UPSC Prelims Ancient History previous year questions in the "Multi-statement (Traditional Style)" question pattern — real questions with answers and explanations.
2026Multi-statement (Traditional Style)Socio-Economic Life & Accounts
Consider the following statements:
I. Pali texts contain the first definite references to coins, e.g., kahapana, nikkha, kamsa, and kakanika.
II. The literary evidence from Pali texts is corroborated by archaeological evidence of punch-marked coins from many sites, most of them made of silver.
The above statements have been associated with which of the following?
1. Emergence of urban life
2. Transition to money economy
A.1 only
B.2 only
C.Both 1 and 2
D.Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation: * Statement 1 is correct: References to various types of coins in Pali literature point to the growth of trade and a vibrant commercial economy. The widespread recovery of punch-marked coins from archaeological sites indicates the circulation of currency, which facilitated market transactions and enabled the expansion of urban centres.
* Statement 2 is correct: The occurrence of terms like kahapana, nikkha, kamsa, and kakanika in Pali texts, coupled with archaeological evidence of punch-marked coins, highlights a gradual transition from a predominantly barter-based system to a more monetised economy.
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2026Multi-statement (Traditional Style)Prehistory & Indus Valley Civilization
Consider the following statements about the archaeological findings in Harappan towns:
I. There is wide occurrence of spindle-whorls in the houses but absence of spinning wheels.
II. Weights and measurement scales, complete with graduations have been discovered.
III. There are houses built in large part with baked bricks, around relatively spacious courtyards, with their own wells, bathing platforms, and large rooms.
Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above statements?
1. Statement I suggests that spinning was a laborious activity done at home.
2. Statement II suggests the extent of the scientific knowledge that the Harappans possessed.
3. Statement III suggests the emergence of a common property system.
A.1 and 2 only
B.2 and 3 only
C.1 and 3 only
D.1, 2 and 3
Explanation: * Inference 1 is correct: The frequent occurrence of spindle whorls suggests that spinning and thread production were widely practiced as a laborious, home-based activity.
* Inference 2 is correct: The discovery of standardized weights and graduated measuring scales highlights sophisticated scientific and mathematical knowledge used for trading and craftsmanship with high precision.
* Inference 3 is incorrect: Large baked-brick houses with spacious courtyards, private wells, and multiple rooms point towards advanced urban planning and social differentiation. Variations in house size reflect status differences and private ownership rather than a common property system.
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2026Multi-statement (Traditional Style)Vedic Culture & Ancient Literature
Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India:
1. The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595-596).
2. In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India.
3. The place-values have been found in Sanskrit inscriptions in South-east Asia as early as the seventh century.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
A.1 and 2 only
B.1 and 3 only
C.2 and 3 only
D.1, 2 and 3
Explanation: * Statement 1 is correct: The earliest known epigraphic evidence of the decimal place-value system in India is found in the Mankani (Sankheda) copper plates of Gujarat dated to 595-596 CE.
* Statement 2 is correct: By the ninth century CE, the decimal place-value notation had become widely prevalent and gained broad acceptance in inscriptions all over India.
* Statement 3 is correct: Evidence of Indian place-value numerals has been discovered in Sanskrit inscriptions of South-east Asia dating as early as the seventh century CE, demonstrating the transmission of Indian mathematical ideas.
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2026Multi-statement (Traditional Style)Vedic Culture & Ancient Literature
Consider the following statements about the Rigvedic period :
I. Irrigation from wells allowed agriculture to expand away from flood plains and strips on river margins into the present Punjab and Haryana plains having underground water levels reasonably close to the surface.
II. Draught-animal power was employed to draw up water out of the wells.
Which of the following information support/supports the above statements?
1. There is evidence in the Rigveda of the use of ashma chakra (stone pulley wheel) and ahava (strapped wooden pails) to draw up water.
2. Mention has been made in the Rigveda of the use of implements like parashu/ kulisha (axe) and datra /sreni (sickle).
3. There is a history of the use of ox, even before the Rigveda, for ploughing the land and pulling the carts.
A.1 and 2 only
B.1, 2 and 3
C.1 and 3 only
D.3 only
Explanation: * Information 1 supports Statement I: The Rigveda refers to ashma chakra (stone pulley wheels) and ahava (wooden buckets/pails), indicating well irrigation away from river flood plains.
* Information 2 does not support either statement: Implements like axes (parashu) and sickles (datra) indicate forest clearing and harvesting, but provide no direct evidence regarding well-irrigation or water-lifting systems.
* Information 3 supports Statement II: Oxen were widely used during and before the Rigvedic period for ploughing and pulling carts, confirming the availability of draught-animal power that could lift water.
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2026Multi-statement (Traditional Style)Vedic Culture & Ancient Literature
Consider the following assertion:
In the Pleistocene period either the Yamuna once flowed into the Indus, or the Sutlej flowed into the Yamuna and one major tributary of either had shifted from the Ganga to the Indus or vice versa.
Which of the following is/are the basis of the above assertion?
1. The Nadi-Sukta of the Rigveda
2. The explorations of the Sutlej and the Yamuna by Robert Bruce Foote
3. The presence of the same species of dolphins in both the Indus and the Ganga river systems
A.1 only
B.2 only
C.1 and 2
D.3
Explanation: * Statement 1 is incorrect: The Nadi-Sukta (River Hymn) forms part of the Rigveda (Mandala-10) and lists rivers from east to west as they existed in human memory during the Holocene epoch (around 1500–1200 BCE). There is a gap of at least a million years between Pleistocene river shifts and Vedic texts.
* Statement 2 is incorrect: Robert Bruce Foote explored prehistoric stone tools and archeological sites in South India, never the Pleistocene drainage dynamics of the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers.
* Statement 3 is correct: The South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is a strictly freshwater species that cannot survive in saltwater. Because the Indus and Ganga mouths are roughly 4,600 km apart across marine waters, they could only populate both systems if they once shared a common connected drainage basin during the Pleistocene, before tectonic upheavals separated them. Molecular studies show they diverged ~550,000 years ago during the Pleistocene.
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2024Multi-statement (Traditional Style)Buddhism & Jainism Teachings
With reference to ancient India, Gautama Buddha was generally known by which of the following epithets?
1. Nayaputta
2. Shakyamuni
3. Tathagata
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
A.1 only
B.2 and 3 only
C.1, 2 and 3
D.None of the above are epithets of Gautama Buddha
Explanation: * Epithet 1 is incorrect: "Nayaputta" (or Jnatiputra) is a specific historical epithet used in early Jain and Buddhist literature to refer to Vardhamana Mahavira, not Gautama Buddha.
* Epithet 2 is correct: Gautama Buddha is widely addressed as "Shakyamuni" ("Sage of the Shakyas") denoting his birth lineage within the Shakya clan.
* Epithet 3 is correct: Buddha frequently used the term "Tathagata" ("Thus-come" or "Thus-gone") to describe himself and other enlightened ones in Pali and Sanskrit texts.
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2024Multi-statement (Traditional Style)Vedic Culture & Ancient Literature
Consider the following statements:
1. There are no parables in Upanishads.
2. Upanishads were composed earlier than the Puranas.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.1 only
B.2 only
C.Both 1 and 2
D.Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation: * Statement 1 is incorrect: The Upanishads feature numerous allegorical parables, dialogues, and stories specifically structured to explain abstract Vedic philosophical concepts.
* Statement 2 is correct: The early core Upanishads are a part of late Vedic literature, composed during the later Vedic period (c. 800–500 BCE). The Puranas were composed significantly later, beginning around the early centuries of the Common Era.
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