Religion of the Indus Valley Civilisation

Female figurine. Mature Harappan period, 2700–2000 BCE. Indus civilization. National Museum, New Delhi.
Indus Civilization pottery figure of horned deity.[1]

The religion and belief system of the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) people have received considerable attention, with many writers concerned with identifying precursors to the religious practices and deities of much later Indian religions. However, due to the sparsity of evidence, which is open to varying interpretations, and the fact that the Indus script remains undeciphered,[2][3] the conclusions are partly speculative and many are largely based on a retrospective view from a much later Hindu perspective.[4]

  1. ^ Mackay, Ernest (1935). Indus civilisation. p. Plate J.
  2. ^ Hiltebeitel, Alf (1978). "The Indus Valley "Proto-Śiva", Reexamined through Reflections on the Goddess, the Buffalo, and the Symbolism of vāhanas". Anthropos. 73 (5/6): 767–797. JSTOR 40459645.
  3. ^ Parpola 2015.
  4. ^ Wright 2009, pp. 281–282.