Epigraphica Sarasvati (Corpus of Indus Script Inscriptions) Site names (where epigraphs were found) and abbreviations used: Major sites M Mohenjodaro H Harappa L Lothal K Kalibangan C Chanhujo-daro B Banawali Rhd Rahman-dheri Pk Pirak
Jk Jhukar Krs Khirsara (Khera-shara, Netra) Lh Lohumjodaro Msk Maski Mehi Mehi Pbm Pabumath Pbs Prabhas Patan Minor sites (Somnath) Agr Alamgirpur Rgr Rakhigarhi Amri Amri Rgp Rangpur Ch Chandigarh Rhr Rohirah Dmd Daimabad Rjd Rojdi Dlp Desalpur Rpr Rupar (Ropar) Dlv Dholavira Sht Shahi-tump (Kotadi, Kotda-Timba) Sktd Surkotada Hls Hulas Tkwd Tarkhanewala-dera
Ad Allahdino (Nel Bazaar) Ai Amri Blk Bala-kot Grb Gharo Bhiro (Nuhato) G Gumla Hd Hissamdheri Kl Kalako-deray Kd Kotdiji Lwn Lewan-dheri (Dar Dariz) L III Loenbar III Mr Mehrgarh Nwd Naru-Warodaro Ns Nausharo Nd Nindo-waridamb
Pg Periano-ghundai Skh Sarai Khola Sb Sibri-damb Trq Tarakai Qila Ukn ProvenanceUnknown West Asian sites Djoka (Umma) Kish Susa Telloh Ur Ukn (Prob. from W. Asia)
1
Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)04 Alamgirpur Late Harappan pottery, a three-legged chakala_(After YD Sharma)
Amri06
Banawali1 Amri07
Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)05
Ba lakot01
Alamgirpur Agr-1 a(2) graffiti 9062
Banawali10 9204
Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)06 B Balakot 02 Balakot 03
9063 Alamgirpur: Late Harappan pottery (After YD Sharma) Alamgirpur2
anawali11
Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)07 Ba nawali12 Balakot 04
Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)08
Ba
All Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)01
ahdino (Nel Bazaar)09
nawali13a Balakot 05 Banawali14 Ba
Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)11 Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)02
lakot 06 bangle Banawali15
9061 Amri 9084
Balakot 06bangle 9203 Banawali16
Amri Allahdino (Nel Bazaar)03
9085
Balakot 06C Banawali 17 9201
2
Chanhudaro10 6129 Banawali 8 Banawali 26A Banawali 18a
Banawali 9C
Chanhudaro 11 6220
Banawali19
Banawali0026a
Banawali2
Banawali 28A 9221
Banawali 20
Banawali 3
Ba nawali 21a
Bet Dwaraka 1 S’ankha seal. One-horned bull, shorthorned bull looking down and an antelope looking backward.
Chanhudaro12 a 6231
Chanhudaro13 6221
Banawali 30 Chanhudaro14a
9205 Banawali 4
Ch andigarh01
610 8
9101
Banawali 23A Banawali 5 9203
Chandigarh02
Chanhudaro15a 6213
9102 Chandigarh
Banawali 23B Banawali 6
9103 Chandigarh
Banawali 24t
Chanhudaro16a 622 2
9104
9211 Banawali 7
3
Chanhudaro17a
Chanhudaro21a 6209
6122
Chanhudaro29 Chanhudaro22a
Chanhudaro18a 62 16
6403
6115
Chanhudaro23
Chanhudaro3 6230
sometimes with a fish held in its jaw and/or surrounded by a school of fish. 6303 6304 6301 6305
Chanhudaro1a
6109 6125
Chanhudaro2 6128
Chanhudaro20 6210
Chanhudaro Seal obverse and reverse. The oval sign of this Jhukar culture seal is comparable to other inscriptions. Fig. 1 and 1a of Plate L. After Mackay, 1943.
6402 Goatantelope with a short tail. The object in front of the goat-antelope is a doubleaxe. Chanhudaro24a
Chanhudaro30 6111
6112 6113 Pict-98
Chanhudaro32a 6123
611 6 Chanhudaro33a 6104 Chanhudaro25
Chanhudaro26 6405
Chanhudaro27
Chanhudaro. Tablet. Obverse and reverse. Alligator and Fish. Fig. 33 and 33a. of Plate LII. After Mackay, 1943. 62
Chanhudaro28
33 Pict-67: Gharial,
It is seen from an enlargement of the bottom portion of the seal impression that the ‘prostrate person’ may not be a person but a ligature of the neck of an antelope with rings on its necks or of a post with ringstones. The head of the ‘person’ is not
4
shown. So, I would surmise that this is an artist's representatio n of an act of copulation (by an animal) + a ligatured neck of another bovine or alternatively, a pillar with ring-stones ligatured to the bottom portion of a body (perhaps of a cow, why not?). It is not uncommon in the artistic tradition to ligature bodies to the rump of, for example, a bull's posterior ligatured to a horned woman (Pict. 103 Mahadevan) or standing person with horns and bovine features (hoofed legs and/or tail) -Pict. 86-88 Mahadevan. Bison (gaur) trampling a prostrate person (?)
underneath. Impression of a seal from Chanhujodaro (Mackay 1943: pl. 51: 13). The prostrate ‘person’ is seen to have a very long neck, possibly with neckrings, reminiscent of the rings depicted on the neck of the onehorned bull normally depicted in front of a standard device. 6114 Pict-108
Person kneeling under a tree facing a tiger. [Chanhudaro Excavations, Pl. LI, 18] 6118
so-called Jhukar culture seal are comparable to other inscriptions. Fig. 3 and 3a of Plate L. After Mackay, 1943. 6120 40
6203
6204 6208 6211 6214
Pict6215 6217
Ox-antelope with a long tail; a trough in front. 6121
6218 6219 6223 6224 6225
Chanhudaro. Seal impression. Fig. 35 of Plate LII. After Mackay, 1943.
6226 6228 6 229 6232
6124 6126 6130 6131
Chanhudaro Seal obverse and reverse. The ‘watercarrier’ and X signs of this
6202
6133
Chanhudaro. Tablet. Fig. 34 of Plate LII. After Mackay, 1943. 6234
6201
5
Chanhudaro. Seal impression. Fig. 35 of Plate LII. After Mackay, 1943.
Chanhudaro40A 6227 6306
Chanhudaro49 A Chanhudaro 9
6235 Chanhudaro40B
Chanhudaro38
Chanhudaro49 B
6127
Daimabad1
Chanhudaro41a Chanhudaro 5
Sign342
6132 Chanhudaro42 Daimabad 2a A Chanhujodaro 39A1
Chanhudaro50 A Chanhudaro43 Daimabad 3A
Chanhudaro46a
Chanhudaro50 B Daimabad 3B Da
Chanhudaro 6 Chanhudaro 39A2
imabad 4
Chanhudaro46b 6205
Da imabad 5A
Chanhudaro47 Chanhudaro4
Chanhudaro 7 Daimabad 5B
6206
6207 Chanhudaro 48
D esalpur1a 9071 Chanhudaro 8
6
De
9073
salpur2 D esalpur3
Dholavira Sign-board mounted on a gateway.
Dholavira (Kotda) on Kadir island, Kutch, Gujarat; 10 signs inscription found near the western chamber of the northern gate of the citadel high mound (Bisht, 1991: 81, Pl. IX).
Dholavira: Seals (Courtesy ASI)
7
4038
h004
h021
D
4693
holavira1a
h012
4022
4005 9121 h005 4004 Dholavira 2a
h022 h013 4023 5055
h006a
Gharo Bhiro (Nuhato) 01
h014 4006 4106
h023 4047
Gu mla10a
h024
h007 4008
h015 4053
Gumla8a
4013
h008 h001a
4001
h025
h017 4052
4081
4010 h018 h009 4009
4071
h026
h002 h019
4012
4016
4694 h010a h027
4003 h003
h020
4002 h011a
4017
4019
8
h028 4040
4030
h038 h029 4042
h055 4029
h048
4091
4107
h039 h049 4133
h030
h056 4110
h040
4049 4072
h050
h031 h041 4178
4103
h057 4086
4131
h042 h032
h058
4018 4057
4105
h051 4090 h043 4077
h033 5059
h059 5120
h052 h044 h035 5083
4109
4028 h060 h045 4043
h053 5089
h036 4113
5119 h046 4076 h037 4031
h054 4085
h061 4118
h047
9
h062
h070 4122
h077 h0
4128
86 4233 h078 4244
h063
h071
4142
5054
h087 4240 h079 h
5060
h064 4
072 120
h0 h080 4245
88 4253
h073
h065
4617 [An orthographic representatio n of a watercarrier].
4094
h0 89
h081 5063
h066 4130
h082a Text 4238
h074 4135 h067
090 227
4115 h0 h
h075 4161
83
4236
h0 91
068 4230
4141
h084 h076
h069
4146
4241
h085 4232
h 092
10
4229
h 093a 4231
4256 Pict-122 Standard device which is normally in front of a onehorned bull.
h 1011cone 5103 h102B h102D h1012cone
h0
h 094
99 4223
4246
5056 h1017ivorystick h 4561
103
h
h095
4254
100 4258 Onehorned bull. h
h104
096 h1002 4249 h 097 Pict-95: Seven robed figures (with pigtails, twigs)
h 1007
h 1018copperob ject Head of one-horned bull ligatured with a fourpointed starfish (Gangetic octopus?)
h 105
h1 h
4251 101 5069
h1 02A
06 h107
h1 h
010bangle
098
11
h108
h109
h118 h119
h110
h120 h121
h111
h122
h112
h123 h113 h124
h114
h125
h126 h115 h127
h116 h117
12
h130 h131
5096 4271
13
h139
h1 49
4267
h128 h129A 4268
h129E
h150 h1
4269 h1 32
h159 4633
4275
h140
h 160A
4283
41 h1
4274
5052
h1 h
133
51 5057
h160C
4276
42 h152
4272
h
4261
161
5016 h
4262
143a h134 h153
5101 4264
4627 h
162
h144
135
h h1
4280
54
4270
4294
4282 h145 h
136
h1 63
5067
h155 4630
4288 h h
h h156
146
137a
4628
5051
5058
h147
h157 4284
4629
164 5046
h165 h148
h138a 5072
4285
h158 4297
14
h1 74A
h170B h166A
h174B
4701
4338 h166B
h1
h1
71A
h171B tablet h167A
4312 Buffalo. 75A h175B Pict-
h167A2 5225
h172A
h172B
87
5305 Pict-66: Gharial, sometimes with a fish held in its jaw and/or surrounded by a school of fish.
4319 Standing person with horns and bovine features (hoofed legs and/or tail).
h1 68
h1 69A
h1 73A h169B 5298
h170A
4333
h177A
h177B h176A h176B h
h173B
standing at the centrebetwee n a two-tiered structure at R., and a shorthorned bull (bison) standing near a tridentheaded post at L. h176b From R.—a tiger (?); a seated, pigtailed person on a platform; flanked on either side by a person seated on a tree with a tiger, below, looking back. A hare (or goat?) is seen near the platform.
176bb 4303 Tablet in basrelief h176a Person
4316 Pict-115: From R.—a person standing under an ornamental arch; a kneeling adorant; a ram
15
with long curving horns. h
two stars on either side, at the bottom of the arch. h1
178A
h185B
80A h181B 5279
h
h180B 182A
h178B 4318 Pict-84: Person wearing a diadem or tall head-dress (with twig?) standing within an arch or two pillars? h1
79A
h
179B 4307 Pict-83: Person wearing a diadem or tall head-dress standing within an ornamented arch; there are
4304 Tablet in bas-relief h180a Pict106: Nude female figure upside down with thighs drawn apart and crab (?) issuing from her womb; two tigers standing face to face rearing on their hindlegs at L. h180b Pict-92: Man armed with a sickle-shaped weapon on his right hand and a cakra (?) on his left hand, facing a seated woman with disheveled hair and upraised arms.
h1
h182B 4306Tablet in bas-relief h182a Pict107: Drummer and a tiger. h182b Five svastika signs alternating rig ht- and lefthanded.
86A
h1
86B 4329 h187A
h183A h187B
5282 Pict-75: Tree, generally within a railing or on a platform.
h183B 4327 h 184A
h 188A
h184B h188B h185A
h
4325
181A
16
h1
h200A 5340
4309 Tablet in basrelief h196b
h200B 4321
h193A h2 89A 189B
h h193B 5332
4341 Pict-126: Anchor?
h1
Pict91: Person carrying the standard. h196a The standard.
01A
h201B 5289
h197A
h1
h202A h197B
94A h194B
90A h190B
h202B
5333 4323
5334
h1 h195A
h 203A
h 191A
5226 h195B
98A h198B 5331
5236
h191B
h204A h1
4332
99A h204B
h196A h1 h199B
h196B
5252
5211
h205A h205B
92A h192B
17
h
5254
h221B
h216A
211A
5265
h 206A
h211B
h216B
h206B
5274
5335
4345
h212A
h222A
h222B
h217A
5339
h212B h207A
h217B 4357
5297
5336
h h213A h213B
208A
h223A
h223B h218A 5221
h208B
5270 h218B 5296 5293
h225A
h214A h209A h209B
h226A
h219A h214B
h226B 4684
4348
h210A
h210B
h219B 5269
h215A
h215B
5243 Standard. h2
20A 5267
h 227A
h227B 5271 4355
h221A 4322
18
Standard. Pict123 h231B Standard device which is normally in front of a onehorned bull. The device is flanked by columns of dotted circles. h 228A
h235A 4673 h235B
h232A
h
5244 Standard.
h232B tablet in bas relief
h2 33A
h2 29A
h233B 4387 Tablet in basrelief. Sickleshaped. Pict131: Inscribed object in the shape of a crescent?
h229B
4674
4386
236A
4368 Inscribed object in the shape of a double-axe.
h228B
h239B Tablet in bas relief
h236B
h2 40 465
8 Incised miniature tablet. Object shaped like fish or sickle? h825A h825B
h 237A
4657 h241A h241B
4663 Pict-69: Tortoise.
h242A h237B h242B 5337 Pict-84
h 230A
h234A
h 238A
4317
h234B h230B
28 63 h
231A
4717
h 239A
19
h246B
in bas-relief
h243A h243B Tablet in basrelief Pict-78: Rosette of seven pipal (?) leaves.
4374
h253B
5283
5219 h250A h 254A h
247A
h250B 5250
h254B
4664 h For See inscription: 4466
h247B Tablet in bas-relief
251A
5214
h255A h251B h244A
4372
h244B
h255B 5208
h251C h248A
4665 h245A
h2
h248B Tablet in bas-relief
h245B
4702
56A
4342 Tablet in basrelief. Prism. Bison (shorthorned bull).
h256B 5213
4371 See 3354.
h257A
h252A
h257B h252B h
h246A
5216
249A 5215 h258A h 253A h249B Tablet
20
h258B 5217 h2 59A
h259B 5218 h2 60A
h260B
around a pillar with ring-stones. One-horned bull. h252, h253, h255, h256, h257, h258, h259, h260,h261, h262, h263, h264, h265, h276, h277, h859, h860, h861, h862,h863, h864, h865, h866,h867, h868, 869, 870
h261 5212
h269
h 266 4011
h262 5220 h263 5262 h264 4315 5207, 5208, 5209, 5210, 5212, 5213, 5214,5215, 5216, 5217, 5218,5219, 5220, 5262 Tablets in bas relief. The first sign looks like an arch
h267 4007
h2 68 4020
21
h270
4014
22
5229
h278B
h288B 5463
h 271
h289A
h278C 4069 h285A
5205
h289B h2
h279A
5467
72 h279B
4619
h285B h 290A
5256 h2 73 4176
h h280A
286A h290B
h280B h2
h286B
4335
74
h 281A h281B h2
75
4336 h
h2 76A
5462
4429 Incised miniature tablet Goat-antelope with a short tail
282A h2
h282B
91A h291B 4440 Standard.
87A h292A
h h276B
h2
283A h287B
h277A
h283B
4430
h292B
5253 h277B
h 284A
5207
h288A
4443 Standard.
h284B h278A
23
h 293A
h302B
h297B
h307B 5460
5497
h308A h293B
03A
298A 4441 Standard.
h3
h
h298B
h303B 5473
h
h308B 5427
h309A 4444
294A
h309B
h299A h304A h299B h294B
4478
h304B 5401
4442 h300A h295A
h 305A
h295B
h300B 4454
4505 h h
h305B Text 5460 h310A
301A h3
296A
06A h301B
h310B 5475 h306B
h296B 4457
5474
4450 h 297A
4403 4405, 4509, 4543, 5419, 5421, 5422, 5423, 5425, 5442, 5449 Incised miniature tablets h309, h311, h317, h932, h959, h935, h960
h3 02A
h 311A
h3 07A
24
h311B
h316A
h321A
5421
h326A
h316B
h321B 5402
h312B h317A
h322A h322
h312Ac h317B 5426
5442
B 5498
h326B 4564 Doubleaxe?
h327A h
h313A
323A h327B h318A
h313B 5432
h318B 5451
h323B 4497
5472 5483 Shape of object: Blade of a weapon?
5433 h319A
h324A
h328a
h324B 4484
h314A h319B 4544
h314B
h325A 5447 h320A
h328B 4415 Shape of object: Bladeof weapon?
h325B h315A
h320B 5450
h315B 5464
4416 Pict130: Inscribed object in the shape of a writing tablet (?)
h329A
h329B 5496 Pict68: Inscribed
25
object in the shape of a fish.
h335a h335B 4425
h 339A
h330A
h343A h336A
h343B 4549
h339B 4559
h330B 4560 h336B h 331A Incised miniature tablet.
4424
h344A h340A
h337A
4421, 4422, 4423
h332C
4885
h337B 4417 Pict-79: shape of a leaf. Dotted circle on obverse.
h344B 4410
h340B
4420
h345A h341A
h333A h333B 4421
h345B 4550
h338A
h341B h3 34A
h334B 4423
h338B 4426 Pict-39: Inscribed object in the shape of a tortoise (?) or leaf (?). Dotted circles on obverse.
h346A 4419
h342A
h342B
4413
h346B Incised miniature tablet. 4412
26
h351B
h354C h 360A
h351C
h347A 4414
5499 h360B h3 55A
4581
h360C
h352A
h355B
4584
h348A
h352B
h355C
h
h348B 4552
h352C
361A 5413 4575 Pict-120: One or more dotted circles.
h349A
h361B
h356 h361C
h3
h357
53A
h349B h
5476 h358A
h353B
h362A
350A h358B
h353C
h362B
h350B 5416
h358C 4579
h350C
h362C
h 354A 4576 h354B h
5466 h359a
h3
h359B
351A h359C
63A
27
h363B h369E 4718
h363C h363E
Picth366C
h370A
86 h366E Pict-85 Standing person with horns and bovine features (hoofed legs and/or tail).
4590
h370A2
h371A
h380 4902 Bronze dagger
h367A h371A2 h367B
h367C
h372A
5471 h372A2 h364A h364B
h367E 4401 h3
h374
4815
h364C h 68a
375
h368E 4409
4812
h3 82 4818
h364E 4635 h365A
h381 4901 Bronze dagger
h383 (Not shown).
h3 h 69a
377
4021
h365B h365C
h369C h378
h365E
28
h
h3 h384
h3 85
90 4024 [The second sign from right appears like a weaver’s loom with three looped strings].
h396
403 h4
4027 04
h397
h405
4045 5091 h h3 86
398
h391 5064
h
4025
399 406 h3 392a
87
h 4207
h 5034
h 400 h407 4126
h3
h393
88
h401
5062
h 4168
h394a 5003
408 4079
h3 89 5090
h 395a
h402
h409
29
h417
h410
h422
4051
4080
4185 h429 h418 h423
h411 4078
h4 30
4056 h412 h
4036 h
424 h431
419 5092
5068 [ h413 4032
The first sign may be a squirrel as in Nindowarida mb 01 Seal].
h4 32 h
h414
426 h4
h415 4204
h4 25
4616
4153
20 4614
h433 h427 4217
h416 4059
h421
h434
4026 h428
30
h461 h435 h436
4037
h446 h454 4132
4034 h4
h462
37 4620
h447 4089
h438
h455 4055 h448 4054
h439
h463 h464a
h440 4615
h456 4100 h4
4083
49 4082
h457 5080
h441 4074
h465
4181
h466 h450 4111 h458
4084
4050
h442 4095 h451 4137
h467 4624
h4 59
h443 4121
h468
4092 4087 452a
h444
h 4124 h460 h4
h469 4138
53 4061 h445
5110
31
h479
h470 4186
h489 4099
h502 4143
4189 h471 4145
h490
h503 4129
4180
h480
h492
h472 h4
4152
82
h493
h504 4183
4208
h473
h494
h4 83
4096
h505
h474
5094
h495
h484 4154
4188
h497
h506 4097
h
h485 h475
498 h507
4093 h499
h4
4159
h508
5093
86 h476 4102
h509 h500 4206
h477 h488 4198 h478
h501 4112
h510 4139
4088
32
h519 4147 h511
h529
4165
h5 h520
4127
h512a 4618 h5 21
4155
h513 4163
h530 4148 [May have to be arranged from right to left?]
36 537 4170
h5 h514
h
h538
22 h531
4116 4172 h539 h523 5071
h515
h532
4162 h541
4166 Text h516a h524 4150
h542 h533 4625
h 517 h525 h518
4149
h534
h543 4177
4160 h535 h526 h527
h544 4144
h528
33
h554
h545 4622
h575 h555
h566 4277
h556 h576
h546 4697
h5 67 h577
h557 h5 h547
4243
68
h558 4220
h548
h
h578
569 4263 h5
h549
h579
59 4290
h570 4212
5109
h550 4211 h561
h 571
h580
h 562 5066
h551 4197
h563 5065
h552
h581
h572 4695
h574 4696
h582
h583 h553
h565 4621
34
4250 [Composite animal]. h584 4235 Bison.
may be Sign 54
] h602a 4169
h 594 [Composite animal].
h585 h595 h5 86 4237
h603 4224
4623 h596a 4382 [Onehorned bull].
h 604
h587 h588
h599A h599D
h597A
h605 h
5076
597D h589 4239
h606
4075
4167 h
h598A
h590 h591 4228
600 4156 [The last sign may be a variant of Sign 608
h598D
51
h 4225
]
h592 5081
5073 [The ligature infixed on the last sign of the second line
h601 h6 4044
09 4060
h593
35
h642 h610 h616
h629
4266
4098 h630 h631
h6 43 4273
h617 h611 h632 h618
4260 Onehorned bull.
h644 h633
4299
h645
h619
4265 h612A h612B
h634
h620 h621
h635 h612D
h622
h646 5108
h636 h647 4291
4123
h637
h623
h h624
h6
h 613A
h625
h613C
h6
39
49
5061
4281
h626
4259 Endless-knot motif? h6 14
648
h638
h640
h650A
h627
h628
h641A h641C
h650C
4698
36
h651
h685
4295 h6 h670
61 4279
h652
h686
h 653
4301
h662a
h671 h6 4302
h663A
h654
88A h688F
h663C 5035
5006
h679
h664A
4298 h689A
h664E
h655AC 4300
5010 h665 5100
h680 h689B 4222
5099
h656 4286
h6 66 h6
57 4287
4631
h681a 5105
h667A h690si 5304
h682 h658 4293
h667C 4634
5078
h6
h691A1si
59
h683 h668 5266
5074 h6
h691A2si h684
60 h669 5114
4632
4289
37
h692A1si h713At h698Bt 4659
h704At
h699At
h704Bt
h713Bt
h692A2si
h714At h6 93t 4707
h699Bt
5288
h694t
h705At
h705Bt 4337
h700At h706At h700Bt h706Bt 4340
h695t
h696At
h696Bt 4677
h701At h701Bt
h707At
5329
h707 4339
h702At
h714Bt Standing person with horns and bovine features (hoof ed legs and/or a tail) Icon of a person has bull's legs and a raised club.
h715At h715Bt
h708At
5299
h716At
h697At
h697Bt
h702Bt 4601
h716Bt h708Bt 5280 h709 Text 5260
4314
h717At
h703At h710 Text 5249 h711
h698At h703Bt 4595
Text 4715
h717Bt
h718At
38
h730Bt h718Bt
h736Bt
h724Bt h731At h737At
4328
5255 h731Bt
h725At
h719At
h737Bt
h732At h738At h725Bt h719B
h732Bt h738Bt
h726At h726Bt
t 4326
h733At
h727At
h720At
h733Bt 5222 h727Bt
h720Bt h728At
h739At
h734At h734Bt
h739Bt
h722At h
5286 h728Bt h735At
h722Bt h729At
h735Bt
h723At
740At h740Bt h
h729Bt
h723Bt
h724At
5310
4331 h736At
741At
h730At
39
h741Bt h747Bt 4656
5263
h766Bt
h758At h759At
4359
h7 h742At
48At
h767At
4654 h760At h760Bt
h767Bt 4352
h749At h742Bt
h761At h761Bt
h750At
h768At
4320 h768Bt
h 751At
h743At
h743Bt
h752At
h762At h762Bt Tablet in bas-relief.
5275
4354
4358 h769At h769Bt
h
h744At h744Bt
753At h763At
4667
h763Bt 4661
h770At
5231
h754At
h745At
h764At
4716
h745Bt 5257
h764Bt
h770Bt 4353
h755At h765At
h746At h746Bt
h771At
5287
h756At 4669
h747At
h765Bt 4653 h766At
h757At 4655
h771Bt 4678 [The second sign on line 1 is a squirrel
].
40
h793At h772At
h786At h786Bt
h779At
h772Bt 5320
h779Bt 4660
h787At
h780At
h794At
h773At h773Bt
h787Bt
h780Bt
h794Bt
4361 4351
h774At
h774Bt
h793Bt 4680
5323 h788At h788Bt 4683
h781At
h795At h795Bt
h789At
h781Bt 4670
h796At h796Bt
4672
h789Bt h782At
5327
4604 h797At
h775At h782Bt h776At h776Bt
4350
5328
h790At
h783At
h790Bt 4605
h797Bt 5281 h798At h798Bt 4607
h783Bt
h799At
h784At h777At h777Bt
h784Bt 4364 h785At
h778At
h785Bt 4681
h778Bt 5322
h799Bt
h791At h791Bt
4603
4676 h792At
h800At
h792Bt 4692
h800Bt 4689
41
h801At
h811Bt 4349
h801Bt
axe.One or more dotted circles.
5319
h823At h802At
h812At h812Bt
h802Bt 4679
4686
h8
h818At h818Bt Inscribed object in the shape of a double-axe. 4376
h813At
h824At
04At 5233 h806At
h824Bt 5278
h813Bt 4682
h819At
h814At h806Bt 5237 h807At
h819Bt Shape of object: Blade of a weapon? h814Bt 4606
h808At
h815At h815Bt
h825At h825Bt Shape of object: sickle? 5324
5302 h8
h807Bt 4343 Onehorned bull.
h823Bt 4346
h827At
20At h820Bt
h816At
h827Bt Shape of object: axe? h829At
h821At
h829Bt
h808Bt
5238 h810At 4366
h811At
h816Bt 4602
h817At h817Bt Inscribed object in the shape of a double-
h821Bt Shape of object: axe.
h822At
5303
h830At
h822Bt Shape of object: axe.
