Which of the following statements are correct?

(A) Harappan seal was a most distinctive artifact of the Harappan Civilization.
(B) Harappan seal motifs conveyed a meaning to those unable to read it.
(C) Harappan seals had Sanskrit script on them
(D) Harappan seals had Pali and Prakrit inscriptions on them.
(E) Some Harappan seals show wider spacing script from right and cramping on the left.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

(A), (B) and (E) only

The correct answer is Option (3) - (A), (B) and (E) only

The correct statements are:

(A) Harappan seal was a most distinctive artifact of the Harappan Civilization.
(B) Harappan seal motifs conveyed a meaning to those unable to read it.
(E) Some Harappan seals show wider spacing script from right and cramping on the left.

The Harappan seals:

The Harappan seal  is possibly the most distinctive artefact of the Harappan or Indus valley civilisation (STATEMENT A). Made of a stone called steatite, seals loften contain animal motifs and signs from a script that remains undeciphered. Yet we know a great deal about the lives of the people who lived in the region from what they left behind – their houses, pots, ornaments, tools and seals – in other words, from archaeological evidence.

Harappan seals usually have a line of writing, probably containing the name and title of the owner. Scholars have also suggested that the motif (generally an animal) conveyed a meaning to those who could not read (STATEMENT B). Most inscriptions are short, the longest containing about 26 signs. Although the script remains undeciphered to date, it was evidently not alphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel or a consonant) as it has just too many signs – somewhere between 375 and 400. It is apparent that the script was written from right to left as some seals show a wider spacing on the right and cramping on the left (STATEMENT E), as if the engraver began working from the right and then ran out of space. Consider the variety of objects on which writing has been found: seals, copper tools, rims of jars, copper and terracotta tablets, jewellery, bone rods, even an ancient signboard! Remember, there may have been writing on perishable materials too.

 The incorrect statements are:

(C) Harappan seals had Sanskrit script on them.
(D) Harappan seals had Pali and Prakrit inscriptions on them.

REASON: The Harappan scripts are yet not deciphered. If it would have been Sanskrit, Pali or Prakrit, it would have been deciphered long ago. Also, it is believed that the script was not alphabetical as it had too many signs.