Which of the following animals was not known to the people of the Indus Valley Civilization?

Explanation

Among the given options, the people of the Indus Valley Civilization were familiar with the bull and the elephant, but scholars differ regarding the presence of the horse. It is difficult to determine with certainty whether the bones obtained from various Harappan sites belong to the wild ass/onager (*Equus hemionus khur*) or to the domesticated horse (*Equus caballus*). Evidence of the horse, or other animals of the same group, has been reported from Rangpur, Rana Ghundai, Lothal, Surkotada, Kuntasi and Kalibangan. A scholar reported that among the so-called horse remains found from Surkotada, six were genuine horse remains dating to around 2000 BCE, i.e., around the middle of the last part of the third millennium BCE. In 1974, J.P. Joshi and A.K. Sharma of the Archaeological Survey of India reported that horse bones were found at every level here between 2100–1700 BCE. However, Ramsharan Sharma, Romila Thapar, Mando, etc., do not accept this. Similarly, the teeth claimed to be of a horse by Brigadier E.J. Ross from the Early Harappan site of Rana Ghundai are considered inauthentic by Zauner. Therefore, regarding the horse, it would be appropriate to say that its presence in the Harappan Civilization cannot be completely denied, though its use must have been extremely limited. The Bihar Public Service Commission accepted option (b) as the answer.