Indus Valley Script

Why in News? The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is organizing an international conference to discuss the decipherment of the Indus Valley script, marking a significant step towards advancing research on the Harappan civilization.

Relevance : UPSC Pre &  Mains

Prelims : Indus Valley script/ASI

Mains :   GS 1/ Art & Culture

Key Points:

Event Details:

1. • Organized by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
   • Scheduled from August 20 to 22 at the Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Institute of Archaeology, Greater Noida.

Focus of the Conference:

1. • The theme is “Decipherment of the Indus Script: Current Status and the Way Forward.”
   • Aimed at bringing together national and international experts working on Harappan civilization and culture.

About Indus Valley script:

The Indus Valley script, used by the Harappan civilization (2600–1900 BCE), is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic writing systems in the world. Despite extensive research, the script remains undeciphered.

Key Features

Nature of the Script:

1. • Composed of over 400–600 pictorial symbols (glyphs).
   • It is often engraved on seals, pottery, tablets, and other artifacts.
   • The symbols are pictorial in nature, resembling humans, animals, plants, and geometric shapes.

Mediums of Usage:

1. • Found on steatite seals, terracotta tablets, copper plates, pottery, and amulets.
   • The inscriptions are typically brief, with an average length of 5 characters.

Direction of Writing:

1. • Primarily written from right to left, as deduced from the spacing of symbols.
   • Some inscriptions have a boustrophedon pattern (alternate lines written in opposite directions).

Function:

1. • Likely used for administrative and commercial purposes.
   • Possibly denoted ownership, trade transactions, or held religious significance.

Geographical Spread:

1. • Symbols have been discovered across major Harappan sites such as Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Lothal, Dholavira, and Kalibangan.
   • Artifacts bearing the script have also been found in regions linked to the Mesopotamian trade network.

Challenges in Decipherment

No Bilingual Texts:

1. • Unlike the Rosetta Stone for Egyptian hieroglyphs, no bilingual inscription exists to compare the Indus script with a known language.

Short Inscriptions:

1. • Most inscriptions are too brief (average 5 characters) for meaningful linguistic analysis.

Unknown Language Family:

1. • The linguistic lineage of the script is uncertain, and theories suggest connections to Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, or even unrelated language families.

 Symbol Complexity:

1. • The script may be logo-syllabic, combining symbols for words (logograms) and syllables, further complicating decipherment.

Theories on the Script

Dravidian Hypothesis:

1. • Suggests that the script represents an early form of the Dravidian languages, particularly Proto-Tamil.

Indo-Aryan Hypothesis:

1. • Argues that the symbols are linked to early Indo-European languages.

Non-Linguistic Hypothesis:

1. • Some scholars propose that the symbols are non-linguistic, serving as religious or clan markers rather than a writing system.

Mathematical Patterns:

1. • Recent computational studies suggest the script might follow the structure of a formal language.