An exploration of the prevalence and manufacture of a distinctive ornament which persists both in South Asian culture today, and throughout the larger West Asian and Middle Eastern world as well.

The analysis of beads from different periods and areas of Harappa have made it possible to define specific trade networks and the organization of production as well as changing patterns of interaction over the history of a site.

"The discovery of Indus seals manufactured with non-Indus raw materials, but with tools and techniques associated with Indus productions, further supports the idea that merchants and craftsmen from the greater Indus Valley were living and working at interior settlements in the Oman peninsula."

Recent work at Harappa by the Harappa Archaeological Research Project shows that a new study of artifacts recovered from the 1999 and 2000 seasons at the site has revealed the presence of silk.