One of the key findings of the Indus Civilization is the square-shaped steatite seal, usually bearing a depiction of an animal and some signs of the Indus script. The first such find was discovered in 1875 in Harappa.
(© The Trustees of the British Museum)
The depiction on it has puzzled archaeologists because it does not resemble any of the well-known animals from India. It does not have a hump at the shoulder like the zebu. Its body is not as powerful as that of a bull. Its horn shape does not follow the curved horn of the water buffalo either.
It is also striking that the animal has a single horn in the side view. Several researchers are of the opinion that, of course, this animal also has two horns, only the other horn is in coverage. On the seals, however, two-horned animals are depicted with two horns even in side view.
The animal depicted on the first seal, therefore, soon began to be called a unicorn even in the archaeological literature. Another special feature of the unicorn seal is that this type of seal was found in the largest number, far surpassing all other animal depictions.
(© The Trustees of the British Museum)
Based on the excavated animal bones, there was, of course, no proof that unicorns existed in the Indus Valley. However, in addition to seals, unicorns also appear on clay figurine representations, clearly with a single horn. So, the mythical animal lived vividly, at least in the imagination of the inhabitants of the Indus Civilization.
Source of images:
1: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1892-1210-1
2: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kerala_Zebu.jpg
3: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaur_(Bos_gaurus).jpg
4: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bubalus_bubalis_DT_-IN_Varanasi-(3)(21686668808).jpg
5: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pakistan,Indus_Valley_civilization–Seal_with_Two-Horned_Bull_and_Inscription–1973.160-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif
6: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/345734001
