The Unfinished Interpretation at Khetasar
At a hypothetical site called Khetasar in north Gujarat, a 2.4-hectare excavation has exposed three occupation phases. The finds include 412 steatite seals, 17 cubical chert weights of a standard series, six large granary-like structures, a drainage system, and workshops for bead and shell production. No structure has been identified as a temple or palace. Of 14 burials, 11 contain fewer than three grave goods; none has a seal or a weapon. A local newspaper reports that Khetasar 'proves both priest-kings and an egalitarian republic existed in the Harappan period.' The district heritage panel must review this claim before printing a brochure. The excavator's field notes are incomplete: only 40 per cent of the site has been dug, and the seals have not yet been read.
1. Which parts of the newspaper claim are supported by the evidence, and which are overreach?
Read the worked answer
The seals, standard weights, granaries, drains and craft workshops support a claim about organised storage, exchange and planned settlement. They do not support 'priest-kings'. Seals can mark merchants, officials, lineage groups or ritual specialists; without reading the seal legends and their find contexts, a single interpretation is speculative. The absence of a temple or palace is negative evidence: it may mean such buildings have not been excavated, not that authority was egalitarian. The burials show limited differentiation in a small sample of 14, which is interesting but too small to prove a republic. The newspaper has turned inferences into certainties and combined two contradictory claims. The panel should separate what was found, what it may mean, and what remains unknown.
2. What additional evidence would help decide whether authority at Khetasar was centralised or distributed among merchant and kin groups?
Read the worked answer
The panel should ask for evidence of how seals and weights were distributed across households and workshops, whether granaries were attached to particular compounds, and whether raw materials came from distant sources under a single authority. Standardisation of weights and seal motifs can indicate regulation, but regulation can be collective. Evidence of tribute or tax, public storage, monumental planning, and writing used in administration would point toward centralised authority. Conversely, variation in house size, scattered storage, and craft production controlled by kin groups would point toward distributed authority. The panel also needs more excavation, residue analysis of granaries, and comparison with better-documented Harappan sites. The seals must be read before they are used as evidence of 'priests' or 'kings'.
3. Draft a cautious two-sentence brochure statement that the panel could approve.
Read the worked answer
'Khetasar was a planned Harappan settlement with standardised weights, seals, granaries and craft workshops, indicating organised storage and exchange. Its political and ritual organisation remains uncertain because no temple or palace has been identified and only part of the site has been excavated.' This wording keeps the confirmed material within the evidence, avoids naming rulers or a republic, and makes the limitation part of the display rather than a footnote. It also gives visitors a reason to care about future excavation: the unanswered question is stated, not hidden.