42
h830Bt Tablet in bas-relief.
h848Bt h843At h837A
Bovid. 4311
h848Ct h843Ct
t h837Bt
5326
4597
4381 h832At h832Bt Tablet in bas-relief Pict-121: Lozenge within a circle with a dot in the centre.
h844At
h849At h849Bt
h838At h844Bt
h849Ct h838Bt h845At
4377
4645
4375 h839At
h845Bt h845Ct
h850At
h846At h846Bt
h850Bt
h839Bt h833At h833Bt
4378
4370
h850Ct 4642
h834At
h834B
h846Ct 4641
h851At
h840At 4380
h851Bt h851Ct
h847At t 4666
h852At h841At 4379
h847Bt h847Ct
h835Bt h848At h836At
h852Bt h852Ct
h842At 4596
43
h853At
4433
5234 h8
h853Bt h853Ct 5277
72Bt h858Ct
4434 5230 h882Abit
h859At h873At
h854At
h854Bt
h859Bt h859Ct
4436
h873Bt 5227
h883Ait h883Bit
h860At h854Ct 4647
h881Abit
h874At
h
h860Bt
884Abit
h855At
h874Bt 4362
h861At
4437
h855Bt h861Bt h875At h855Ct h856At
h885Ait h862At h862Bt h8
h856Bt
63ABt h8 64ABt
h856Ct
66ABt
h877At h877Bt
h8
4594
67ABt
69ABt
h878Bt
h8 88Abit
h8
4466 h8
4687 89Abit
70ABt 71Bt
h887Bit
h878At h8 h8
h858Bt
h876Bt 4675
h8
68ABt
h858At
h876At
h887Ait h8
h857At
h857Ct 5276
h885Bit 4530 Fish.
h8 65ABt
h857Bt
h875Bt 4651
h879Abit 5477 h880ABit
44
h8
h907Bit
90ABit h900Ait 4446 h 891ABit
h916Ait
h900Bit 4455 h901Ait
h 892ABit 4451
h901Bit
h902Ait
h 909ABit
h8 h903Ait
h895Ait
h903Bit 4485
h910ABit
h918Bit 4481
4470 h911Ait
h8
h918Ait
5325
94ABit 4487
h895Bit
h917Ait
h917Bit 4472
4488
h902Bit 4535
4522
h916Bit 4456
h908Abit
4460
h893Ait h893Bit
4537 The second sign on h907Ait may be a ligatured fish?
h904Ait h904Bit
h919Ait h919Bit h920Ait
h911Bit
96ABit 4480 h8
4477 h
98ABit 4506
4527
905ABit h912Abit
97ABit h8
h920Bit 4486
4449
h9
h913Ai
h906Ait
h899Ait
21ABit 4514
5461
h906Bit
h9
t t
h913Bi
22Abit 4518 h9
5494 h914Ait
h899Bit 4471
h907Ait
h914Bit 4483
23Abit 4474 h9 24ABit
45
h939Bit
h9 25Abit 4512
4403 h946Ait
h926Abit 4519
h933Ait
h940Ait
h933Bit
h940Bit 4453
h946Bit 4501
h941Ait
h947Ait
4516 h927Ait h934Ait h927Bit
h941Bit 4464
4502 h934Bit
h942Ait
h928Ait h935Ait
h942Bit
h928Bit
h947Bit 4493 h948Abit
h935Bit
4489
4490
h9
4509
h929Ait h929Bit
h936Ait
h943Ait
49Abit 4479 h9
h930Ait h936Bit 5405
h943Bit 4461
50ABit 4463
h930Bit 4520
h944Ait h951Ait
h931Ait h931Bit
h937Ait h937Bit 5458
h944Bit 4475
4511 h945Ait h932Ait
h932Bit
h938Ait h938Bit
h939Ait
h951Bit 4498
h952Ait h952Bit 4469
h945Bit 4503
h953Ait h953Bit
46
h963Bit 5420
h954Ait
h970Ait h974Cit 4592
h970Bit 4553
4467 h955Bit
h9
h964Ait 75Ait h971Ait
h975Bi
5429 h971Bit
h964Bit 5456
h959Ait
h965Ait
h959Bit 4405
4557 Shape of object: double-axe?
t
h975Cit 4402 h976Ait h976Bit
h972Ait h965Bit 4562
h960Ait
h976Cit
h972Bit 4588
h960Bit
h966Ait
4543 h961Ait h961Bit
h966Bit 5479
5449
4418 Pict-128: Inscribed object in the shape of a leaf? Dotted circles on obverse.
h977Ait
h977Bit
h967Ait 4563 h977Cit 4591
h962Ait h968Ait h973Ait h962Bit
h978Ait h968Bit
4548
h973Bit 4411
h978Bit h978Cit
h969Ait h974Ait 5412 h963Ait
h969Bit 4555
h974Bit h979Ait
47
objects not illustrated)
h979Bit h979Cit
4324
h985Ait h980Ait
4330
4015 h985Bit 4577
h980Bit
4033
4334
4035 h987Ait
h980Cit
4046 h981Ait
h987Bit 4067
h981Bit
4073 4101 h987Cit h981Cit 5415 h982Ait
h982Bit
4586
4108 4114
h988Ait h988Bit 88B2it
Pict-63: Gharial, sometimes with a fish held in its jaw and/or surrounded by a school of fish.
4117
h9 4119
h988Cit
4134 4136
h988Eit
4140
h982Cit m4574
4158
4343 Tablet in bas-relief One-horned bull
4344
4164 4573
h983Ait h h983Bit h983Cit 4582
4347
4292 4296 4356
990 h
4305
4360
992 4363
h984Ait
h994
h984Bit
h984Cit 4587
Harappa Texts (Either unmatched with inscribed objects or
Pict-90: Standing person with horns and bovine features holding a staff or mace on his shoulder.
4369
4373
48
4458
4459
4508
4554
4384 4510
4556
4404
4406 4407
4566
4462 4465
4517
4468 4473
4521 4523
4571
4572 Pict129: Inscribed object in the shape of a double-axe or double-shield? 4408
4476
4525
Incised miniature tablet.
4528
4422 4427
4529
4491 4492 Incised miniature tablet.
4578
4580 4532 Incised miniature 4583 tablet
4428 4432 4435
4494 Incised miniature tablet. 4499
4585
4533 4534 Incised miniature tablet 4536
4589
4593 4599
4438 4439
4500
4538 4540
4610 4613
4447
4448
4504 Incised miniature tablet. 4507
4452
4545 4546
4633 4636
4547 4637 4551
4639
49
4824
4713
4643
4878 4826
4644
4646
4648
4649 4650
Pict134: Motif on a pottery graffiti showing a rectangular enclosure with four marks within; the marks looks like X and V. 4714
4827
4832
4833
4838 4839 4840
4844
4845
5023
5070 5077 5084 5085
4848
5086
4671
4849
4805 4685
5001 5017
5031
4846 4803 4804
4905
4841
4658 4668
4884
4834
4801 4802
4880 4881
4835
4843 4652
4879
4852
4806 4807
4853
5087 5088
4690 4854
5102 5104
4810
4856 4857
5107
4811
4861
4808 4691
4809
4699
5115
4864
4700 4813
4814 4816
4703
4865
5123
4868
5124
4817 4704 4709 4710 4712
4819 4820 4821 4823
5201
4871 4873
4874
4875 4876 4877
5203
5204
50
5206 5440
5285 5209
5408 5441
5291 5292
5409
5443
5210 5444
5410 5223
5300
5301 5306
5446
5228 5411
5308
5232
5309
5452
5235
5414 5453 5455
5311
5239
5417
5240 5241
5242
5312
5313
5314
5315
5418
5454
5419
5316
5457 5422
5245
5459
5317 5423
5470
5318
5246
5469
5425 5321
5478 5428
5251
5480 5430
5259
5341
5403 5404
5261 5264 5268
5284
5481
5431
5482 5406
5434 5436
5407
5484
5438
51
5601
Kalibangan010
5485
8006 Kalibangan003
hd06 5486
8030 Kalibangan011
5487 hulas
5488
8034 Kalibangan004
5489
8026
Kalibangan012
jhukar1
Kalibangan005
jhukar2
5490
Kalibangan013 9001
8017 8051
5492 5495
Kalibangan006
jhukar3
5501
8020
8036
5504 5505
8048 8060
5506
Kalibangan014
8009
Kalibangan007
8012
8043 8061
5507
Kalibangan015 8062
5508
5511
8202 5510 5513
Kalibangan008
8214 8215
8056
8041
8217 5514
Kalibangan016 5515
Kalibangan009 Kalibangan002
5516 5517 5518 5519
8044 8021
8019
52
Kalibangan017 8027 Kalibangan026 8071
Kalibangan030 8002
Kalibangan039
Kal ibangan018 8040
8011 Kalibangan027
Kalibangan019 8058
Kalibangan020 8047
Kalibangan021
Kalibangan022 8008
8022 'Unicorn' with two horns! "Bull with two long horns (otherwise resembling the 'unicorn')", generally facing the standard. That it is the typical ‘one-horned bull’ is surmised from two ligatures: the pannier on the shoulder and the ring on the neck.
Kalibangan031a 8007 Kalibangan040 8072 Kalibangan032a Kalibangan041 Kalibangan033 8025
Kalibangan034 8052
Kalibangan035
Kalibangan023 8029 Kalibangan028
Kalibangan036
8038 Kalibangan024 Kalibangan037 Kalibangan025 8037
8042 Kalibangan029
Kalibangan042a
Kalibangan043 8039 Pict59:Composite motif: body of an ox and three heads: of a onehorned bull (looking forward), of antelope (looking backward), and of shorthorned bull (bison) (looking downward).
8018 Kalibangan038
53
Kalibangan044 8045
Kalibangan065A
antelope crowned by a twig. Kalibangan058
6 Kalibangan065E
Kal ibangan045
Kalibangan051 8003
8054
Kalibangan059 8016
Kalibangan060 8059 Kalibangan052 K alibangan046 8053
8015
K alibangan061 8001
Kalibangan062 Kalibangan047
Kalibangan053
8023
Kalibangan063 Kalibangan048
Kalibangan054 8033
8055
Kalibangan055a Kalibangan049 8013
Kalibangan050c 8031 Pict53: Composition: body of a tiger, a human body with bangles on arm, a pig-tail, horns of an
8035
K alibangan064 K alibangan065a
8024 Pict-104: Composition: A tree; a person with a composite body of a human (female?) in the upper half and body of a tiger in the lower half, having horns, and a tridentlike headdress, facing a group of three persons consisting of a woman (?) in the middle flanked by two men on either side throwing a spear at each other (fencing?) over her head.
Kalibangan056 8004 Kalibangan066 8102 Kal ibangan057
54
Kalibangan077B 8108
Kalibangan 084A12
8118 Kalibangan067
8121 Oxantelope with a long tail; sometimes with a trough in front.
K alibangan071 8110
K alibangan078A
K alibangan072
Kalibangan078
8111 Kal ibangan073
K alibangan068A
B 8104
Kalibangan068
8115
B 8117 [Is it a bird or an India River Otter? Could be a scorpion, a model for Signs 51 and
K alibangan075 8113
085A12 Kalibangan085B K alibangan 079AB
Kalibangan080A
8106
Kal ibangan086A1
8120 4 8114
Kal ibangan076A
52 ? See variant in Text 9845 West Asia find]
Kal ibangan081A 8105
Kalibangan076B
Kalibangan082A 8122
Ka libangan069A
Kalibangan087A 12
8116 Kalibangan077A
8109
Kalibangan
8112 K alibangan074
Kalibangan 084A2 8103
Kalibangan 083A12
Kalibangan
K alibangan070A
55
088A14
8210
Kalibangan088 B
8119
Kalibangan093A 821 9
K alibangan094A
Kalibangan089 A14c
Kal ibangan107A Kalibangan100A
Kal ibangan101A
Kalibangan108A 8206
8205 Kalibangan095A Kal ibangan102A
Kalibangan109A
8207 K alibangan096c
8101
Kalibangan110A 8211
8221
Kalibangan103A 8209
Ka libangan090A
Kalibangan111A Kalibangan097A
Kalibangan 090A1
8213
Kalibangan104A 8218 Ka libangan112A
Kal ibangan 090A2 8202
Kalibangan098A
8216
8201 Kal ibangan091A 8212
Kalibangan105A
Kalibangan118 Kalibangan099A 8208
Kalibangan106A 8204 Kalibangan119A
Kalibangan092A
56
9051 Kot-diji
Kalibangan119B
Lewandheri01
Lothal005
Kalibangan122A Kalibangan120A
7044
8220
Loebanr01 Kalibangan 122A2 8301
Kalibangan122B
Lo humjodaro1a
Lothal006a 7038
9011 Kalibangan 122B2
Kalako-deray 01
Lothal007a Lo
Kalako-deray 05
Lothal008a
thal001 7015
Kalako-deray 06 Kal ako-deray 07 Kal ako-deray 08
Lothal009 Lo thal002 7031
L
Lothal003 Kalibangan 121A, B
othal010 7009
Kal akoderay10 Lo
Kh
8302 irsara1a
thal004a 7080
Khirsara2a
7022
Lothal011 7026
57
Lothal028 Lothal019a Lothal012a
7045
7092
7089
Lothal039 7102
Lothal029 Lothal013 7050
Lothal020 7078
7005 Lothal040a Lo thal030a
Lothal021
Lothal041
7047
Lothal014a
7066
Lothal031
7094
7076 Lothal022a Lothal042
7035 Lothal032a L othal015 7086
Lothal023a 7043
Lothal033a
Lothal043 7049
Lot Lothal035
hal024
7101
Lothal044
Lothal016 7002 Lothal036a
Lothal025 7104
7081
Lothal045 7028
Lothal017 Lothal026
7008
Lothal037
7024
7034
Lothal046 7107
Lothal018 7096
Lothal027 7036
Lothal038a 7053
58
Lothal062
Lothal052 7011
Lothal070 7054
Lothal047a
Lothal071 Lothal054a
7074 7099
Lothal063
Lothal072
Lothal048 Lothal055
Lothal075
7025
7106
Lothal049
Lothal050
Lothal064 Lothal076a
7030 Lothal056 7100
Lothal077
Lothal051a 7057 Pict-127: Upper register: a large device with a number of small circles in three rows with another row of short vertical lines below; the device is horned. A seed-drill? [Is this an orthographic model for
Lothal057 7095
Lothal058a
Lothal065
Lothal078
7103
7077
Lo thal066acdef
7029
Lothal059 7097
Lothal079 7063
Lothal080a
7048
Lothal081 Lothal060
7093 7039
Lothal068 7070 Lothal082
Sign 176?]
Lothal061 Lothal069
7105
59
Lothal083
Lothal093
7006 7001
7064
7068
Lo Lothal084 7112
Lothal094a 7073
thal102 7040
Lothal111 7056
Lothal112
Lothal085 Lothal103
Lothal095 Lothal086 7007
7020
7018
7042
Lo thal087
Lo thal096
7021 Lo
Lo
Lothal113a
thal104
7004
7085
7023
Lot hal114a
thal088 7013 7017 Lo
Lothal097 7072
Lothal105
Lot 7016
hal115
thal089 7065 Lo
7090
thal098 7082
Lot hal107
Lothal116 7027
Lo thal090
Lo
7032
thal108
Lothal099
Lothal117 7075
Lo Lothal100a
thal091 7111
Lot hal109a
Lothal100B Lo
7046
Lothal118 7019
thal092 7055 7062
Lothal110 Lo
Lothal119
thal101
60
Lothal127A
Lothal135A
Lothal141A1
7220
7221 Lothal120
Lothal141A2 Lothal128A
Lothal121
7280 Lothal136A
7239
7225 Lothal142A
Lothal122 7069
Lothal142B Lothal137A
Lothal129A
7257
7204
Lo
Lothal123A
Lothal143A
thal130A Lothal138A Lothal123B
Lothal131A
Lothal143B
7255 7243 Lothal138B Lothal124A
Lothal132A 7213
7214
7224 Lothal144A Lothal139A Lothal125A
Lothal133A 7245
7241
7274
7223 Lothal145A
Lothal126A 7242
Lothal134A 7252
Lothal140A 7244 Lothal146AB 7279
61
Lothal153A 7271 Lothal163A Lothal147A Lothal154A
Lothal163C 7228
7260
Lothal171A
Lothal155A
Lothal148A 7270
Lothal164A Lothal156A
Lothal149A
Lothal170A 7229
Lothal172A
7230
Lothal157A Lo
7272
Lothal173A
thal165A 7203 Lothal174A
Lothal158A Lothal150A
Lothal166A
7268
Lot hal159A
7206
Lo thal175A
Lothal167A Lo thal151A
7231 Lothal160A
7266
Lothal176A Lothal168A 7216 7234 Lothal161A
Lothal152A 7222
7205
Lothal177A Lothal169A 7211
Lothal162A
7235
Lothal162B
62
Lothal179A
Lothal197A12 Lothal188A
7237
7227
Lothal180A Lothal193A12 7240
Lothal198A12
Lothal189A12 Lothal193A3
7215
Lothal181A 7273 7253
Lothal189A34
Lo thal199A12 Lothal194A1
Lothal182A
7247 7217
7238
Lothal194A2 Lo thal200A1
Lothal183A
7251 Lot hal190A13
Lothal184A Lothal195A12 7236
Lothal200A2 7219
7258 Lothal185A Lo Lo Lothal186A
thal191A12
thal201A12 Lothal196A12 7263
7259 7249
7248 Lot
Lothal187A 7209
hal202A12 Lo thal192A12
63
Lothal209A12 L
7267
othal216D12 7262
Lo thal222A
Lot hal203A12 7246
Lothal216E Lothal210A12
Lothal223A 7283
7201 Lothal204A
Lot
Lo hal224A
thal217A
Lothal204F 7275
Lo
Lothal217B Lothal225A
thal211A13
Lot Lothal205A12
hal227A
Lothal218A 7277 7202
7218
Lothal229A L othal212A12
Lo
Lothal206A12
thal219A
7261 7265
Lothal230A
7282 L othal213A2
Lothal233A
Lothal207A12 7207
Lothal220A Lothal246A
7281
7278 Lothal269A Lo
Lothal214A12 thal221A Lothal208A12
Lothal270A
64
Lothal272A
Lot Mehrgarh16
hal273A
m 0006a
7301
Mehrgarh01 2422 Mehrgarh17
Lothal277A Mehrgarh04
Mehrgarh18
Lothal280A
m 0007 1011
Mehrgarh05 Lo thal281A
m0001a 1067
Mehrgarh08
m
7088 Mehrgarh10
7098
0008a 1038 m0002a
7212 7232 7233
Mehrgarh11
m
7269
m Mehrgarh12
0003a 2225
Mehrgarh13
m0004a
0009a 2616
Maski m 0010
Mehi 3109 Mehrgarh14 Mehrgarh zebu
m 0005
Mehrgarh15
1006
m0 011
2247
65
m0 012
m 0018Ac
m
2396
1548
3031
m0030a
0024 2694
m m 0013 1069
m
0019a 1085
0025
m 0031 2576
1056
m m 0014
m0
0020a m 1054
0026a
1022
032a 2180
2074
m m0 015
0021a 2103
m m0027a 2084
0033a 1042
2177
m0022a m0
1023
m0028a 2178
016a
m0034a 1058
1037 m0023a m0029a m0017 1035
2398
2033
m 0035a 2333
66
m0036a 2455
m0037a 3103
67
m0038a
1087
68
m0045a 1552
m0053a 2128
m0061
m 0039a 1544
m0046a 3089
m0040
m0047a 1098
m0054
m0062
2307
3112
m0055a
m0063 3068
2511
1051
m0064 m0048a m0056
2524
1186 2406
m0041
m0065
2271
2440
m0049a 1047
2340
m0042a 1096
m0066AC m0050a 1557
m0058a
1052
2680
m0043 2584
m0057a
m0067
m0051a 1555 m0059a
m0044a 3110
2264
1029 m0052a m0068
1540 m0060a 2124
3108
69
m0092 m0084a m0076
1108
m0069 1095
m0093 m0077 3111
m0085a
2305
2365
m0070 1048
m0094
m0078 m0071a 3083 [The second sign from left is an orthographic representatio n of the thigh of a bovid, perhaps a bull].
3118
2594
m0086 2208
m0079a
2083
m0095 2657 m0087 2148 m0096 2698
m0080
m0088 1075
2635
m0097
m0072a 2085
2407
2549
m0089 m0081a
3116 m0098 2012
1180 m0073 1046
m0090 m0082
m0099 3039
m0074 2353 m0075
2451 m0083a 2267
2475 m0091 2429 m0100
1019 1115
70
m0122a 2015 m0115
m0101
m0 108
1537
3087 m0123a 2702
1110
m0102
m0116
1129
m0109
m0124 1120
2481
1151 m0125 m0117
m0103 1076
m0110 1105 2031
m0126 2311
m0104
m0111
2574
2029
m0118 1104 m0127 1119 m0119a
m0105
m0112
2337
2099
2018 m0128a m0120a
m0113 m0106 2459
1099
2115
m0129 m0121a
m0107 2593
m0114 2166
2284
2193
1188 m0130a 2285
71
m0139
m0147
2185
3097
1187
m0131 m0156 2263
m0140
m0148 1245
2563
m0157
m0132 2082
m0149 m0141 2543
2022
1233
m0133a 2052
m0158
m0142 2630
m0150 1236
2198
m0134 2187
m0159 m0143
m0135 1168
2355
m0151 2323
2002
m0160 m0144 m0136 2048 2233
m0152
2286
2102 m0161
m0145 2088
m0153
m0137 2261
1118
2361 m0162
m0146 m0138 2381
1100
m0154 2373
2486
m0163 m0155
1543
72
m0170
2382
2237 m0179
m0164
m0188 1287
2403 m0171 m0180
1149
2014
m0165 m0189 2687
m0172
1195 m0181 2490
1071 m0166 1080
m0190 1205
m0173 m0182 2154
1161 m0167. 1297
m0191 1288
m0174 1114
m0168a [The second sign may be an orthographic variant for a thigh of a bovid?] 2442
m0169
m0183 3113 m0192
m0175
1206 1291
m0184 2634 m0193
m0176
2113 1193
m0185 m0194 2254
m0177
1113
m0186 2161 m0195
m0178 2354 m0187
2415
73
m0212
m0220a
2577 m0196
m0204
2474
2623 m0221a
m0213
m0197 2371
1150
m0205
3164
1221 m0214
m0198
3093
2571
m0222 1194
m0206
2363
m0199
m0215 3081
m0207 2458
2647
m0200 1148
m0201
m0208 2047
m0216 3036
m0223 1167 [The sign in front of the onehorned bull may be Sign 162
m0217 2087
m0209 2375
2678
m0224 2215
m0210 m0202
2656
m0218 2175
m0225 2199
2625
m0211 m0203
]
1214
m0219 2433
m0226 2152
1556
74
m0227
2226
two ligatures: the pannier on the shoulder and the ring on the neck.
m0240. 1324 m0248. m0241
m0228 2502
1310
1536
m0233
m0249 m0242 m0229
m0234.
2378
2216
3075 1321
m0250. 1308 m0243
m0230. 1295
2390
m0235
m0251
2689 m0231
2370 m0244
2444 m0236
2399 m0252
2123 m0232 2234 'Unicorn' with two horns! "Bull with two long horns (otherwise resembling the 'unicorn')", generally facing the standard. That it is the typical ‘one-horned bull’ is surmised from
m0245 m0237
2423
2290 m0253
m0238AC 2534
m0246. 1317
m0239 2238
2701
m0247 2298
m0254 2090
75
m0255 2409 [The second sign is diamondshaped?]
2314
m0258a.
3122
m0277 2309
m0264 2607
m0265 2155
m0266.
m0270 m0271 Goatantelope with horns turned backwards an d a short tail
m0272 Goatantelope with horns bending backwards and neck turned backwards
m0278 2648
m0279 3060
m0280
2554 1373
1306 m0273
m0260
m0276AC 2663
2249
1336
m0257
m0259 2132
m0262 Zebu
m0263
m0256 1332
1340
m0269
2673 m0281
m0267 Waterbuffalo
3115
2567 2257
m0274 1342
m0261
m0282 2304
m0268 Waterbuffalo
2535 2445
m0275 2131
m0283
76
2127
m0291 Tiger 3069
m0284 2195
m0292 Gharial
end to end (to a standard device with two rings coming out of the top part?), under a stylized pipal tree with nine leaves.
1361 m0285
1387
1367
m0293 Gharial 1360
m0286 2517
m0287
m0294 Onehorned bull?; elephant
m0297a Head of a one-horned bull attached to an undentified five-point symbol (octopus-like?)
1376
m 0300 Pict51: Composite animal: human face, zebu's horns, elephant tusks and trunk, ram's forepart, unicorn's trunk and feet, tiger's hindpart and serpent-like tail. 2521
2641 m
m0288 m0295 Pict-61: Composite motif of three tigers joined together.
2518
1386 m0289 3121 m m0290 2527
0296 Two heads of onehorned bulls with neckrings, joined
m0298
m0299 Composite animal with the body of a ram, horns of a bull, trunk of an elephant, hindlegs of a tiger and an upraise serpent-like tail.
0301 Composite motif: human face, body or forepart of a ram, body and front legs of a unicorn, horns of a zebul, trunk of an elephant, hindlegs of a tiger and an upraised serpent-like tail. 2258
1381
77
m0302 Composite animal with the body of a ram, horns of a bull, trunk of an elephant, hindlegs of a tiger and an upraise serpent-like tail. 1380
m0303 Composite animal. 2411
m0304B
m0304AC Pict81: Person (with three visible faces) wearing bangles and armlets seated on a platform (with an antelope looking backwards) and surrounded by
five animals: rhinoceros, buffalo, antelope, tiger and elephant.
rearing on their hindlegs. 2122
2420
m0305AC 2235 Pict-80: Three-faced, horned person (with a three-leaved pipal branch on the crown with two stars on either side), wearing bangles and armlets.
m0306 Person grappling with two tigers standing on either side of him and rearing on their hindlegs.
m0308AC Pict105: Person grappling with two tigers standing on either side of him and rearing on their hindlegs. 2075 [The third sign from left may be a stylized ‘standard device’?]
m0309 Pict-109: Person with hair-bun seated on a tree branch; a tiger looks at the person with its head turned backwards.
m0311 Pict-52: Composite motif: body of a tiger, a human body with bangles on arms, antelope horns, treebranch and long pigtail. 2347
m0312colour Persons vaulting over a water-buffalo.
m0313 2637
m0314
1400
2086 2522 m0315 m0307 Person grappling with two tigers standing on either side of him and
1395
m0310AC 1355
78
m0326D
m0316 2408
m0323D
m0318
m326E 1277
m0317silver 2016
m0318B 2626
m0326F m0324A
m0319 Mohenjodaro FEM, Pl. LXXXVIII, 316 2316
m0319C
m0324B 2405
2260
m0324D 1252
m0320
m0327
Mohenjodaro MIC, Pl. CVI,93 m0320D 1093
2631
m0325A
2449 m0328 m0325B
Mohenjodaro. Copper seal. National Museum, New Delhi. [Source: Page 18, Fig. 8A in: Deo Prakash Sharma, 2000, Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets, Delhi, National Museum].
m0321
m0325F
m0328B 2108
3106
m0321D 2173
m0329 m0322
m0322D 1192
m0323
m0326A
m0326B
1477
m0330A
m0326C
79
m0330B Perforated through the narrow edge of a two-sided seal
m0352A
m0337
m0352C m0338
1475 m0339
m0352D
m0340
m0331A
m0341 m0331B m0342
m0352E m0352F
m0331D m0343 m0353
m0331F Cube seal
m0344 m0345
m0 354 1403 m
1471
m034 6
m0332AC
0356 1406
m0347 m0348
m0357 1401 m
m0349 m0333 m0334
0358
m0350
m0335 m0351 m0336
80
m0355 m0359 m0369 m0391
2654 2325 2537 3107
81
2297
2159
m
m0370 m 0360 3102 m0
m0
2138
380
m0371
2470
0389 2397
m0390
2461
1444
m0381
361
m
2101
2162
m0372 m
0392
1438
2046
0362
m382AC
m
m 1466
0373
393AC 1437 2120
2043
m
m0363 1469
m0374
0383 2240
2097
m0384
m0364 1465
m0394 2213
m
m 0395
2302
0375
2183
m0365
m m375AC
2273
m0396 2387
m0 366
0385
1421
m0376 1426
2077
m0386
m0397 1449
m
1415
0377 m m0367 2044
m0368 2336
3120
0387
m0378
2041
1402
0398 2308 m399AC
m 0379
m
m0388 2200
1414
82
m0421A1si m 0400 3088
m0401
m0 410 Pict-64: Gharial snatching, with its snout, the fin of a fish 2133
2346 m0402
m0411
2395
1431 m 0412
m0403 1410
1450
m404AC 1422
m0413 m
m417AC Pict-62: Composition: six heads of animals: of unicorn, of short-horned bull (bison), of antelope, of tiger, and of two other uncertain animals) radiating outward from a hatched ring (or 'heart' design). 1383
m0421A2si 3237
m0422A1si m0422A2si
m0423A1si
m0423A2si 3221
m
2319
0418acyl
m0424A1si
0405 2221 m0414A m0419acyl
m0424A2si
m0406 m0414B Seal with incision on obverse 2004
1399
m0407
m0419dcyl
m0425A1si
m0419fcyl
2643
m0425A2si m0415a Bison 2500
m0408
m0420A1si
2100 m 0409 2699
m0416 Bison .
m0420A2si 3236
m0426Asi
1309
83
m445Bt m445AC
m0426Bsi 2809
m0438atcopp er
m0432At m0432Bt 1624
m0427t
2821
m446At
1630
m 0439t
m446Bt
m0433At m0433Bt
m0428At
2854 3233
m440AC m447At
m0428Bt 1607 Pict- 132: Radiating solar symbol.
m0434At
m447Bt
m0441At
m 448t m0434Bt
m0441Bt
m 449Bt
3248 m0429 Text 2862
m449AC
m0442At m0435t
2836 m0442Bt
m0430At
m450At
m0436At
m450Bt
m0430Bt 2862
m0436Bt
m443At m443Bt
2864
2804 m0451At m0431At m0431Bt 3239
m4 m0437t
44At 3223
2867
84
m0456At m
3228 3219 m
m0451Bt m
0461At
3235
0463At m0463Bt
m0452At m0461Bt
0457At m0457Bt
m0452Bt
m0457Et 2855 m0458At m0 453At m 453BC
1629 Pict-82 Person seated on a pedestal flanked on either side by a kneeling adorant and a hooded serpent rearing up.
m0458Bt 3227 m
2806 Pict73: Alternative 1. Serpent (?) entwined around a pillar with capital (?); motif carvd in highrelief. Alternative 2. Ring-stones around a pillar with coping stones in a buildingstructure as at Dholavira?
