BANC 103 key facts: June 2026
- Course code: BANC 103
- Subject: Archaeological Anthropology
- Programme: IGNOU B.Sc. (Honours) Anthropology (BSCANH), Semester II; also studied in BSCFAN
- Credits: 6 (three tutor-marked assignments)
- Blocks and units: 3 blocks, 10 units
- Exam session: June 2026 term-end examination; printed code B-2467
- Maximum marks: 100 (term-end exam carries 70 per cent weightage)
- Duration: 3 hours
- Questions in the paper: 9 (attempt 5: two each from Sections A and B, plus compulsory Q9)
- Word limits: 400 words per 20-mark answer, 200 words per 10-mark note
- Solved samples on this page: 2 (Q1 and Q2); all 9 in the paid file
BANC 103 Solved Question Paper for the June 2026 term-end exam is ready, with every question of the official IGNOU paper answered by our subject team. Two full answers are open below so you can judge the quality first; the complete file with all 9 questions is on WhatsApp 9899436384.
1. What the June 2026 Solved Paper Includes
BANC 103 Archaeological Anthropology is a six-credit core course of the IGNOU B.Sc. (Honours) Anthropology (BSCANH) programme that teaches how prehistoric cultures are found, dated and interpreted from their material remains.
The June 2026 paper runs to 7 printed pages in English and Hindi and sets 9 numbered questions for a 3-hour, 100-mark exam. This session leaned on field methods and Indian sites: excavation, archaeological sites, relative dating, Lower Palaeolithic techniques and the Acheulian site of Isampur.
Our file answers all 9 questions in exam-ready length, including each option of the short-note questions Q4 and Q8, so you can pick your five with confidence. Diagram-based questions carry labelled sketches because BANC 103 examiners mark drawings separately from text.
2. Two Answers Solved in Full, Seven Held Back
Below are Q1 and Q2 of the June 2026 BANC 103 paper, each answered in full within the 400-word limit; the other 7 questions are listed after them and answered only in the full file.
Both questions come from Section A and deal with the foundations of the subject, so they are also the two most useful to read before the rest of the course.
Definition, origin and development of archaeological anthropology
Question 1: Define Archaeological Anthropology. Elucidate its origin and development. (20)
Definition. Archaeological anthropology is the branch of anthropology that reconstructs past human ways of life from the material remains people left behind: stone tools, pottery, bones, plant remains, hearths, burials and settlement debris. Where there is no writing, these remains are the only evidence we have.
The IGNOU course material links the subject closely with prehistory, which stretches back roughly 3 million years, followed by protohistory, the stage of cultures such as the Harappan civilisation whose script is still undeciphered. Its aim is to find out when people lived at a place, how they made a living and how their culture changed over time.
Origin
- Geological foundation. For centuries stone tools were taken for natural "thunderstones". James Hutton (1785) and Charles Lyell, in Principles of Geology (1830 to 1833), argued that the earth was shaped slowly by processes still at work today. This made a very long human past thinkable.
- Three Age System. Christian Jürgensen Thomsen arranged the Danish national collection in Copenhagen into Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages and published the scheme in 1836. It was the first chronological framework for prehistory.
- Proof of human antiquity. Jacques Boucher de Perthes found handaxes with bones of extinct animals in the Somme gravels at Abbeville, France. In 1859 Joseph Prestwich and John Evans confirmed his claims, the same year Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
- Naming the periods. In Pre-historic Times (1865) John Lubbock split the Stone Age into the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. Gabriel de Mortillet later subdivided the Palaeolithic using French type sites.
Development
Scientific phase. In the 20th century excavation became systematic. Mortimer Wheeler's box-grid method recorded layers precisely, and Willard Libby's radiocarbon method of the late 1940s gave the first absolute dates. From the 1960s Lewis Binford's New Archaeology asked the discipline to explain cultural change, not just describe it.
India. Indian prehistory began in 1863, when Robert Bruce Foote found a handaxe at Pallavaram near Madras; he is called the father of Indian prehistory. The Archaeological Survey of India had been set up in 1861 under Alexander Cunningham, and digs at Harappa (1921) and Mohenjo-daro (1922) revealed the Indus civilisation.
