The Indus culture had standardized ___________________________, though to reflect the importance of trade or redistribution.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The prompt asks about a specific aspect of the Indus culture and how its standardized elements reflected trade and redistribution.
Option 1: 'Buildings and city designs' — While the Indus cities are renowned for advanced urban planning, the question emphasizes standardized items that reflect trade or redistribution. Buildings and city designs are more about architecture and municipal organization rather than standard measures used in trade or redistribution, so this option misaligns with the focus on standardized quantities.
Option 2: 'Trade and commerce laws' — The Indus Civilization did have sophisticated trade networks, but the hallmark of standardization attributed to them is not primarily in codified laws of trade. There is limited evidence that such laws were standardized in the sense of weights and measures; this makes the option plausible in a broad sense but not the best-supported answer within the common scholarly framing of standardization in that culture.
Option 3: 'Weights and measures' — This is the core feature associated with the Indus civilization: standardized weights and measures used in trade, which reflect a structured approach to commerce and redistribution. This standardization would have facilitated exchange, ensured fairness, and supported trade networks across vast regions, making it the strongest match to the prompt.
Option 4: 'Pottery and agriculture' — Pottery styles and agricultural practices show regional variation and technological development, but they are not the standardization elements most closely linked to trade/redistribution systems. They reflect daily life and production rather than a standardized system for weighing goods and regulating exchange.
Option 5: 'Writing and container sizes' — Writing systems exist in the Indus script, but they are not as clearly tied to standardized trade units as weights and measures are. Container sizes could relate to trade, but the canonical standardization highlighted by researchers is the system of weights and measures that underpinned commercial transactions across sites.
Overall, the reasoning points toward weights and measures as the most fitting option because standardizing measurement units directly supports trade, redistribution, and equitable exchange across the Indus cities, whereas the other options either describe architectural, legal, or cultural aspects less central to standardization in the context of commerce.

ARCH100 OL01 Midterm Exam # 2 - March 17-23, 2025

The Indus culture had standardized ___________________________, though to reflect the importance of trade or redistribution.

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

A sunken rectangular bath or pool was found at ____________, but similar baths have not been found at contemporaneous cities in the Indus Valley.

By the beginning of the Early Harappan period, we see an increase in _____________________ throughout the Indus Valley.

At many Indus centres, we see structures thought to have functioned as ________________________, although their actual function is unclear.

The factory at Lothal seems to have specialized in the production of ________________.

In the Indus Valley, long-distance trade of Lapis is known from the Neolithic period at the site of _____________________.

Based on city size alone, it has been suggested that Harappan culture was ____________________.

A sunken rectangular bath or pool was found at ____________, but similar baths have not been found at contemporaneous cities in the Indus Valley.

The decline of Harappan (or Indus Valley) society has been argued to be the result of foreign invasion, based upon ________________________.

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler