Deciphering the Indus Script

Deciphering the Indus Script
Author: Asko Parpola
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2009-10-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780521795661

Of the writing systems of the ancient world which still await deciphering, the Indus script is the most important. It developed in the Indus or Harappan Civilization, which flourished c. 2500-1900 BC in and around modern Pakistan, collapsing before the earliest historical records of South Asia were composed. Nearly 4,000 samples of the writing survive, mainly on stamp seals and amulets, but no translations. Professor Parpola is the chief editor of the Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions. His ideas about the script, the linguistic affinity of the Harappan language, and the nature of the Indus religion are informed by a remarkable command of Aryan, Dravidian, and Mesopotamian sources, archaeological materials, and linguistic methodology. His fascinating study confirms that the Indus script was logo-syllabic, and that the Indus language belonged to the Dravidian family.

The Indus Script and the Ṛg-Veda

The Indus Script and the Ṛg-Veda
Author: Egbert Richter-Ushanas
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Total Pages: 336
Release: 1997
Genre: Indus script
ISBN: 9788120814059

The deciphering of the Indus script has met with suspicion and is exposed to ridicule even. Many people are nowadays of the opinion that the Indus script is altogether indecipherable, if not a bilingual of considerable size turns up. The approach to a decipherment presented in this volume makes avail of a bilingual, too, but its masterkey is the discovering of the symbolic connection of the Indus signs with the metaphoric language of the Rg-Veda. Nearly 200 inscriptions, among them the longest and those with the most interesting motifs, have been decoded here by setting them syllable for syllable in relation to Rg-Vedic verses. The results that were gained by this method for the pictographic values of the Indus signs are surprising and far beyond the possibilities of the most daring phantasy. At the same time many problems of the Rg-Veda could be solved or new insights be won.

The Harappan Civilization and Its Writing

The Harappan Civilization and Its Writing
Author: Walter Ashlin Fairservis
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2023-07-17
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9004676759

A description of a methodology by which to decipher the writing of the Harappan civilization. The methodology is then applied and the results set forth in detail. There, results coupled with the author's extensive archaeological knowledge of the Indus Civilization creates a picture of ancient South Asian life much of which in content is unique.

Indus Valley Civilization Script Decoded

Indus Valley Civilization Script Decoded
Author: Prabhunath Hembrom
Publisher: Notion Press
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2020-03-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1646787293

Scientists discover Y-DNA haplogroups O2a and mt-DNA haplogroup M4a in the Rakhigarhi ancient DNA. These haplogroups are associated with the speakers of Austro-Asiatic languages such as Mundari, Santali and Khasi. These haplogroups and related languages are also present in Southeast Asia. In India, speakers of these languages are currently found mostly in Central and East India. Even though a prominent philologist of Harvard University, Mr. Michael Witzel, has argued the case for a language close to Munda (which he calls para-Mundari) being one of the languages of the erstwhile Indus Valley, a finding of this nature will come as a surprise to most others. So if the genetics do find haplogroups O and M4a in Rakhigarhi, some of our current understanding of Indian history may have to be revised. Tony Joseph in The Hindu, December 23, 2017

The Archaeology and Epigraphy of Indus Writing

The Archaeology and Epigraphy of Indus Writing
Author: Bryan K. Wells
Publisher: Archaeopress Archaeology
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre: Indus script
ISBN: 9781784910464

A detailed examination of the Indus script. It presents new analysis based on an expansive text corpus using revolutionary analytical techniques developed specifically for the purpose of deciphering the Indus script.

The Deciphered Indus Script

The Deciphered Indus Script
Author: N. Jha
Publisher:
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2000
Genre: Harappa Site (Pakistan)
ISBN:

The present volume is devoted to the study of the Indus script and its decipherment. It offers a methodology for reading the Indus script by combining paleography with ancient literary accounts and Vedic grammar.These illustrate the methodology and also help shed new light on the Harappans and their connections with the Vedic Civilization.The language of the seals is Vedic Sanskrit,with a significant number of them containing words and phrases traceable to the ancient Vedic glossary Nigha, compiled from still earlier sources by Yaska.

The Indus Civilization

The Indus Civilization
Author: Gregory L. Possehl
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2002-11-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0759116423

The Indus Civilization of India and Pakistan was contemporary with, and equally complex as the better-known cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and China. The dean of North American Indus scholars, Gregory Possehl, attempts here to marshal the state of knowledge about this fascinating culture in a readable synthesis. He traces the rise and fall of this civilization, examines the economic, architectural, artistic, religious, and intellectual components of this culture, describes its most famous sites, and shows the relationships between the Indus Civilization and the other cultures of its time. As a sourcebook for scholars, a textbook for archaeology students, and an informative volume for the lay reader, The Indus Civilization will be an exciting and informative read.

Seals and Sealing in the Ancient World

Seals and Sealing in the Ancient World
Author: Marta Ameri
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 524
Release: 2018-05-03
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1108173519

Studies of seals and sealing practices have traditionally investigated aspects of social, political, economic, and ideological systems in ancient societies throughout the Old World. Previously, scholarship has focused on description and documentation, chronology and dynastic histories, administrative function, iconography, and style. More recent studies have emphasized context, production and use, and increasingly, identity, gender, and the social lives of seals, their users, and the artisans who produced them. Using several methodological and theoretical perspectives, this volume presents up-to-date research on seals that is comparative in scope and focus. The cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach advances our understanding of the significance of an important class of material culture of the ancient world. The volume will serve as an essential resource for scholars, students, and others interested in glyptic studies, seal production and use, and sealing practices in the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Ancient South Asia and the Aegean during the 4th-2nd Millennia BCE.