (Saurashtra) – Gregory Possehl with M. H. Raval (iii). Code: ii, iv, i, iii.

Short trick: Dales → Balakot (and Sutkagendor); Possehl → Rojdi.

Concept: Ahar (Udaipur, Rajasthan) is the type-site of the Ahar–Banas Chalcolithic culture, close to the Aravalli copper sources.

1. Copper smelting and copper working (slag, flat axes) – i and iii correct.
2. Rice grains/husk impressions were found at Ahar – so "rice was unknown" (ii) is wrong.
3. Its hallmark is black-and-red ware painted in white – iv correct.

Short trick: Ahar = "Tambavati": copper + rice + white-painted BRW.

Concept: Acheulian (Lower Palaeolithic) levels inside rock-shelters are rare in India; the classic examples are in Madhya Pradesh.

1. Bhimbetka (Raisen) – shelter III F-23 has thick Acheulian deposits (V. N. Misra).
2. Adamgarh (Hoshangabad) – Acheulian tools in the rock-shelter deposits (R. V. Joshi).
3. Ghagharia and Lekhahia (Vindhyas, Mirzapur) are Mesolithic rock-shelters.

Short trick: Acheulian in shelters → Bhimbetka & Adamgarh (both M.P.).

Concept: Paisra in the Kharagpur hills of Munger district, Bihar, was excavated by P. C. Pant and Vidula Jayaswal (1980s).

1. It yielded Acheulian habitation floors with post-holes, of an advanced (late) Acheulian stage.
2. Two localities also showed a Mesolithic camp of about the 6th millennium BC.
3. No Early Acheulian or Upper Palaeolithic phase was reported.

Short trick: Paisra = Advanced Acheulian living floors + Mesolithic camp.

Concept: The Kot Diji phase is the most widespread Early Harappan culture of the Indus–Hakra region.

1. M. Rafique Mughal's survey of the dried Hakra river in Cholistan (Bahawalpur, Pakistan) located about 40 Kot Dijian sites – the densest cluster known.
2. Saurashtra has Sorath/Anarta traditions; the Ghaggar valley in India has the related Sothi-Siswal culture.

Short trick: Hakra in Cholistan = densest Early Harappan landscape (Mughal's survey).

Concept: Hominin evolution runs from the australopithecines to early Homo and then Homo erectus.

1. Australopithecus afarensis ("Lucy") – c. 3.9–2.9 million years.
2. Australopithecus africanus (Taung child) – c. 3–2 million years.
3. Homo habilis – c. 2.4–1.4 million years.
4. Peking Man (Homo erectus pekinensis) – c. 0.7–0.4 million years. Order: IV, II, III, I.

Short trick: Lucy → Taung child → Handy man → Peking man.

Concept: Bagor (Bhilwara, Rajasthan, on the Kothari river; excavated by V. N. Misra) is regarded as the largest Mesolithic site in India.

1. It spreads over a large sand dune and has three phases (c. 5000 BC onwards) with microliths, burials and the earliest evidence of animal domestication in India.
2. Khimsar, Bijaipur and Khuri are smaller Thar-desert/Rajasthan sites.

Short trick: Bagor = biggest Mesolithic + early domestication.