2813 m0464At m0464Bt
3216
m0465At
m0465Bt
3220
m0466At 0459At m0459Bt
m0466Bt m
3225
0467At
m0455At
m0467Bt m0462At m0462Bt
1619 m0460At m0460Bt
3209
3215
85
m 0475Atcopper 3247
m0468At m0468Bt
m0476At 3249
m0476Ct m0
m0469At
477At
m0469Bt
m0477Bt 2830
m0477Ct
m0470At
2844 2810
m0471At
Two rhinoceroses, one at either end of the text (Pict-29).
m0471Bt
m0478At
3232
m0478Bt m m
0479At
0472At m0479Bt
1615
3224 m
with outstretched arms flanked by two men holding uprooted trees in their hands; a person seated on a tree with a tiger below with its head turned backwards; a tall jar with a lid. Is the pictorial of a tall jar the Sign 342 with a lid? Sign
m0481Ct
m0481Et
2846 Pict-41: Serpent, partly reclining on a low platform under a tree m0482At m0482Bt
45 seems to be a kneeling adorant offering a pot
1620 Pict65: Gharial, sometimes with a fish held in its jaw and/or surrounded by a school of fish.
(Sign 328
m0483At
)
2815 Pict-77: Tree, generally within a railing or on a platform.
m0483Bt m0483Ct m0483Et
m
0473At 0480At
3230
2848 m 0474At 3243
m0480Bt Tablet in basrelief. Side a: Tree Side b: Pict-111: From R.: A woman
2866 m0481At m0481Bt
Pict-145: Geometrical pattern.
86
m 0484At m0484Bt
2861 m 0486at
m0486bt
m0486ct
1625 m0 487At m0487Bt
m0487Ct
2852 m0 488At m 0488Bt m 0488Ct
Text +Onehorned bull + standard. Side a: From R.: a composite animal; a person seated on a tree with a tiger below looking up at the person; a svastika within a square border; an elephant (Composite animal has the body of a ram, horns of a zebu, trunk of an elephant, hindlegs of a tiger and an upraised serpent-like tail). Side c: From R.: a horned person standing between two branches of a pipal tree; a ram; a horned person kneeling in adoration; a low pedestal with some offerings. m
m 0489Ct m 0490At m0490BCt
throwing a spear at a bison and placing one foot on the head of the bison; a hooded serpent at left. m
1605
0493At m
m0491At
0493Bt Pict93: Three dancing figures in a row.
m0491BCt
1608 Pict-94: Four persons in a procession, each carrying a standard, one of which has the figure of a onehorned bull on top. m0492At m0492Bt Pict14: Two bisons standing face to face.
m 0493Ct
2843 m 0494At m 0494BGt Prism Tablet in basrelief.
1623 m 0495At
m0 492Ct
m0495Bt
0489At 2802 Prism: Tablet in basrelief. Side b:
m0495gt
m 0489Bt
2835 Pict-99: Person
87
2847b
within a railing or on a platform.
m0511Bt 2905
m0507At m0501At m0512At
m0507Bt m0496At m0496Bt
m0501Bt
3350 m0512Bt
1412 m0496Dt
m0508At
2906
m0502At m0508Bt
m0497At m0497Bt
m0513At 3352
m0502Bt 3345 m0503 Text m0498At
m0498Bt m0498Dt
m0499At
m0513Bt
3346
m0509At m0509Bt
3364 m0514At
3320
m0504At
m0504Bt
m0510At
m0514Bt 3302 m0515 Text
3323 3335
m0510Bt
m0500at
3319
m0505At
m0516At
m0500bt m0511At m0505Bt 2604 Pict-76: Tree, generally
1702
88
m0534At
m0523At m0516Bt m0528At m0523Bt 3398 m0517At
m0534Bt 1714
m0528Bt 3304 3368
m0517Bt
m0524At m0529At
3334
m0535At
m0524Bt m0519At
m0529Bt 3392
3391
m0535Bt
3355 m0525At m0519Bt
m0530At m0525Bt
m0536At
1710 1713 Buffalo
m0530Bt 3356
m0526At
m0531At
m0520 At, Bt
3312
2916 m0521
m0537At m0531Bt
m0526Bt
3407
3329 Buffalo
m0537Bt m0532At
m0522At
1705
m m0522Bt
m0536Bt
0527At m0532Bt 3349
3378
m0538At
m0527Bt m0538Bt 3336
89
m0553At
This is comparable to 3384
3305 ]
Sign 323
m0553Bt m0539At
m0539Bt
m540t
m0541At
m0544At
m0544Bt
m0549At
m0549Bt
3353
m0554At
3373
3357
m0545At
m0550At
m0555At
m0545Bt m0541Bt
m0550Bt 3351
3301
m0554Bt 1712
m0555Bt
3331 3314 m0546At
m0551At
m0542At m0551Bt m0542Bt
m0556At
m0546Bt 3383
3326 Hare?
1708 Oxantelope with long tail.
m0556Bt 3404
m0547At m0552At
m0543At
m0557At
m0547Bt m0543Bt
m0552Bt
m0557Bt
3303 3341 3306
3363 [Note the ‘heart’ orthograph on the body of the antelope.
m0548At
m0548Bt
90
m0567Bt m0558At
m0563At
serpent-like tail
3322 Bison. m0572At
m0558Bt
m0563Bt
m0568At
3342
m0572Bt 3317
3379 m0568Bt
m0559At m0564At
m0573At 3332 Tiger.
m0559Bt 2909
m0573Bt
m0564Bt m0569At
3415
3371 m0560At
m0560Bt
m0569Bt m0574At
m0565At
3372 m0574Bt
m0565Bt
3386
m0571At 3318
m0561At
3403 m0571Bt
m0561Bt
m0566At
3339 m0566Bt m0562At
m0562Bt
3361
3359
m0567At
2913 Horned elephant. Almost similar to the composition: Body of a ram (with inlaid ‘heart’ sign), horns of a bull, trunk of an elephant, hindlegs of a tiger and an upraised
m0575At
m0575Bt
3316
m0576At
91
m0576Bt
m0588Bt Horned archer.
29 3344
m0584Bt
m 0592At
m0577At
m0577Bt
3347
m0578At
14 Pict-89: Standing person with horns and bovine features, holding a bow in one hand and an arrow or an uncertain object in the other.
m0585At m0592Bt
m0585Bt
3369
m0586At m0578Bt
m0582At
2908
m0586Bt
m0580At
m0582Bt
3413 Pict-133: Double-axe (?) without shaft. [The sign is comparable to the sign which appears on the text of a Chanhudaro seal: Text 6402, Chanhudaro Seal 23]. m
3406 0593At
3358 m0587At
m0580Bt
m0593Bt 3337
m0583At
3321
m0587Bt m0581At m0583Bt
3365 Horned Archer?
m 0594At
m0594Bt
m0581Bt
3387 m0588At
3340 m0584At
m0595A
92
m0602Bt m 0618 3414
m0595B
m0627 m
1010 0604At
1004
m0619 2939
m0596At m0604Bt m
m0596Bt 3315
0620
m0628 1033
3313 m0598 Text
m0605At m0621
3410 m0605Bt
m0629
2367
m0599At 2902 m0599Bt
3360
m0606At
m0630A m0622
m0606Bt m0631 m0623 2918
1008
m0600At m0608At m0600Bt
m0624 1015
m0608Bt
m0632 1017
3375 m0601At
m0625 m0614 1904
m0633
1027
m0601Bt
1016 m0626
m0602At
m0615 1012
m0634
93
2069
m0644
m0650
m0658
1553
1032
1039
m0635a
m0636 2019
m 0659
m0645
m0651 2578
m0637 1034
m0661
m0646A1
2207
m0652 m 0638 Onehorned bull
m0646a12 m0653
1404 m0646A2
m 0662
1057
m0
1061
2653
639
m0640
m0654 2561
m0647 m0641
m0663 2597
1024 m0655 m0664
2098 m0642
m 2628
0648 m0656 3104
m0665 m0657 2026 m0643
1139
m 0649 2530
m0666
94
2243 m0687 m m0667
0673 1025
m0688
m0681 2182
1111
m0689 m0 682
m0690
m0674 m0668 m0682A2
1068
2032
m0691
2690 m
m0675 m0669
0683a
m0692 1031
2197
2686
m0683A1 m 0676 m0683A2 m
2174
0670
m0693 m0
1030
677
m0694 m 0684 m0695
m 0671
m0678
1021
1066
m 0685 1276
m0679
m0696 m 0672 1040
m0680A1 m0686 2324
m0697
95
m0698 m 0705 2272 m 0699 1050
m0706 1097 m0707
this may be a logonym (i.e. two hieroglyphs – rings and spoked circle - representing the same lexeme) for the rings on the neck?
m0713 2432
m0700 m0708
m0715
2666
2681
m0 701 m0709 1059 2071
m0716 m0710 3159 m0702 2206 m0711
2076 [Are there signs following these two signs?]
1166 m0703 m0717
2438 m0712
1078
1091 Note Sign391 m0704 2351
ligatured on the animal’s neck;
96
m0714
2446
97
m0740
m0733
m0725 m0718
2519
1090
2209 m0726 m0741 2421
m0734 m0719 1539
m0727a
2137
m0742 2595 m0727A1
m0720
m0735 1060
m0743
1082 m0727A2 2168
m0744
m m0736
0721 m0728
1165
2562
m0745
2691
1175
m
m0737
0722 1014
1112
m0729 1177
m 0746
m
1081
0723
m0730
2054
m0738 2644 m0747 2471
m0732 m0724
m0739 2674 m0748
98
1135
m0764 m0765
m
m0774
0755
m0749 2008
m0766 m0775 m0756a
m0750
m0767 m0776
1028 2065
m0768
1146
1176 m0751 1102
m0757 m0777
2507 m0769
2536
2034 m0758a m0752a 2184 m0770a 1138 m0753a
m0759 Onehorned bull.
m0778 2425
2384 m0753A1
m0760
m0771
m 2676
m0753A2 2589
0779 2622
m0761 One-horned bull. 1417 m0772
m0780
2453
1178
m0754 1145 m0762a 2645 m0763
m0773 m0781 2251
99
m0782
m0789 1185
1122
2570
m0805 3041
m0798
m0790
m0783
m0804 m0797
1084 1127 m0806
m0791 m0799 3015 or
m0784
3147
1128 m0792
m0807
2013
m0800
2669
m0785 1181
m0808
m0793
m0801 2146 2104
m0786
m0794
1107
m0809
2067 m0802
m0787
2548
1182
m0795 1228
2503
m m0803 m0796
m0788
0810 2364
1131
2105 m 0811
100
2211
m0819
m
m0812 2629
2081
0827 2513
m0813
m0820
m0828
m0835 2179
m0836 2114 m0837
m0814
m0821 1238
2426
m 0815
m0822 1249
m0829
3085
m0830 2274
m0838 2368
m0831 2546
m0839
2555
m0823
2476 1086
m0816 m0832 2424
m0824 1164
m0840 2617 m0833
m 0817 2435
m0825 1239
2281 m0841 m
0826 m0818 1089
m0834 2569b
m0842 2704
101
m0859 m0851
m0843
m0866
2063
2646
2660 m0844 1290 m0860
m0852a
m0867
2413
m0845
m0861
2202
1123
3160
m0853 m0846 1005
m0868
2255 m0862 2253
m0869
m0854 2501
m0847 1156 m0855 m0848 2241
2473
m0863
m0870
2621 Is the ‘stubble’ ligatured glyph a variant of Sign 162
1160 m0871
m0856 ?] m0849
m0872
1211
1121
m0864 1240 m0857 2091
m0850 2533
m0873 1170
m0865 m0858a 2189
1109 m0874
102
3092 2312 m 0890 m0875 1189
m0883
m0897 2545
2117
m0891 1073
m0876
m0898 2167
m0884 3158 m0877
m0899 2242
m0892 m0885
1247
m
m0878
0900
1092
m0886 3072
m0893 2659 One-horned bull.
1169
m 0901 2276
m0879 2121
m0887a
2335
m0902a
m0894 2393
m0880 m0903a. m0895 m0888
1294 2262
m0881
1155
1242
m0904 m0889
m0882
1126
m0896 2134
m0905
103
m 0906
m0934 m0917 1224
m0926 1158 2219
m0907 2192
m0935 2144
m0918
m0908
m0927 1171
m0919 2343
m0936 1197
m0928 1202
m0920 1219 m0909
m0937 m0929a 1144
2066
3028 m0938 2158
m m0910
0921
m0911
m0922
m0930
1282
m0939a 2652
3020 m0931 3091
m0923 m0914
m0940a 2060
m0932
2143 m0924
3022 m0941
2591 m0915 m0933
1218
2256
2160 m0916 1204
m0925 1292
m0942. 1296
104
m0943
m0951 1263
2282
2460
1147
m0968
m0960
m0952 2265
m0944
m0967
m0959
2300
1388
2419
m0969 m0945 1208
m0953 2582
2239
m0961 1163
m0946 2358
m0970a 2116
m0954 1262
m0962 3074
m0947 m 2404
m0955
m0963
2547
0971 1234
1232
m0948 2250 m0964
m0956 1251
m0972a 2557
2010
m0949A m0957 m0949C 1271 Also, Sign 141
1026
m0965
m0973a 2585
1222 m0958 2348
m0974a m0966
2650
m0950a 1013
2070
105
m1002 m0975 2295
m0976
m0984 1143
m0993a 1267
m0985
m0994a
m1003 1275 m1004 2165
1203
m0995
m0986a 2341 m0977 3152
m0978
m0979
m m0987a 1007
m0996 2299 Onehorned bull.
m0988
m0997 a 3105
2564
m1006 1499 Bovid.
m0989 m0980
1005 1001
m0998 2176
2317 m0990 2472 One-horned bull. m0981
m0991 2203 m0982a 2021
m1007 m0999 2452
m1000a 1487 Onehorned bull.
m1008
m1009 2627
m1010 m0992 2464
m1001a 1283
2672 Bovid.
m0983
106
m1011 m1020
m1038
m1012
m1029
2496
1265
m1013
m1039
m1014 Onehorned bull?
m1040
m1030
m1021a.
3145 1299
1397
m1041
m1022
m1015
m1031
m1042
2053
m1043
m102 3
m1016. 1348
m1032 m1024
m1017.
m1025a
2217
m1044a 1551 Bovid.
m1033
1300
m1045 m1026a. 1307
m1018a
2447 Bovid. m1034 2467 m1046
2483 Bovid.
3058
m 1027 m1036
m1019. 1298
m1028 2671 Bovid.
m1047 1281 m1037
107
m1048
m1066 1547
m1058a 1392
m1049
m1075a 1479
m1067a 1496
3032
m1076 m1059 m1068
m1050 1196
m1060 m1077a 1497 2359
m1069 m1051 m1 m 1052
1390
061a 1379
m1078
3100
m1070 2040
m
m1079
1062 2089
m1053
2655
2163
m1071 1488 m1063 2357
m1054 2448
1542 m1072a
m1064 1492
m1055
m1080
1443 m1081a
2529
2129 m1065 2151
m1073 1489
m1057 2566
m1082. m1074 1349
108
m1102 m1083 m1092 1312
m1110
m1084
m1
1316 Bison. m1093 m1085.
1334
103colour. 1337 m1111.
m1094
1322
1333
m1104 1335
m1086a 3070
m1095
m1112
2495 Bison
m1105
2366 Zebu.
m1096 2410 m1087a. m1097 2313
1319
m1088 2268
m1106 2331 Zebu
m1098 1301
m1113 2441
m1114. 1331 m1107a 2306
m1089a.
m1115
m1099 1313
1328 Zebu 1315
m1100 2201 Bison
m1108 1339
m1090
m1116.
2675
1329
m
m1091
1101 2431 Zebu.
m1109 1327 Zebu
109
1302 Markhor. m1117a 2615
m1118 3157
m1130
m1136
m1145
m1131
m1137 2531 Rhinoceros.
m146a 1374 Elephant
m1119
m1147 m1132 1545 Rhinoceros.
2463
m1138. 1344
m1120 2362
m1148 2590 m1133
m1122 2610
1343
m1139. 1341
m1149 1368 Elephant.
m1140a m1134 m1126
2651
2188 Rhinoceros.
m1150
2332 1534 m1127 2696
m1128a 3163
m1129a
m1135 m1141 2140 Pict-50 Composite animal: features of an ox and a rhinoceros facing the standard device.
2169
m1151 1535 m1142
m1143
m1152 1369
m1144
.
110
dotted circles on its body.
2058 m1154
1626 m1163 2640 Tiger.
1362 Elephant.
m1164
m1155
m1171 Composite animal
Pict-47 Row of uncertain animals in file.
m1172
2665 Tiger. 2573
m1173 m1169a
1191
m1165a m1156 2064 1370
m1166. m1157a
1351
2110 m1167 2484
m158 Tiger.
m1159 2171
m1168
m1160 2057
2360 Tiger with long (zebu’s) horns? 1385
m1161 2504
m1162
2024 Pict-58: Composite motif: body of an ox and three heads: of a onehorned bull (looking forward), of antelope (looking backward), and of shorthorned bull (bison) (looking downward).
m1175a 2493 Composite animal: human face, zebu's horns, elephant tusks and trunk, ram's forepart, unicorn's trunk and feet, tiger's hindpart and serpent-like tail.
m1176 m1170a 1382 Composi te animal m1177
Pict-49 Uncertain animal with
2450 Composite animal:
111
human face, zebu's horns, elephant tusks and trunk, ram's forepart, unicorn's trunk and feet, tiger's hindpart and serpent-like tail.
m1178 2559
m1179 2606 Human-faced markhor with long wavy horns, with neck-bands and a short tail.
m1180a 1303 . Human-faced markhor
m1181Acolour 2222 Pict-80: Threefaced, horned person (with a three-leaved
pipal branch on the crown), wearing bangles and armlets and seated on a hoofed platform
m1183a
m1184
Pa dri . Head painted on storage jar from Padri, Gujarat (c. 2800 BCE). Details of body with multiple hands (?) Similar horned-heads painted on jars are found at Kot Diji, Burzhom and Kunal (c. 3rd millennium BCE). [Source: Page 21, Figs. 10A and B in: Deo Prakash Sharma, 2000, Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets, Delhi, National Museum].
m1182a
m1185
Pict-103 Horned (female with breasts hanging down?) person with a tail and bovine legs standing near a tree fisting a horned tiger rearing on its hindlegs.
of a pipal tree; a low pedestal with offerings (? or human head?); a horned person kneeling in adoration; a ram with short tail and curling horns; a row of seven robed figures, with twigs on their pigtails.
m1187
m1 188
2228
m1189
1357
1396
m1186Acolour
2430 Composition: horned person with a pigtail standing between the branches
m1190
2558
m1191 1389
112
m1192 1495
2045
m1202A m
m1193a
1206AE
m1202C.
2401 1325 Space on the side of the seal was used to inscribe a third line
m1194a 3066
m1195 2181
m1203A
m1196
m1203B 1018
m1197
m1204 2095
m1198 1482
m1206e1
Pict-40: Frog.
m1206F
2565 Pict-37 Goatantelope with a short tail
2229 Seal with a projecting knob containing the top three signs; m1206e is inscribed on the top edge of the lower indented frame which depicts the bison.
m1224A
m1224B 1224
m1224e
Pict-88 Silver m1199Acolour 2520
m1205a
m1205c m1200A m1 200C 3078
m1205f 1293 + Two signs on the sides of the seal.
m1208
m1221
m1222 1268
1227 Standing person with horns and bovine features (hoofed legs and/or tail).
m1223 m1225A
m1201
113
m1225B. 1311 Cube seal with perforation through the breadth of the seal Pict-118: svastika_ , generally within a square or rectangular border.
2497 Unfinished seal
1483 Unfinished seal?
m1254 m1255
m1233A
m1239 m1256 m1240
m1233B
m1257 m1241 m1258
m1233cd
m1242 m1259 m1243
2352
m1226A.
m1260 m1244
1326 Unfinish ed seal. m1234a
m1245
m
m1227
m1246 m1234b
m1228a 1394
m1261
m1247
m1248
m1234d
1262 2301 m1263 1391
m1234e
m1249 m1264a
m1230a 1358
m1235a
m1250
1405
m1251 m1231 2321 Unfinished seal?
m1265
m1235bc 2394 Unfinished seal
m1252
2227 m1266
m1253
1470
m1232a m1236
114
m1267
1462 m1301
1494 m1268
m1291a 2688
m1281 2266
m1302a 1432
m1292
2288 m1282
1461
m1269 m1283 m1270
m1303a 1398
m1293a
m
2388
m1284a
1304
1464 2477 m1271colour 2603
1423 m1294 2291
m1285a
m1305 2289
2204 m1295
m1272
1430
m1273 2679
m1296a 3144
m1287 m1274 2106 m1275 3161 m1276 2428 m1277colour
m1306
1458
m1286 1455
m1307 m1308
1454 m1297
2697 1445
m1288 3086
m1309 2579
m1298 3037
m1310
m1289 m1299a
1452
1418
1456 m1278 2028 m1280a
m1290 1463
m
m1311 2485
1300 2350
m1312 2318
115
m1313
m
m1336a 2515
m1325
2093
1350 2599
2118 m1326
m1314a 1439
3143
m1337 2055
m1351 2142
m1315
m1327 1408
2345 m1316a
m1338a 2020
m1353
m1339 2025
m1328
1459
2392
m1317 3095
m1354a
m1340 m1329A m1329C
m1318 1416
2439
m1319
m1330 1409
1498
2369 m1355a m1341 2092
2568
m1356
m1342a
m1320 1393 1447
m1331a 2303
m1321 1446
m1343
m1357 2356
1433
m1358
m1332
m1322a 3079
m1333 1434
m1344 2315
m1359 2575
m1334a
m1346a
m1360
m 1323
2170 m1 2006 m1324
1442
349B m1335a
2682 2072
m1349Acolour
m1361a 1474
116
m1362A
m1375A1
m1382A1
m1375A2
m1382A2 Seal impression on a potsherd 3244
m1369 1478
m1362C 2230
m 1370a 2509 Cylinder seal; tree branch
m1363 2372
1560 Seal impression on pot
m
m1376A1
1383
m1364A m1371A1
m1364C
m1376A2 m
2542
1384si m1371A2 m1378A1
m1365A m1372A1 m1385A14
m1378A2 m1365B m1372A2 2658 Cricket, spider or prawn?
m
m1379A2
1385A2
m1373A1 m m1380A2
1366 2094
m1385A3 m1373A2 m 1381A1
m1367a 2661 Two bisons standing faceto-face
m1386si m1374A1 m1381A2 1559 m1374A2
m1368 1460
Seal Impression on a pot
m1387t
m1388t 2856
117
m1395At
m1403At
m1389t
m1403Bt m1395Bt
m1390At m1396t m 1397At m1390Bt
m 1397Bt
2868 Pict74: Bird in flight.
m 1398t 2807
m1391t 2826
m1392t 2837
m1 405At Pict-97: Person standing at the center pointing with his right hand at a bison facing a trough, and with his left hand pointing
m1400At
to the sign Obverse: A tiger and a rhinoceros in file. m 1405Bt Pict-48 A tiger and a rhinoceros in file
m1400Bcolour
2851
2841 m1393t
vaulting over? An adorant? m1407At
m1407Bt m1408At m1409At
m1409Bt Serpent (?) entwined around a pillar with capital (?) or ringstones stacked on a pillar?; the motif is carved in high relief on the reverse side of the inscribed object. m1410At
m1401t m1410Bt
2822 m1406At m
m1394t
m1411At
1402At m 1402Bt
m1406Bcolour
m1411Bt
2827 Pict102: Drummer and people
118
m1419Bt
m1427Bt 2812
m1412At m1412Bt
2860 m1428At
m1420At 2865
m1413At m1413Bt
m1428Bt m1428Ct
m1421At m1414At
m1421Bt
m1414Bt
m1422At
2842
2845
m1415At m1423At m1415Bt m1423Bt Elephant shown on both sides of the tablet.
2825 m1416At
m 1424Atc
m1416Bt
m1424Btc 2818 3234
m1417t 3242
m1 m
425At m
1418At 1425Bt m1418Bt m1427At m1419At
119
m1426 1621
120
m1429At m1429Bt Pict125: Boat. m1429Ct
3246 Gharial holding a fish in its jaws. Pict-100
Person throwing a spear at a buffalo and placing one foot on the head of the buffalo.
2819 Pict60: Composite animal with the body of an ox and three heads [one each of onehorned bull (looking forward), antelope (looking backward) and bison (looking downwards)] at right; a goat standing on its hindlegs and browsing from a tree at the center.
(?) at right. Pict-116: From R.—a person holding a vessel; a woman with a platter (?); a kneeling person with a staff in his hands facing the woman; a goat with its forelegs on a platform under a tree. [Or, two antelopes flanking a tree on a platform, with one antelope looking backwards?]
m1431A colour 2279 m1430Bt
m1436it
m1438it
m1439it 3132 m1440 it 2374
m1441it
m1442it
m1443it 3213
m1444Ait m1432At
m1431B colour
m1444Bit
m1431C colour
2339
m1432Bt m1430C
m1431E colour m1445Ait
m1430At Pict101: Person throwing a spear at a buffalo and placing one foot on its head; three persons standing near a tree at the centre.
