Excerpts from the book 'Indus Valley Civilization Script Decoded'
Prabhunath Hembrom2020, Notion Press
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Abstract
The excerpts primarily contain decoding of the Indus script on Dholavira gate and a few frequently repeated Indus signs cited from the book 'Indus Valley Civilization Script Decoded'. The book has more than 155 deciphered Indus seals in Santali language based on the historic work Traditions and Institutions of the Santals by L. O. Skrefsrud and P. O. Bodding.
Key takeaways
- The worship of this deity is absent in other religious creeds; thus, confirming the Santali script to be written on the Indus seals.
- Similarly, the sign on the Indus seals has been used to depict ripe crops, signifying the Santali phrase gele bale.
- represents kạkwạ nạkić in Santali, which means, a tooth cut out at each end of karha on which the drag chains are fastened.
- The sign means a comb, called nạkić in Santali.
- The Santali word bạṅgạ implies a deity and Jaher means the sacred grove of Santals.
Related papers
Indus script deciphered-readings of seals.docx
Abstract This paper presents the Indus script in a phonetic grid. The phonetic grid was made after comparing the Sumerian, Malvi, Karen, and IVC area languages. Ages back, Indo -Tibetan family languages prevailed from Sumer in present day Iraq to the Narmada river area in India. When I drew a comparison between the Karen language from Myanmar (a language isolate kept in the Tibeto Burman family) with Malvi, Nimadi, IVC area languages, and Sumerian language I found striking similarities between them. The Sumerian and Karen languages have some common features: they both are Monosyllabic, have couplets, reduplications, numerical classifiers, and numbers. Many words are still used locally in the craft, harvest, and business realms of these regions.Words migrate and travel together with technology, culture, and the local beliefs. This is how they are preserved in Malva and Nimar regions of India in the business and craft communities. After comparing the vocabularies, I drew a chart of roots and words and then applied phonetic values to the Indus scripts. It turned out that the Indus Language, indeed, belongs to a primary Prakrit language. Prakrit was a de facto lingua franca and was never out of use after the IVC. There was a strong presence of Sumerians and Akkedians besides Proto-Indo-European and Indo-Tibetans in the Indus river basin area, and they, too, used the Indus script to write their seals. This paper refutes the argument of ‘illiterate Harappans’ by some scholars. Key words: Indus Script, Indus Civilization, Language, Sumer, Karen, Trade, Unicorn seal, Prakrit, Indo-European, Tibeto-Burman, Himalaya
A Short Introduction to the Study of the Indus Script With Comments on the Corner Symbols
The Indus seals were used in connection with commerce, both international and local. The basic elements of the seals must therefore have some relevance to their use. It is argued that the animal figures are totemic, identifying either place of origin or destination, and that certain other symbols denote the character of the goods being transferred and/or the means used to transport the goods to which the seals were probably affixed. It is thus possible to come to certain conclusions as to what information the inscriptions were intended to convey. This article was first published by ESOP in Volume 3, Part 2, Paper 66, September 1976. It has been radically revised in 2010 for Volume 28 based on additional information obtained in the interim. Note: The images in this article all appear in Jagat P. Joshi and Asko Parpola's excellent volume: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions 1. Collections in India . While many have appeared in other publications as well, we used that volume because of the excellent quality of the photographs of the artifacts. In every case we used a computer to flip the seal photos horizontally so as to publish them in "impression" format (often photos of actual impressions fail to show all features clearly). Photos of the "corner symbols" were removed from the seals and rendered as separate graphics using Adobe Photoshop.