The Yale-Cambridge expedition of de Terra and Paterson (1935) studied the Soan valley, H.D. Sankalia built a strong school of prehistory at Deccan College, Pune, and Wheeler, as Director General of the ASI from 1944, trained a generation of Indian excavators.
Conclusion. From curiosity about odd stones, archaeological anthropology has grown into a scientific discipline that uses geology, biology and dating science to rebuild the human story from the first tools to the first cities.
Excavation and two methods, with diagrams
Question 2: What is excavation in archaeology? Describe any two methods of excavation with suitable diagrams. (20)
Excavation is the systematic digging of an archaeological site to recover artefacts, ecofacts and features in their exact context: their layer, position and association with other finds. Exploration locates a site on the surface; excavation reveals what lies buried. Because digging destroys the deposit as it proceeds, every step is recorded with measured drawings, photographs, a site grid and a finds register.
Its aims are to work out the sequence of cultures at a site (its stratigraphy), to collect datable samples, and to expose floors, hearths, pits or burials that show how people lived. Excavation methods are broadly vertical or horizontal, described below.
1. Vertical excavation (trench and step-trench method)
Vertical excavation cuts a narrow, deep trench through the deposit down to natural soil. Its purpose is to establish the cultural sequence quickly and at low cost. On a tall mound a step trench is used: the trench descends the slope in a series of steps, so the sides stay stable and every layer from top to bottom appears in one continuous section.
Layers are removed one at a time and each find is labelled with its layer number. A small trial pit of this kind, a sondage, is often dug first to test a site. The weakness is that a trench shows only a slice of the settlement: it gives time depth but says little about house plans or village layout.
The full file carries a labelled section drawing of a step trench cut into a mound, showing the layers and each step down to sterile soil.
2. Horizontal excavation (box-grid method)
Horizontal excavation opens a wide area layer by layer to expose a complete occupation level, such as houses, workshops, streets or a cemetery. In the box-grid method popularised by Mortimer Wheeler, the site is divided into squares, commonly 5 m by 5 m, separated by unexcavated baulks about 1 m wide, all measured from a fixed datum point.
The baulks keep a vertical section on all four sides of every square, so layers can be traced across the site while each square is cleared horizontally. Once plans are recorded, baulks can be removed to leave an open area. The method is slow and costly but gives the clearest picture of a settlement at one moment in time.
The full file carries a labelled plan drawing of a box-grid layout with squares A1 to C3, the baulks between them, the datum point and a north arrow.
Conclusion. Vertical excavation answers how old and in what order; horizontal excavation answers how people lived. Most modern projects combine them: a trench first to read the sequence, then a horizontal opening of the level that matters most.
3. Questions Answered Only in the Full File
The remaining seven questions of the June 2026 paper are printed below exactly as they appear. Their answers, with every diagram, are in the full file only.
Question 3: What is an archaeological site? Describe various archaeological sites. (20)
Question 4: Write short notes on any two of the following. (10 + 10)
(a) Botanical remains
(b) Stone tools of Neolithic culture
(c) Relationship of Archaeological Anthropology with History and Geology
Question 5: Briefly discuss the various methods of relative dating. (20)
Question 6: Briefly describe the stone tool techniques of Lower Palaeolithic culture with suitable diagrams. (20)
Question 7: Give an account of the archaeological site Isampur. (20)
Question 8: Write short notes on any two of the following. (10 + 10)
(a) Indus Valley civilization
(b) Attirampakkam
(c) Mesolithic culture
Question 9 (compulsory): (10 + 10)
(a) Describe the handaxe with a suitable diagram.
(b) Describe blade tool types with suitable diagrams.
These 7 questions carry the tougher parts of the paper: the Isampur site account, the relative dating methods, the Lower Palaeolithic technique drawings and the compulsory handaxe and blade sketches in Q9.