2805 Row of animals in file (a one-horned bull, an elephant and a rhinoceros from right); a gharial with a fish held in its jaw above the animals; a bird
m1432Ct m1445Bit m1433At
2505
m1447Ait
m1433Bt m1433Ct
121
m1448Act
m1483Act m1463ABct 2919 m1452Act
m1448Bct
m1449Act
m1465Act 2921
m1452Bct 2912
m1449Bct (obverse of inscription) Incised copper tablet (two sides) Markhor with head turned backwards
m1483Bct
m1453Act
m1470Act
m1484Act
m1484Bct
m1472Bct m1485Bct
m1453Bct m1456Act
m1474Act m1486Act
1805
m1474Bct
1801 m1475Act m1457Act m1450Act
m1475Bct
m1457Bct
m1486Bct 1711 Incised copper tablets.Elepha nt
m1476Bct
m1450Bct 1701
2904 Pict-124: Endless knot motif.
m1477Act
m1477Bct
m1451Act
m1488Bct
m1491Act
m1458Act m1482Act m1451Bct
m1491Bct m1461Act m1482Bct m1462Act
122
m1492Act
m1508Bct 1804
m1517Act 1708
m1492Bct
m 1493Bct m1494
Pict-39 Oxantelope with a long tail; a trough in front.
m1517Bct m1518 m1511Act 1709 m1511Bct
m 1520Act
m1501Bct
1706 Hare
m1512Act
m 1520Bct
m1502Bct
2907
m1512Bct
Pict-42 m1503Act m1497Act m1503Bct
m1513 1712 m1514
m1521Act
1715
m1521Bct
m 1498Act
m
m1505Act
m1522Act
1515Act
m1498Bct
m1522Bct
m1505Bct m1515Bct
2917
m1523Act
m1506Act 2910
1803
m1506Bct m1516Act
Pict-30
m1523Bct m1524 3396
m1508Act m1516Bct m1528Act
123
m1529Act 2920
a combination of two rhinoceroses with heads of two bulls attached on either end of the composite body.
m1549Act
m1598
m1549Bct m1601 3252
m 1563Act
m1529Bct m1535Act
m1563Bct
m1603 m1609
m1532Act m1566Bct m1532Bct
m1535Bct
m1534Act m1540Act
m1568Act
m1611
m1568Bct m1569 3333
m1626 3245 m1
m1534Bct
575
colour 1703 Composition: Two horned heads one at either end of the body. Note the dottings on the thighs which is a unique artistic feature of depicting a rhinoceros (the legs are like those of a rhinoceros?). The body apparently is
1576
m1629bangle
m m1540colour
m1630bangle m1
m1547Act
1547Bct
578 3251
m1631bangle
m1632bangle m1591 m1633bangle
m1548Acolour 1592 m1548Bct
m1634bangle m
1597
m1635bangle
m1636bangle
124
Geometrical pattern. m1637bangle
m1658colour P
m 1638bangle
ict-141: Geometrical pattern. 2942
m1639bangle
m1640bangle
m1653 ivory plaque 1905 m1654A ivory cube
Pict-142: Geometrical pattern. 2943 Ivory or bone rod
m1654B ivory cube
2952 Etched Bead
m1659bangle Mohenjodaro Texts either not illustrated or not linked with inscribed objects:
m1641bangle
m1643bangle
Pict-143: Geometrical pattern.Ivory stick
m1645bangle 2948
m1654D ivory cube
1003 1020 m1655faience ornament
m1646bangle
m1647bangle
m1648shell m1649Acone m1649Bcone 3253 m1 650ivory stick 3505 Pict-144:
Ivory rod, ivory plaque with dotted circles. Mohenjodaro. [Musee National De Arts Asiatiques Guimet, 19881989, Les cites oubliees de l’Indus Archeologie du Pakistan.] m 1652A ivory stick
1002
m1656colour steatite ornament
1036 1041 1043 1044 1045 1049 1053 1055 1065 1070 1072
m1657A steatite 1074 1077 m1657B steatite m 1658AB etched bead
1079 1083 1088 1094
125
1101 1103 1106 1116 1117 1125 1130
126
1429 m1651Aivory stick m1651D
m1651F
2947
127
1132 1134 1136 1137
1133
1141 1142 1154 1157 1159 1162 1172 1173 1174 1179 1183 1190 1198 1199 1200 1201 1207 1213 1217 1220 1229 1231
1209 1215 1225
1226
1527 1530 1532 1533
1436 1451 1467
1441 1453
1486
1529 1531 1538 1549
1235 1550 1561
1244
1541
1554
1558 1563
1248
1253 1254 1255 1257 1260 1266 1269 1270 1272 1273 1274 1279 1285
1435 1448 1457 1468 1480 1484 1490 1491
1212
1237 1243 1246
1345 1346 1347 1350 1365 1366 1372 1407 1411 1419 1420 1424 1425 1427
1602 1604 1261
1609
1610
1611
1613 1616 1628
1278 1286
1289 1305 1314 1318 1320 1323 1330 zebu bull 1338
1622 1704
1707
1802 1806 1813 1902 1903 2005 2007 2023 2027 2035 2038 2039 2042 2049 2050
128
2051 2061
2056
2436 2443
2437
2068 2073 2080
2456 2465
2079 2107 2109
2111
2112
2466
2119 2125 2130 2141
2126 2139 2145
2457
2468 2136
2469
2478 2480
2482
2489 2491 2498
2147 2153 2154 2157 2164 2186 2190 2191 2205
2499 2506 2512 2514
2196
2214 2224
2232 2244
2246 2269
2270 2275 2278 2280 2292 2293 2310 2322
2277 2283
2294
2296
2328 2338
2342 2344 2379 2380 2402 2414 2417 2427
2349 2385
2389 2402 2418 2434
2523 2526 2528 2532 2538 2539 2540 2541 2551 2552 2556 2560 2572 2580 2581 2583 2587 2588 2592
2326
2327 2334
2508
2516 2525
2220
2231 2236 2252
2492
2377
2598 2602 2609 2612 2613 2618 2632 2633 2639
2596 2600 2605
2601 2608 2611 2614
2620
2636
2638
129
2662 2677 2684
2664 2683
2667
2685 2693 2695
2692 2700
2705
2706
2808
2925 Inscribed bronze implement (MIC Plate CXXVI-5) 2926 Inscribed bronze implement (MIC Plate CXXVII-1) 2928 Inscribed bronze implement (MIC Plate CXXXIII-1)
2814 2929 Incised on pottery 2820 2930 Graffiti on pottery
2824 2831
2839
2849
2931 Graffiti on pottery 2934 Graffiti on pottery 2935 Graffiti on pottery 2936 Graffiti on pottery 2937 Seal impression on pot
2857 2858 2901 Incised copper tablet 2903 Incised copper tablet
2911 Incised copper tablets. Markhor.
2938Mohenjodaro, Pottery graffiti. Boat. 2940 Ivory or bone rod 2941 Ivory or bone rod Geometrical patterns followed by inscription. 2944 Ivory or bone rod 2945 Ivory or bone rod 2947
2915 2923 Inscribed bronze implement (MIC Plate CXXVI-2) 2924 Inscribed bronze implement (MIC Plate CXXVI-3)
2949 Dotted circles
2950
2951 3001
3002
130
3010
3390 3395
3016
3393 3401
3019 3405 3021
3502 3023
3024 3508 3511
3035 3038 3044
3501 3503 3504 3506 3507 3509 3510 3512 3513
3042
3051 3056
3052 3063 3064 3067
Nindowari3069 damb01colour
3080 3090
Squirrel sign
3094 3096
3098
3099
3114
3123 3153
Nindowari-damb02
3151 3154 Nindowari-damb03 3155
3156 3162 3202
3203 3207
3165 Nausharo01
3206 3217 3222
3226 3309
3238
3218
Nausharo02
3307 Nausharo03
3310
Nausharo04
3318
3325
3326 3343
3328 3354
3362 3374 3385
3367
Nausharo05 Nausharo06
3376 3388
Nausharo07
Nausharo08
131
Rakhigarhi: Cylinder Seal (ASI), Lizard or gharial?
Pirak16 Pirak17
Nausharo09
Pirak18 Pirak18A
Nausharo10 Pirak19
Naro-Waro-dharo01
Pirak2
Naro-Waro-dharo02
Pirak20
Naro-Waro-dharo03
Pirak24 Pabumath
Prabhas Patan (Somnath) 1A
Prabhas Patan (Somnath)1B
Pirak26Ac
Pirak27
Pirak28
Pirak1 Pirak35 Pirak12
Pirak13 Pirak38
Pirak15
132
Pirak3postharappan Rahman-dheri150
Pirak40
Rahman-dheri153 Pirak44 Rahman-dheri156 Rangpur Rahman-dheri158
Rakhigarhi1 Rakhigarhi 2 9111
Rahman-dheri216
Rakhigarhi 65
Rahman-dheri241
Rahman-dheri01Acolour Rahman-dheri242
Rahman-dheri01B Rahman-dheri243 Rahman-dheri120
Rahman-dheri126 Rahman-dheri254
Rahman-dheri127 Rahman-dheri255
133
9021 Rahman-dheri257 9022
Shahi-tumpt Rahman-dheri258
Rahman-dheri259
Sibri-damb01A Sibri-damb01B
Rahman-dheri260 Sibri-damb02a Sibri-damb02E Rahman-dheri90
Sibri-damb03a sibricylindersealzebu
Rahman-dheri92
Rohira1
Rohira2 Rojdi 9041 9042
Rupar1A Rupar1B
Surkotada1
9091
Surkotada 2
9092
Surkotada3c 9093
Surkotada 4
9094
134
Surkotada 6
9095
unkn02
Surkotada 7 unkn03 Tarkhanewala-dera1AB unkn04
Tarkhanewala-dera 3
unkn05A unkn05B
9031
Tarakai Qila01A colour
unkn06
Tarakai Qila01B Seau l’nde. Musee des Arts Asiatique, Guimet, France Tarakai Qila02
Tarakai Qila03
Tarakai Qila04
Tarakai Qila06
(provenance) unkn01
135
Inscribed objects found during exactions in 1993, 1994, 1995 at Harappa
har601 Steatite seal
har614 Pottery, seal impression
har615 Terracotta tag, impressed. 7.01 Cast tablet, copper alloy
har602 Steatite seal 7.02 Cast tablet, copper alloy har603 Steatite seal har604 Steatite tablet, incised 7.03 Seal har605 Steatite tablet, incised har606 Steatite tablet, incised
7.04 Seal
har607 Steatite tablet, incised 7.05 Seal har608 terracotta tablet, bas-relief har609 terracotta tablet, bas-relief 7.06 Seal har610 faience tablet, bas-relief har611 faience tablet, bas-relief 7.07 Moulded tablet 2 sides
har612 faience tablet, bas-relief
7.08 Moulded tablet 2 sides
har613 faience tablet, bas-relief
7.09 Moulded tablet 2 sides
136
9.03 Moulded tablet 3 sides 7.10 Moulded tablet 2 sides 9.04 Moulded tablet 3 sides
9.05 Moulded tablet 4 sides 8.01 Moulded tablet 3 sides
8.02 Moulded tablet 2 sides 9.06 Moulded tablet 2 sides 9.07 Moulded tablet 2 sides
8.03 Moulded tablet 2 sides
9.08 Moulded tablet 2 sides
9.09 Moulded tablet 2 sides 8.04 Moulded tablet 3 sides
8.05Moulded tablet 2 sides
9.10 Moulded tablet 2 sides 9.01 Moulded tablet 2 sides 9.11 Moulded tablet 2 sides
9.02 Moulded tablet 3 sides
10.01 Incised tablet 2 sides
137
10.01 Incised tablet 2 sides 10.14 Incised tablet 2 sides 10.03 Incised tablet 2 sides
10.15 Incised tablet 2 sides
10.16 Incised tablet 2 sides 10.04 Incised tablet 2 sides 10.17 Incised tablet 2 sides 10.05 Incised tablet 3 sides
10.18 Incised tablet 2 sides 10.19 Incised tablet 2 sides
10.06 Incised tablet 3 sides 10.20 Incised tablet 2 sides
10.07 Incised tablet 3 sides
10.21 Incised tablet 1 side 11.1 to 11.3 terracotta moulded tablets 2 sides 11.01
10.08 Incised tablet 3 sides 10.09 Incised tablet 2 sides
11.02
1
1.03 10.10 Incised tablet 2 sides 11.4 to 11.12 faience moulded tablets 2 sides 11.04
10.11 Incised tablet 2 sides 10.12 Incised tablet 2 sides 11.05 1013 Incised tablet 2 sides
138
11.06
12.05 11.07 11.08
12.06
12
.07 12.08 12.09 Chuck mould fragment with incised signs
11.09
11.10 11.11
11.12 Inscribed ceramic vessels
12.1 black-slipped jar
12.2 black-slipped jar 12.3 vessel fragment (stone)
12.4 pointed base goblet with seal impression 12.5 to 12.8 pointed base goblet sherds with seal impressions
139
Mountain topped by a leaf gets stylized as an important motif. Pro-elamite glyptics. Leaf motif. 1-c, After Legrain,L., 1921, Empreintes de cachets elamites, Mem. Mission Arch. De Perse 16, Paris: 62-654; d. After Amiet, P., 1961, La glyptique mesopotamienne archaique, Paris: 497; Mundigak IV.3; 3. After Casal, J.M., 1961, Fouilles de Mundigak I-II. Mem. Delegation Arch. Franaise en Afthanistan 17, Paris: fig. 102: 485; f. Early Harappan. Kalibangan. After Sankalia, 1974: 346, fig. 88d, A. H-L; cf. Fig. 23.45 Asko Parpola, 1996, fig. 23.45. Two goats eating from a tree on a mountain top in proto-Elamite seals from Susa [After Amiet, P., 1972, Glyptique susienne I-II, Mem. Delegation Arch. En Iran 43, Paris: 978 and Legrain, L., 1921, Emprientes de cachets elamites, Mem. Mission Arch. De Perse 16, Paris: 316]. Cylinder seal and modern impression: hunting scene, 2250–2150 B.C.; late Akkadian period Mesopotamia Chert; H. 1 1/16 in. (2.8 cm) This seal, depicting a man hunting an ibex in a mountain forest, is an early attempt to represent a landscape in Mesopotamian art. It was made during the Akkadian period (ca. 2350–2150 B.C.), during which the iconographic repertory of the seal engraver expanded to include a variety of new mythological and narrative subjects. The owner of the seal was Balu-ili, a high court official whose title was Cupbearer. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/02/wam/hod_41.160.192.htm Three caprids. Tepe Yahya. Cylinder seal reconstructed from seven fragments. To the left of this pair is a third caprid rampant with head turned back whose horns are viewed frontally rather than in profile. Beneath the belly of each animal is a four-sided cross. There are 9 fragments of clay slab wall sealings. Wall plaster is preserved on the reverse of most fragments. Seal is carefully roled along horizontal axis of sealing. LambergKarlovsky 1971: pls. 4, 5; cf. Fig. 10.27 in Pittman, 2001, opcit. Two caprids with heads turned back rampant against a stepped platform (mountain) surmounted by a tree.
Griffin, Baluchistan (Provenance unknown); ficus leaves, tiger, with a wing, ligatured to an eagle. eru_, aru = eagle (Akkadian/Assyrian) eruvai = a kind of kite whose head is white and whose body is brown; eagle (Ta.); eruva = eagle, kite (Ma.)(DEDR 819). aru_ = lion (As god of devastation, Nergal is called A-ri-a) (Akkadian)
140
aba_ru = lead; antimony (annaku is most unlikely to be lead rather than tin).(cf. CAD A (II): 126; AHw 49) (Akkadian/Assyrian). abru = wing (Akkadian/Assyrian) Glyph: kama_t.hiyo = archer; ka_mat.hum = a bow; ka_mad.i_, ka_mad.um = a chip of bamboo (G.) ka_mat.hiyo a bowman; an archer (Skt.lex.) Copper tablets (15)Field Symbol 52
Sign 326 (35) occurs on copper tablets. Sign 327 (42) kamar.kom = fig leaf (Santali.lex.) kamarmar.a_ (Has.), kamar.kom (Nag.); the petiole or stalk of a leaf (Mundari.lex.) Rebus: kamat.ha_yo = a learned carpenter or mason, working on scientific principles (G.) kammat.i_d.u = a goldsmith, a silversmith (Te.) kamat.amu, kammat.amu = a portable furnace for melting precious metals (Te.) The leaf glyph can also be ligatured with summit of mountains glyph. (smith’s workshop: kamat.a ku_t.am: fig leaf + summit) Sign 230 (54) ku_t.amu = summit of a mountain (Te.lex.) Rebus: ku_t.akamu = mixture (Te.lex.) ku_t.am = workshop (Ta.) Mohenjo-daro. Copper tablet DK 11307 (SC 63.10/262).
Mohenjodaro; limestone; Mackay, 1938, p. 344, Pl. LXXXIX:376.
Mohenjodaro; Pale yellow enstatite; Mackay 1938, pp. 344-5; Pl. XCVI:488; Collon, 1987, Fig. 607.
Texts related to West Asian inscriptions (either not illustrated or not linked): 9801Susa 9811Djoka (Umma) 9821 Kish 9822 Kish
141
9834 Ur 9842 Ur [Pierre de talc. Louvre, AO 9036. P. Amiet, Bas-relliefs imaginaries de l’Orient ancien, Paris, 1973, p. 94, no. 274…ils proviendrait de Tello, l’ancienne Girsu, une des cites de l’Etat sumerien de Lagash. Musee National De Arts Asiatiques Guimet, 1988-1989, Les cites oubliees de l’Indus Archeologie du Pakistan.] 9851 Telloh 9852 Telloh 9903 Prob. West Asian find 9904 Prob. West Asian find Susa, Iran; steatite cylinder seal . A bison with head lowered, feeding from a basin. A second bison figure is seen. Inscription on top. Louvre Sb 2425, Delaporte, 1920, s.299 and cf. T.24 from Tello, Iraq; Collon, 1987, Fig. 608.Musee du Louvre and Pierre and Maurice Chuzeville; Legend: Indus script; bone. Many scholars have noted the contacts between the Mesopotamian and Sarasvati Sindhu (Indus) Civilizations, in terms of cultural history, chronology, artefacts (beads, jewellery), pottery and seals found from archaeological sites in the two areas. Cylinder seal impression. British Museum (Reg. No. OA 1960.7-18.1). Found in Seistan. Called the MacMahon cylinder seal. The end of the cylinder shows a combination of triangles (like a range of mountains) reminiscent of a Mohenjo-daro seal (M-443B). The inscription has six signs: a human figures ligatured to three rows of four vertical lines (total count of 12).. Next is a human figure holding in his left hand a rectangular device filled with single hatching (see Marshall 1931, II: 446, no. 196b). "...the four examples of round seals found in Mohenjodaro show well-supported sequences, whereas the three from Mesopotamia show sequences of signs not paralleled elsewhere in the Indus Script. But the ordinary square seals found in Mesopotamia show the normal Mohenjodaro sequences. In other words, the square seals are in the Indian language, and were probably imported in the course of trade; while the circular seals, although in the Indus script, are in a different language, and were probably manufactured in Mesopotamia for a Sumerian- or Semitic-speaking person of Indian descent..." [G.R. Hunter,1932. Mohenjodaro--Indus Epigraphy, JRAS: 466-503] The acculturation of Meluhhans (probably, Indus people) residing in Mesopotamia in the late third and early second millennium BC, is noted by their adoption of Sumerian
142
names (Parpola, Parpola and Brunswig 1977: 155-159). "The adaptation of Harappan motifs and script to the Dilmun seal form may be a further indication of the acculturative phenomenon, one indicated in Mesopotamia by the adaptation of Harappan traits to the cylinder seal." (Brunswig et al, 1983, p. 110). [Robert H. Brunswig, Jr. et al, New Indus Type and Related Seals from the Near East, 101115 in: Daniel T. Potts (ed.), Dilmun: New Studies in the Archaeology and Early History of Bahrain, Berlin, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 1983.] Louvre Museum; Luristan; unglazed, gray steatite; short-honed and 4 pictograms
bull
Iraq museum; glazed steatite; perhaps from an Iraqi site; the one-horned bull, the standard are below a six-sign inscription. 4 Foroughi collection; Luristan; medium gray steatite; bull, crescent, star and net square; of the Dilmun seal type. TextFailaka; unglazed steatite; an arc of four pictograms above the hindquarter of a bull. Textseal, impression, inscription; Failaka; brownish-grey unglazed steatite; pictograms above a short-horned bull.
Indus
seal, impression; Qala'at al-Bahrain; green steatite; short-horned bull and five pictograms. Found in association with an Isin-Larsa type tablet bearing three Amorite names. Qala'at al-Bahrain; ca. 2050-1900 BC; tablet, found in the same level where 8 Dilmun seals and six Harappan type weights were found. Three Amorite names are: Obverse. Janbi-naim; Ilamilkum; Reverse. Jis.itambu (son of Janbinaim). The script is dated to c. 2050-1900 BCE.
143
Qala'at al-Bahrain; light-grey steatite; hindquarters of a bull and two pictograms. urseal2 9832 Ur Seal; BM 122187; dia. 2.55; ht. 1.55 cm. Gadd PBA 18 (1932), pp. 6-7, pl. 1, no. 2 urseal3 9833 Ur Seal; BM 122946; Dia. 2.6; ht. 1.2cm.; Gadd PBA 18 (1932), p. 7, pl. I, no.3; Legrain, Ur Excavations, X (1951), no. 629. urseal8Seal; BM 118704; U. 6020; Gadd PBA 18 (1932), pp. 9-10, pl. II, no.8; two figures carry between them a vase, and one presents a goat-like animal (not an antelope) which he holds by the neck. Human figures wear early Sumerian garments of fleece. urseal9Seal; BM 122945; U. 16181; dia. 2.25, ht. 1.05 cm; Gadd PBA 18 (1932), p. 10, pl. II, no. o; each of four quadrants terminates at the edge of the seal in a vase; each quadrant is occupied by a naked figure, sitting so that, following round the circle, the head of one is placed nearest to the feet of the preceding; two figures clasp their hands upon their breasts; the other two spread out the arms, beckoning with one hand. urseal10 Seal; BM 120576; U. 9265; Gadd, PBA 18 (1932), p. 10, pl. II, no. 10; bull with long horns below an uncertain object, possibly a quadruped and rider, at right angles to the ox (counter clockwise); "...there is, below, a bull with long horns roughly depicted, but above is a rather uncertain addition, which is perhaps an attempt to show one (possibly two) more, in a couching position, as viewed by turning the seal round until the face of the standing bull is downwards. If this is intended, the head of the second bull is turned back, and it is not, perhaps, quite impossible that the remaining part of the design is meant for a bird, such as is fairly often seen perched upon the back of a bull in Sumerian art, a device which has not yet been certainly explained." (C.J. Gadd, Seals of Ancient Indian Style Found at Ur', in: G.L. Possehl, ed., 1979, Ancient Cities of the Indus, Delhi, Vikas Publishing House, p. 118). urseal11Seal; UPenn; a scorpion and an elipse [an eye (?)]; U. 16397; Gadd, PBA 18 (1932), pp. 10-11, pl. II, no. 11 [Note: Is the ‘eye’ an oval representation of a bun ingot made from bica_, sand ore?] Rectangular stamp seal of dark steatite; U. 11181; B.IM. 7854; ht. 1.4, width 1.1 cm.; Woolley, Ur Excavations, IV (1956), p. 50, n.3. Scorpion. Seal impression, Ur (Upenn; U.16747); dia. 2.6, ht. 0.9 cm.; Gadd, PBA 18 (1932), pp. 11-12, pl. II, no. 12; Porada 1971: pl.9, fig.5; Parpola, 1994, p. 183; water carrier with a skin (or pot?) hung on each end of the yoke across his shoulders and another one below the crook of his
144
left arm; the vessel on the right end of his yoke is over a receptacle for the water; a star on either side of the head (denoting supernatural?). The whole object is enclosed by 'parenthesis' marks. The parenthesis is perhaps a way of splitting of the ellipse (Hunter, G.R., JRAS, 1932, 476). An unmistakable example of an 'hieroglyphic' seal. urseal13Seal; BM 122841; dia. 2.35; ht. 1 cm.; Gadd PBA 18 (1932), p. 12, pl. II, no. 13; circle with centre-spot in each of four spaces formed by four forked branches springing from the angles of a small square. Alt. four stylised bulls' heads (bucrania) in the quadrants of an elaborate quartering device which has a cross-hatched rectangle in the centre. urseal14Seal; UPenn; cf. Philadelphia Museum Journal, 1929; ithyphallic bull-men; the so-called 'Enkidu' figure common upon Babylonian cylinders of the early period; all have horned head-dresses; moonsymbols upon poles seem to represent the door-posts that the pair of 'twin' genii are commonly seen supporting on either side of a god; material and shape make it the 'Indus' type while the device is Babylonian. urseal15 9845 Ur [The first sign looks like an animal with a long tail – as seen from the back and may have been the model for the orthography of Sign 51 as noted in Mahadevan corpus]. Variants of Sign 51. Seal impression; UPenn; steatite; bull below a scorpion; dia. 2.4cm.; Gadd, PBA 18 (1932), p. 13, Pl. III, no. 15; Legrain, MJ (1929), p. 306, pl. XLI, no. 119; found at Ur in the cemetery area, in a ruined grave .9 metres from the surface, together with a pair of gold ear-rings of the doublecrescent type and long beads of steatite and carnelian, two of gilt copper, and others of lapis-lazuli, carnelian, and banded sard. The first sign to the left has the form of a flower or perhaps an animal's skin with curly tail; there is a round spot upon the bull's back. urseal16 9846 UrSeal impression; BM 123208; found in the filling of a tomb-shaft (Second Dynasty of Ur). Dia. 2.3; ht. 1.5 cm.; Gadd, PBA 18 (1932), pp. 13-14, pl. III, no. 16; Buchanan, JAOS 74 (1954), p. 149. urseal17 9901 Prob. West Asian find Seal impression, Mesopotamia (?) (BM 120228); cf. Gadd 1932: no.17; cf. Parpola, 1994, p. 132. Note the doubling of the common sign, 'jar'.
145
urseal18 9902 Prob. West Asian find Pictorial motif: Pict-45 Bull mating a cow. Seal and impression (BM 123059), from an antique dealer, Baghdad; script and motif of a bull mating with a cow; the tuft at the end of the tail of the cow is summarily shaped like an arrow-head; inscription is of five characters, most prominent among them the two 'men' standing side by side. To the right of these is a damaged 'fish' sign.cf. Gadd 1932: no.18; Parpola, 1994, p.219. urseal6 Cylinder seal; BM 122947; U. 16220 (cut down into Ur III mausolea from Larsa level; U. 16220), enstatite; Legrain, 1951, No. 632; Collon, 1987, Fig. 611.Humped bull stands before a palm-tree, feeding from a round manger or a bundle of fodder (or, probably, a cactus); behind the bull is a scorpion and two snakes; above the whole a human figure, placed horizontally, with fantastically long arms and legs, and rays about his head. A symbolism of a woman spreading her legs apart, which recurs on an SSVC
inscribed object. Cylinder-seal impression from Ur showing a squatting female. L. Legrain, 1936, Ur excavations, Vol. 3, Archaic Seal Impressions. [cf. Nausharo seal with two scorpions flanking a similar glyph with legs apart – also looks like a frog]. Mohenjo-daro. Sealing. Surrounded by fishes, gharials and snakes, a horned person sits in 'yoga' on a throne with hoofed legs. One side of a triangular terracotta amulet (Md 013); surface find at Mohenjo-daro in 1936. Dept. of Eastern Art, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. A zebu bull tied to a post; a bird above. Large painted storage jar discovered in burned rooms at Nausharo, ca. 2600 to 2500 BCE. Cf. Fig. 2.18, J.M. Kenoyer, 1998, Cat. No. 8. Tell Suleimeh (level IV), Iraq; IM 87798; (al-Gailani Werr, 1983, p. 49 No. 7). A fish over a short-horned bull and a bird over a one-horned bull; cylinder seal impression, (Akkadian to early Old Babylonian). Gypsum. 2.6 cm. Long 1.6 cm. Dia. [Drawing by Larnia Al-Gailani Werr. Cf. Dominique Collon 1987, First impressions: cylinder seals in the ancient Near East, London: 143, no. 609]
146
Cylinder-seal impression; a griffin and a tiger attack an antelope with its head turned back. The upper register shows two scorpions and a frog; the lower register shows a scorpion and two fishes.Syro-Mitannian, fifteenth to fourteenth centuries BCE, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. [After Fig. 9 in: Jack M. Sasson (ed.), Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, p.2705]. Rhinoceros elephant lizard.Tell Asmar (Eshnunna), Iraq. IM 14674; glazed steatite; Frankfort, 1955, No. 642; Collon, 1987, Fig. 610. Ur, Iraq; BM 123195; clay, half missing; Collon, 1987, Fig. 613. Probably originated in the east (exact location unknown). A person with a vase with overflowing water; sun sign. C. 18th cent. BCE. [E. Porada,1971, Remarks on seals found in the Gulf states, Artibus Asiae, 33, 31-7]. Early Harappan bowl. Fish. [After Fig. 23.35 in, Asko Parpola, New correspondences between Harappan and near Eastern glyptic art, in: in B. Allchin, ed., South Asian Archaeology, 1981, Cambridge]. Seal impression; Dept. of Antiquities, Bahrain; three Harapan-style bulls Nippur; ca. 13th cent. BC; white stone; zebu bull and two pictograms
Tree in front. Fish in front of and above a one-horned bull. Cylinder seal impression (IM 8028), Ur, Mesopotamia. White shell. 1.7 cm. High, dia. 0.9 cm. [Cf. Mitchell 1986 Indus and Gulf type seals from Ur: 280-1, no.8 and fig. 112; Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa and Michael Rice, 1986, Bahrain through the ages: the archaeology, London: 280-1, no.8 and fig. 112]. cf. Gadd, PBA 18 (1932), pp. 7-8, pl. I, no.7;; Parpola, 1994, p. 181; fish vertically in front of and horizontally above a unicorn; trefoil design
147
Terracotta sealing depicting an inscription, 2600 BCE, Western UP, Saharanpur (After Manoj Kumar Sharma). [Source: Page 32 in: Deo Prakash Sharma, 2000, Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets, Delhi, National Museum]. Stamp seals in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 49.40.1 to 3. All three samples show a bull. “Rendered in strict profile, standing before what might be an altar, the bull is by far the most popular motif in the Indus Valley glyptic art; there is virtually nov ariation in either the style or the iconographic details among the individual examples. The shoulder of the bull is emphasized by an upside-down doubly outlined heart shape that has been interpreted as painted decoration on the body of the bull, but is more likely an artistic convention for representing the muscles of the bull’s shoulder.”[After Fig. 38 in Holly Pittman, 1984, p. 84]. Harappa. Inscribed objects ca. 2600-1900 BCE. Clockwise from top left: steatite seal, terracotta sealing, two incised steatite tablets, four different types of molded faience tablets, earliest Harappan seal fragment (H90-1600; dating to around 2600 BCE). “The bold, angular carving on the seal shows only a single sign and the rear end of a large animal, possibly a buffalo or a short-horned humpless bull…Most examples (around 3,700) of Indus writing come from the excavations of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, but some 60 different sites throughout the Indus Valley have contributed one or more objects with script.” [Dales and Kenoyer 1991: fig. 13.44; After Fig. 4.1 in: JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 70]. Meaningful set of signs to keep track of goods or merely cultural icons? Early potters’ marks from Rehman Dheri ca. 3500-2600 BCE [After Durrani et al. 1995]. Early script from Harappa, ca. 3300-2600 BCE. [After Fig. 4.3 in JM Kenoyer, 1998].
