2023 · Q81
Which one among the following observations pertaining to the works of Nineteenth- Twentieth Century archaeologists is not correct?
Indian Culture and HeritageAncient art and architecture
- AAlexander Cunningham, the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, was of the view that the history of India began with the origins of the Indus Valley Civilization.
- BJohn Marshall generally adopted the method of excavation along regular horizontal units and ignored the stratigraphy of the site.
- CR. E. M. Wheeler first recognized the necessity to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig along horizontal lines.
- DAmalananda Ghosh was the first to identify similarities between pre- Harappan and mature-Harappan cultures.
Explanation
Alexander Cunningham dated the beginning of Indian history to the Buddha and Ashoka and dismissed earlier antiquity; he did not trace it to the Indus Valley Civilization, so statement A is not correct. Marshall's horizontal digging ignoring stratigraphy (B), Wheeler's insistence on stratigraphy (C), and Amalananda Ghosh's pre-Harappan/mature-Harappan link at Sothi (D) are all correctly described. Hence A.