IVC: economy, trade, society & script
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UPSC frequently tests IVC economy through questions on trade routes, seals, weights & measures, and urban planning. Society questions focus on gender roles, occupations, and settlement hierarchy. Script remains a high-frequency recall question since Indus script remains undeciphered—examiners test whether candidates know this fact and can identify proto-Dravidian theories. Common mistake: confusing IVC weights/measures with later systems or assuming script was deciphered.
Indus seals: cubic weights, standardized measures, undeciphered script
Trade: Mesopotamia, Gulf, Oman Peninsula connections evidenced by finds
Urban planning: grid streets, drainage, citadel-lower town division
Society: no palaces/temples, craft specialization, probable matrilineal traces
Script: 5,000+ seals with pictographic signs, 400+ unique symbols