The most intriguing features of Indus Valley civilization involve what is missing, at least in comparison with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. No grand temples or palaces; no elite burial places filled with great wealth; no images of warfare, conquest, or the seizing of captives; no monuments to celebrate powerful rulers. These absences have left scholars guessing about the social and political organization of this civilization. Kenoyer has suggested that the great cities were likely controlled not by a single ruler, but by “a small group of elites, comprised of merchants, landowners, and ritual specialists.”31

Visual Source 2.2, a statue seven inches tall and found in Mohenjo Daro, likely depicts one of these elite men.