Question

Lapis lazuli had a very important place in the Harappan trade.

Answer 1

• A network of small towns, big and small villages, and campsites of seminomadic people functioned to cater to the needs of major urban centres of the Harappan civilisation. 
• The Harappan settlement of ‘Shortugai’ in the Badakshan province of Afghanistan, is rich with mines of lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone in Mesopotamia. 
• The Mesopotamian epics describe Goddess Inanna’s palace, the walls of which were embedded with this stone, lapis lazuli. 
• This stone was a very important commodity in the Harappan trade with Mesopotamia.