The Ultimate Understanding of the Indus Script and Reading With a detail Comparison of Sumerian, Karen, and Indus area Languages with Various seals readings
The Ultimate Understanding of the Indus Script This work presents a systematic process of deciphering the Indus script. A language is defined by its syntax, its semantics, and possibly its phonetics. The syntax defines the set of valid sequences of symbols in that language. The set of rules that are used to generate these valid sequences of symbols is called a grammar. The semantics is a mapping from the valid sequences to some mental model. Phonetic rules may map symbols to their phonetic values. The test of decipherment is whether it is semantic or not, and does it convey meaning? With phonetic values, this goal is achieved. Almost one hundred signs of Indus script are compared in this part with Sumerian, Indus languages (specially Marthi, Malvi, Nimadi, Rajsthani, Gujrati) and Karen to give them phonetic value. The detail comparisons clearly show language affinities between Indus and Sumerian. These lists will further help of better understanding of Indian sub continent’s culture. These comparisons also show the presence of Tibeto-Burman race and languages in Sumer, Indus, Malwa and Nimad-the Narmada Valley. Similarities between Indus script and Hieroglyphs shows presence and relations with Egypt. Without considering, any relation between them cannot be explained these affinities. This paper affirm the seals were used for trade, exchange, command.
Meluhha united languages of Bharat. Decipherment of Nagwada seal impression and stamp seal: Indus Script metalwork, smelter repertoire
The decipherment of Nagwada seal impression and a stamp seal reported by Suzanne Harris in her doctoral dissertation at UPenn, Pennsylvania, conclusively proves the function of Indus Script inscriptions to document metalwork wealth created and traded. As Suzanne Harris notes "(Nagwada) population participated in a greater Mature Harappan economic and administrative network." This monograph demonstrates the essential semantic and cultural unity of ALL Indian languages. There was no language-divide between North and South, East and West. The Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization area was a sprachbund, 'speech union' or linguistic area where many language speakers absorbed language features from one another and made them their own. There cannot be a stronger evidence for NATIONAL UNITY than this linguistic affirmation of the Meluhha sprachbund. Meluhha simply means mispronunciation, thus reinforcing dialectical pronunciation variants of core vocabularies of ALL Indian languages. Meluhha is cognate with Mleccha in ancient Bharatiya texts. These Meluhha people created the mlecchita vikalpa 'cypher writing' described as one of the 64 arts to be taught to the young, by Vatsyayana in his VidyA Samuddesa text. Chalcoithic settlements of North Gujarat Note the name of one of the settlements of North Gujarat. It is called VARAHI. Almost all sites have reported carnelian, 'akkikkal' beads. This carnelian is found as a ring with an inscription at Keeladi.The Indus Script reading of the hieroglyph is: badhi 'boar' rebus: badhi 'worker in wood and iron' baDiga 'artificer'. This carnelian ring of Keeladi demonstrates that people of Gujarat Sarasvati_Sindhu civilization settlements moved south along the coastline and reached Keeladi. This is evidenced in a textual reference from Purananuru, discussed in Section 3. These evidences demonstrate the essential semantic and cultural unity between language speakers of Gujarat and language speakers of Tamil Nadu of centuries Before Common Era. Section 1. Nagwada seal impression Field symbol:short-horned bull: balar, barad 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'metal alloy' (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) Text message: dāṭu 'cross' rebus: dhatu 'mineral ore' kuṭi 'curve' rebus: kuṭhi 'smelter' (Santali) kuṭi 'curve; rebus: कुटिल kuṭila, katthīl (8 parts copper, 2 parts tin) bronze muh 'bun ingot shape' rebus: mũhã̄ 'ingot' ḍhaṁkaṇa 'lid' rebus dhakka 'excellent, bright, blazing metal article' खांडा khāṇḍā A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool' rebus: khaṇḍa 'implements sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop' kolmo 'rice plant' rebus:kolimi 'smithy, forge' Section 2. Nagwada stamp seal Four dotted circles: gaṇḍa 'set of four' (Santali) rebus: khaṇḍa 'equipment'(Santali) Hieroglyph: Dotted circle:dhã̄ī 'strand' rebus: dhatu 'mineral ore' dhāˊtu 'ore of red metal' PLUS Hieroglhyph: circle: vr̥ttá ʻ turned ʼ RV., ʻ rounded ʼ ŚBr. 2. ʻ completed ʼ MaitrUp., ʻ passed, elapsed (of time) ʼ KauṣUp. 