An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s9.36

v1.c9.s9.36

The invention of writing, the use of seals and sealings, the manufacturing of weights and measures—all point towards flourishing trade and commerce. And there is ample evidence that this was so. For example, within the domain of the Indus civilization itself, it is likely that with LOTHAL as the principal marketing centre Gujarat may have supplied semiprecious stones, like agate, carnelian, chalcedony, etc., to most of the Indus sites. Similar may have been the case in respect of Kolar gold. Chert, for the preparation of blades, may have gone to most of the places from Sukkar and Rohri in Sind. In fact, when towards the end of the Indus civilization even the internal trade began to weaken, the more e. sites, e.g. ALAMGIRPUR in Uttar Pradesh, did not get their chert quota. However it was not the internal trade that boosted up the Indus economy, but the commercial relations that the Indus people were able to forge with w. Asian and c. Asian countries. There is enough evidence to show that such a relationship existed. For example, while the occurrence of a typical Persian Gulf seal at the port-site of LOTHAL points to the presence of a Gulf merchant there, sending back home commodities purchased from Gujarat, a case for Indian traders settling down in Mesopotamia is suggested by the discovery of a large number of seals of the Indus style variously at Ur, Lagash, Susa, Tell Asmar, Umma, etc. In fact a sealing from the last-named site is reported to have been found in association with a bale of cloth, which evidently was an export from India. If the description of imports given in contemporary Mesopotamian inscriptions is any guide, it is probable that besides cloth the Indus people may have also exported spices, ivory, etc.