The Indus Civilization c9.7

c9.7

Figures of animals, birds, snakes, or fish occur much more rarely than the conventional designs; the last two are especially uncommon. Panels containing other motifs alternate on a jar with those depicting animals like the ibex and the antelope, or various birds, the bodies being filled in with cross-hatching rather than entirely painted over, possibly to avoid a heavy effect. Figures of animals are generally associated with natural objects such as grass or leaves, while birds sometimes appear perched on trees, sometimes merely in association with them; an especially charming scene of this type shows two jungle-fowl, the ancestors of the modern domestic species, arranged in a setting of bushes. Only one painted jar has been found with animals *en file*, a scheme of decoration which was well known in both Elam and Sumer; but this single specimen is different in shape and in the type of clay used from any other vessel that has come to light, and is quite likely to have been an importation. No human figures occur on pottery from Mohenjo-daro, but a sherd discovered at Harappa has the figures of a man and child painted upon it.