3. n. ʻ conduct, matter ʼ ŚBr., ʻ livelihood ʼ Hariv. [√vr̥t1]1. Pa. vaṭṭa -- ʻ round ʼ, n. ʻ circle ʼ; Pk. vaṭṭa -- , vatta -- , vitta -- , vutta -- ʻ round ʼ; L. (Ju.) vaṭ m. ʻ anything twisted ʼ; Si. vaṭa ʻ round ʼ, vaṭa -- ya ʻ circle, girth (esp. of trees) ʼ; Md. va' ʻ round ʼ GS 58; -- Paš.ar. waṭṭəwīˊk, waḍḍawik ʻ kidney ʼ ( -- wĭ̄k vr̥kká -- ) IIFL iii 3, 192? rebus: vṛtta, va 'wealth business'; Pa. vatta -- n. ʻ duty, office ʼ; Pk. vaṭṭa -- , vatta -- , vitta -- , vutta -- n. ʻ livelihood ʼ; P. buttā m. ʻ means ʼ; Ku. buto ʻ daily labour, wages ʼ; N. butā ʻ means, ability ʼ; H. oūtā m. ʻ power ʼ; Si. vaṭa ʻ subsistence, wages ʼ.(CDIAL 12069). Together rebus: dhāvaḍa 'smelter', https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1552&context=edissertations (Full text) Summer 8-12-2011 Mobility and Variation in Chalcolithic North Gujarat, India (Ca 3600 – 1800 Bc) Suzanne Harris University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] "One Indus clay seal impression depicting a bull (IAR 1987–88:20) and one steatite stamp seal (inscribed with serie recente style circles) were found here (Figure 5.27). A study by Randall Law (2008:400) suggests the steatite is from a source similar to a seal found at Bagasra, which was probably acquired locally. Agate cube weights were also found, mostly in pits. These objects prove beyond a doubt that this population participated in a greater Mature Harappan economic and administrative network." (Suzanne Harris, 2011, ibid., p. 208) Abstract Nine relatively obscure sites in the northern plain of Gujarat, India: Loteshwar, Santhli, Datrana, Nagwada, Langhnaj, Zekhada, Ratanpura and Kanewal; demonstrate a broad range of material culture traditions present in this region throughout the fourth through second millennia BC. This diversity results from the numerous economic strategies employed by the inhabitants of this region, the most important of which is mobility. Most of the sites reviewed in this work are the remains of temporary occupations, which are usually ascribed to pastoral nomads. Although pastoralism was an important subsistence strategy, a closer examination of the material culture and features at these sites shows there was a spectrum of approaches to mobility, which were related to different economic strategies. This work will show that despite many similarities, these sites do not represent a homogenous set of pastoralist camps. Instead, they document manifold activities, reflected through the uses of material culture and space. Section 3. Reference to Dwaraka as Tuvarai in an ancient Sangam text and migration from Sarasvati-Sindhu CIvilization to Tamil Nadu
An approach to deciphering the Indus seal inscriptions
Quite often, the Santals convey their messages through riddles. For instance, to know the sex of a newborn baby, one asks whether it carries on the head or the shoulder. "If the baby is a boy, the answer is 'On the shoulder'. If the child is a girl, the reply is 'on the head', alluding to the way in which girls and women carry water-pots." 1 The Indus seal inscriptions are riddles in this sense because they do not represent an allograph similarly as the sign of letters in English do. They are, in fact, pictorial representation of a word or phrase which is, in most case, employed as an ideogram to hint at an idea. Therefore, a scriptsign may not directly mean the word or phrase that it stands for; rather the first letter of the word/phrase that identifies a symbol or ligature is applied phonetically to substitute it with another word/phrase bearing a close phonetic affinity with the identifier word/phrase. Furthermore, on substituting finally the phonetically similar derived word/phrase for the individual Indus signs of a seal, the resultant message from a seal inscription should have a logical link with the religious and social institutions of the Santals which is verifiable from the book Traditions and Institutions of The Santals by P. O. Boddong, L. O. Skrefsrud, Sten Konow. As Santali belongs to the agglutinating type of languages, the Indus seals show merely the principal word/phrase while the grammatical cases and notations are glued to the principal words. Nearly every syllable of Santali is a word and every word a sentence. For example, ol means to write, to make a mark, to mark; Oladiń means 'He writes to me' and Oladińae means 'He wrote to me.'
