recovered, but these same artifacts can
also be used as evidence for widely dif-
fering conclusions. The objects them-
selves are mute and can be interpreted
in many ways. Still, among these objects
are several artifacts that are intriguing.
Among the artifacts found at sites in
the Indus Valley civilization have been
ceramic female figures with grossly
exaggerated female characteristics—
breasts, buttocks, and genitalia. These
figures strongly resemble the Bronze
Age European image known as the
“Venus of Willendorf,” which has been
associated with the worshipof female
fertility and procreative power. Given
these similarities, it seems likely that a
similar cult existed in the Indus Valley
civilization. The statues give no indica-
tion of how widespread this cult was—
whether it was related to fertility cults in
other places or was simply a parallel
development. There is no proof that this
cult was the basis for the later Hindu
worship of the Goddessas the supreme
reality. Any such claims are making
broader inferences from this limited
material evidence—at best, such claims
are highly speculative; at worst, they
are irresponsible and driven by an
underlying agenda.
The other intriguing artifacts from
the Indus Valley civilization have come
from seals, of which several hundred
have been found. Many of the seals have
pictures of animalsor objects from
everyday life, but three of the seals from
Harappabear the image of a horned fig-
ure sitting cross-legged on a small plat-
form. Some viewers have described this
figure as a “Proto-Shiva,” since it has
several features associated with the
Hindu god Shiva—the sitting posture is
associated with the practice of yoga, and
the figure’s horns indicate his form as
Pashupati, the “Lord of Beasts.”
Proponents of this theory point to
the Indus Valley culture for the roots of
Shiva, rightly noting that although Shiva
becomes prominent in later Hinduism,
he is virtually absent from the Vedic
pantheon. Virtually the only place that
Shiva appears is in the Shvetashvatara
Upanishad, one of the latest of the mys-
tical texts known as the Upanishads,
which describes the god Rudra—later
identified with Shiva—as the supreme
power in the universe.
Although it is possible that the wor-
ship of Shiva lies in the Indus Valley cul-
ture, anyone not inclined to believe this
at the outset will be hard-pressed to find
this particular evidence persuasive.
There is also mysterious writing on the
seals, and if and when this writing is
deciphered these relationships may
become clearer. See also Ve d a.Indus Valley Seals
The most enigmatic objects from the
Indus Valley civilization are small
square or rectangular-shaped pieces of
soapstone, which are believed to have
been official seals for merchants and
other individuals. Archaeologists have
unearthed more than two thousand of
these seals, which generally combine a
pictorial image with an inscription.
Most of the seal images are common
domestic animals, particularly the bull,
but a few portray mythical beasts such
as a unicorn, or even more intriguing
human figures. One well-known exam-
ple of the latter shows a human figure—
perhaps a mythic hero—strangling a
tiger with each hand. Other figures
include a horned man, in one case
standing in front of a table and in another
sitting in a yoga-like position. He is
sometimes identified as an early form of
the god Shivaand cited as evidence that
this deity’scult came from the Indus
Valley cities.
Far less is known about the seal
inscriptions, since the writing system
for these inscriptions has never been
deciphered, although many different
theories have been advanced. One rea-
son for the disagreement is the divi-
sion of opinion regarding the Indus
Valley culture itself. Those who believe
that Indus Valley culture preceded the
arrival of the Aryans, and was distinct
from it, tend to look for evidence in
the Dravidianlanguage family, whichIndus Valley Seals