QUESTION 3: WRITING


Question:

Has there been evidence of artifacts found which would indicate that the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation had a system of communication? Support your answer with images or data collected and compiled by historians.

Answer:

Unicorn Seal: http://www.harappa.com/seal/sealtext.html#des

SIZE AND DIMENSIONS

• Shape=Square
• Size=29mm * 29mm---1.14in * 1.14in
• Thickness (without handle)=8.5mm---.33in
• Thickness (with handle)=14.5mm---.57in
• Length of handle=13.5mm ---.53in
• Width of handle=14mm---.55in
• Diameter of perforation= 2.5mm-.098in
• Weight =9.5gm .34oz

Description:

This seal from Mohenjo-daro measures 29 mm (1.14) inches on each side and is made of fired steatite. Steatite is an easily carved soft stone that becomes hard after firing. On the top are four "pictographs" of an as yet undeciphered Indus script, one of the very first writing systems in history. Below is the well-known unicorn figure of Indus Valley culture. Whether it designates a real or mythical animal is also unknown. Beneath it is a "sacred object," which could have been anything from an animal's trough to an incense burner.


Compositions of materials:

Surface Composition based on Sana Ullah's analysis:

• Silica - 61.2 %


• Oxides of aluminum and iron - 2.4 %


• Lime - Nil.


• Magnesia - 34.6 %


• Water (by difference) - 1.8%
  Total - 100.00%

Place of finding:

This seal was uncovered during excavations at Mohenjo-daro (Figure 17.2) by E. J. H. Mackay between 1927 and 1931. The field number for this seal is DK 10107, No. 23 (Mackay 1938: Vol.1, 370, Vol. 2, Pl. LXXXIII:23). This seal was found 3.8 feet below the surface level in the DK Area, Section G, Block No. 22, House II, Room 10