Line drawing of a black-slipped jar with both pre-firing and postfiring inscriptions. [After Fig. 4.8b in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. “The invention of a writing system is very different from the use of abstract symbols in rituals or for identification. Neolithic and chalcolithic artisans painted and incised symbols on pottery and other material goods. Some symbols are simplified pictures of
148
plants, animals or sacred mountains; otheres are abstract geometric shapes, lines, circles and triangles…On the basis of recent excavations of the Period 2 occupation levels at Harappa (2800-2600 BCE), along with discoveries at other such early sites as Nausharo, it appears that there may have been one or more Early Indus scripts. Nausharo. Terracotta mold. Script incised prior to firing the exterior of the mold used to make large globular (10 cm ht. NS III 87 (32) 153, Department of Archaeology, EBK 5996). [After Fig. 4.7 in JM Kenoyer, 1998].
on jars
“At Harappa, we find increasing evidence for the use of multiple abstract symbols that were inscribed on pottery prior to or after firing. Some of these symbols are identical to characters used in the later Indus script and even occur in the same sequence, suggesting that they represented the same sounds or meanings. The Early Indus script was probably distinct from the more widespread use of poters’ marks, because such marks continued to be used even after the invention of the script. This pattern of use suggests that their function was different and to some extent, independent of writing itself…The invention, acceptance and eventual adoption of the Indus script by all of the regional settlements should be seen as a process stimulated primarily by local needs and fulfilled using a culturally meaningful set of signs. “Many inscriptions consist of only one sign: in these cases, the grapheme must represent a word or an idea. The most common sign ‘horned U’ is often used alone, but it also can be combined into other sign sequences. This sign may be a pictograph of a bull with horns, or a handled container, but it undoubtedly represents a very important word or idea…Although it is generally agreed that the Indus script is not an alphabetic form of writing, it does not have enough different signs to be a logographic script…The Indus script was carved, incised, chiseled, inlaid, painted, molded, and embossed on terracotta and glazed ceramic, shell, bone and ivory, sandstone, steatite and gypsum, copper and bronze, silver and gold… Mohenjo-daro. Silver seal (After Mackay 1938, vol. 2, Pl. XC,1; XCVI, 520). Two silver seals at Mohenjo-daro, two copper seals at Lothal and at Ras al-Junayz in Oman are rare uses of metal for making seals. Ras-al-Junayz. Copper seal. Harappa. Raised script. H94-2198. [After Fig. 4.14 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. Eight inscribed copper tablets were found at Harappa and all were made with raised script, a technique quite different from the
149
one used at Mohenjo-daro for flat copper tablets with many duplicates. The duplicates occur on steatite and faience tablets at Harappa; these may have represented a commodity or a value. [cf. JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 74]. “The wide variety of materials and techniques involving the Indus script is unparalleled in the mid-third millennium BCE….It is interesting to note that no seal has ever been found with a human burial in the Indus Valley, whereas in Egypt and Mesopotamia the person’s seal was usually included with the burial offerings…Incised and molded tablets…In one area two groups of identical incised steatite tablets (nine with one set of inscriptions and four with another set) were found along with seals, weights and pendants. (Madho Sarup Vats, Excavations at Harappa, Delhi, Govt. of India Press, 1940, 58-59). In area G, south of the recently discovered gateway on Mound ET, Vats found a concentration of thirty-one identical cylindrical terracotta tablets of unknown use…The Indus tablets may have been used as tokens, made up in advance and distributed when goods were brought into the city as tribute or for sale.“ [JM Kenoyer, 1998, pp. 69-74]. In Mesopotamia, cuneiform writing was used for two different languages: Akkadian and Sumerian. The rebus principle was used in Mesopotamian writing systems, i.e. to represent concrete objects using symbols which sound phonetically similar to the concrete object intended to be represented. It is likely that the symbols used on inscribed objects of SSVC were based on such a rebus principle. In addition to the languages of North India, South India and of Munda family of languages, there is an unknown, language X which is not associated with any of the known language families. (Walter A. Fairservis, Jr. and Franklin C. Southworth, Linguistic Archaeology and the Indus Valley Culture, in: Old problems and new perspectives in the archaeology of South Asia, ed., J. Mark Kenoyer, Madison, Wis., UW-Madison Department of Anthropology, 1989, 133-41). “In addition to the presence of different language families, there were undoubtedly many different dialects spoken throughout the Indus Valley. During the Early Historic period in South Asia many people spoke more than one dialect. For example, Sanskrit was spoken in the ritual and administrative contexts whereas regional Prakrit dialects were spoken at home. (AK Ramanujan, Toward an Anthology of City Images, in: Urban India: Society, Space and Image, ed., Richard G. Fox, Durham, Duke University, 1971, 224-44). Although it is possible that the Indus script represents the formal language spoken by elites, some names and words could reflect local dialects that varied from region to region. Consequently, if the writing on the seals does represent more than one language or dialect, we cannot decipher it until a bilingual text or a dictionary has been discovered.” (JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 78). Mohenjo-daro. A procession depicted on a terracotta tablet. [After Marshall 1931, Pl. CXVIII,9; cf. Fig. 5.6 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. Is this a representation of a public ceremony which included carrying standards topped by objects representing important motifs of the civilization? Not all animals with which the people of SSVC were
150
familiare are used as pictorial motifs; for example, they were familiar with peacocks, hooded cobras, monkeys, squirrels, mongooses and onagers (wild asses); the pictorial representations of these animals are not found on the square stamp seals. Harappa. Standard device shown on faience tablets (left: H90-1687, right, H93-2051) and carved in ivory (centre, H93-2092). [After Fig. 5.12 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. The miniature replica object has been recovered in 1993 from excavations at Harappa. This may be an ivory replica of a device made of basketry and wood. This replica shows a hemispherical lower basin with dotted circles and a cylindrical top portion with cross-hatching. The shaft extending from the base seems to be broken on this replica. Is this a yu_pa carried in processions? Harappa. Steatite seal. H88-1201 [After Fig. 5.7 in JM Kenoyer, 1998] The two signs inscribed on the seal also occur with other pictorial motifs and hence not related to the zebu bull motif. Speculations on the functions of the script The association of the find spots in Harappa of inscribed objects with other objects such as seals, weights and pendants is to be noted as a pointer to the possible functions performed by the writing system. On the golden pendant described below, “all inscriptions appear to have been made by the same sharp, pointed tool by the same hand. These inscriptions are extremely important because they are clearly different from the types of inscriptions found on the large copper celts and chisels which also have been found in large hoards. On copper or bronze tools, the writing appears formal, carefully chiseled in a vertical line down the center of the ax or chisel. Other examples are oriented along the butt end of the celts, but in most instances the script would have been partially or totally obscured by hafting. One hoard found at Harappa contained fifty-six copper/bronze tools and weapons. Two of these objects, a dagger and an ax, both were inscribed with a sign that Parpola interprets as meaning ‘leader’ or ‘king’. Such inscriptions are uncommon and may represent the name of the owner or the deity to whom the valuable objects were dedicated. Beyond the commercial and personal uses of writing, the Indus script appears to have had protective or magical powers. Single and multiple signs were carved or painted on objects that were a part of daily life: shell and terracotta bangles, beads, pottery and tools. The repetition of specific signs at many different sites suggests that some signs were probably not personal names, but may have had some ritual significance. Painted on the inside of a plate or the interior of a terracotta bangle, thes signs may have blessed the food of protected the wearer…Short inscriptions associated with these (narrative) scenes (of probably rituals) may represent the names of deities, constellations or supernatural events. The script is also found carved on ivory and bone rods, possibly used in divining the future or perhaps part of a ritual game.” (JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 76).
151
Objects with inscriptions have been found in many sites and throughout the localities of larger sites such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa – in the streets and in houses. “Many earlier excavators did not record the contexts in which seals were found, so we cannot assess whether they were in foundation fill (secondary deposits) or actual floor and street levels (primary deposits). Recent excavations at Harappa have defined these different contexts, and we can beging sorting out the complex problem of identifying where seals and inscribed objects were used in the city: the major streets leading into and out of city gateway, the craft workshop areas and near the houses in the high walled areas. Some houses have lots of seals and inscribed objects, and others have very few or none at all. In one pottery manufacturing area at the northwest edge of Mound E there are no seals or tablets, while in the bead and shellworking area of Mound ET there are a number of inscribed objects. After reviewing the different ways in which the script was used, we see several patterns emerge. First, only certain people owned seals and few people were literate. Nevertheless, the script was generally used in a manner that was openly visible to the general public. For example seals were probably worn and used in public, and graffiti was openly visible on trade vessels. Writing was used in everyday contexts as well as for religious purposes, but the presence of script on gold jewelry, copper tools and stoneware bangles suggests that only the very rich and powerful wrote their names or attributions on personal objects. Objects with writing were scattered in all parts of the city, and almost every settlement of the Indus Valley has produced one or more seals or inscribed objects. A large signboard from Dholavira shows large writing, but most inscriptions are small or miniature. Perhaps the most important recent discovery is that the style of writing and carving of seals changed over time; small tablets without animal motifs but with script, come from the middle to late part of the Harappan phase.These patterns indicate that writing was not static but a dynamic invention that had permeated every aspect of urban life. Landowners, merchants, religious leaders, administrators and professional artisans were probably the only people who owned or used inscribed seals, but many of them may not have been able to read or write. Nevertheless, everyone in the society understood the power and authority reflected in writing, and its use throughout the Indus and Sarasvati regions reveals a period of cultural and economic integration. The writing would have reinforced this integration and validated the power of the ruling classes. In combination with religious symbols and narratives the writing would have legitimized the power of the people who used it by associating them with supernatural powers. The writing on the seals is associated with symbolic animals representing clans or possibly trading communities. The most common animal, the unicorn, is mythical and the other animals must have had some important symbolic meaning. On the small tablets, writing and occasional narrative scenes are on a miniature scale, but they probably illustrate public rituals or events that were viewed by the entire community or city. Some tablets may have functioned as ritual tokens or souvenirs, not unlike the molded or inscribed amulets available at the tombs of saints or at important shrines in Pakistan and India today. It is closely associated with cities, trade and ritual. Writing and seals remained important to the politial and ritual elites as long as the trade networks and cities continued to exist. The script disappeared when the elites who used this means of communication in trade and ritual were no longer dominant. More than any other fact, the rapid disappearance of the seals and writing by 1700 BCE (based on recent dates from Harappa) demonstrates that writing was used exclusively by a small
152
but powerful segment of the population and did not play a critical role in the lives of the common people. The seal carvers lost their jobs, and eventually, when new elites emerged, writing was not important. Molds used to make terracotta and faience tablets wee destroyed or discarded when they no longer had economic or ritual significance. Traders no longer stamped bundles with seals or scribbled names and messages on storage jars. And although many of the crafts continued to be practiced, the artisans had no need to inscribe copper tools or pottery vessels with the script…When Emperor Ashoka set up pillars and massive boulders inscribed with royal edicts around 250 BCE, he became the first ruler in ancient India to use writing to communicate to the masses…The important thing was that these edicts, placed throughout the imperial realm, from Afghanistan to southern India, were not written in Sanskrit, the language of the Brahmanical elites, but were in the major local dialects. Two new scripts were invented: Kharoshthi in the northwest was based on Aramaic, the language of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and was written from right to left; the Brahmi script in peninsular India was written from left to right and is thought to have been derived from a Western Semitic script. No one knows who invented these scripts, but they may have been commissioned by rulers and developed by Brahmans well versed in literature and phonetics. The recent discovery of Brahmi script on potsherds from Sri Lanka dates to around 500 BCE (Frank Raymond Allchin, ed., The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia, Cambridge University Press, 1995, 176-79), but the use of both Kharoshthi and Brahmi on stone edicts in the peninsular subcontinent dates somewhat later, around 250 BCE. Whey they first appeared, these newly invented scripts represent fully developed writing systems with no direct connection to the earlier Indus script. [Mohammad A. Halim and Massimo Vidale, Kilns, Bangles and coated vesssels: ceramic production in closed containers at Mohenjodaro, Interim Reports Vol. 1: Reports on Field Work carried out at Mohenjo-daro, Pakistain 1982-83 by IsMEO-Aachen University Mission, ed., Michael Jansen and Gunter Urban (Aachen: RWTH-IsMEO, 1984), 63-97]” (JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 77). Any number of reasonable speculations may be made, given the object types such as tablets which may have had many duplicates and objects such as seals and bangles which could have been carried on the person possessing the object, perhaps worn on the wrist. If the script was intended to serve a personal marker in a disciplined cultural group, there is a possibility that the script was used not to record personal names but to record personal items of property, or OTHER items of value entrusted to the person by the collective cultural group. The script could thus be hypothesized to have served the purpose of recording the name of a commodity or product and the quantities or VALUE of such products.
153
‘Fish’ glyph on gold pendant A fish sign, preceded by seven short numeral strokes, also appears on a gold pendant: Golden pendant with inscription from jewelry hoard at Mohenjo-daro. Drawing of inscription that encircles the gold ornament. Needle-like pendant with cylindrical body. Two other examples, one with a different series of incised signs were found together. The pendant is made from a hollow cylinder with soldered ends and perforated point. Museum No. MM 1374.50.271; Marshall 1931: 521, pl. CLI, B3. [After Fig. 4.17a, b in: JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 196]. The man:gal.asu_tra worn by many married women in Bharat carry glyphs on the pendants, not unlike the glyphs on the Sarasvati epigraphs. The gold pendant discovered at Mohenjodaro could be such a man:gal.asu_tra (ta_li) conveying stri_dhana or possessions of the bride as she came into the bride’s household. Harappa. Cylindrical and twisted rectangular terracotta
tablets. [After Fig. 4.13 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. Column 1: Grapheme horned U ‘fish’; Allograph variants of a single sign; circumgraph enclosure signs; ligature papal leaf and box; Column 2: ideograph ‘hunting’; logograph adze. [After Fig. 4.6 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. Gold fillet depicting the standard device, Mohenjo-daro, 2600 BCE. [Source: Page 32 in: Deo Prakash Sharma, 2000, Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets, Delhi, National Museum]. At a Marshall, MIC, Pl. CLI are specimens of fillets consisting of thin bands of beaten gold with holes for cords at their ends. Fillet on the fore-head of the priest statuette, 2700 BCE. Stone. Mohenjo-daro. Karachi Museum. The priest wears a fillet similar to the two fillets of gold which bears the standard device embossed on them. The fillets of gold were discovered at Mohenjodaro. Similar gold ornaments with embossed standard devices were also reported from an Akkadian burial site in West Asia. [Source: Page 22, Fig. 12 in: Deo Prakash Sharma, 2000, Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets, Delhi, National Museum].
154
The central ornament worn on the forehead of the famous "priest-king" sculpture from Mohenjo-daro appears to represent an eye bead, possibly made of gold with steatite inlay in the center Mohenjo-daro. Female figurine adorned with six strands of necklaces, chokers and pendant bead [After Fig. 6.16 in JM Kenoyer, 1998].
See a woman's head in diorite found in Nin-Gal temple at Ur, ca. 2150 B.C.; note the engraved modulations of the hair, elaborate bun at the back of the head and the fillet around the forehead.
A sinuous tablet. in JM with 2600 – Fig. 29.4, 1998]
tree with short leaves. Terracotta Harappa H95-2523 (After Fig. 6.3 Kenoyer, 1998]. Nausharo. Jar three papal leaves. Period 1D, 2550 BCE [After Samzun, 1992, no.2; cf. Fig. 6.4 in JM Kenoyer,
Harappa. Two tablets. Seated figure or deity with reed house or shrine at one side. Left: H95-2524; Right: H95-2487.
Harappa. Planoconvex molded tablet found on Mound ET. A. Reverse. a female deity battling two tigers and standing above an elephant and below a six-spoked wheel; b. Obverse. A person spearing with a barbed spear a buffalo in front of a seated horned deity wearing bangles and with a plumed headdress. The person presses his foot down the buffalo’s head. An alligator with a narrow snout is on the top register. “We have found two other broken tablets at Harappa that appear to have been made from the same mold that was used to create the scene of a deity battling two tigers and standing above an elephant. One was found in a room located on the southern slope of Mount ET in 1996 and another example comes from excavations on Mound F in the 1930s. However, the flat obverse of both of these broken tablets does not show the spearing of a buffalo, rather it depicts the more well-known scene showing a tiger looking back over its shoulder at a person sitting on the branch of a tree. Several other flat or twisted rectangular terracotta tablets found at Harappa combine these two narrative scenes of a figure strangling two tigers on one side of a tablet, and the tiger looking back over its shoulder at a figure in a tree on the other side.” [JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 115].
155
Harappa. A series of small tablets. A. man fighting a short-horned bull; a small plant with six branches; b. seated figure in yogic posture with arms resting on knees; both arms covered with bangles; traces of a horned headdress and long hair are visible on some impressions; a second individual, also with long hair and wearing bangles, sits on a short stool; ; c. standing deity with horned headdress with a curved branch with three projecting leaves; bangles visible on both arms; d. inscription with six signs; the first sign appears to be some form of an animal; the last shows a person. Many of the finds during 1995-1998 excavations at Harappa have been exquisitely photographed. The following are samples. Slide 124 The origins of Indus writing can now be traced to the Ravi Phase (c. 3300-2800 BC) at Harappa. Some inscriptions were made on the bottom of the pottery before firing. Other inscriptions such as this one were made after firing. This inscription (c. 3300 BC) appears to be three plant symbols arranged to appear almost anthropomorphic. Slide 133. A steatite unicorn seal from Harappa with Indus script. This seal was found in the central area of Mound E and dates to Period 3B or early 3C, around 24502200 BC. When pressed into clay the impression will be reversed. Since the Indus script may have been read from right to left, the last two signs visible at the top right hand edge of the seal would in fact be the last two signs of the inscription. Slide 135 Many large storage jars of the Harappa Phase (2600-1900 BC) have writing inscribed along the upper portion of the vessel. This inscription includes a figure of a man with the bow and arrow sign in each hand. It is impossible to shoot two bows and arrows at the same time so this is clearly not a pictograph, but rather a combined symbol used as part of a Indus writing system. Slide 137. This Early Harappan seal impression or sealing of a square seal has several script signs and two ladder like motifs (Kot Diji Phase, c. 2800 BC). The wet clay was probably placed on a bundle of goods to seal it and then was broken off when the bundle was opened. Since this sealing was found in a hearth area, it is probable that the raw clay was hardened accidentally when it was swept into the fire along with other trash, possibly even the rope or reeds used to bundle the goods. Slide 146. Sixteen three sided tablets (c. 2300 BC) with incised inscription on each face were found all together in the debris that had been dumped over the curtain wall. On one of the three sides is an inscription that is
156
identical to the last two signs on the seal (145). Slide 154. Unicorn seal from Trench 37, which lies to the east of the "Granary." This type of seal comes from levels dating to Harappa Phase Period 3B. Similar seals were found near the "granary" in 1997. Slide 156. This type of seal is only found in the last part of the Harappan Phase, Period 3C. A similar rectangular seal was found on Mound F in the 1998 excavations of the circular platforms (Trench 43). Seal 160. Seal fragment of a man with double bun and three fingered hand or trident. Trench 39 North, upper levels, Harappa Phase.. Sign 134. Three signs are inscribed on this rim sherd of the Early Harappan Period (Kot Dijian Phase), dating to around 2800 BC. Two of the signs appear to be pictographs for a bow and arrow, but they probably had some other meaning that was defined by the diagonal slash at the end of the sequence of symbols. The bow and arrow sign is quite common in the later Indus script (see 135). Slide 138. Three clay sealings from the Harappa Phase levels (2600-1900 BC) that may have come from large bundles of goods shipped to the site from a distant region. The clay does not appear to be the same type of clay as found near Harappa and each sealing has the impression of two different seals. Slide 142. Molded tablets from Trench 11 sometimes have impressions on one, two, three or four sides. This group of molded tablets shows the complete set of motifs. One side is comprised entirely of script and has six characters, the first of which (on the very top) appears to be some sort of animal. A second side shows a human figure grappling with a short horned bull. A small plant with at least six branches is discernible behind the individual. The third panel portrays a figure seated on a charpoy or throne in a yogic position, with arms resting on the knees. Both arms are covered with bangles, and traces of a horned headdress and long hair are visible on some of the impressions. A second individual, also with long hair and wearing bangles, is seated on a short stool to the proper left of the individual on the "throne." The fourth panel shows a deity standing with both feet on the ground and wearing a horned headdress. A branch with three pipal leaves projects from the center of the headdress. Bangles on seen on both arms.
157
Seal 145. A square steatite unicorn seal with a unique inscription was found in the street debris on the inside of the city wall. The two sets of signs on the right hand side of the seal would appear in reverse, i.e. be on the left, when it was pressed into clay. Harappan Period, c. 2300 BC. (More unicorn seals at 133, 154.) Slide 151. These two inscribed tablets (c. 2300 BC) have the same inscription, but it was written in opposite directions. What is even more interesting is that the top tablet is incised with the same "handwriting" as the Group 2 tablets described in (149). The bottom tablet belongs to the handwriting of Group 1 of the inscribed tablets (149).
Inscribed objects from Harappa 2000-2001 (Jonathan Mark Kenoyer and Richard H. Meadow) Slide 185 Molded terracotta tablet (H2001-5075/2922-01) with a narrative scene of a man in a tree with a tiger looking back over its shoulder. The tablet, found in the Trench 54 area on the west side of Mound E, is broken, but was made with the same mold as ones found on the eastern side of Mound E and also in other parts of the site (see slide 89 for the right hand portion of the same scene). The reverse of the same molded terra cotta tablet shows a deity grappling with two tigers and standing above an elephant (see slide 90 for a clearer example from the same mold). Slide 90 Slide 191 In one of the rooms uncovered in Trench 54, a pottery fragment with a sunburst painted decoration was discovered that could be dated to the the beginning of the Harappan Period, perhaps as early as 2600 BC. Slide 187 A faience button seal with geometric motif (H2000-4491/9999-34) was found on the surface of Mound AB at Harappa by one of the workmen. Slide 203. Steatite button seal Fired steatite button seal with four concentric circle designs from the Trench 54 area (H2000-4432/2174-3). Slide 204 sealing. Low fired sealing in terra cotta of a unicorn seal from the Trench 54 area (H2000-4453/2174-192). This type of clay sealing was used to seal bundles of goods for transport. Slide 205 Faience tablet or standard. This unique mold-made faience tablet or standard (H2000-4483/2342-01) was found in the eroded levels west of the tablet workshop in Trench 54. On one side is a short inscription under a rectangular box filled with 24 dots. The reverse has a narrative scene with two bulls fighting under a thorny tree.
158
Slide 206 Tablet with script. Mold-made faience tablet with script found in the eroded surface debris of Trench 54 (H2000-4484/222715). Slide 208 Two steatite tablets. Two inscribed and baked steatite tablets from the Trench 54 area. One has the shape of a fish (H2000-4452/2174-191), while the other has a fish sign inscription (H2000-4477/2227-11). Slide 209 Inscribed lead celt. Inscribed lead celt or ingot fragment from the Trench 54 area (H2000-4481/2174-321). The object was apparently chiseled to reduce its size. Lead may have been used as an alloy with copper, for making pigments, or as medicine. Slide 207 Tablet with inscription. Twisted terra cotta tablet (H2000-4441/2102-464) with a mold-made inscription and narrative motif from the Trench 54 area. In the center is the depiction of what is possibly a deity with a horned headdress in so-called yogic position seated on a stool under an arch. Slide 244 Broken steatite mold. Broken steatite mold carved into a unique fan-shape. (H2001-5069/2913-02). This mold was probably used to make a faience tablet that was found on the eroded slope to the south of the workshop in Trench 54 South (Slide 245). Slide 245 Molded faience tablet. Fan-shaped molded faience tablet found on the eroded slope south of the Trench 54 South workshop. It was probably made using the steatite mold found in the workshop (Slide 244). Slide 247 Faience tablet. Faience tablet (H2001-5082/2920-02) made from two colors of faience was found eroding from the Trench 54 South workshop area. Identical tablets made from two colors of faience were recovered in Area J, at the south end of Mound AB, in the excavations of Vats during the 1930s. Slide 248 Unique two-coloured tablet. This uniquely shaped tablet (H20015090/2913-09), also made with two colors of faience, has an inscription similar to that seen on the pervious slide (247). This tablet was found inside the workshop in Trench 54 South. Slide 249 Inscribed steatite tablets. Inscribed steatite tablets made from two different colors of steatite have the same inscription. The sloppy nature of the inscription may be the reason why these tablets were discarded. Both tablets, incised on one side only, were found in the same excavation unit in the Trench 54 South steatite and faience workshop. (H20015084/2913-07 and H2001-5068/2913-01). Stamp seal and a modern impression: unicorn or bull and inscription,, Mature Harappan period,
159
ca. 2600–1900 B.C. Indus Valley Burnt steatite; 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (3.8 x 3.8 cm) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/02/ssa/ho_49.40.1.htm “Stamp seals were used in antiquity as marks of ownership and badges of status. In the large urban centers of the Harappan civilization, hundreds of square-shaped stamp seals were found in excavations. They are engraved with images of wild or domestic animals, humans, fantastic creatures, and possibly divinities. The bull is the most popular animal motif on the Indus Valley glyptic art. In this example, the animal is rendered in the typical strict profile, standing before what might be an altar. Its shoulder is covered by a decorated quilt or harness in the shape of an upside-down heart pattern. Most of the square stamp seals have inscriptions along the top edge. The Indus script, invented around 2600 B.C., is yet to be fully deciphered.” Recumbent mouflon, Mature Harappan period, ca. 2600–1900 B.C. Indus Valley Marble; L. 11 in. (28 cm) “This powerful sculpture represents a mouflon, a type of wild sheep native to the highland regions of the Near East. The animal's head, now partially broken away, is held upward and is twisted to the right, creating an impression of alertness. The artist has achieved a realistic rendering of an animal at rest, its weight thrown fully onto its left haunch, and its left hind leg tucked under its body. The bottom of the statue has been worn away, but it is likely that the hidden leg was originally indicated there. The entire body is contained within a single unbroken outline. The horns, ears, tail, and muscles were modeled in relief, although time and secondary use have flattened the contours on the right side. This combination of closed outline with broadly modeled masses and a minimum of incised detail is characteristic of animal sculpture from the Harappan-period levels at the site of Mohenjo Daro in the lower reaches of the Indus River. The function of these animal sculptures is unknown.” http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/02/ssa/hod_1978.58.htm Manuscripts in Schoyen Collection Some manuscripts available in the Schoyen Collection. Located mainly in London and Oslo. URL http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/contentnew3.html “The Schøyen Collection comprises most types of manuscripts from the whole world spanning over 5000 years. It is the largest private manuscript collection formed in the 20th century. The whole collection, MSS 1-5245, comprises 13,010 manuscript items, including 2,172 volumes. 6,510 manuscript items are from the ancient period, 3300 BCE – 500 CE. For scholarly research and access the collection is a unique source, uniting materials usually scattered world wide to two locations only. These MSS are the world's heritage, the memory of the world. They are felt not really to belong to The Schøyen Collection and its owner, who only is the privileged, respectful and humble keeper, neither do they belong to a particular nation, people, religion, culture, but to mankind, being the property of the entire world. In the future The Schøyen Collection will have to be placed in a public context that can fulfil these visions…The Schøyen Collection is located mainly in Oslo and London. Scholars are always welcome, and are strongly encouraged to do research and to publish material.”
160
Source:http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/intro.html#1.1 Included in the 6,510 manuscript from the ancient period, 3300 BCE - 500 CE are the following epigraphs which are closely associated with the script of the Sarasvati Civilization. MS 249 Unidentified Minoan text. Knossos, Crete, 16th cent. BCE, Linear A script? MS in Minoan on clay, Knossos, Crete, 16th c. BC, 1 black roundel, 3,0x2,7 cm, 4 characters of late Minoan I Linear A script, 2 impressions (1,6x1,0 cm) on opposite edges by an amygdaloid seal with head of papyrus plant. Provenance: 1. Possibly the archive in the West Wing of the Knossos Palace (16th c. BC ca. 1950); 2. Erlenmeyer Collection, Basel, CMS no. 120 (until 1981); 3. Erlenmeyer Foundation, Basel (1981-1988); 4. Christie's 5.6.1989:99. Commentary: The famous Linear B script of the Mycenean kings, consisting of syllabic signs, ideograms and numerals, resisted decipherment for a generation. When Michael Ventris deciphered it in 1952, the achievement was called the "Everest" in classical archaeology. The language was archaic Greek. Linear A, the earliest script of Europe, has so far resisted all attempts of decipherment, partly because the language is unknown, and the material small, ca. 700 copies only, while Linear B is known in 12,000 - 13,000 examples. This roundel is the only one in private ownership. Outside the Greek museums, they are, in fact, represented in 2 Italian museums only. KN Wc 26 in Erik Hallager: The Knossos roundels, BSA 82(1987). This MS has signs which are comparable with the signs on epigraphs of Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization. MS 4625 Cylinder seal with a scene of drinking from a straw, Pakistan ca. 1500-500 BCE Seal of hard red stone, Coast between Indus and the Persian Gulf, Pakistan, ca. 1500-500 BC, 1 cylinder seal matrix, diam. 1,3x3,2 cm, figure sitting left, holding a long straw from his mouth to a pot with bulbous body and narrow neck, resting on a stand; behind him a servant holding up a fan; behind the servant another standing person grasping a small quadruped. Above and below him 3 other quadrupeds. Between the 2 main figures a solar disc with rays and a crescent and a full moon combined. Provenance: 1. Found in Baluchistan?, Pakistan (1965); 2. The Waria Collection, Dadu, Pakistan (ca. 1965-2001). Commentary: Drinking beer from a straw is known from Sumer ca. 2700 BC on, but usually a big pot from which a number of persons are all drinking through their own straws. The fan is known in Iranian seals of ca. 1300-1100 BC. While the scene as a whole is Near Eastern, the dress and anklets of the servant is clearly of Indian type. The iconography combined is thus unique. MS 2645 Indus valley script, and old akkadian illustration. North West Afghanistan, ca. 21st cent. BCE Name of owner or scribe?
