Indus Civilisation Test-1

  Although the script remains undeciphered to date, it was evidently not alphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel or a consonant) as it has just too many signs – somewhere between 375 and 400. It is apparent that the script was written from right to left.

Some animals – such as the one-horned animal, often called the “unicorn” was depicted on seals. It seems to be mythical, composite creatures.

The variety of materials used to make beads is remarkable: stones like carnelian (of a beautiful red colour), jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite; metals like copper, bronze and gold; and shell, faience and terracotta or burnt clay. Some beads were made of two or more stones, cemented together, some of stone with gold caps. The shapes were numerous – disc shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel-shaped, segmented. Some were decorated by incising or painting, and some had designs etched onto them.

  Seals and sealings were used to facilitate long distance communication. Imagine a bag of goods being sent from one place to another. Its mouth was tied with rope and on the knot was affixed some wet clay on which one or more seals were pressed, leaving an impression. If the bag reached with its sealing intact, it meant that it had not been tampered with. The sealing also conveyed the identity of the sender.

The site Kalibangan - literally 'black bangles' - derives its name for the dense distribution of the fragments of black bangles which were found at the surface of its mounds. Archaeologists have found evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan (Rajasthan).

Seals were discovered at Harappa by archaeologists such as Daya Ram Sahni in the early decades of the twentieth century, in layers that were definitely much older than Early Historic levels. It was then that their significance began to be realised. Another archaeologist, Rakhal Das Banerji found similar seals at Mohenjodaro, leading to the conjecture that these sites were part of a single archaeological culture.

Mohenjo-daro is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is located west of the Indus River.

Lothal was one of the southernmost cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt. It is located between the Sabarmati river and its tributary Bhogavo, in the Saurasthra region.

Dancing Girl is a prehistoric bronze sculpture made in the lost-wax process about 2500 BCE in the Indus Valley Civilisation city of Mohenjo-daro.