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 of script from right and cramping on the left.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

The correct option is (A), (B) and (E) only.

To understand why this option is correct, let us analyze each of the given statements step-by-step:

Statement (A): Harappan seal was a most distinctive artifact of the Harappan Civilization.
This statement is correct. The Harappan seal, typically made of a soft stone called steatite, is widely recognized by historians and archaeologists as the most unique and distinctive artifact of the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization. These seals often feature animal motifs and a line of writing in an undeciphered script.

Statement (B): Harappan seal motifs conveyed a meaning to those unable to read it.
This statement is correct. In ancient times, literacy was not widespread. The symbols, animal motifs, and pictorial representations on the seals helped communicate the identity, status, or ownership of the sender to traders and common people who were unable to read the script.

Statement (C): Harappan seals had Sanskrit script on them.
This statement is incorrect. The Harappan script is undeciphered to this day and is not Sanskrit. Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family and is associated with the later Vedic period, which post-dates the Harappan Civilization.

Statement (D): Harappan seals had Pali and Prakrit inscriptions on them.
This statement is incorrect. Pali and Prakrit languages and their respective scripts developed much later in ancient Indian history, gaining prominence around the 6th century BCE and during the reign of Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE), long after the decline of the Harappan Civilization (around 1900 BCE).

Statement (E): Some Harappan seals show wider spacing of script from right and cramping on the left.
This statement is correct. Scholars have deduced that the Harappan script was written from right to left. This conclusion is based on the analysis of seal carvings where the characters show normal or wider spacing starting from the right side, but become crowded or cramped as they reach the left edge, indicating that the scribe ran out of space toward the end of their writing.

Consequently, only statements (A), (B), and (E) are correct, which aligns perfectly with the correct option.