The Indus Valley (Harappan) script remains undeciphered. Existing proposals treat it either as a spoken language written in logo- syllabic form or as a non-linguistic system of religious and clan symbols. This paper advances a third, functional hypothesis: that the inscribed seals formed a visual administrative and commercial communication system intended to operate across regions with different spoken languages. Two components are proposed. (A) Large seals served as a regional resource catalogue: the animal motif indicated the animal or animal-derived resource available in a region or market (livestock, hides, wool, horn, ivory), while the short sign sequence above it functioned as an exchange notation indicating the goods or quantities accepted in return. (B) Small seals and clay sealings, many bearing impressions of cloth, rope or matting on the reverse, functioned as transaction receipts that closed and certified a completed exchange. An exploratory third hypothesis (C) suggests that a subset of seals may relate to a state-organised military economy: weapon quality testing, arms exchange and the hire of armed escorts for trade caravans. The paper catalogues fourteen illustrated objects and drawings, states the testable predictions of each hypothesis, and sets out the principal limitations. No claim of decipherment of individual signs is made.
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Mrityunjai Pandey (2026) studied this question.