161
This seal links Indus Valley and Old Akkadian civilizations. The seal is of blue stone, North West Afghanistan, ca. 23rd-21st c. BC, 1 cylinder seal, 3,9x2,7 cm, 5 Indus valley signs, illustration standing archer aiming his bow at a falling boar, in the style of the best Old Akkadian art in Sumer. Provenance: 1. Bronze age site, Kalenao near the Turkmeni frontier, North West Afghanistan. Commentary: While numerous Indus Valley stamp seals are known (cf. MS 2394), this is the only known cylinder seal with the hitherto undeciphered Indus Valley script. Furthermore, this is the only known document linking together over land two of the great civilisations of the Old Akkadian period in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Seaborne trade has been known for a long time, and documented in practical terms by the Norwegian explorer and scientist, Thor Heyerdahl, in his expedition with the reed boat, Tigris, in 1977. See the next manuscript, MS 2814, a copy of a Sargonic royal inscription mentioning the defeat of Melukham, the Indus Valley civilisation. Exhibited: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from October 1999. MS 2814 Royal inscription commemorating defeat of Magan, Melukham, Elam (?), and Amurru, and establishment of regular offerings to his statue, school text? Sumer, 2100-1800 BCE MS in Neo Sumerian and Old Babylonian on clay, Sumer, 21001800 BC, 1 tablet, 14,8x14,0x3,3 cm (originally ca. 16x14x3 cm), 3+3 columns, 103 lines in cuneiform script. Provenance: 1. Scribal training centre?, Sumer (2100-1800 BC); 2. Private collection, England (ca. 1965-1999). Commentary: The text was copied from a Sargonic royal inscription on a statue in the Ur III or early Old Babylonian period. Magan was at Oman and at the Iranian side of the Gulf. Meluhha or Melukham was the Indus Valley civilisation (ca. 2500-1800 BC). This is one of fairly few references to the Indus civilisation on tablets. The 3 best known references are: 1. Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279 BC) referring to ships from Meluhha, Magan and Dilmun; 2. Naram-Sin (2254-2218 BC) referring to rebels to his rule, listing the rebellious kings, including "(..)ibra, man of Melukha"; and 3. Gudea of Lagash (2144-2124 BC) referring to Meluhhans that came from their country and sold gold dust, carnelian, etc. There are further references in literary texts. After ca. 1760 BC Melukha is not mentioned any more. MS 4602 Indus Valley cylinder seal, ca. 3000 BCE depicting a palm tree and a man between two lions with wings and snakeheads, holding one arm around each, two long fish below, and one fish jumping after one lion’s tail or the tail of a sitting monkey above it Seal matrix on creamy stone or shell, Indus Valley, Pakistan, ca. 3000 BC, 1 cylinder seal, diam. 2,0x3,7 cm, in fine execution influenced by the Jemdet Nasr style of Sumer.
162
Context: For the only known cylinder seal with Indus script, see MS 2645. Provenance: 1. Found in Mehrgarh, Pakistan; 2. The Waria Collection, Dadu, Pakistan (2001). Commentary: Similar fish can be found on Indus Valley pottery from the period and later http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/5/5.6/index.html#4602 MS 4617 Pakistan, ca. 2200-2000 BCE White steatite, 1 square seal matrix, 4,3x4,3x1,9 cm, 6 Indus Valley signs in a formal script of high quality, unicorn standing left facing an altar, with loop handle. Provenance: 1. The Waria Collection, Dadu, Pakistan (-2001). Commentary: This seal is among the largest extant. The execution is representing Indus art at its best. The Indus script is still undeciphered, as is the Linear A script from Crete and the Rongo-Rongo script from Easter Island, which has numerous signs in common with the Indus script. MS 4619, Pakistan, ca. 2200-1800 BCE White coated grey steatite, Mohenjo-Daro?, Indus Valley, Pakistan, ca. 2200-1800 BC, 1 round seal matrix, diam. 2,3x1,5 cm, 5 Indus Valley signs, bison left eating from a trough, with double loop handle. Context: Only 2 more round seals with inscriptions are known, both with bison and from Mohenjo-Daro (M-415 and M-416). Provenance: 1. The Waria Collection, Dadu, Pakistan (1960'ies-2001). MS5059 Pakistan, ca. 2200-1800 BCE White steatite, Mohenjo-Daro, Indus Valley, 2200-1800 BC, 1 square stamp seal matrix, 3,4x3,4x1,7 cm, 9 Indus valley signs Provenance: 1. Found in Mohenjo-Daro (ca. 1950-1970); 2. The Waria Collection, Dadu, Pakistan (-2001). MS5061 Pakistan, ca. 2200-1800 BCE White steatite, Mohenjo-Daro, Indus Valley, 2200-1800 BC, 1 square stamp seal matrix, 2,4x2,5x1,2 cm, 3 Indus valley signs Provenance: 1. Found in Mohenjo-Daro (ca. 1950-1970); 2. The Waria Collection, Dadu, Pakistan (-2001). MS5062 Pakistan, ca. 2200-1800 BCE White steatite, Mohenjo-Daro, Indus Valley, 22001800 BC, 1 square stamp seal matrix, 2,7x2,7x1,6 cm, 4 Indus valley signs Provenance: 1. Found in Mohenjo-Daro (ca. 19501970); 2. The Waria Collection, Dadu, Pakistan (-2001). MS5065 Pakistan, ca. 1800 BCE
163
MS Indus Valley language on copper, Mohenjo-Daro, Indus Valley, ca. 1800 BC, 1 square stamp seal matrix, 1,3x1,3x0,9 cm, 3 Indus valley signs in script Provenance: 1. Found in Mohenjo-Daro (ca. 1950-1970); 2. The Waria Collection, Dadu, Pakistan (-2001). Commentary: There is only one similar seal known, from Lothal (L-44). Parallels from Mesopotamia (and Anatolia) Administrative tablet with cylinder seal impression of a male figure, hunting dogs, and boars, 3100–2900 B.C.; Jemdet Nasr period (Uruk III script) Mesopotamia Clay; H. 2 in. (5.3 cm) The seal impression depicts a male figure guiding two dogs on a leash and hunting or herding boars in a marsh environment. Headdress with leaf-shaped ornaments, 2600– 2500 B.C.; Early Dynastic period IIIa; Sumerian style Excavated at "King's Grave," Ur, Mesopotamia Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian; L. 15 3/16 in. (38.5 cm). “This delicate chaplet of gold leaves separated by lapis lazuli and carnelian beads adorned the forehead of one of the female attendants in the so-called King's Grave. In addition, the entombed attendants wore two necklaces of gold and lapis lazuli, gold hair ribbons, and two silver hair rings. Since gold, silver, lapis, and carnelian are not found in Mesopotamia, the presence of these rich adornments in the royal tomb attests to the wealth of the Early Dynastic kings as well as to the existence of a complex system of trade that extended far beyond the Mesopotamian plain.” The source for carnelian was clearly from Sarasvati Civilization, Gujarat region, called Meluhha in Mesopotamian records. Cylinder seal and modern impression: hunting scene, 2250–2150 B.C.; late Akkadian period Mesopotamia Chert; H. 1 1/16 in. (2.8 cm) This seal, depicting a man hunting an ibex in a mountain forest, is an early attempt to represent a landscape in Mesopotamian art. It was made during the Akkadian period (ca. 2350– 2150 B.C.), during which the iconographic repertory of the seal engraver expanded to include a variety of new mythological and narrative subjects. The owner of the seal was Balu-ili, a high court official whose title was Cupbearer. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/02/wam/hod_41.160.192.htm Central and North Asia “The vast expanse of Central and North Asia is rich in mineral resources of many kinds, which are extracted for use by the inhabitants of the area as well as those of lands far away. By the fourth millennium B.C., lapis lazuli from Badakhshan in Afghanistan is imported into Mesopotamia, and jade found in a royal Chinese tomb of the second millennium B.C. comes from Xinjiang. In the second millennium B.C., the people of the Andronovo culture are making their bronzes from copper and tin, which they mine from
164
sources from the Urals to Tajikistan. Recently rediscovered tin mines contain pottery from both the Andronovo culture and the Bactrian-Margiana Archaeological Complex, suggesting that trade in ores or metal ingots was wide-ranging in the early centuries of the second millennium B.C. In this period, ceramic traditions generally are relatively local, while, over the whole expanse of North and Central Asia, as well as in bordering areas, various new metal complexes are more widely spread. Agricultural production becomes more extensive over the millennium. • ca. 2000 B.C. The Andronovo culture develops, characterized by weapons and tools made of tin-bronze, with distinctive curved knives and shaft-hole axes. Although there are many regional variations among products of the Andronovo culture, Andronovo metalwork is found as far southeast as Xinjiang, as far southwest as the Kopet Dagh mountains, and as far north as the Minusinsk Basin of Siberia. The people of Andronovo raise cattle, have wagons and horses, and practice agriculture. • ca. 2000/1900 B.C. The Bactrian-Margiana Archaeological Complex develops distinctive bronze stamp seals with geometric designs and stone sculptures, including polished miniature columns of alabaster, marble, and other materials, and composite figurines of several types of stone. Graves containing these distinctive artifacts have been found in Iran and Baluchistan, which are signs of the contact between southwestern Central Asia and areas to the south. • ca. 1500 B.C. In eastern Xinjiang several cemetery sites, including Yanbulaq, contain many copper and bronze artifacts, some of which, such as mirrors, are similar to types also found in southern Siberia. Bronzeworking seems to have been introduced into Xinjiang about 2000 B.C. but little is yet known about the preceding periods there. • ca. 14th–10th century B.C. The Karasuk culture of the Minusinsk Basin, as well as the cultures of the Mongolian plateau north of the Gobi, and in Transbaikalia in Buryatia share some weapon, tool, and ornament types with the peoples of the "northern zone" of China. “The landscape and climate of Central and North Asia is divided into zones that extend east-west across the broad expanse of Eurasia. In the far north is an arctic zone with tundra vegetation, which can support only small numbers of people with hunting and reindeer-herding economies. Next, a forest zone called the taiga has coniferous trees of varying kinds over its extent; the landscape supports hunting, fishing, and the gathering of plants. In most places, the taiga is separated from the next zone—the steppe—by a mixed forest that includes deciduous trees (sometimes called the forest-steppe). The steppe itself is a relatively flat grassland occasionally broken by hills, rivers, lakes, and seas. The southernmost part of Central Asia, both east and west, is desert, edged by mountain ranges. It is in the steppe, the oases of the desert, and the foothills of the mountains that cultures change most rapidly from 8000 to 2000 B.C. “Although in southern Central Asia the relative chronological positions of various cultures are generally clear, the absolute chronological dates remain a matter of scholarly debate. For consistency across timelines, "calibrated" carbon-14 dates are used here, resulting in dates up to 500 years earlier than traditional dates for these periods. “In this timeline, "neolithic" indicates cultures whose food sources are based on hunting, gathering, and fishing, and stone tools and weapons more sophisticated than in the previous "mesolithic"; "eneolithic" denotes cultures with some food production from
165
domesticated plants and/or animals; and "bronze age" means cultures with economies producing their food with developed technologies such as irrigation agriculture or systematic stockbreeding of domesticated animals. • ca. 2200 B.C. Irrigation agriculture begins to be used in southwestern Central Asia, allowing the population to move from the foothills into oases along the rivers that flow into the Central Asian desert. The new settlements include large fortified buildings. This new technology, presumably learned from the ancient Near East, permits population growth and fosters the formation of a new culture: the Bactrian-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), also known as the Oxus civilization, beginning ca. 2000/1900 B.C. • ca. 2200/2100 B.C. Several sites in the Southern Urals and northern Kazakhstan contain graves of warriors who are accompanied in death by burials of vehicles with two spoked wheels (defined either as chariots or light carts) and teams of horses. These burials are associated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture, which has walled towns, usually located in the bends of rivers. The economic base is a mixture of herding (horses, cattle, and sheep) and agriculture. Whether the chariot originated on the steppe, where horses were first domesticated, remains an open question. It is possible that the idea of the chariot eventually reached Shang China along the route where these burials were found. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/02/nc/ht02nc.htm Shaft-hole axhead with a bird-headed demon, boar,and dragon, late 3rd–early 2nd millennium B.C. Central Asia (Bactria-Margiana) Silver, gold foil; 5 7/8 in. (15 cm) “Western Central Asia, now known as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and northern Afghanistan, has yielded objects attesting to a highly developed civilization in the late third and early second millennium B.C. Artifacts from the region indicate that there were contacts with Iran to the southwest. Tools and weapons, especially axes, comprise a large portion of the metal objects from this region. This shaft-hole axhead is a masterpiece of three-dimensional and relief sculpture. Expertly cast in silver and gilded with gold foil, it depicts a bird-headed hero grappling with a wild boar and a winged dragon. The idea of the heroic bird-headed creature probably came from western Iran, where it is first documented on a cylinder seal impression. The hero's muscular body is human except for the bird talons that replace the hands and feet. He is represented twice, once on each side of the ax, and consequently appears to have two heads. On one side, he grasps the boar by the belly and on the other, by the tusks. The posture of the boar is contorted so that its bristly back forms the shape of the blade. With his other talon, the bird-headed hero grasps the winged dragon by the neck. The dragon, probably originating in Mesopotamia or Iran, is represented with folded wings, a feline body, and the talons of a bird of prey.” Stamp seal, quatrefoil/maltese cross with infill, whip or snake MS on grey steatite, North Syria/North Iraq/Iran, 5th millennium BC, 1 square stamp seal, 3,0x3,5x0,6 cm, 1 pictographic sign on reverse, pierced through.
166
Provenance: 1. Erlenmeyer Collection, Basel (before 1958-1981); 2. The Erlenmeyer Foundation, Basel (1981-1997); 3. Sotheby's 12.6.1997:6. Stamp seal, standing male figure quadrupeds back to back and head to
between two horned end
MS on speckled dark-olive steatite or chlorite, North Syria/Iraq/Iran, 5th-4th millennium BC, 1 circular stamp seal, diam. 8,4x1,3 cm, pierced through. Provenance: 1. Erlenmeyer Collection, Basel (before 1958-1981); 2. The Erlenmeyer Foundation, Basel (1981-1997); 3. Sotheby's 12.6.1997:10. Commentary: The earliest stamp seals of Sumer had various geometric patterns, later more elaborate designs and illustrations like the present seal, as a proof of identity and ownership. These can, together with the counting tokens, possibly be considered forerunners to the pictographic script of ca. 3200 BC. http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/5/5.6/#2411 Stamp seal, large ibex walking left MS on black steatite or chlorite, North Syria or Anatolia, 4th millennium BC, 1 rectangular gabled stamp seal, 4,7x5,1x1,3 cm, pierced through. Provenance: 1. Erlenmeyer Collection, Basel (before 1958-1981); 2. The Erlenmeyer Foundation, Basel (1981-1997); 3. Sotheby's 12.6.1997:8. Anatolia and the Caucasus “Precious metals such as silver, gold, and tin attract merchants to the Anatolian plateau, particularly from the northern Mesopotamian city of Ashur. These merchants establish trading centers (karum)—such as the one at Kanesh (modern Kültepe)—and the details of their transactions are documented in cuneiform tablets, the earliest texts found in the region. During the fourteenth century, the Hittite kingdom, with its capital at Hattusha (modern Bogazköy) and religious center at Yazilikaya, creates an empire extending into northern Syria. By around 1200 B.C., Hattusha is violently destroyed and the Hittite empire collapses. In the Caucasus, the earlier culture of Kura-Araxes gives way to the Trialeti culture, known for its particular form of burial. Large mounds with extensive underground graves contain bronze weapons, tools, and unique artifacts in gold and silver.” http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/03/waa/ht03waa.htm Cuneiform tablet case, 1920–1840 B.C.; Old Assyrian Trading Colony period Central Anatolia, Kültepe (Karum Kanesh) Clay; L. 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm) “When the merchants from Ashur in Assyria came to Anatolia early in the second millennium B.C., they brought with them the writing techniques invented in Mesopotamia: the script known as cuneiform ("wedge-shaped") and the medium of clay tablets encased in clay envelopes. The merchants also brought their art in the form of cylinder seals, which marked the traded goods, storerooms, and written records. The Assyrian merchants wrote in the Assyrian language, but tablets and cuneiform were later adopted in Anatolia by the Hittites, who wrote their own language with the imported techniques. The records of the Assyrian trading colonies, of which Kültepe
167
(ancient Karum Kanesh) was one, provide detailed information about one part of a lively international trade in the early second millennium B.C. that extended from Egypt to the Caucasus to Central Asia and the Indus Valley. The Assyrian tablets describe the exchange of tin and textiles from Ashur for silver from Anatolia as well as detail the specifics of contracts and lawsuits, and about bandits and other misfortunes. The tablet contained in this case (MMA 66.245.5a) is the record of court testimony describing an ownership dispute of a business firm. The case is sealed with two different cylinder seals rolled across the front and back of the envelope in five parallel rows separated by plain clay. Both seals illustrate presentation scenes in which worshippers approach a larger seated figure holding a cup. The obverse, shown here, is also inscribed in cuneiform.� MS 4631 Bulla-envelope with 11 plain and complex tokens inside, representing an account or agreement, tentatively of wages for 4 days’ work, 4 measures of metal, 1 large measure of barley and 2 small measures of some other commodity Bulla in clay, Adab, Sumer, ca. 3700-3200 BC, 1 spherical bulla-envelope (complete), diam. ca. 6,5 cm, cylinder seal impressions of a row of men walking left; and of a predator attacking a deer, inside a complete set of plain and complex tokens: 4 tetrahedrons 0,9x1,0 cm (D.S.-B.5:1), 4 triangles with 2 incised lines 2,0x0,9 (D.S.-B.(:14), 1 sphere diam. 1,7 cm (D.S.-B.2:2), 1 cylinder with 1 grove 2,0x0,3 cm (D.S.-B.4:13), 1 bent paraboloid 1,3xdiam. 0,5 cm (D.S.-B.8:14). Context: MSS 4631-4646 and 5114-5127are from the same archive. Only 25 more bullaenvelopes are known from Sumer, all excavated in Uruk. Total number of bullaenvelopes worldwide is ca. 165 intact and 70 fragmentary. Commentary: While counting for stocktaking purposes started ca. 8000 BC using plain tokens of the type also represented here, more complex accounting and recording of agreements started about 3700 BC using 2 systems: a) a string of complex tokens with the ends locked into a massive rollsealed clay bulla (see MS 4523), and b) the present system with the tokens enclosed inside a hollow bulla-shaped rollsealed envelope, sometimes with marks on the outside representing the hidden contents. The bullaenvelope had to be broken to check the contents hence the very few surviving intact bulla- envelopes. This complicated system was superseded around 3500-3200 BC by counting tablets giving birth to the actual recording in writing, of various number systems (see MSS 3007 and 4647), and around 3300-3200 BC the beginning of pictographic writing. Gonur Tepe View of the palace complex at Gonur North. At the right, diggers shovel loosened earth from the pits to expose the ancient mud-brick walls. Margianan Archeological Expedition, was directed today by the Russian archeologist Victor Sarianidi. Dr. Sarianidi's work focused on the Late Bronze Age sites, dating to the first half of the second millennium BC, located in the ancient delta of the Murgab River, in the southeastern part of present day Turkmenistan. Gonur Tepe was the largest of dozens of scattered Bronze Age sites established here in the early second millennium. Gonur appears to have served as an
168
administrative and religious center for the region, and as a hub for long distance trade. Its monumental architecture, and material remains in art and ornament indicate the high culture achieved before a variety of factors led to the movement of its peoples further south. Bronze belt stud, 2200-1800 BC, Northern Afghanistan Bronze Age, depicting a winged female figure poised between two griffins. This may be called a ‘compartmented seal’ perhaps worn on belts. Statuettes with female figurines are interpreted as related to Sarasvati (Bharat) and Anahita (Iran: cf. Yasht 5, Avesta). A pit grave in the necropolis. Ceramic vessels and a bronze mirror lie next to the skull. The skeleton shows knees and elbows flexed. In one grave, a fine, carved alabaster cylinder seal was unearthed; the seal showed a seated figure wearing a Sumerian kaunake garment. In a tomb was found a lamb, a huge scepter and a long pin of silver with a seated female figure at its base wearing a similar garment. In the Gonur Tepe palace, a youth was found buried inside a large ceramic vessel which included rich grave goods. Lapis, talc and a single, inch and a half long carnelian bead carved in chevron patterns were found encircling the neck. A single gold earring was embedded near the ear, and a half-dozen large, finely polished banded agate beads lay in the bottom of the vessel. Graves had only ceramic bowls, large, long-stemmed, undecorated goblets, long spouted vessels, ceramic strainers, bronze mirror. Small Talc stone head of a composite statue, Gonur. Torso is made of dark steatite. In Gonur south were found a religious complex—called fire temples -- which housed sacred fires, storage areas for pure white ash taken from the hearths. Also found were miniature columns made of various marble-like stones. There were many large rooms with walls 8-foot thick. Some small rooms had a large mud brick shelf covered with white plaster and often held a large clay vessel. The vessels seemed to contain the remnants of a drink; chemical analysis of remnants showed a mix of hemp, poppy and ephedra (which may be the precursor of Avestan haoma). Dashli Plan layout of palace at Dashli. (After Sarianidi, V. I., Die Kunst des Alten Afghanistan, Leipzig, 1986, p. 53; Brentjes, B., "Das Ur-Mandala" (?) from Daschly-3, Iranica Antiqua, XVIII / 1983.) According to Asko Parpola, this mandala is related to the Tantric Mahakali Yantra (Parpola, A., Margiana and the Aryan Problem, in, IASCCA Information Bulletin 19, Moscow, 1993.)
169
In Dashli, a circular building was found with three concentric walls. The building had many rooms. Three fireplaces on platforms, together with charred remains of animals, were discovered. It is notable that similar charred remains of animals have been found in Kalibangan in the context of fire-altars. Prior to Zarathurstra’s influence, Iranians were fire-worshippers and not unlike the practices of yajn~a mentioned in the Vedic texts. It is, therefore, reasonable to argue that the fire-altars found in BMAC cultures could be related to migrations out of Bharat. Asko Parpola refers to the finds of ephedra as related to ‘haumavarga shaka’ (scythians) referred to in Zoroastrian texts. (Asko Parpola: “The coming of the Aryans to Iran and India and the cultural and ethnic identity of the Dasas”, in Studia Orientalia, vol.64 (Helsinki 1988), p. 195-265.) Asko Parpola also notes that the fire-worshippers who used the circular structures are Iranian and that similar structures with three concentric walls survived in Iranian Bactria until Achaemenid times. (Asko Parpola, “The problem of the Aryans and the Soma”, in G. Erdosy: The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, p.368.) Is it reasonable to correlate these structures with tripura mentioned only in the Brahmanas (and not in the Rigveda)? A vase found in Dashli showed men wearing a kind of upper garment leaving one shoulder uncovered. (Bernard Sergent: Genèse de l’Inde, p.163.) Wearing sacred thread (yajn~opavitam) is a Vedic and a Zoroastrian trait and so is the wearing of a uttariyam leaving the right-shoulder bare. The parallel is found in the statuette of the ‘priest king’ found in Mohenjodaro. Seated male figure with head missing (45, 46). On the back of the figure, the hair style can be partially reconstructed by a wide swath of hair and a braided lock of hair or ribbon hanging along the right side of the back. A cloak is draped over the edge of the left shoulder and covers the folded legs and lower body, leaving the right shoulder and chest bare. The left arm is clasping the left knee and the hand is visible peeking out from underneath the cloak. The right hand is resting on the right knee which is folded beneath the body. Material: limestone Dimensions: 28 cm height, 22 cm width Mohenjo-daro, L 950 Islamabad Museum Marshall 1931:358-9, pl. C, Some vases also depict horned snakes carrying one or more suns inside them. These are interpreted as the Vrtra dragon slayed by Indra (Rigveda RV 1:51:4, 1:54:6) or Azhi Srvara (the horned one) killed by Keresaspa (Avesta). R. Ghirshman notes that proto-Iranians traveled “to the south”. (R. Ghirshman: L’Iran et les Migrations des Indo-Aryans et des Iranians ,1977). It is possible that migrants from Bharat moved through the Amu Darya (Oxus) valley to the Aral Lake and proceeded south. This is however only a conjecture unattested by archaeological proof for any types of migrations through Central Asia or from Bharat via Amu Darya to Caspian
170
region and Iran. Dasa and Pani are referred to as Iranian and Paktha – referred to in the battles on Parushni or Ravi river -- as Pathan. [This may attest to the early north-west movement of people from Sarasvati River basin before they moved further west through Bactria to the Aral Lake!] In Alexander’s time, Parnoi and Dahai (Pani? and Dasa?) are located south of Aral Lake. (Bernard Sergent: Genèse de l’Inde, p.241-244.) Painted Grey Ware pottery types which evolved in the Ganga doab circa 1500 to 800 BCE are not found in Central Asia, thus negating any archaeological evidence for migrations from Central Asia into Bharat. There is also no archaeological evidence to assert that Indo-Europeans emigrated out of Bharat sometime between circa 6000 and 2000 BCE. Even the theories of elite dominance to explain the Indo-Aryan languages as branch of Indo-European family have to conjecture that “[This] episode of elite dominance which brought the indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family to India (…) may have been as early as the floruit of the Indus civilization” (C. Renfrew: “Before Babel: Speculations on the Origins of Linguistic Diversity”, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 1 (1), p.3-23, spec. p.14.) Sergent points to Indo-Aryans as responsible for the disruption of Mesopotamia caused by Hurrian and Kassite invasions and for the disruption of Indus Valley civilization, coming from Bactria, as disrupters of trade. Sergent notes that Indo-Aryan names were common in Syria and Palestine in 15th-13th century BCE (e.g. Birishena (Virasena) ruled Sichem, the Palestine town and Suardata (gift of heaven) ruled Qiltu near Jerusalem. Bernard Sergent: Genèse de l’Inde, p. 198-199, p.206 ff.). This is seen by Sergent, as evidence of separate Indo-Aryan presence outside the Mitannic kingdom until at least the 13th century BC. The thesis is that once the long-distance trade was disrupted and disappeared, the cities of Indus Valley had no reason to exist and hence, declined cities into unplanned settlements. Bactria Margiana Archaeological Complex
Amulets and seals made of soft stone and pierced lengthwise often have a swastika engraved on one side. (Sarianidi, V. I., Die Kunst des Alten Afghanistan, Leipzig, 1986, Abb. 100; Fig. 1 after Sarianidi, V. I., Bactrian Centre of Ancient Art, Mesopotamia, 12 / 1977, Fig. 59 / 18; Fig. Of inter-locked snakes after Sarianidi, V. I., Seal-Amulets of the Murghab Style, in: Kohl, Ph. L., ed., The Bronze Age Civilization of Central Asia, New York, 1981, Fig. 7.). The endless knot motif is a feature also found on seals of Sarasvati-Sindhu valleys. Compartmented seal: a female figure seated on a feline. (After Sarianidi, V. I., Reperti ineditti da tombe battriane depredate, Mesopotamia, 28 / 1993, Fig. 7.) The detail of the bronze center piece of a shield found in Luristan and dated to the 7th or 8th century BC (Fig. 7) shows a human
171
figure, again with raised arms, riding on a lion. (After: 7000 Ans d'Art en Iran, Paris, 1961, Pl. XX). BMAC Compartment seal; double-headed eagles. Two seals of Susa; two opposed animal-/bird-heads on each end. Some animals may be seen between the arms of the cross. (After Le Brenton, Louis, A propos de cachets archaïques susiens, Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archeologie orientale, 50 / 1956, Fig. 11, 2) Megalithic graves had weapons and ancient poetry in Tamil provides evidence for adoration of warriors. (Asko Parpola: Deciphering the Indus Script, Cambridge University Press 1994, p. 171.) Harappans had weapons and had fortified settlements. (Shereen Ratnagar: Enquiries into the Political Organization of Harappan Society, Ravish Publ., Pune 1991.) Bactria is the basin of Oxus or Amu Darya river, in southern Uzbekistan. This could be the region of Balkh associated with Zarathushtra or Bahlika of Vedic texts. Balkh was the historical heartland and Iranians were moving westward towards the south-Caspian area as evidenced by Namazga culture in Turkenistan getting influenced by BMAC. (Bernard Sergent: Genèse de l’Inde, p.179.) Margiana is eastern Turkmenistan. Bactria Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) has produced ceramics (for e.g., at Shortugai) which resemble the ceramics of Chanhujo-daro. BMAC sites are in present-day Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Shortugai (circa 1800 BCE) is located on a tributary of Amu Darya close to Badakshan hills and close to gold, lapis lazuli, silver, copper and lead mines. Many BMAC settlements also produce evidence of metal weapons. Settlements such as those of Shortugai are temporary settlements, with short-lived occupations, hastily constructed following the plan layouts of Harappan cities. Akhmadali A. Askarov notes that BMAC similarities to Harappan town layouts evidence: “influence of northwestern India on Bactria by means of a migration of Indus people to Central Asia after the end of their civilization.” (A.A. Askarov: “Traditions et innovations dans la culture du nord de la Bactriane à l’age du bronze”, Colloque Archèologie, CNRS, Paris 1985, p.119-124.) The Bronze Age displays of the museum in Mary, Turkmenistan, include several small imported south-east Iranian carved softstone bowls and bottles (Gonur, Togolok 21), a 172
curious metre-long softstone sceptre with a hollow bronze head (Gonur), a square bronze stamp seal and several clay figurines showing two-humped camels, local ceramic copies of Iranian sheet-metal spouted jars (Gonur), a lapis bead necklace found around the neck of an eighteen-year-old girl (Togolok 21), an Indus etched carnelian bead (Altyn-depe) and Victor Sarianidi's excavations at the Bronze Age sites of Gonur-depe and Togolok 21. Ephedra was discovered in Togolok. (Harri Nyberg: “The problem of the Aryans and the Soma: the botanical evidence”, in G. Erdosy: The Indo-Aryans in Ancient South Asia, p.382-406.) The Altyn Depe ('Golden Hill') fortress dates back to the the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE. During the excavations a monumental cult complex with ziggurat dedicated to the God of Moon was opened. In its structural relation "the town" consisted of living quarters of handicraftsmen with narrow (1-1.5 m) lanes between the close many-room houses, quarters of townspeople, with lanes of 1.7-2.1 m and the quarters for citadel with strict distinct planning, wide and straight streets (up to 2.5 m). Anau Anau (means: ‘new water’) seal (black stone 1.3 X 1.4 cm.) belonged where it was found, by Dr. Fredrik T. Hiebert of the University of Pennsylvania, in a layer of the ruins dated at 2300 B.C., in excavations of ruins of a settlement near Ashgabat, Turkmenistan's capital. The inscription was emphasized with a reddish pigment. Was the seal used for marking trade goods? Anau, southern Turkmenistan, near Iran. The fortress-like buildings in Anau outsize the biggest structures of ancient Mesopotamia, some are equivalent to the base of the pyramids. Bronze ax in form of bird's head with clear eye and feather going back, circa 2,000 B. C. "Bone tube" carved with stylized head, circa 2,000 B. C. What was the tube used for? Hiebert makes a guess: “We're not exactly sure, but it was found in piles of dirt we have analyzed that had a tremendous amount of ephedra. Ephedra is a type of plant that ancient Zorastrians used to create a ritual drink that allowed them to hallucinate and get closer to God. It may well be that the tube was used in some pre- Zorastrial ritual involving ephedra. Ephedra has medicinal factors. The decongestant Sudafed is made from the same ephedra chemical. But if you take it in some quantity and mix it with a poppy or
173
opium, it would have the effect of giving you visions or hallucinations.” (Archaeologists Find Central Asia Civilization As Old As Sumeria http://www.crystalinks.com/firstasians.html) Many objects with epigraphs and other artifacts of the civilization are collected outside Pakistan and Bharat as may be seen from examples of collections: D. T. Potts, A "Lost" Seal from Harappa in the Nicholson Museum (Sydney) in: Klaus Karttunen and Petteri Koskikallio ed., 2001, Vidyarnavavandanam. Essays in Honour of Asko Parpola, Studia Orientalia 94, Suomen Itämainen Seura Glyhs on Epigraphs “The earliest archaeological evidence for the use of cylinder seals comes from the trash pits of a small site in southwestern Iran called Sharafabad, where impressions of engraved cylinder seals were found mixed with Middle Uruk pottery dated to around 3700 BCE. From slightly later, both at the large site of Uruk (modern Warka in southern Mesopotamia and at Susa (biblical Shushan, modern Shush) in Iranian Khuzestan, we find preserved the full range of administrative documents and tools, including abundant evidence for seals. While locks for the doors of storage rooms and sealings over the cords securing the contents of vessels and other containers continued to be marked with seals, the Uruk and Susa evidence clearly indicates a need to record information that would soon lead to the invention of writing. Cylinder seals are closely associated with that process. By the Late Uruk period (end of fourth millennium), a complex system of recording was devised that used ‘tokens’ enclosed in hollow clay balls (figure), tablets marked with tally signs, or biconical tags that were probably suspended from containers. All of these devices were impressed on the outside with one, two, or three different cylinder seals. During the more than three thousand years in which clay was used as the primary medium for cuneiform writing, the cylinder was the predominant shape for seals…Although cylinders tended to dominate throughout the millennia, stamp seals are always used, particularly in the regions surrounding Mesopotamia. Among the Hittites, stamp seals were carved for private, but most notably for royal use…The Sumerian term for seal cutter is BUR.GUL; the Akkadian is purkullu…In a second millennium text from Alalakh (modern Tell Atchana) in Syria, seal cutters are listed among other artisans, such as carpenters, stonemasons, carpet weavers, leather workers, and metal smiths…At Shahr-I-Sokhte (Shah-I-Sokhta) in eastern Iran, a place through which large quantities of lapis lazuli from the Hindu Kush must have passed, worn stone drills and masses of chips of worked stone were found over large areas of the site…
174
[cf.A word cognate with Akkadian purkullu is: por-kollan- = kamma_l.an-, goldsmith (Tamil.lex.)] Indian archer shown on a coin (provenance unknown).
