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Question

Consider the following statements regarding the 'Levallois Technique':

1. It refers to making perforated Harappa pottery.

2. It refers to making prehistoric flake tools.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

This question was previously asked in
CDS I 2023 English Previous Year Paper (16-April-2023)
The correct answer is

2 only

Understanding the Levallois Technique in Prehistory

Let's carefully look at the statements provided about the 'Levallois Technique' to determine which one accurately describes this significant prehistoric method.

The Levallois technique is a distinctive method of stone tool production used during the Palaeolithic period. It's known for producing sharp, standardized flake tools from a prepared stone core. This technique required significant planning and cognitive skill, making it a notable development in early human technology.

Analyzing Statement 1: Levallois Technique and Harappa Pottery

Statement 1 says: "It refers to making perforated Harappa pottery."

  • The Levallois technique is a method related to working with stone, specifically for making stone tools by carefully shaping a stone core before striking off a flake.
  • Pottery production, on the other hand, involves shaping and firing clay.
  • The Harappan civilization existed much later than the period when the Levallois technique was widely used. The Levallois technique is associated with the Middle Palaeolithic period, while the Harappan civilization is from the Bronze Age (around 2600–1900 BCE).
  • Therefore, linking the Levallois technique to Harappan pottery is incorrect.

Based on this, Statement 1 is inaccurate.

Analyzing Statement 2: Levallois Technique and Prehistoric Flake Tools

Statement 2 says: "It refers to making prehistoric flake tools."

  • As discussed, the Levallois technique is a specific method for preparing a stone core in a way that allows a predetermined shape and size of flake to be struck off.
  • These flakes, often sharper and more predictable than those produced by simpler methods, were used as tools or blanks for making tools.
  • This technique was a major innovation in prehistoric stone tool manufacturing, primarily used by Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens during the Middle Palaeolithic.
  • Therefore, connecting the Levallois technique to the making of prehistoric flake tools is correct.

Based on this, Statement 2 is accurate.

Conclusion on the Levallois Technique Statements

Statement 1 incorrectly relates the Levallois technique to pottery from the much later Harappan period. Statement 2 correctly identifies the Levallois technique as a method used for creating prehistoric flake tools.

Thus, only Statement 2 is correct.

Statement Accuracy Reasoning
1. It refers to making perforated Harappa pottery. Incorrect Levallois technique is for stone tools, not pottery. It is from the Palaeolithic period, not the Harappan period.
2. It refers to making prehistoric flake tools. Correct The Levallois technique is a stone knapping method specifically for producing high-quality flakes used as tools in prehistory.

Revision Table: Key Concepts on Levallois Technique

Concept Description
Levallois Technique A distinctive prehistoric stone knapping method for preparing a core to produce predetermined shape and size flakes.
Period Used Primarily Middle Palaeolithic.
Tool Type Produced Flake tools.
Significance Shows increased cognitive ability and planning in early humans.

Additional Information: Prehistoric Tool Technologies

The Levallois technique is part of a larger sequence of prehistoric stone tool technologies:

  • Oldowan: Simple core and flake tools (Lower Palaeolithic).
  • Acheulean: Handaxes and cleavers (Lower Palaeolithic).
  • Mousterian (often associated with Levallois): Varied flake tools, points, and scrapers (Middle Palaeolithic).
  • Upper Palaeolithic Technologies: Blade production, microliths, bone/antler tools.

Understanding these different technologies helps trace the development of human ingenuity and adaptation throughout prehistory.

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Similar Questions

  1. Consider the following statements about the Jorwe culture of the Deccan:

    1. It covers, practically, the whole of modern Maharashtra except the coastal Konkan district.

    2. The Pravara-Godavari valleys seem to have been the nuclear zone.

    3. The large sites of this culture yield evidence of shifting agriculture.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

  2. Which one of the following statements about the Harappan Culture is not correct?

  3. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists :

    noList-I (Harappan Site)NO List-II (Modem Name)
    ADholavira1Saurashtra
    BRakhigarhi2Hisar
    CBhirrana3Kadir Island
    DBhogavo4Haryana
  4. Who among the following archaeologists was the first to identify similarities between a pre-Harappan culture and the mature Harappan culture?

  5. Consider the following statements about Harappan cities:

    1. Roads were not always absolutely straight and did not always cross one another at right angles.

    2. A striking feature is a uniformity in the average size of the bricks for houses and for city walls.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
  6. Consider the following statements with reference to Paleolithic tools:

    1. Isampur was a well - known center of stone tool manufacture located in Gulbarga district of Karnataka and was situated along a small seasonal stream known as Kamta Halla.

    2. A Paleolithic blade is a flake tool, the length of which is more than twice its width.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  7. In the citadel and lower-town areas of which one of the following Harappan cities, have several large cisterns and reservoirs been found?

  8. Consider the following statements about the Stone Age in India:

    1. Different periods are identified on the basis of the type and technology of stone tools.

    2. There are no regional variations in the type and technology of tools in different periods.

    3. Stone Age cultures of different periods evolved uniformly in a near unilinear fashion all over the subcontinent.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  9. Name the site that gives us valuable information about India's maritime links on the Coromandel coast.

  10. The Harappan site at Kot Diji is close to which one of the following major sites of that civilization?


Important Questions from Prehistoric period

  1. An inscription comprising ten large sized signs of Harappan script was found at:

  2. Which of the followings was NOT a Harappan city?

  3. What is the first age in the prehistoric period called?

  4. Which of the following statements about the Indus Valley Civilization is NOT true?

  5. In which of the following Indus Valley Civilisation sites was the ‘Great Bath’ discovered?

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