The 'Dancing girl' found at Mohenjodaro is made of :

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:
The iconic 'Dancing Girl' statuette, excavated from Mohenjo-daro, is a masterpiece of the Indus Valley Civilization's advanced metallurgy and sculpture. Its material is **Bronze**, an alloy fundamentally composed of copper and tin. The successful creation and widespread use of this alloy places the civilization squarely within the Bronze Age, which is its defining chronological period (c. 2600–1900 B.C.E.). The Harappan artisans demonstrated their sophisticated technological knowledge by using the intricate **lost-wax casting technique** (cire perdue) to create this detailed, durable, and free-standing figure.

The incorrect option is 2:
The option **Iron** is factually incorrect as the Iron Age in the Indian subcontinent and globally began significantly later than the flourishing period of the Indus Valley Civilization. The period of the 'Dancing Girl' is the Bronze Age, a time before the widespread discovery and mastery of iron smelting technology. While the Harappan people were masters of bronze metallurgy, they did not commonly use iron for monumental or significant artifacts.

The incorrect option is 3:
**Zinc** is incorrect as it is primarily known as the alloying element used with copper to create **Brass**. Though some traces of zinc may be found in ancient bronze compositions, it is not the primary constituent nor the final alloy of the artifact. Zinc was not the defining metal used for major works of art during the Harappan period.

The incorrect option is 4:
While **Tin** is a critical component used to create the bronze alloy, it is not the final material itself. The finished sculpture is made of the alloy, **Bronze**, which combines copper and tin for superior strength, hardness, and casting properties compared to using either pure metal alone. Casting a sculpture of this historical significance from pure tin would have resulted in a much less durable and less aesthetically robust object.