The Tiny Steatite Seals of Harappa
A closer look at the tablets discovered at Harappa during HARPS excavations and the locations where they were discovered at the site.
Articles on seals, cylinders, and their inscriptions from the ancient Harappan or Indus Valley Civilization.
Toponyms, Directions and Tribal Names in the Indus Script
A recent paper by the late Iravatham Mahadevan and his collaborator M.V. Bhaskar looks at signs in the Indus script that can be related to physical features in the landscape, and how this might play out in terms of interpreting them. A number of interpretations seem to fit together nicely.
The Indus Seals: An Overview of Iconography and Style
This paper examines the nature of Indus seals and the different aspects of seal iconography and style in order to better understand their overall role in the Indus civilization.
Private Person or Public Persona? Use and Significance of Standard Indus Seals as Markers of Formal Socio-Economic Identities
This deeply investigative article published in Walking with the Unicorn (2018) takes on some of the most unusual facts about ancient Indus seals to surmise about their function in the Indus polity as a whole.
The Origin, Context and Function of the Indus Script: Recent Insights from Harappa
Based on recent excavations at Harappa, it is possible to determine that square seals with animal motifs (such as the elephant) and possibly the short horned bull are among the earliest form of seal with writing.
Dilmun-Meluhhan Relations Revisited in Light of Observations on Early Dilmun Seal Production during the City IIa-c Period (c. 2050-1800 BC)
A fascinating article from the mammoth Walking with the Unicorn book that delves into the brief, intense life of ancient Indus-inspired seals in Dilmun (Bahrain) around 2000 BCE.
Seals and Sculptures of the Indus Cities
An exhibition being held in New York and Madison, Wisconsin, in 1998 on the representational art of the Indus Valley reveals a highly developed artistic tradition with many styles and techniques of production.
Indus Folklore: An Unknown Story on Some Harappan Objects
There are at least 18 examples of a "human and tiger" motif in Indus glyptic art. This short paper by one of the most prolific writers on ancient Indus themes, the late Dr. Gregory Possehl, wonders how we might read this visual artifact.
Harappan Chimaeras as ‘Symbolic Hypertexts’. Some Thoughts on Plato, Chimaera and the Indus Civilization
An analysis and interpretation of the so-called Harappan chimaera, one of the most peculiar and elaborate iconographies of Indus Civilization.
Who Holds the Keys? Identifying Female Administrators at Shahr-i Sokhta
Although not directly concerned with the ancient Indus civilization, this eye-opening article challenges many assumptions one might have about ancient societies being ruled or dominated by men.