Unicorn seal ROM 996.74.5 Royal Ontario Museum, Canada
Seal impression. Royal Ontario Museum, Canada (No ROM number)
2645 valley old akkadian illustration. North West Afghanistan, ca. 21st cent.
MS Indus script, and
This seal links Indus Valley and Old Akkadian civilizations. The seal is of blue stone, North West Afghanistan, ca. 23rd-21st c. BC, 1 cylinder seal, 3,9x2,7 cm, 5 Indus valley signs, illustration standing archer aiming his bow at a falling boar, in the style of the best Old Akkadian art in Sumer. Harappa, potsherd.
Experts believe that this seal may have been used by a merchant from the Indus Valley who was living in Bahrein or Babylon. This seal was found in the Mesopotamian city of Babylon. The seal shows a bull and has a short inscription in the Indus Valley script. However, it is not square like seals from the Indus Valley. It is round with a knob on the back, which is more like seals from the Gulf island of Bahrein which date from about 2000 B.C. Other seals like this were found in the Sumerian city of Ur. A copy of a square, Indus-type seal with a picture of a bull was also found at Ur. However, this seal had an inscription in cuneiform script rather than in the Indus Valley script.
175
Harappa, seals, sealings and other miscellaneous objects of faience, stone, etc. selected for the Burdin Fine Arts Exhibition http://www.photocentralasia.com/specialex/specialexphotos06.html
A group of six steatite seals, each with a depiction of an ox before an altar beneath a row of pictographic symbols; the reverse with a pierced boss.
http://www.asianartresource.co.uk/mall/asianartresourcecouk/products/product823937.stm Steatite seals in the British Museum
(British Museum1892-1210, 1) Ganweriwala. Surface find on a mound (2007). Hieroglyphs on one side: Gummat.a, kummat.a ‘arch,
176
canopy, roof’ (Te.Ta.H.); rebus: kumpat.i ‘chafing dish’ (Te.) kamad.ha ‘penance’ (Pkt.); rebus, kampat.t.am ‘mint’ (Ta.); ko_lemmu ‘backbone’ (Te.); rebus, kolimi ‘furnace’ (Te.)
177
Slide 278 broken steatite seal
seal
Slide 350 Unicorn
Slide 351 Copper tablet
Slide 326 Large unicorn seal Clay tablet with a
poem in Sumerian, dated to circa 1500 BCE. God Enki describes Meluhha. Discovered in 1898 by Herman Hilprecht and John Peters – Universityh of Pennsylvania -at Nippur..(After Louvre/Art Resource) Button seal (circa 2800 to 2600 BCE). Harappa. (After JM Kenoyer/Courtesy Dept. of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of Pakistan). Seal showing a horned tiger. Mohenjodaro. (After Scala/Art Resource).
Signboard on the North Gate leading to the
178
walled citadel. Dholavira. Courtesy ASI. There is a glyph common to the Dholavira sign board, to the epigraph on the horned-tiger seal and the glyph on the button seal of Harappa. The glyph is a ‘lid, cover’ for a pot: ^ Lexemes: ad.aren, d.aren lid, cover (Santali) Rebus: aduru ‘native metal’ (Ka.). It is possible to unravel many substratum lexemes of Mleccha (Meluhhan) and at the same time, decode the epigraphs; the key is to unravel the dialectical continuum of the linguistic area circa 5500 years Before Present. Since the cultural traits of the civilization which evolved about 5500 years Before Present are present even today in Bharat, the languages of Bharat constitute the data set for decoding lexemes of such a dialectical continuum. A remarkable cultural trait which continues into the historical periods of Bharat is the use of copper plates to record epigraphs as property transactions. The epigraphs are the artifacts created by artisans of the Sarasvati civilization, the metal workers who recorded the ownership of the furnaces and trade in a civilizational resource: stones, metals and minerals. This hypothesis on language, writing system and function served by the epigraphs, will be tested further in a separate volume of the Saptathi Sarasvati, the septet of 7 volumes on Sarasvati.
179
Impression of an Akkadian cylinder seal (ca. 2350-2100 BCE) variously interpreted as potting or cheese-making (after Boehmer 1965: no.693). Another interpretation could be that a man is offering a sword to the eagle-person. The three animals following this man could denote some metallurgical objects. The brazier is inscribing a vessel at the top-left.
Metal artifacts of the Bronze Age from southern Turkmenia. a,c.d Altin-depe; b Anau; e Ashkhabad; f Daina (After fig. 30 in: V.M. Masson and V.I. Sarianidi, 972, Central Asia: Turkmenia before the Achaemen**ids, New York, Praeger Publishers) Lead and arsenic was often added to the bronze. Some objects from Namazga-depe contained as much as 80 lead and in one case the artifact was even made of brass (an alloy of copper and zinc). Twin moulds were used for casting; precious metals including gold and silver were also used. There are analogies of metal artifacts in the Harappan assemblages; for example, flag daggers without a midrib which were quite atypical for Hissar, were very widespread both in southern Turkmenia and in the Indus Valley. Artifacts including golden head of bull. Southern Turkmenia, Margiana, Bactria: 4-7 golden head of bull and seals from Altyn depe (Developed Bronze Age); 8-21 seals and amulets of Bactria and Margiana (After Fig.4 in L.P'yankova, Central Asia in the Bronze Age: sedentary and nomadic cultures, in: Antiquity 68 (1994): 355372).4.4 golden head of a bull with a turquoise sickle inlaid in the forehead; 4.5: steatite plate with an image of cross and half-moon. Procession of animals Bronze dish found by Layard at Nimrud: circular objects are decorated by consecutive chains of animals following each other round in a circle. A similar theme occurs on the famous silver vase of Entemena. In the innermost circle, a troop of gazelles (similar to the ones depicted on cylinder seals) march along in file; the middle register has a variety of animals, all marching in the same direction as the gazelles. A one-horned bull, a winged griffin, an ibex and a gazelle, are followed by two bulls who are being attacked by lions, and a griffin, a onehorned bull, and a gazelle, who are all respectively being attacked by leopards. In the outermost zone there is a stately procession of realistically conceived one-horned bulls
180
marching in the opposite direction to the animals parading in the two inner circles. The dish has a handle. (Percy S.P.Handcock, 1912, Mesopotamian Archaeology, London, Macmillan and Co., p. 256). Cf. pasaramu, pasalamu = quadrupeds (Telugu); rebus: pasra = smithy ! (Santali) Smithy for varieties of minerals and metals, indeed. “Of lasting
significance were attempts to lighten the disk wheels, as first seen on a third-millennium seal from Hissar IIIB (fig.2). On it, the central plank, through which the axle passes, is narrowed to a diametral bar; the flanking planks of the Hissar. Depiction of a wheel on a seal from Hissar IIIB. 3rd millennium BCE (After Figure 2, Littauer and Crouwel, 979). tripartite wheel are eliminated, and the former bonding slats are turned into sturdy transverse bars between the diametral bar and the felloe. This crossbar wheel is also clearly illustrated in the second millennium BCE, fixed on a revolving axle; it has remained in use with simple carts in various parts of the world. Pirak, Baluchistan, ca. 1000 BCE. Geometric seals in terracotta and bronze. [After Fig. 9.12 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. The second millennium cylinder seals of Mitanni, both from east and west of the Mitanni empire, i.e. from Nuzi and Alalakh, show glyptic art motifs of Babylonia, either directly or through what is called Syrian glyptic. Cylinder seal impressions: (a) Nuzi (D. Stein); (b) Ugarit (Schaeffer-Forrer 1983); (c) Alalakh (Collon 1982); (d) Alalakh (Collon 1982); (e) Nuzi (D. Stein); (f) Nuzi (D.Stein); (g) Ugarit (Schaeffer-Forrer 1983); (h) Alalakh (Collon 1982). The styles are: juxtaposed antelope, humans and trees framed by geometric patters. The styles have prehistoric roots in Mesopotamia and glyphs such as an antelope with its head turned, jointed animal heads are also seen in Harappan inscription motifs.
181
+Cylinder seal impression of Idrimi of Alalakh (Collon 1975); Legend: Idrimi, servant of IM; the seal was used by Idrimi's son, Niqmepa. Secondary scenes of opposing animals and dimunitive motifs with wings are on superimposed registers divided by a spiral (guilloche) pattern. Cylinder seal impression of Niqmepa or Ilimilimma (Collon 975); Legend: ...(?), Niqmepa. The heraldic composition of Saus'tatar's seal occurs at Alalakh on this seal of Niqmepa or his son, Ilimilimma.
Seal of the 'Ruler of Susa' (Source: Dahl, 2007
http://compling.ai.uiuc.edu/2007Workshop/Slides/dahl.pdf ) Chaldean seal showing a goat, tabernae Montana, tree. Tabernae Montana is a motif also seen on Sarasvati hieroglyphs. Cylinder seal impression of Ithiason of Kipi-tes's'up (Drawn by D. Stein); Legend: Ithia king of Arrapha son of Kipites's'up; this is noted as early eastern court style: full-scale figures interspersed with filler motifs.
Urkesh norther Mesopotamian city; bronze lion protome; New York Meropolitan Museum of Art; two bronze lion protomes protected the foundation tablets of the temple dedicated to Nerigal by the Hurrian king Tis'ata end of third millennium BC; inspiration seems to be from the Mesopotamian tradition of lion representation particularly in Akkadian art. Cylinder seal of Tehes'-atal the scribe (British Museum); Legend: Zabazuna strong king: Tehes'-atal the scribe is your servant). The seal is modelled on Ur III presentation scenes of the 'Arad-zu' type, in which a worshipper stands before the
182
seated king. On this seal, the king is seated on a throne rather tan the usual padded stool, one of the worshippers is not bareheaded and neither raises his right hand, as on the metropolitan prototypes. (Diana L. Stein, 'Art and Architecture', in: Gernot Wilhelm, 1989, The Hurrians, trans. by Jennifer Barnes, Warminster, Aris and Phillips Ltd.). Lapis lazuli Cylinder seal of Zardamu King of Karahar (British Museum); Karhar is on upper Diya_la near the Zagros foothills; Legend: Zardamu, Sun-God of his land; beloved of Nergal, his god; Annunitum, his mother; S'ul-pae, his...; [of DN], his...; En-sig-nun, who walks on his right; ...of S'amas', his? Tammuz; strong king, king of Karahar and king of the Four Parts, spouse of Is'tar. The iconography harks back to the famous victory stele of Naram-suen in the Louvre. "In the tradition set by this Akkadian king and revived by the rulers of the Ur III Dynasty, Zardamu describes himself as divine king of the Four Quarters of the Earth (Sollberger 1980) and depicts himself in ascending posture, trampling on his fallen enemy.
Cylinder seal impression of S'uttarna, son of Kirta (Collon, 975); Tell Atchana (Alalakh IV), Turkey. Impressions on tablets AT 13,14. Legend: Suttarna, son of Kirta, King of Maittani; two lions are defeated by a central single human-headed liondemon in bird costume; worn and recut, the seal is used as a dynastic emblem by Saus'tatar in mid second millennium BC; two tablets found in Alalakh which record judicial decisions taken by Saushtatar are authenticated with the 'dynastic seal', which bears the legend' S'uttarna, son of Kirta, king of Maitani'. The seal reflects the style of Post Akkadian and Ur III periods (Collon 1975). "The contest scene, first introduced as a frieze of overlapping figures during the Early Dynastic period, is epitomized at the height of the Akkadian period as a symmetrically composed conflict between balanced pairs of protagonists. Long associated with kingship, this theme developed into the three-figured struggle depicted on the seal of S'uttarna, in which an animal victim is pitted against two human assailants (Collon 1982: 111). The seal was used as a dynastic seal by Saushtatar of Mitanni in about 1450 BCE; it was probably originally cut in the late 3rd millennium BCE but was subsequently recut along the lines of the original design and a new inscription was added. Antakya and BM; Collon, 1975, No. 230. Towards the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE, a new material for seals arrived. This was sintered quartz, also known as composition (or, less accurately, as faience, frit or paste). This composition is often used in the beads and seals of the Sarasvati Sindhu Civilization. This opaque material, which was easy to cut and could be fired and glazed, made it possible to mass-produce seals. Cylinder seal impression: Nuzi (Drawn by D. Stein); Alalakh (Collon, 1982). Hunting scenes with the motifs scattered freely in the field.
183
BM 89315; haematite; Frankfort, 1939, Pl. XXXIa. This is an Old Babylonian seal depicting the king with a mace between two suppliant godesses, to which Mitannian figures have been added, together with a two-register scene based on Syrian iconography (Collon, 1987, Fig. 268).
Cylinder
seal
impression: Ugarit (Schaeffer1983)--contest, hunting scenes. Alalakh (Collon a register of in a row above a row of worshippers; two antelopes in opposition, a standing lion. Nuzi--person seated on a throne in front of a standing row of animals on top register, antelope? (Drawn by D.
Forrer
1982)-animals
lion, a Stein).
Cylinder seal impression of Ithi-tes's'up son of Kipites's'up; Nuzi Iraq. Impression on property decree. Legend: IthiTeshub son of Kip-Teshub king of Arrapha (Kirkuk) rolls out this seal on (a tablet concerning) a legal decision about fields and houses. For evermore let no-one break (the tablet). 5.1 cm.; (D. Stein; Collon, 1987, Fig. 269). The second seal of Ithi-Tes's'up displays many demons and deities which typify the late court style at Nuzi. Divided here on two levels, the demonic figures composed of lion, fish, bird, scorpion, snake and hina elements, have been interpreted as creatures of the netherworld (Porada 1979). The design is comparable to the design on Saushtatar's seal. Nuzi lay in the territory of Arappha. A similar design appears on the seal found near Khorsabad (Dur Sharrukin), Iraq. BM 89819 (Badger Coll. 1853); pink and white jasper; Wiseman, 1959, Pl. 51; Collon, 1987, Fig. 270.
184
A corpus of Sarasvati Epigraphs (Indus Script) – Epigraphica Sarasvati This is a comprehensive corpus of inscribed objects and corresponding texts of inscriptions, a compilation based mostly on published photographs in archaeological reports right from the days of Alexander Cunningham who discovered a seal at Harappa in 1875, of Langdon at Mohenjodaro (1931) and of Madhu Swarup Vats at Harappa (1940).. The corpus includes objects collected in Bha_rata, Pakistan, other countries and the finds of the excavations at Harappa by Kenoyer and Meadow during the season 1994-1995 and 1999-2000. Based on these resources and from the collections of inscribed objects held in many museums of the world, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the corpus of Sarasvati epigraphs includig lists of Sarasvati heiroglyphs, has been made comprehensive to include almost all facets of glyptic art of Sarasvati Civilization. For comparing the pictorial or glyptic motifs, a selected number of Mesopotamian/Akkadian / Elamite cylinder seal impressions and pictures of artifacts from Bactria Margiana Archaeological Complex have also been included. Duplicate epigraphs Though the corpus is limited, it is surprising that there is a substantial number of duplicate inscriptions; this has become apparent from the recent report of excavations at Harappa (1993 to 1995 seasons). Obviously, the inscriptions do not represent not ‘names’ of owners. The inscriptions could simply be ‘functions’ performed by or the ‘professional title’ of the person who carried the inscribed object on his wrist (or as a pendant attached to a necklace) or the list of objects he/she was invoicing for trade (as bill of lading) or to list possessions of property items listed). This hypothesis gets re-inforced by (1) the finds of inscriptions on copper tablets (again, with many duplicates – all apparently made by a metal-worker and hence may relate to metal objects produced, say, in an armoury); and (2) the presence of over 200 inscribed objects with no sign (only pictorial motif) or just one or two signs. [The signs could hardly have been alphabets or syllables since there are not many ‘names’ attested in the historical periods with just one or two syllables.] In the Bharatiya tradition, the use of copper plate inscriptions served the purpose of recording property transactions, listing possessions of property items. Direction of writing did not matter much “Although it seems established that the Indus script was read from right to left (summarized in Mahadevan, 1977, pp. 10-14; Parpola, 1994, pp. 64-67), seal cutters must have engraved it from left to right. This can be shown in some cases by inverting the logic used to establish directionality of reading…Mahadevan (1977, p. 14) has noted that over 6% of the written items he documented have the script running from left to right…Directionality, in at least some instances, perhaps did not matter much, leading one to suspect that it may have been
185
what the piece represented and not what it literally said that was important. “ [Richard Meadow and Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, 1997, Excavations at Harappa 1994-1995: new perspectives on the Indus script, craft activities, and city organization, in: Raymond Allchin and Bridget Allchin, 1997, South Asian Archaeology 1995, Oxford and IBH Publishing, pp. 157-163]. The use of the rebus methodology is justified on the following evidence and analysis: The pictographs to which 'sound-bites' need to be tagged, as keys to the process of decoding the inscriptions, cover a wide range and number of inscribed objects as shown by the following frequencies (out of 13,372 occurrences of signs and 100 pictorial motifs (the frequencies are only indicative numbers, hence, approximate and are subject to change as the orthography of many pictographs and signs get more precisely identified):
Frequency range 1000 or more 999-500 499-100 99-50 49-10 9-2 Only once
No. of signs 1 1 31 34 86 152 112
Total sign occurrences 1395 649 6344 2381 1833 658 112
Percentage 10.43 4.85 47.44 17.81 13.71 4.92 .84
Cumulative percentags 10.43 15.28 62.72 80.53 94.24 99.16 100.00
Thus, only 67 signs account for a total of 80.53 percent of all occurrences of signs on inscribed objects.[After Mahadevan, 1977: 17].
186
Over 45 sites where objects with epigraphs have been discovered – dated circa 3300 BCE to 1500 BCE. The sites extend from Tepe Gawra on Tigris river on the west to Alamgirpur on Yamuna river on the east; from Altin Tepe in the north -- east of Caspian Sea (south of Turkmenistan) to Maski on Krishna river on the south. The expanse across the Persian Gulf and along the coastline of the Arabian Sea is matched by the riverine sites on the banks of Rivers Sindhu and Sarasvati. The rivers and the coastline were a veritable waterway enabling an extraordinary reach of the civilization exemplified by about 4,000 objects with epigraphs over this vast region stretching over 5000 kms from east to west and 2000 kms. from north to south and over a time horizon of nearly two millennia. (Map after Asko Parpola and Jagatpati Joshi, 1988, Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions, Volume 1, Helsinki, Academia Scientiarum Fennica and Map 8 in: Jane R. McIntosh, 2002, A Peaceful Realm – the Rise and Fall of the Indus Civilization, New York, Westview Press). The clustering of the find sites around the Sarasvati Sindhu river basins and the coasts of Gulf of Khambat and Kutch point to Meluhha (mleccha) as the language underlying the epigraphs. The key to identifying the linguistic area lies in the fact that out of the discovery sites many are on Sarasvati Basin wherefrom the Bharatiya cultural identity emerged. The clue is apparent. The present-day languages of Bharat are to be traced to the language lineage of this basin which nurtured a riverine, maritime civilization. These languages hold the rebus key to the Sarasvati heiroglyphs. Epigraph Discovery Sites and Epigraphs held in Museums The epigraphs of Sarasvati (Bharatiya) Civilization contained in over 3000 objects present a remarkably uniform writing system over an expansive area and from over 45 sites ranging from Rakhigarhi on the east to Shahitump on the west, from Ropar on the north to Daimabad in the south. Epigraphs have also been found in neighbouring civilization sites such as: Ur, Tepe Yahya, in areas now called Iran, Iraq and Persian Gulf States.
187
Alamgirpur Allahdino Amri Balakot Banawali Bet Dwaraka Chandigarh Chanhudaro Daimabad Desalpur Dholavira Gharo Bhiro (Nuhato) Gumla Harappa Hissam-dheri Hulas Jhukar Kalibangan Kalako-deray Khirsara Kot-diji Lewandheri Loebanr Lohumjodaro Lothal Maski Mehi Mehrgarh Mohenjodaro Nindowari-damb Nausharo Naro-Waro-dharo Pabumath Prabhas Patan (Somnath) Pirak Rangpur Rakhigarhi Rahman-dheri Rohira Rojdi Rupar Shahi-tump Sibri-damb Surkotada Tarkhanewala-dera
Tarakai Qila Unknown Provenance Museum Guimet, France Harappa 1993-95 excavations Proto-elamite glyptics Mohenjodaro: other objects West Asia Near East Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Tell Suleimah, Iraq Pierport Morgan Library, New York Tell Asmar (Eshnunna), Iraq Gulf states Early Harappan bowl with ‘fish’ glyph Nippur Ur Saharanpur, Western Uttar Pradesh Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Nausharo and other sites Inscribed objects from Harappa 2000-2001 Manuscripts in Schoyen Collection Parallels from Mesopotamia (and Anatolia) Shaft-hole axhead (Bactria-Margiana) Anatolia and the Caucasus Bulla-envelope, Adab, Sumer Royal Ontario Museum Burdin Fine Arts Exhibition Steatite seals in the British Museum
188
Heiroglyphs and frequencies of occurrence on epigraphs One-horned bull with a pannier Shor-horned bull Zebu or Bra_hman.i bull Buffalo Elephant Tiger (including tiger looking back) Boar Goat-antelope Ox-antelope Hare Ligatured animal Alligator Fish Frog Serpent
Tree
1159 + 5 (with two horns) 95 +2 (in opposition) 54 14 55 + 1 (horned) 16 + 5 (horned) 39 + 1 (in opposition) 36 + 1 (flanking a tree) 26 10 +1 (object shaped like hare) 41 49 14 (objects shaped like fish); fish also a sign 1 10 34 + 1 (leaves); leaf also a sign tebr.a, tebor. = thrice (Santali) ta(m)bra = copper (Pkt.); tibira = copper merchant (Akkadian)
67 Dotted circle ghan:ghar ghon:ghor ‘full of holes’ (Santali); rebus: kan:gar ‘portable furnace (K.) 23 rebus: satthiya_ ‘dagger, knife’ Svastika (Pkt.) satva 'zinc' (Ka.) 4 Endless-knot Double-axe 14 (inscribed objects shaped like axe) Standard device (lathe, portable 19 furnace) Rimmed narrow-necked jar 1395 Fish signs 1241 Leaf signs 100 Spoked wheel 203 Cart frame + wheels 26 Sprout (or, tree stylized) 800 Water-carrier 220 Scorpion 106 Claws (of crab) 130 + 90 (shaped like pincers) Arrow (spear) 227 Rimless, wide-mouthed pot 350
189
Dagger and axes found in an Ur grave
Sumerian double-bladed axe, Ur [V. Gordon Childe, 1929, The Most Ancient East: the oriental prelude to European prehistory, London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. Ltd., Fig. 72 b.]
Copper tablet (Double-edged battle-axe): Mohenjodaro M 0592B kud.i sakam the blade of the kudali (Santali.lex.) [Note the pictorial of 'leaf'; it may be read as 'sakam' or leaf, i.e. the metal blade of a weapon].guji kud.i = a kod.ali or hoe worked by taking hold of both ends of the handle (Santali.lex.) kat.a kud.i = pronged hoe; kat.a kat.i = cutting; to slash, kill (Santali.lex.).
m0592At m0592Bt 3413 Pict-133: Double-axe (?) without shaft. [The sign is comparable to the sign which appears on the text of a
Chanhudaro
seal:
Text
6422,
Chanhudaro
Seal
23].
