Box 5.2 “A Most Curious Object”: Indus Valley Seals
Above are four of the more than 2,000 seals found in the Indus Valley. Most have
both script and animal depictions. The seals were used to make impressions in soft
clay that probably identified bales of trade goods belonging to certain merchants.
More than 400 distinct characters have been cataloged from the seals, too many for
an alphabetic or syllabic language, but not enough for a logographic one like Chi-
nese. They have never been deciphered and even the language is unknown.
Male figure in a yogic posture, surrounded
with animals, similar to images of the later
Hindu god Shiva. Also known as Pashupati
(Lord of the Beasts).
Human figure separating two tigers.Elephant with script. Bull (or unicorn?) near manger or sacrificial
post.