Since they were great traders the Indus valley people made extensive use of small, usually square seals. These were mostly made of steatite, but sometimes of ivory and pottery, which could be carried or worn by a person, and were also used as amulets. Over 2000 of them have been found, most of them at Mohenjo-daro. They are an important discovery in that the scenes which are portrayed on them give a rich picture of aspects of life in Harappan culture, especially religious practices. Thus, where there is an absence of understanding of the Indus valley script, there is a pictorial body of evidence in the form of the seals. And on a number of seals it seems that scenes of religious significance are portrayed - prostrated people before some divine object, for example.
The most prolific representations on the seals are animals, and these are vividly portrayed - cattle, crocodiles, tigers, rhinoceros, snakes and buffalo, for example. In one scene people are depicted as prostrated before a buffalo and this must surely indicate some kind of worship. Animals seem to have been venerated for their sexuality, fertility and physical powers. Horns particularly seem to portray powers. Some of the human figures appear to be divine in some way, perhaps by their central or raised position, or their particular appearance such as having elaborate head-dresses. And some seals seem to portray whole scenes of ritual pactice.