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| © Trustees of the British Museum |
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This seal, found in the 1870s, led to the discovery of an ancient civilization in the Indus Valley. The seal was probably used to close documents and mark packages of goods, which perhaps indicates that the Indus were among an extensive trading network. The language is the oldest in South Asia and has yet to be deciphered.
It was found in the Indus Valley, Modern day Pakistan/India, and is from 2500-2000 BCE.
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| © Trustees of the British Museum |
What was the Indus Civilization?
The Indus Civilization is the earliest in South Asian and developed along the Indus river. The civilization was similiar to that of Egypt and Mesopotamia, however, it is believed that it was not dominated by religious elite, as no temples or idols were found. Indus civilization declined in 1500 BCE due to climate, deforestation and invasions.
Here are other seals found:
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| © Trustees of the British Museum |
Nayanjot Lahiri, Professor of History, University of Delhi, wrote:
In 1924 when the civilisation was discovered, India was colonised. So to begin with there was a great sense of national pride and a sense that we were equal if not better than our colonisers and considering this that the British should actually leave India. This is the exact sentiment that was expressed in the Larkana Gazette – Larkana is the district where Mohenjodaro is located.
After independence, the newly created state of India was left with just one Indus site, in Gujarat and a couple of other sites towards the north, so there was an urgency to discover more Indus sites in India. This has been among the big achievements of Indian archaeology post-independence – that hundreds of Indus sites today are known, not only in Gujarat but also in Rajasthan, in Punjab, in Haryana, and even in Utter Pradesh.
The great cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, which were first excavated, are in Pakistan, and subsequently one of the most important pieces of work on the Indus civilisation was done by a Pakistan archaeologist – Rafique Mughal (presently a professor at Boston University) who discovered nearly 200 sites in Pakistan and Cholistan. But my own sense is that on the whole the state of Pakistan has been much more interested, not exclusively but significantly, in its Islamic heritage so I think there is a greater interest in India as compared to Pakistan.
There is not a competition but a certain kind of poignant sentiment that I have when I think of India, Pakistan and the Indus civilisation, for no other reason than that the great remains - the artefacts, the pottery, the beads etc that were found at these sites - are actually divided between the two states. Some of the most important objects were actually divided right down the middle – like the famous girdle from Mohenjodaro. It’s no longer one object, it’s really two parts that have been sundered like pre-independent India into India and Pakistan - these objects have met with a similar fate.
-VB
