Trade

Since iron was not yet discovered in the Bronze Age, the Meluhhan, the Mesopotamian and the Egyptian ships did not have mariner's compass at their disposal.
Therefore, did those ships traverse long distances on the sea by referring the North Star alone? Does it mean that their sailing period was restricted only to night time and clear weather when the North Star was visible? Submitted by Vasant Dave

It is known that some of Indus Seals found in Mesotopamia. Are those seals found in a single city or variety of Sumer cities? Is there any known another example for 2000 kms distance of a trade network in Bronze Age? Submitted by Taner Tas

Or were there any mediators in Iran (which had a civilization in ancient periods which was located in the southwestern part of fertile cresent region)? As you know, the Rosetta Stone was issued by Ptolemy \/ - which was due to interactions between the Greeks and Egyptians. This interaction started with settling of Ionians and Cretans as per by Herodotus. Could it be that these mediators would have used both the cuneiform and Indus valley script? What are the possibilities of finding a bilingual according to you? Submitted by Arthur Evans

The people of the Indus valley seem to have exported many more goods than they seem to have imported. Moreover, imported items like silver (found mainly in Harappa and Mohenjodaro) did not seem to have been distributed beyond the main cities suggesting that there was little demand for the goods in the smaller centres. Does this suggest that, if, as has been suggested, the Indus people took the initiative for the trade, this was a centralised effort that profited only the cities? Submitted by Apoorva Bhandari

Why (as far as I know) was all the chert obtained from the Rohri Hills and distributed everywhere else? What does this tell us about the nature of the Harappan economy and society? Submitted by Gharial Abramnova from school student questions

How did they "pay"? I have often wondered how this took place in practice, assuming there was no currency as we understand it. How were luxury / prestige items such as gold and gemstone jewelery obtained by those who had access to them. How did ordinary people trade and obtain necessities and adornments, eg pots, cloth, food, bangles and everyday jewelery? What was the role of the rulers?

Trade between Indus Valley and Mesopotamia appears rather skewed in IVC's favour. IVC exported Gold jewelery, Ivory seals & boxes, Timber, Cotton textiles, Copper & bronze fish-hooks, Carnelian & precious stone beads, Live chicken, Shell & bone inlays, and even Water buffaloes. Mesopotamia exported only Silver, Tin and Copper ingots, Woollen textiles and Bitumen. Could it have been be sex trafficking from Ur, Dilmun and Magan to Sutkagen Dor, Sokhta Koh, Balakot and Allahdino?

Another question from site visitors answered by a panel of ancient Indus experts.