and on some of the seals there are representations of what may have been banana-trees. They were also stock-farmers, raising sheep and cattle, pigs and goats. The camel appears to have been known, also the buffalo, the Indian bison, the bear, and spotted deer. They also kept domestic dogs and cats. At one Harrappan site, Caanhu Daru, a brick was found over which a cat and a dog had run while the clay was still wet. The paw-marks were easily distinguishable, and, says Mackay, "the deep impression of the pads and their spread indicated the speed of both animals".4 The dog, as usual, was in pursuit. Few noteworthy examples of Harappan art have been found; in general the better-finished statues, in alabaster, steatite and bronze, are stiff and formalized. Occasionally there are exceptions. One of the most interesting is a little figure of a dancing girl in bronze, found six feet below the surface-level of a house in Mohenjo-daro. It is nude; the head is provocatively thrown back, and the left arm is covered almost entirely from shoulder to wrist with bangles. She is of the aboriginal type, perhaps from Baluchistan, with a flat nose, curly hair and large eyes. The resemblance to Indian art of historical times is remarkable. Other interesting similarities occur in the human or divine figures depicted on the tiny seals found on Harappan sites. One of these shows a figure seated on a low stool. The figure has three heads and is crowned by a tall head-dress. The left arm is covered with bangles; on one side stands a buffalo, on the other a rhinoceros, and below the stool are two antelopes or goats. Sir John Marshall recognized in this figure the prototype of the Indian god Shiva, in his aspect as Pasupati, Lord of Beasts. Occasionally one detects an affinity with the culture of Sumeria, with which the Harappans evidently had contact. For example, another seal has a representation of a figure with outstretched arms holding back lions. On another seal, which appears to have Sumerian affinities, a horned tiger is being attacked by a bull-man or "mino-taur" reminiscent of the Sumerian Eabani created by the goddess Aruru to fight Gilgamesh. No baked-clay tablets have been found, such as have revealed so much of the civilizations of Babyloma, Assyria and the Hittite Empire. Some of the seals are inscribed in a pictographic form of writing which cannot be read, as it bears no resemblance to any known script, and no bilingual clue has yet been discovered. (I was informed that Mr. Michael Ventris, the brilliant young scholar who succeeded ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 Mackay, Ernest: The Indus Civilization, Loval, Dickson & Thompson, Ltd., 1953. |