Introduction
During 2000 BC the Indus Valley was alive with trade. This area flourished economically as it was a hub for many surrounding areas. Throughout history a vast and diverse amount of artwork has been unearthed within the Indus Valley. In particular an art form known as Seals. Seals served many purposes during the Indus Valley Civilization. However, one major purpose of the Seals were their ability to represent local economic and political powers. This research paper serves the purpose to further explore the history behind Seals and how the iconography of the Seals began to represent political and further more economical power within the Indus Valley region.
Before we can uncover the power behind the art of Seals,
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Consequently, these Seals were more commonly found in the largest of excavation sites. A Seal described as so can be classified as a ‘Combination Seals’ and were most commonly used to represent a ritual or a treaty among clans. Combination Seals helped show a political alliance within regions. This alliance may also have benefited economically through trade in the area. A Seal showing, two regions united may have allowed for more profit to move easily throughout the areas aligned.
Animal motifs provided a lot of information to the viewer. Therefore, by encompassing important information into imagery the context behind the Seal was more widely understood. Imagery played an important role during this time as many individuals were illiterate. By allowing the viewer to identify an animal they could make the connection to the clan the Seal may have belonged to. In addition a Seal may have more than one animal depicted. If more than one animal is shown it allows the viewer to understand there are multiple regions connected in a
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This belief suggests the earth sits atop the water buffalos head and fits snugly between the horns. Additionally rhinoceros enjoy being in water and being covered in mud. When found on a Seal, a rhinoceros represented flooding rivers and fertilized farm land. Therefore a Seal with a rhinoceros would be desirably used when trading goods.
Elements of the Indus Valley
Now, with the understanding of Seals the impact they had economically and politically can be further examined. Seals took on many diverse purposes, therefore their importance in ancient Indian culture stretches into many different realms. Seals continued to stretch through trade, as many seals have been found far from home. Seals have been predominantly uncovered in the Indus Valley. Moreover, in the two most popular cities during the Harappan Period, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are located in modern day Pakistan.
However, this is not the only place archaeologists have unearthed Seals. Seals have been excavated out of Mesopotamia which we know now as present-day Iraq. The Seals in Iraq have been found in Umma and Ur. In addition, Seals have been found in Central Asia and along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. A little closer to home, archaeologist have uncovered Seals in the port of Lothal, located in Western
With very little textual information available from this time period, archaeologists knew very little about the items that were traded, cultures that traded with each other, and the trade routes. The Ulu Burun shipwrecks acts as a time...
...ncyclopedia of Archaeology, Ed. Deborah M. Pearsall. Vol. 3. Oxford, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 2008. p1896-1905. New Britain: Elsevier, Inc.
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Due to the development of characters, situation, and the theme, imagery can help to convey a particular impression and is mandatory in any story.
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"The Indus and the swastika." Indus Valley: What They Did For Us. BBC, n.d. Web.
The Warka Vase is a uniquely large piece that was laboriously built, and carefully decorated. The images on the Warka Vase are significant and have iconographic meanings unique to the Uruk people and the cult of Inana. The images reference common practices in cuneiform and iconography of the time and place the Warka Vase was made and can be cross compared with other pieces from the time to understand the symbolism of this brilliant piece of art. To understand who is in the images, what they are doing and how they relate to one another may bring unique insight to the practices of the cult of Inana.
Gordon, Cyrus. The Ancient Near East. 3rd Edition, Revised. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., New York, 1965.
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The archaeology of shipwrecks is an academic field that focuses on studying and exploring shipwrecks of the past. The shipwrecks discovered all around the world serves as a bridge to understanding the past and the lost cultural heritage, and teaching lessons on “how the environment and human error can damage each other.” One of the most famous and historic shipwrecks that helped shape the United States’ maritime warfare is the USS Monitor. Through the help of modern underwater technology, the shipwreck of the USS Monitor is an incredible discovery because of its historical impact in America’s bloodiest conflict. The USS Monitor’s shipwreck is very significant because of its innovative design, its historic role in the Civil War, and its artifacts
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘Egyptian Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Art. New Series, Vol. 41, No. 3, Egyptian Art (Winter, 1983-1984): pp. 1+3-56
The Oriental Institute featured an exhibit focused on the development of ancient Middle East Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East 1919–20 January 12 - August 29, 2010. And this was the exhibit I found most intriguing and most i...
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Situated in the central courtyard of Mohenjo-daro is this massive tank that resembles a large swimming pool. Since so little is known about the Indus Civilization, scholars can only guess as to what its purpose was. One argument places the emphasis of it on sanitation. Like the other bathing facilities that are found throughout Mohenjo-daro, it is often believed that “The Great Bath,” is in fact, a bathing facility(Jansen,182). The support around this idea relies on the belief of the importance of sanitation in Mohenjo-daro.