Chanhudaro23
6402 Goat-antelope with a short tail. The object in front of the goat-antelope is a double-axe.
Unit of analysis: inscribed object We have to be very cautious in interpreting the individual signs and individual pictorials; because, given the small size of the corpus, virtually ANY lexemic or phonemic or even artistic (cultural) value may be assigned and ANY language may be read into the inscriptions, if inscriptions they are, ‘readable’ in a language and do not merely represent artistic extravaganzas. Total objects presented in Parpola pictorial corpuses and Mahadevan concordance are a statistically small population, further fragmented due to the 400 to 500 signs (including variants and ligatures of basic signs) and over 100 (including variants and pictorial ligatures yielding the so-called 'fabulous' animals categories). Thus, statistical stratification techniques assuming a normal distribution of population cannot provide statistically verifiable results. Hence, an inscribed object is the unit of analysis. Considering that as many as 273 (111 + 42 + 120) inscriptions are communicated using two signs or less (with or without a pictorial motif or 'field symbol'), it may not be appropriate to
190
assign syllabic or alphabetic values to each sign or each pictorial. Each pictorial or each sign may contain a 'word' or 'lexeme'.(Unless, of course, the entire messaging system is cryptographic using 'syllabic' or 'alphabetic' codes; this we think, is unlikely considering the nature of the cylinder seals in Mesopotamia mainly with pictorials used to convey movable property items.) One clue emerges from the fact that there are inscribed object with only pictorials (i.e. without any sign constituting a ‘text’): the pictorials are as important as signs and must be 'deciphered' to understand the message conveyed by the inscription on an object. Another clue may be surmised considering that there are inscribed objects with just a single sign: a sign by itself may constitute a message and hence may be a lexeme. Nature of objects with epigraphs Possessions and objects made could be described on epigraphs on many types of objects, such as: seals, tablets, copper plates, bangles and even on a monumental display-board (like an advertisement hoarding). The frequencies in parenthesis are based on Mahadevan conordance (which excludes objects that do not contain a 'sign'); the actual numbers will be higher based on the more comprehensive Parpola photo corpus which includes inscriptions containing only pictorials. Seals (1814) Tablets (in bas-relief or inscribed) (511)*[including Seal Impressions] Miniature tablets (of stone, terracotta or faience) (272) Copper tablets (plates) (135) Bronze implements/weapons (11) Seal Impressions* Pottery graffitii (119) Ivory or bone rods (29) Inscribed on stone, bracelets (or, bangles), Ivory plaque, Ivory dice, Carnelian tablet, Terracotta ball, Brick (15) Display-board (Dholavira or Kotda with 10 signs, possibly atop a gateway) (1) Almost all the miniature tablets are from Harappa; almost all copper tablets are from Mohenjodaro. An inference is that the miniature tablets served the same function as the copper tablets which evidence repetitive messages or sign sequences. Many epigraphs could have been recorded only by metal-smith-fire-workers This classification provides a clue as to the function served by many inscriptions: inscriptions on bronze implements/weapons (11) and copper tablets (135) could perhaps have been done only by a metal-smith-fire-worker. There is a reasonable inference here: many messages may relate to the 'economic activity' of metal-smiths. This inference is consistent with the emergence of the Bronze Age in neighbouring civilizations which have also attested
191
to contacts with the Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization sites (witness, for e.g. the finds of cylinder seals in Bha_rati_ya sites and the finds of 'Indus' seals and artefacts in Mesopotamian sites.) Framework for decoding the inscriptions of Sarasvati Sindhu Civilization This is also intended to serve as a pictorial and text index to Mahadevan Concordance and to the two volumes published so far of pictorial corpus of Parpola et al. Texts are indexed to the text numbers of Mahadevan concordance. The choice of this concordance is based on four factors: (a) the concordance is priced at a reasonable cost; (b) it is a true concordance for every sign of the corpus to facilitate an analysis of the frequency of occurrence of a sign and the context of other sign clusters/sequences in relation to a sign and for researchers to cross-check on the basic references for the inscribed objects; (c) the exquisite nature of orthography is notable and ‘readings’ are authentic, even for very difficult to read inscriptions; and (d) signs and variants of signs have been delineated with cross-references to selected text readings. Mahadevan concordance excludes inscribed objects which do not contain ‘texts’; for example, this concordance excludes about 50 seals inscribed with the ‘svastika_’ pictorial motif and a pectoral which contains the pictorial motif of a one-horned bull with a device in front and an over-flowing pot. Parpola concordance has been used to present such objects which also contain valuable orthographic data which may assist in decoding the inscriptions. Many broken objects are also contained in Parpola concordance which are useful, in many cases, to count the number of objects with specific ‘field symbols’, a count which also provides some valuable clues to support the decoding of the messages conveyed by the ‘field symbols’ which dominate the object space. Cross-references to excavation numbers, publications, photographs and the museum numbers based on which these texts have been compiled are provided in Appendix V: List of Inscribed Objects (pages 818 to 829) in Iravatham Mahadevan, 1977, The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India No. 77, New Delhi, Archaeological Survey of India, Rs. 250. In most cases, these text numbers are matched with the inscribed objects after Asko Parpola concordance [Two volumes: Rs. 21,000: 1. Jagat Pati Joshi and Asko Parpola, eds., 1987, Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: 1. Collections in India, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India No. 86, Helsinki, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia; 2. Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Asko Parpola, eds., 1991, Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: 2. Collections in Pakistan, Memoirs of the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of Pakistan, Vol. 5, Helsinki, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia]. Memoir of ASI No. 96 Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions, Vol. II by Asko Parpola, B.M. Pande and Petterikoskikallio (containing copper tablets) is in press (December 2001). The debt owed to Shri Iravatham Mahadevan, Dr. Asko Parpola, Archaeological Survey of India, Department of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of Pakistan and Finnish Academy for making this presentation possible is gratefully acknowledged. I am grateful to Iravatham Mahadevan who made available to me his annotated personal copy of a
192
document which helped in collating the texts with the pictures of inscribed objects. [Kimmo Koskenniemi and Asko Parpola, 1980, Cross references to Mahadevan 1977 in: Documentation and Duplicates of the Texts in the Indus Script, Helsinki, pp. 26-32]. Abbreviations and references to images and texts of inscriptions m-Mohenjodaro h-Harappa ABCDE at the end of a reference number indicate side numbers of an inscribed object. Multiple seal impressions on the same object are numbered 1 to 4. At the end of the reference number: ‘a’ sealing; ‘bangle’ inscription on bangle or bangle fragment; other objects: shell, ivory stick, ivory plaque, ivory cube, faience ornament, steatite ornament; ‘ct’ copper tablet; ‘Pict-‘ Pictorial motifs ( 0 to 145) described as illustrations of field-symbols in Appendix III of Mahadevan corpus (pp. 793 to 813); ‘it’ inscribed tablet; ‘si’ seal impression; ‘t’ tablet Illegible inscribed objects are excluded in the following tabulations. Many potsherds Rahmandheri and Nausharo are excluded since the ‘signs’ are considered to be potters’ marks; only those inscriptions which appear to have parallels of field symbols or ‘signs’ in the corpus are included. Pitfalls of normalising orthography of some glyphs Parpola (1994) identifies 386 (+12?) signs (or graphemes) and their variant forms. Mahadevan (1977) identifies 419 graphemes; out of these 179 graphemes have variants totalling 641 forms. [See Sign List and Variants]. Parpola observes: "…the grapheme count might be as low as 350…The total range of signs once present in the Indus script is certain to have been greater than is observable now, for new signs have kept turning up in new inscriptions. The rate of discovery has been fairly low, though, and the new signs have more often been ligatures of two or more signs already known as separate graphemes than entirely new signs." (Parpola, 1994, p. 79) As earlier discussed, many ‘signs’ are ligatures of two or more ‘signs’. In the process of normalizing the orthography of some glyphs to identify the core ‘signs’ of the script, some information is lost and at times, the process itself impedes the possibility of decoding the writing system. This can be demonstrated by (1) the ‘identification’ of a ‘squirrel’ glyph and (2) the failure to identify ‘dotted circle’ or ‘stars’ as glyphs. It is, therefore, necessary to view the inscribed object as a composite message composed of glyphs: pictorial motifs and signs alike
193
A note on ligaturing as an artistic tradition Ligatured sculpture: tiger, bull (or buffalo) and elephant. Nausharo. NS 92.02.70.04. 6.76 cm. High. Dept. of Archaeology, Karachi. EBK 7712. C. Jarrige, 1982: 132-5. “Hollow threeheaded animal figurine. This complex figurine depicts a tiger with bared teeth, a bull or buffalo head with punctuated hair spots on the forehead, and possibly an elephant with multiple lines outlining the eyes. The tiger’s face is finely modeled, but the other animals’ features are less refined. This is the second such object found at Nausharo, and although comparable figurines have not been reported from other sites, multiple-headed animals are depicted on seals. Nausharo. Period III, Harappan 2300-2200 BCE.” [JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 219]. Ligatured statuette: elephant, buffalo and feline. Nausharo. NS 91.02.32.01.LXXXII. C. Jarrige, 1992: 132-5. “Hollow three-headed animal figurine. The most complete figure is of an elephant with a hollow trunk. Two horns of a water buffalo curve along the cheeks of the elephant, and the bottom jaw of a feline with bared teeth appears at the back of the elephant’s head. This complex figure is finely modeled and incised with delicate strokes to portray the character of the elephant. Such multiple-headed animals are depicted on seals and must represent important myths. This object may have been used as a puppet or sacred figure in a cult ritual. Ca. 2300-2200 BCE.” (JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 219). Kot Diji. Bovine (buffalo) depicted with long horns has a face. Harappan period. Islamabad [Photo and drawing after Dept. of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of ko_la = woman (Nahali); ko_l. = (Ta.) Rebus: kol ‘metal’ (Ta.) kod.u = Rebus: kod. = artisan’s workshop
human Museum. Pakistan]. planet horn. (Kuwi)
Three-headed S'iva. Gandhara. 2nd Grey schist 18.6 X 10.5 cm. (MIK I
cent. 5888).
The multi-headed sculpture of S'iva is a remarkable evidence of the continuity of the 'ligaturing' traditon evident in the inscriptions of the civilization (with three-headed animals, 'fabulous' animal and so on). In this sculpture of S'iva, the head is ligatured with: a human face, a lion's head and an antelope's head. Cf. Doris Meth Srinivasan, 1997, Many heads, arms and eyes: origin, meaning and form of multiplicity in Indian art, Leiden, Brill. "Originally the figure had four arms; now only two remain. He holds the trident (tris'u_la) in the right hand, and a small receptacle (kaman.d.alu) containing the elixir of life (amr.ta) or holy water in his left. The long hair is piled high on the top of the head in the ascetic style with the help of a hair-band (kes'abandha) and is stylized in the shape of flames. In the centre of the forehead, is a horizontal third eye...The figure wears no ornaments apart from the sacred threwad (upavi_ta) which passes from the left shoulder across the naked torso, and a piece of cloth draped over the left upper arm. The figure is clothed only in a striped (tiger-skin) loin-cloth
194
out of which protrudes an erect phallus... The very complex iconography of S'iva, which is difficult to interpret, is further complicated by two animal heads emerging literally from behind his human head. The head on the right is that of a lion while the other seems to be of an antelope. According to Lobo, the heads of animals are meant to portray S'iva as the lord of animals, Pas'upati (Palast der Goetter 1992: 176), whether, this is indeed so remains an open question..." (Raffael Dedo Gadebuch, Exhibit 19 in: Saryu Doshi, ed., 1998, Treasures of Indian Art: Germany's tribute to India's cultural heritage, Delhi, National Museum, p.29).
If the ligatured heads and conical cap are heiroglyphic, they may connote aru 'lion' (Akkadian); rebus: ara = copper; mr..eka 'goat' (Te.); rebus: mleccha mukha = ingot of copper (Skt.); mu~ha = quantity of iron produced at one time in a native smelting furnace (Santali) cu_d.e = face (Ka.); s'u_la = trident (Skt.); culha = furnace, fireplace (Santali.) kulla = cap (Ta.) kol = alloy of five metals (Ta.) mu~h metal ingot (Santali) mu~ha~ = the quantity of iron produced at one time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed like a four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end; mu_ha_ me~r.he~t = iron smelted by the Kolhes and formed into an equilateral lump a little pointed at each end; kolhe tehen me~r.he~tko mu_ha_ akata = the Kolhes have to-day produced pig iron (Santali.lex.) muh face (Skt.) mu~he~ = face (Santali); mu~h (H.); mu_ha_ mu_hi_ adj. adv. face to face, facing one another (Santali.lex.Bodding) Rebus: mleccha-mukha = copper (Skt.) mlekh = goat (Br.); mr..eka = goat (Te.) sodo [Persian. soda_, dealing] trade; traffic; merchandise; marketing; a bargain; the purchase or sale of goods; buying and selling; mercantile dealings (G.lex.) sodagor = a merchant, trader; soda_gor (P.B.) (Santali.lex.) sadgal = a moneylender (Santali.lex.) soda_gar [Persian. fr. sodo + gar = Skt. kar, a doer fr. kr. to do] a merchant who deals in valuable things, or with large sums; soda_giri = dealing in valuable things or with large sums; adj. Mercantile, commercial (G.) sod.ra = a rolled up document, authority (Santali.lex.)[Note: use of cylinder seals to roll up and authenticate a transaction document on clay]. sodo bodo, sodro bodro adj. adv. rough, hairy, shoggy, hirsute, uneven; sodgo =adj. shaggy, having a large beard (Santali.lex.Bodding) sodo bodgo = hairy, hirsute, rough (Santali.lex.) [Note the bristly hair on the face]. Sadga badga = rough, surface uneven (Santali.lex.) sodro = a beard, a man with a beard (Santali) sodro = adj. bearded, large and rough (beard)(Santali) Bibliography
Concordance lists for epigraphs
195
A number of concordances and sign lists have been compiled, by many scholars, for the 'Indus' script: Langdon, Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilization, London, 1931, vol. II, pp. 434-55 Gadd and Smith, Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilization, London,1931,, vol. III, Pls. CXIXCXXIX Vats, Excavations at Harappa, Calcutta, 1940, vol. II, Pls. CV-CXVI Hunter, G.R., Scripts of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, 1934, pp. 203-10 Hunter, G.R., JRAS, 1932, pp. 491-503 Dani, A.H., Indian Palaeography, 1963, Pls. I-II Parpola et al., Materials for the study of the Indus script, I: A concordance to the Indus Inscriptions, 1973, pp. xxii-xxvi Mahadevan, I., The Indus Script: Texts, concordance and tables, Delhi, 1977, pp. 32-35 Koskenniemi, Kimmo and Asko Parpola, Corpus of texts in the Indus script, Helsinki, 1979; A concordance to the texts in the Indus script, Helsinki, 1982 Parpola, Asko, Deciphering the Indus Script, London, 1994, pp.70-78
Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions Volumes 1 and 2 An outstanding contribution to the study of the script problem is the publication of the Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions (CISI) Two volumes have been published so far: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions, 1. Collections in India, Helsinki, 1987 (eds. Jagat Pati Joshi and Asko Parpola) Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions, 2. Collections in Pakistan, Helsinki, 1991 (eds. Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Asko Parpola) [A third volume containing other collections outside India and Pakistan is yet to appear (2003).] These volumes co-authored by Asko Parpola constitute the photographic corpus. The CISI contains all the seals including those without any inscriptions, for e.g. those with the geometrical motif called the ‘svastika’. Parpola’s initial corpus (1973) included a total number of 3204 texts. After compiling the pictorial corpus, Parpola notes that there are approximately 3700 legible inscriptions (including 1400 duplicate inscriptions, i.e. with repeated texts). Both the concordances of Parpola and Mahadevan complement each other because of the sort sequence adopted. Parpola’s concordance was sorted according to the sign following the indexed sign. Mahadevan’s concordance was sorted according to the sign preceding the indexed sign. The latter sort ordering helps in delineating signs which occur in final position A comprehensive bibliography appears in Asko Parpola, Deciphering the Indus Script, London, 1994, pp. 303-348. Compendia of the efforts made since the discovery by Gen. Alexander Cunningham, in 1875, of the first known Indus seal (British Museum 1892-12-10, 1), to decipher the script appear in the following references:
196
Kalyanaraman, S., Indus Script: A bibliography, Manila, 1988 Kenoyer, J. M. 1997 Trade and technology of the Indus Valley: new insights from Harappa, Pakistan. World Archaeology 29(2): 262-280. Kenoyer, J. M. and R. H. Meadow 1999 Harappa: New Discoveries on its origins and growth. Lahore Museum Bulletin XII(1): 1-12. Mahadevan, I., What do we know about the Indus Script? Neti neti (‘Not this nor that’), Presidential Address, section 5, Indian History Congress, 49th Session, Dharwar, 2-4 Nvember 1988, Madras. Meadow, R. H. and J. M. Kenoyer 2001 Harappa Excavations 1998-1999: New evidence for the development and manifestation of the Harappan phenomenon. In South Asian Archaeology 1999, edited by K. R. van Kooij and E. M. Raven, pp. in press. Leiden. Richard Meadow and Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, 1997, Excavations at Harappa 1994-1995: new perspectives on the Indus script, craft activities, and city organization, in: Raymond Allchin and Bridget Allchin, 1997, South Asian Archaeology 1995, Oxford and IBH Publishing, pp. 157-163. Meadow, R. H., J. M. Kenoyer and R. P. Wright 1997 Harappa Archaeological Research Project: Harappa Excavations 1997, Report submitted to the Director General of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, Karachi. Meadow, R. H., J. M. Kenoyer and R. P. Wright 1998 Harappa Archaeological Research Project: Harappa Excavations 1998, Report submitted to the Director General of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, Karachi. Meadow, R. H., J. M. Kenoyer and R. P. Wright 1999 Harappa Archaeological Research Project: Harappa Excavations 1999, Report submitted to the Director General of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, Karachi. Meadow, R. H., J. M. Kenoyer and R. P. Wright 2000 Harappa Archaeological Research Project: Harappa Excavations 2000, Report submitted to the Director General of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, Karachi. Mughal, M. R. 1990 Further Evidence of the Early Harappan Culture in the Greater Indus Valley: 1971-90. South Asian Studies 6: 175-200. Mughal, M. R., F. Iqbal, M. A. K. Khan and M. Hassan 1996 Archaeological Sites and Monuments in Punjab: Preliminary report of Explorations: 1992-1996. Pakistan Archaeology 29: 1-474. Possehl, Gregory, Indus Age: the writing system, Delhi, 1996 Vats, M. S. 1940 Excavations at Harappa. Delhi, Government of India Press
197
Wheeler, R. E. M. 1947 Harappa 1946: The Defenses and Cemetery R-37. Ancient India no. 3: 58-130.
198
Index abstract symbols, 151, 152 agriculture, 170, 171 Akkadian, 142, 143, 149, 153, 159, 166, 167, 169, 180, 181, 186, 188, 189, 192, 197, 203 Allahdino, 1, 2, 196 Amri, 1, 2, 196 antelope, 3, 4, 5, 24, 55, 56, 77, 79, 80, 85, 92, 113, 116, 123, 125, 146, 149, 187, 190, 197, 198, 203 arch, 17, 22, 163, 183 Archaeological Survey of India, 201 archer, 94, 143, 166, 180, 181 architecture, 174 arrow, 94, 148, 160, 161 arsenic, 186 Avestan, 175 axe, 4, 20, 26, 43, 44, 48, 50, 94, 197, 198 Bactria, 171, 175, 176, 177, 178, 186, 192, 196 Badakhshan, 170 Bahrain, 145, 146, 150 Balakot, 2, 196 Baluchistan, 142, 166, 170, 187 Banawali, 1, 3, 196 barbed spear, 159 barley, 173 bead, 127, 155, 159, 175, 178 beads, 144, 148, 154, 169, 175, 189 belt, 174 Bha_rata, 192 blade, 172, 198 BMAC, 171, 175, 177, 178 boar, 166, 169, 171, 181 boat, 167 bone, 127, 132, 144, 152, 155, 199 boss, 182 bow, 94, 143, 160, 161, 166, 181 Brahmi, 156 brass, 186 brazier, 186 brick, 175 bronze, 132, 152, 154, 170, 171, 173, 174, 175, 177, 178, 186, 187, 188, 200 buffalo, 77, 79, 123, 151, 159, 202, 203
buildings, 171, 179 bull, 3, 5, 12, 16, 20, 21, 22, 36, 37, 39, 43, 50, 54, 55, 71, 75, 76, 78, 79, 85, 89, 93, 96, 101, 105, 108, 109, 113, 123, 130, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 154, 160, 162, 164, 181, 186, 197, 200, 202 bun, 79, 147, 159, 161 burial, 153, 159, 173 carnelian, 148, 167, 169, 175, 178 carpenter, 143 cattle, 170, 171 cemetery, 147, 170 Central Asia, 170, 171, 173, 176, 177, 178, 179, 186 ceramic, 141, 152, 156, 170, 174, 178 Chanhudaro, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 95, 196, 198 chisel, 154 citadel, 8, 179, 185 cities, 156, 177, 178 city, 153, 155, 162, 172, 181, 188, 193, 206 clay, 142, 149, 160, 161, 162, 163, 165, 167, 173, 174, 175, 178, 180, 204 cloak, 176 cloth, 203 conflict, 189 copper, 80, 114, 124, 125, 132, 138, 143, 148, 150, 152, 154, 155, 158, 159, 163, 169, 170, 178, 185, 186, 192, 197, 199, 200, 201, 203, 204 crown, 79, 114 cuneiform, 153, 167, 173, 180, 181 cylinder seal, 144, 145, 149, 166, 167, 168, 169, 172, 173, 174, 180, 181, 186, 187, 192, 199, 200, 204 dagger, 29, 30, 154, 197 deer, 173 deity, 154, 159, 160, 162, 163 Dholavira, 1, 7, 8, 9, 87, 155, 185, 196, 199 dice, 199 Dilmun, 145, 146, 167 domestic animals, 164 dotted circle, 20, 28, 43, 113, 127, 154, 202
199
drill, 60 Early Harappan, 142, 150, 161, 196, 206 Egypt, 153, 173 Elam, 167 elephant, 78, 79, 89, 93, 114, 123, 149, 159, 162, 202 engraver, 142, 169 etched, 127, 178 faience, 138, 141, 151, 152, 154, 156, 163, 164, 182, 189, 199, 201 Fairservis, 153 figurine, 159, 202 fillet, 158, 159 fish, 5, 12, 16, 20, 27, 46, 49, 85, 88, 123, 148, 149, 150, 158, 163, 167, 168, 190, 196, 197 Ganga, 176 Ganweriwala, 182 gateway, 7, 153, 155, 199 gazelle, 187 gharial, 123, 134 goat, 4, 16, 123, 146, 188, 198, 203, 204 gold, 148, 152, 155, 158, 159, 167, 169, 171, 172, 175, 178, 186 goldsmith, 143, 180 graffiti, 2, 51, 132, 155 granary, 161 grapheme, 152, 202 Gujarat, 8, 114, 169 Gulf of Khambat, 194 gypsum, 152 Harappa, 1, 49, 138, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 180, 181, 182, 184, 185, 192, 193, 196, 200, 201, 204, 205, 206, 207 hare, 16, 197 headdress, 159, 160, 162, 163 hearth, 161 Hindu, 180 hoard, 154, 158 horned, 3, 5, 12, 16, 21, 22, 36, 37, 43, 50, 55, 60, 78, 79, 85, 89, 96, 101, 105, 108, 109, 113, 114, 115, 126, 145, 147, 149, 151, 152, 158, 159, 160, 162, 163, 172, 176, 184, 185, 187, 197 incised, 138, 141, 151, 152, 153, 158, 161, 162, 164, 165, 173, 202
Indo-Aryan, 176, 177, 178 ingot, 147, 163, 203, 204 inlaid, 93, 152, 186 inscription, 8, 21, 124, 132, 144, 145, 148, 150, 158, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 167, 179, 181, 188, 189, 199, 201 ivory, 127, 152, 154, 155, 201 Jarrige, 202 jasper, 190 jewelry, 155, 158 Jhukar, 1, 4, 5, 196 Kalibangan, 1, 56, 57, 58, 142, 175, 196 Kalyanaraman, 205 Kenoyer, 149, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 162, 184, 187, 192, 193, 202, 203, 205, 206 Kish, 1, 144 kneeling, 5, 17, 87, 88, 89, 115, 123 Kot Diji, 114, 161, 203 Kunal, 114 Kutch, 8, 194 language, 145, 153, 156, 166, 169, 173, 185, 194, 198 languages, 153, 176, 185, 194 lapis lazuli, 169, 170, 178, 180 lead, 143, 163, 178, 180, 186 lizard, 149 Lothal, 1, 65, 152, 169, 196 Mackay, 4, 5, 6, 143, 152 Magan, 167 Mahadevan, 5, 147, 192, 193, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 205, 206 Markhor, 112, 124, 132 Marshall, 144, 153, 158, 176 Meadow, 162, 192, 193, 206 Mehrgarh, 1, 66, 168, 196 Meluhha, 167, 169, 184, 194 Meluhhan, 185 merchants, 155, 172, 173 Mesopotamia, 142, 144, 145, 148, 150, 153, 167, 169, 170, 172, 173, 177, 179, 180, 188, 196, 199 metal, 152, 170, 172, 173, 178, 180, 185, 186, 192, 198, 200, 203, 204 metals, 143, 172, 185, 186, 187, 203 Mleccha, 185
200
Mohenjodaro, 1, 80, 127, 128, 143, 144, 156, 158, 176, 184, 192, 196, 198, 200, 201, 204 molded, 151, 152, 153, 156, 159, 162, 164 monkey, 167 mould, 141 mud-brick, 174 Mundari, 143 Nausharo, 1, 149, 151, 159, 196, 201, 202 necklace, 178, 192 Neolithic, 151 one-horned, 5, 12, 20, 54, 55, 75, 76, 78, 89, 113, 123, 145, 149, 150, 186, 200 ore, 147 organization, 193, 206 ornaments, 159, 169, 203 Oxus, 171, 176, 178 Pakistan, 127, 144, 156, 166, 167, 168, 169, 180, 184, 192, 201, 203, 205, 206 Parpola, 142, 145, 147, 148, 150, 154, 175, 178, 180, 192, 194, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 205 pectoral, 200 pendant, 154, 158, 159, 192 perforated, 158 Persian Gulf, 166, 194, 195 phallus, 203 pictographic, 172, 174, 182 pipal, 21, 78, 79, 89, 114, 115, 162 Pirak, 1, 187, 196 plant, 160, 162, 165, 179 plants, 151, 171 platform, 16, 17, 79, 88, 90, 114, 123, 142 Possehl, 147, 206 pottery, 2, 51, 132, 144, 151, 152, 154, 155, 160, 163, 168, 170, 176, 180 Procession, 186 Punjab, 206 quartz, 189 Rakhigarhi, 1, 134, 135, 195, 196 ram, 17, 78, 79, 89, 93, 114, 115 Ravi, 160, 176 rebus, 153, 183, 187, 193, 194, 197, 203 rhinoceros, 79, 112, 120, 123, 126 Rojdi, 1, 136, 196 Ropar, 1, 195 Sanskrit, 153, 156
Santali, 143, 185, 187, 197, 198, 203, 204 Sarasvati, 1, 144, 155, 158, 165, 166, 169, 174, 176, 177, 185, 188, 189, 192, 194, 195, 200 sealing, 142, 150, 151, 161, 162, 163, 201 seated figure, 160, 173, 174 serpent, 78, 79, 87, 89, 93, 114 sheep, 165, 171 shell, 150, 152, 154, 167, 201 Sickle, 20 Signboard, 185 Silver, 115, 152, 171 Sindh, 200 snake, 172, 190 spear, 56, 89, 123, 198 spearing, 159 squirrel, 31, 41, 202 standing person, 5, 166 steatite, 127, 144, 145, 146, 147, 149, 151, 152, 153, 159, 160, 162, 163, 164, 168, 172, 175, 182, 184, 186, 201 stone sculptures, 170 stoneware, 155 stoneware bangle, 155 stool, 160, 162, 163, 189 storage jar, 114, 149, 156, 160 Sumerian, 145, 146, 153, 167, 169, 174, 180, 181, 184, 198 Susa, 1, 142, 144, 177, 180, 188 svastika_, 116, 200 symbols, 147, 151, 152, 153, 155, 160, 161, 182, 200, 201 tablets, 25, 80, 114, 125, 132, 141, 143, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 167, 173, 174, 180, 188, 189, 192, 199, 200, 201 Tamil, 178, 180 Telugu, 187 temple, 159, 188 Tepe Yahya, 142, 195 terracotta, 138, 141, 149, 151, 152, 153, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 187, 199 terracotta tablet, 138, 153, 158, 160, 162 throne, 149, 162, 189, 190 tiger, 5, 16, 17, 55, 56, 78, 79, 80, 85, 88, 89, 93, 114, 120, 142, 149, 160, 162, 184, 185, 197, 202, 203
201
Tigris, 167, 194 tin, 143, 170, 172, 173 tokens, 153, 156, 172, 173, 174, 180 tools, 154, 155, 170, 171, 173, 180 tortoise, 27 transport, 163 tree, 5, 16, 55, 78, 79, 80, 88, 89, 114, 115, 119, 123, 142, 148, 159, 160, 162, 163, 167, 188, 197, 198 trefoil, 150 Turkmenistan, 171, 174, 178, 179, 194 turquoise, 186 Unicorn, 54, 76, 161, 181, 184 Ur, 1, 144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 159, 167, 169, 175, 181, 189, 195, 196, 198 Vats, 153, 164, 192, 204, 207
vessels, 141, 155, 174, 175, 180 war, 1 water-buffalo, 80 weapons, 154, 170, 171, 172, 173, 178, 199, 200 weights, 146, 153, 154 Wheeler, 207 workshop, 143, 155, 163, 164, 203 writing, 26, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 160, 173, 174, 180, 185, 192, 195, 202, 206 writing system, 151, 153, 154, 156, 160, 185, 195, 202, 206 yajn~a, 175 Yamuna, 194 yogic, 160, 162, 163 Zebu, 77, 111, 112, 197
202