Q. Which of the following statements with regard to the Iron Age in India is/are correct?
1.The introduction of iron axes and ploughshares facilitated large-scale forest clearance and dense agricultural settlements in the Ganga plains.
2.Painted Grey Ware pottery is closely associated with the early Iron Age settlements of Northern India.
3.Recent AMS radiocarbon dating from sites like Sivagalai and Mayiladumparai in Tamil Nadu pushes iron technology in India back into the 2nd and 3rd millennia BCE.
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer: D
Notes:
Detailed Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct: Tougher iron tools allowed clearing of heavy monsoon forests in the middle Ganga valley, leading to agricultural expansion, surplus generation, and eventual urbanization (Mahajanapadas).
- Statement 2 is correct: Painted Grey Ware (PGW) is the distinctive ceramic culture of the early Iron Age in Northern India (e.g., Hastinapur, Ahichchhatra).
- Statement 3 is correct: Scientific dating (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) of charcoal associated with iron artifacts at Mayiladumparai and Sivagalai window in Tamil Nadu demonstrates that iron smelting in India originated much earlier than previously assumed.
