Harappan Chimaeras as Symbolic Hypertexts: Some thoughts on Plato, Chimaera and the Indus Civilization

This paper presents an analysis and interpretation of the so-called Harappan chimaera, one of the most peculiar and elaborate iconographies of Indus Civilization (c. 2600-1900 BCE). It is represented on many stamp seals of fired steatite and corresponding clay sealings, terracotta tablets in bas-relief, copper tablets, and tokens. The Harappan chimaera was composed of body parts derived from different animals, as well as humans and other fantastic beings of the Indus imagination. A detailed documentation and description of all the objects bearing chimaeras makes it possible to recognize not only a basic set of regular combinations and some aspects of their possible change in time, but also visual associations among selected parts of the chimaera% body that could be perceived and semantically interpreted at different levels. We believe that the sophisticated structure of these images fully deserves to be considered an early form of `hypertext', following definitions currently used in computer sciences. We conclude by relating the evidence and its cognitive background to other spheres of the early urban societies in the Indus basi