Indus Valley pottery bowl, Mehrgarh culture, ‘Water’ decoration, c. 3,000 BC
$490.00 AUD
Indus Valley Civilization pottery bowl of elegant form, with slightly flared rim, angular lower wall and narrow foot with small foot rim, painted in iron oxides with a continuous zig-zag of 5 lines, probably representing a river, bonded by two straight border lines, the interior with a paler double-band of rings and dark rim line.
Mehrgarh culture,
Circa 3,300 – 3,000 BC
Condition: small triangular loss to rim, some dirt, some wear; good condition and displays well.
There are bowls of this same cultural phase with large Indus-river fish depicted, surrounded by zig-zag lines like the examples on this one. We can therefore interoperate the design. as symbolising water- or river. The Indus River, along with others in the region, were the essential life-blood of the culture, much like Egypt; they relied on it for food and for transport. Climate change, and the resulting changes in rivers is seen as a major factor in the decline of these early cultures.
The Indus Valley Culture of northern India, Pakistan & Afghanistan developed a very early pictogram script, independent of their contemporaries, the Egyptians with their hieroglyphs. The Indus script remains undeciphered to this day, as no bilingual inscriptions or clear linguistic links have been identified.
The script, primarily found on seals, pottery, and tablets, consists of pictograms and abstract symbols. These inscriptions are believed to represent trade, administration, or religious practices, but their exact meaning remains speculative. Attempts at interpretation have yielded no consensus, leaving the language and records of the Indus Valley people an enduring mystery.
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