Correct Answer - Option 1 : Harappa was the first site discovered in the Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilisation: The history of India begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), also known as the Harappan Civilization. It flourished around 2,500 BC, in the western part of South Asia, in contemporary Pakistan and Western India. The Indus Valley was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China.
There are three phases of the Indian Valley Civilisation:
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the Early Harappan Phase from 3300 to 2600 BCE,
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the Mature Harappan Phase from 2600 to 1900 BCE,
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the Late Harappan Phase from 1900 to 1300 BCE.
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The Harappan culture was distinguished by its system of town planning. Granaries constituted an important part of the Harappan cities. The use of burnt bricks in the Harappan cities is remarkable, because in the contemporary buildings of Egypt mainly dried bricks were used.
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The Harappan villages, mostly situated near the flood plains, produced sufficient foodgrains. Wheat, barley, rai, peas, sesame, lentil, chickpea, and mustard were produced. Millets are also found from sites in Gujarat. While rice uses were relatively rare. The Indus people were the earliest people to produce cotton.
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The importance of trade in the life of the Indus people is witnessed by the presence of numerous seals, uniform scripts, and regulated weights and measures in a wide area. The Harappans carried on a considerable trade in the stone, metal, shell. Trade was carried by barter system
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In Harappa, numerous terracotta figurines of women have been found. In one figurine a plant is shown growing out of the embryo of a woman. The Harappans, therefore, looked upon the earth as a fertility goddess and worshipped her in the same manner as the Egyptians worshipped the Nile goddess Isis. The male deity is represented on a seal with three-horned heads, represented in the sitting posture of a yogi. This god is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and has a buffalo below his throne. At his feet appear two deer. The depicted god is identified as Pashupati Mahadeva.
The Indus civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilisation, after its type site, Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated early in the 20th century in what was then the Punjab province of British India and now in Pakistan.
Hence, the correct answer is Harappa was the first site discovered in the Indus Valley Civilization.
