Revision summary
Harappan seals are mostly square steatite with script and an animal. Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Dholavira are key findspots. They likely marked goods and office in a trade system. The Indus script on them is still unread. Seals are not a full social census of the civilisation.
Model answer
Copper italics in this answer — like this — are the key facts. Each one is unpacked in the Facts & figures rail.
Introduction
Harappan seals are small inscribed stones and faience pieces from Indus cities. They are the main public sign of Indus writing, trade, and animal imagery.
Body
Form and findspots
- Typical seals are square steatite, carved in intaglio, with a boss at the back and a short inscription above an animal.
- Harappa and Mohenjo-daro yielded the densest hoards. Dholavira added a large signboard and seals in a gated city of Gujarat.
- Unicorn, bull, elephant, and composite beasts are common. The so-called unicorn is the modal motif, not a zoo census.
Function and script
- Seals likely marked goods, offices, and identity in a trade web that reached Mesopotamia, where Indus-style seals appear.
- The script is still unread. Direction is generally right to left. Sign lists are finite, so it is writing, not mere decoration.
- Asko Parpola and others argue a Dravidian hypothesis. That remains a hypothesis until a bilingual appears.
Limit
- Seals are elite or mercantile objects. They do not narrate the whole Indus farm hinterland.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD S[Harappan seals] --> H[Harappa Mohenjo-daro] S --> D[Dholavira] S --> T[Trade identity script]
Conclusion
Harappan seals are the portable archive of Indus script and animal emblem. They prove administration and long-distance trade; they do not yet yield a readable history.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Factionalism and politics in rural India.
Next question on this syllabus topic (2021 · Q1(e)). View answer →
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Have the seals been deciphered?
No generally accepted reading exists. Claims without a bilingual remain unproven.
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Were seals only religious?
Religion may sit in the imagery. The working use is closer to identity and cargo control.
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.
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2024 · Q3(a) · Anthropology GS 2 · 20 marks
Critically describe evidences from Rakhi Garhi and its linkages to Harappan civilization. -
2015 · Q6(c) · Anthropology GS 2 · 15 marks
Discuss the significance of Harappan Civilization sites from India
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