Since the beginning of research on the Indus civilisation of northwest South Asia the issue of social and political organisation has been unresolved. Even basic things such as the bases for social...Show moreSince the beginning of research on the Indus civilisation of northwest South Asia the issue of social and political organisation has been unresolved. Even basic things such as the bases for social status and power are still unclear. The distribution of the Indus stamp seals and their iconography can give us some indication of social organisation within settlements. A more detailed analysis comparing them to different types of artefacts may result in a more nuanced understanding of social and economic hierarchies. This thesis will analyse variation in Indus seals across sites through analysis of an up-to-date corpus Indus stamp seals at the city of Mohenjo-Daro. The spatial distribution of the seals will be compared with the distribution of four types of artefacts linked to social organisation, trade and ideology: figurines, bangles, several types of beads and weights. This will also be reintegrated with architectural data. My hypothesis is that the distribution of seals within cities might be more indicative of their specific function in trade and administration than just the socioeconomic status of the owner. If this is the case, then variation in distribution may reflect different uses of the seals occurring in different areas of Mohenjo-Daro. There is a complex relationship between status, ideology and the expression of that status in the archaeological record. Studying one category of evidence, such as seals, bangles or architecture separate from each other will only give an incomplete picture; these types of data need to be combined to achieve a more complete understanding of them.Show less
In de archeologie van het Nabije Oosten zijn zegels veel en uitgebreid bestudeerde objecten. Deze studie richt zich echter vooral op de afbeeldingen op de zegels, en op de rol van de zegels in...Show moreIn de archeologie van het Nabije Oosten zijn zegels veel en uitgebreid bestudeerde objecten. Deze studie richt zich echter vooral op de afbeeldingen op de zegels, en op de rol van de zegels in handel. In deze scriptie kijk ik naar de rol en de waarde van zegels in een Bronstijd samenleving op Bahrein, niet in eerste plaats aan de hand van de afbeeldingen erop, maar vooral naar de archeologische context van de zegels. Ik behandel de verschillende plaatsen in het dorp waar de zegels gevonden zijn, en aan de hand daarvan probeer ik mijn onderzoeksvragen te beantwoorden.Show less