4. Blocks and Units
BANC 103 has 3 blocks and 10 units on eGyanKosh, and every question of the June 2026 paper can be traced to one of them.
| Block | Unit | Key topics |
|---|---|---|
| Block 1: Introduction to Archaeological Anthropology | Unit 1: Origin and Scope of Archaeological Anthropology | Definition and aim of the discipline; history of its growth; scope of prehistory and protohistory |
| Block 1: Introduction to Archaeological Anthropology | Unit 2: Relationship of Archaeological Anthropology with other Disciplines | Links with biological and social anthropology; ties to history and geology; help from physical and earth sciences |
| Block 1: Introduction to Archaeological Anthropology | Unit 3: Methods of Studying Archaeological Anthropology | Exploration of sites; excavation methods; kinds of archaeological sites |
| Block 2: Dating, Climate and Geological Time | Unit 4: Dating Methods | Stratigraphy and fluorine test; dendrochronology; radiocarbon, potassium-argon and thermoluminescence dating |
| Block 2: Dating, Climate and Geological Time | Unit 5: Methods of Climatic Reconstruction | Pluvial and interpluvial phases; botanical and micro-botanical evidence of past climate |
| Block 2: Dating, Climate and Geological Time | Unit 6: Cenozoic Era with Special Reference to Quaternary Period | Epochs of the Cenozoic era; Pleistocene ice ages; the Quaternary and human evolution |
| Block 3: Understanding Prehistoric Cultures | Unit 7: Prehistoric Technology | Direct and indirect percussion; blade production; grinding and polishing of Neolithic celts |
| Block 3: Understanding Prehistoric Cultures | Unit 8: Prehistoric Typology | Pebble tools, choppers and chopping tools; handaxes and cleavers; blades and microliths |
| Block 3: Understanding Prehistoric Cultures | Unit 9: Cultural Chronology | Palaeolithic to Mesolithic and Neolithic phases; Megalithic and Chalcolithic cultures |
| Block 3: Understanding Prehistoric Cultures | Unit 10: Earliest Evidence of Culture in the World | Olduvai Gorge in East Africa; early Acheulian sites in India such as Attirampakkam and Isampur |
Unit titles follow the official eGyanKosh course page for BANC 103. Topic lists draw on the block introductions and on what IGNOU has actually asked from each unit since December 2020.
If you are still reading the course for the first time, our BANC 103 Study Material follows the same unit order, so you can move from a unit straight to its solved questions.
5. Paper Pattern, Choice and Marks
The June 2026 BANC 103 paper has 9 questions in three sections, and you answer 5 of them for 100 marks in 3 hours.
| Section | Questions printed | To attempt | Marks per question | Section marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section A | Q1 to Q4 (Q4 has three short-note options) | Any 2 | 20 each (Q4 is 10 + 10) | 40 |
| Section B | Q5 to Q8 (Q8 has three short-note options) | Any 2 | 20 each (Q8 is 10 + 10) | 40 |
| Section C | Q9(a) handaxe, Q9(b) blade tool types | Both parts, compulsory | 10 + 10 | 20 |
| Total | 9 numbered questions | 5 questions | 400 words per 20 marks, 200 per 10 marks | 100 |
The paper keeps two short-note questions, one in each of Sections A and B, where you pick any two of three topics. These are the safest scoring options because a 200-word note is easier to complete than a full essay.
The three-section layout with a compulsory Q9 has been used in every paper since December 2020, which is why older papers are such good practice. You can compare sessions in our IGNOU Previous Year Question Paper collection.
6. Topics IGNOU Keeps Repeating in BANC 103
Megalithic culture (7 of 9 papers) and Attirampakkam (6 of 9) are the most repeated BANC 103 topics in the official papers from December 2020 to December 2025.
