Indus Valley Civilization

Imagine you are an archeologist in the year 6022. What artifacts might you discover from our current civilization?

• Rectangular pieces of plastic with strange symbols, possibly remnants of our credit cards or smartphones

• Circular pieces of metal, which could be coins or other forms of currency

• Cylindrical containers with symbols, likely representing our canned goods or beverages

• All of the above

What artifacts might archeologists find from our civilization 4,000 years in the future?

• Rectangular pieces of plastic with strange symbols

• Circular pieces of metal

• Cylindrical containers with symbols

• All of the above

What do archeologists know about the Indus Valley civilization?

• It was smaller than the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations

• It had powerful rulers and huge monuments

• It covered a vast area including present-day Pakistan, Northwestern India, Afghanistan, and Iran

• It was contemporaneous with the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations

What do archeologists know about the objects left behind by the Indus people?

• They found small objects like replicas of human figures

• They found artifacts with undeciphered writing on them

• They found large sign boards buried near the gate of a city

• All of the above

What is the current state of deciphering the Indus script?

• The script has been fully deciphered

• There is a consensus that the script does not represent a language

• There are three competing theories about the language represented by the script

• The script is similar to traffic signs and emblems on shields

What is the purpose of the small objects with symbols found in the Indus Valley civilization?

• They were used for stamping clay tags attached to bundles of goods

• They were used as decorative art pieces

• They were used as religious artifacts

• They were used as currency

What evidence suggests that the Indus script represents language?

• The symbols resemble pictures of humans, insects, fishes, and birds

• The script exhibits patterns similar to linguistic scripts

• The script falls within the range of linguistic scripts in terms of entropy

• All of the above

What is the direction of writing in the Indus script?

• Right to left

• Left to right

• Top to bottom

• Bottom to top

What is the significance of the doubling of the jar-shaped sign in some texts?

• It represents a foreign language

• It indicates the name of a merchant

• It is a common pattern in the Indus script

• It is a symbol of good luck

What is the purpose of the seals in the Indus Valley civilization?

• They were used for stamping clay tags attached to bundles of goods

• They were used as decorative art pieces

• They were used as religious artifacts

• They were used as currency