The Indus Civilization c7.2

c7.2

IF, as seems likely, it is permissible to take the costume worn by the clay figurines of the Mother Goddess as representative of the normal attire of the feminine population of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, then there is little to describe, for, with the exception of much jewellery, these figures are bare to the waist, and otherwise wear only a very scanty skirt which terminates well above the knee (Pl. I, 1). As much the same costume is worn by many of the women of Southern India, the view may be provisionally accepted that the dress of the figurines was the usual attire of the Indus Valley people, especially as there is strong reason to believe that the climate of North-west India has altered considerably since the middle of the third millennium B.C. A very similar skirt is worn by the female deities on the seal-amulets, though it appears to be considerably shorter in front than behind (Pl. M, 8).