| Topic | Sessions asked | Times (of 9) | In June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Megalithic culture (mostly South India) | Dec 2020, Dec 2022, Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 7 | — |
| Attirampakkam site | Dec 2022, Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2024, Dec 2025 | 6 | Yes, Q8(b) |
| Excavation and its methods | Dec 2020, Jun 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 5 | Yes, Q2 (Sample 2) |
| Exploration and its methods | Dec 2021, Dec 2022, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2025 | 5 | — |
| Relationship with other disciplines | Dec 2020, Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2025 | 5 | Yes, Q4(c) |
| Origin and development of the discipline | Dec 2020, Dec 2022, Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 5 | Yes, Q1 (Sample 1) |
| Blade tools and their types | Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 5 | Yes, Q9(b) |
| Relative dating methods | Dec 2020, Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Dec 2024 | 4 | Yes, Q5 |
| Absolute dating methods | Dec 2021, Dec 2022, Jun 2024, Dec 2025 | 4 | — |
| Lower Palaeolithic tools and techniques | Dec 2020, Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Dec 2023 | 4 | Yes, Q6 |
| Handaxe and its types | Dec 2021, Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 4 | Yes, Q9(a) |
| Neolithic tools and techniques | Dec 2020, Dec 2022, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 4 | Yes, Q4(b) |
| Mesolithic culture | Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Jun 2024, Jun 2025 | 4 | Yes, Q8(c) |
| Olduvai Gorge | Dec 2021, Dec 2022, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 4 | — |
| Archaeological site (definition and types) | Dec 2022, Jun 2024, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 4 | Yes, Q3 |
| Indus Valley civilisation | Dec 2020, Dec 2024, Dec 2025 | 3 | Yes, Q8(a) |
| Isampur site | Dec 2020, Jun 2023 | 2 | Yes, Q7 |
| Botanical or micro-botanical remains | Dec 2020, Dec 2025 | 2 | Yes, Q4(a) |
Papers used: December 2020, December 2021, December 2022, June 2023, December 2023, June 2024, December 2024, June 2025 and December 2025, all from IGNOU's official websites. The June 2021 and June 2022 papers were not available there, so they are not counted.
Two patterns stand out. A dating question appears as a main 20-mark question in eight of the nine papers, and every Section C since December 2020 has included a stone tool question on types or making techniques. Megalithic culture, asked seven times, was skipped in June 2026, so expect it back.
Planning for the next exam rather than revising this one? Our IGNOU Solved Guess Paper ranks these topics for the coming session.
7. How Our Answers Are Written and Checked
Every BANC 103 answer is prepared by our subject experts and reviewed before it goes into the file.
We start from the printed question and its word limit, then map it to the eGyanKosh unit it comes from. Each 20-mark answer opens with a definition, moves through headed points and ends with a short conclusion, the shape IGNOU evaluators reward in this course.
Facts that examiners check closely, such as Foote's Pallavaram find of 1863, Thomsen's Three Age System or the location of Isampur in Karnataka, are cross-checked with the course blocks. Diagrams are drawn simply, with clear labels, so you can copy them in under five minutes in the exam.
Finally, every answer is compared with the nine earlier papers listed above. Where a topic keeps returning, like Attirampakkam, the answer gets extra depth because it is likely to be useful again.
8. Solved File Index, Question by Question
The solved file covers all 9 BANC 103 questions: 2 are answered on this page and 7 are available only in the full file.
| Question | Topic | Marks | Course unit | Where to read it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Definition, origin and development of Archaeological Anthropology | 20 | Unit 1 | Sample 1 above |
| Q2 | Excavation and two methods, with diagrams | 20 | Unit 3 | Sample 2 above |
| Q3 | Archaeological site and its kinds | 20 | Unit 3 | Full file |
| Q4 | Short notes: botanical remains, Neolithic stone tools, links with History and Geology | 10 + 10 | Units 2, 5 and 9 | Full file |
| Q5 | Methods of relative dating | 20 | Unit 4 | Full file |
| Q6 | Lower Palaeolithic stone tool techniques, with diagrams | 20 | Unit 7 | Full file |
| Q7 | The site of Isampur | 20 | Unit 10 | Full file |
| Q8 | Short notes: Indus Valley civilisation, Attirampakkam, Mesolithic culture | 10 + 10 | Units 9 and 10 | Full file |
| Q9 | Handaxe and blade tool types, with diagrams (compulsory) | 10 + 10 | Unit 8 | Full file |
BANC 103 Archaeological Anthropology is theory-led, but Section C behaves like a practical: it asks you to draw tool types. That is why Q9 gets its own labelled handaxe and blade drawings in the file.
Studying other BSCANH courses too? The BSCANH Question Paper section groups every anthropology paper of this programme in one place.
9. Programmes That Study BANC 103
BANC 103 Archaeological Anthropology is a Semester II core course of the IGNOU B.Sc. (Honours) Anthropology and is also studied by BSCFAN learners.
In the IGNOU Bachelor of Science (Honours) Anthropology (BSCANH) it is the course that turns anthropology towards the prehistoric past, working from stone tools, sites and dating rather than living communities. It carries 6 credits, three tutor-marked assignments and a 70:30 split between the term-end exam and assignments.
