The Indus Civilization c9.22

c9.22

Patterns incised on the pottery are definitely rare, and are found only on the inside of the base of certain deep pans and on the dishes of offering-stands; in the former case they must have had a utilitarian rather than a decorative purpose, and sometimes they appear to have been impressed rather than scratched. A particular type of ware in which the light slip was partially removed with some instrument like a comb, so that the darker surface of the pottery showed through, may have been an importation. In any case the presence of this "reserved slip ware" at Mohenjo-daro is distinctly interesting, as it precedes the Early Dynastic Period at both Ur and Tell Asmar, which may explain its discovery only in the lower levels of the Indian site.