Learners of the Bachelor of Science (Anthropology), BSCFAN, sit the same BANC 103 paper, so this solved file works for both programmes without changes.
10. How to Get the Full Solved Question Paper
Send a WhatsApp message to 9899436384 with "BANC 103 June 2026" and we will share the complete solved file with all 9 answers.
The file includes the 2 answers you have read here plus the 7 that are not shown: Q3 to Q9, with every option of the short-note questions and every diagram. Our team replies with the price and delivery details.
With the full file in hand, you can revise the whole paper in one sitting and still have time to practise the Section C drawings.
11. BANC 103 Archaeological Anthropology FAQs
Quick answers to what BANC 103 students ask us most often.
Is this solved paper based on the official June 2026 IGNOU paper?
Yes. It is built on the official IGNOU June 2026 term-end paper for BANC 103 Archaeological Anthropology, printed with the paper code B-2467. Every question keeps its original number and wording, from Q1 on the origin of the discipline to Q9 on handaxe and blade tools. Our subject experts then wrote full answers within the 400-word and 200-word limits printed on the paper.
How do I get the full solved file on WhatsApp?
Send a WhatsApp message to 9899436384 with the code BANC 103 and the words June 2026. Our team replies with the price and the delivery format. The full file answers all 9 questions in the paper, including every sub-part of Q4, Q8 and Q9. Two of those answers are already on this page, so the file adds the remaining 7 questions in full.
Which BANC 103 questions are compulsory in the June 2026 paper?
Only Q9 in Section C is compulsory. It has two 10-mark parts: (a) the handaxe with a suitable diagram and (b) blade tool types with suitable diagrams. From Section A and Section B you choose any two questions each, so a complete attempt is five questions worth 100 marks. Since everyone writes Q9, drawing neat, labelled tool sketches is well worth practising.
Which BANC 103 topics repeat most often?
Across the nine official BANC 103 papers we checked, from December 2020 to December 2025, Megalithic culture appeared seven times and Attirampakkam six times. Excavation, exploration, blade tools and the link between Archaeological Anthropology and other disciplines came up five times each. A relative or absolute dating question was set as a main 20-mark question in eight of those nine papers.
How long should a BANC 103 answer be for 20 and 10 marks?
The June 2026 BANC 103 paper sets a limit of 400 words for a 20-mark question and 200 words for a 10-mark question. Our answers stay close to these limits, so you can reproduce them in the exam hall within three hours. Questions that ask for suitable diagrams, like Q2 on excavation, also get labelled sketches, which examiners expect in Archaeological Anthropology.
Which programmes include BANC 103?
BANC 103 is a core course in the IGNOU Bachelor of Science (Honours) Anthropology (BSCANH), listed under Semester II on eGyanKosh. Learners of the Bachelor of Science (Anthropology), BSCFAN, also study it. It is a six-credit course with three tutor-marked assignments, and assignments count for 30 per cent of the final result while the term-end exam counts for 70 per cent.
Can I use the solved file for the December 2026 exam?
Yes, it is very useful for December 2026 preparation. BANC 103 repeats themes heavily: excavation, dating methods, Lower Palaeolithic tools, Attirampakkam and handaxe or blade drawings return session after session. The June 2026 answers cover most of these, and the repeat table on this page shows which topics this paper skipped, such as Megalithic culture, so you can prepare those separately.
Who writes and checks the BANC 103 answers?
The answers are written by our subject team led by Prateek Talwar and reviewed by Sheetal Kirola before release. Each answer is matched to the right eGyanKosh unit of BANC 103, checked against the printed word limit and compared with earlier official papers so repeat themes get extra depth. Names of sites, discoverers and dates are cross-checked with the IGNOU course material.
12. Who Wrote and Checked the BANC 103 Answers
The BANC 103 answers were written by Prateek Talwar and the Unnati Educations subject team, and reviewed by Sheetal Kirola.
Prateek Talwar prepares IGNOU solved papers from the course blocks and the official term-end paper. Sheetal Kirola, Academic Head (M.Ed.), cross-checks every site name, discoverer and date against the course material and confirms that each answer stays within its printed word limit.