A Catalog of Indus Signs
Independently published (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C87SBQMR), 2023
The Indus culture (2600 to 1700 BCE) developed a writing system that still remains mostly undeciphered. The inscriptions found on several artefacts (i.e. seals, tablets, pots, bangles, tags, and other types of artefacts) show a distinct pattern of Indus signs. Most texts are short, but many longer texts have complex sequences of signs. Indus inscriptions can for the most part be read from right to left. They include more than 700 distinct signs, although only less than 100 of them belong to the 'core' of Indus signs of high frequency or widespread usage. The book presents a description of each sign, its frequency and positional behaviour. All sign occurrences on inscribed artefacts are listed in the volume with reference to sign sequences on inscribed artefacts in the volume Corpus of Indus Inscriptions. Special sections discuss the type of the Indus writing system, the 'core' signs at different sites and on various artefact types, and the expected number of new signs that may be discovered in the future. The book presents a method of positional sign analysis that accounts for different text lengths and makes it possible to classify Indus signs according to their positions within the texts. Finally, the type of the Indus writing system is discussed in comparison with other ancient and modern writing systems based on sign frequencies. A new method of calculating the entropic redundancy is introduced to estimate the degree of phonetization of Indus writing. Two appendices list the preferred usage of Indus signs in relation to regions and artefact types for further investigations into the writing system of the Indus culture.
Book announcements 1. Indus Script Primer 2. Indus Script, Rgveda, Susa connections
A trite, dull comment noticed in almost all history books related to civilization studies is that Indus Script has not been deciphered. Some have also commented in a defeatist but thundering tone, that the people who wrote the 'script' were illiterate (i.e. not familiar with a writing system based on language sounds). Really? --The book provides a brief overview of Indus Writing System which dates to ca. 3300 BCE. The book introduces the form and functions of Indus Script with selected examples of hieroglyphs used to account for metalwork produced by Meluhha artisans during the days of the Tin-Bronze Revolution, ca. 4th millennium BCE. ISBN: 9798604641781 Decipherment of over 8000 Indus Script inscriptions affirm vivid connect with Rgveda traditions and Susa archaeology. ISBN 979-8604830789 The Indus Script Corpora has now reached a substantial size of over 8000 inscriptions, to be validated by any cryptography model. The Corpora is adequate enough to read/decipher (understand meanings) of approximately 600 hieroglyphs by present-day claimants of Artificial Intelligence. This size of the Corpora has been reached thanks to -- discoveries of hieroglyphs of the script from over 2600 archaeological sites of Sarasvati Civilization, -- discoveries of hieroglyphs of the script along the Persian Gulf, -- discoveries of hieroglyphs on Dongson/Karen bronze drums of Ancient Far East, -- linguistic work on Munda-Mon-Khmer languages and -- comparable hieroglyph narratives on many tokens, tablets and cylinder seals of Ancient Near East. Discovery sites. Indus Script hieroglyphs If Akkadian Cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs could be deciphered, there is no reason why cryptographers who claim to safeguard billions of dollars in international financial transactions should allow Indus Script to remain undeciphered. Maybe, the decipherment of Indus Script will provide substantial insights to tighten the present-day encryption systems for cyber security for high-value financial transactions on the internet and on ubiquitous mobile phones. The challenge of Indus Script decipherment is a challenge to cryptography and artificial intelligence enthusiasts. This is reinforced by the fact that 1) Rawlinson correctly deduced from Behistun tri-lingual inscription that the Old Persian was written in cuneiform was a phonetic script; and 2) Champollion correctly inferred that Egyptian hieroglyphs were a combination of phonetic and ideographic signs even without any access to the later-discovery of Rosetta stone. Both Rawlinson and Champollion were convinced that the Cuneiform and Egyptian scripts were decipherable. Such a positive approach is likely to result in a complete understanding of the meaning and significance of Indus Script of the Tin-Bronze Revolution of ca. 4th millennium BCE. Behistun inscription and Rosetta stone have validated the decipherments of Rawlinson and Champollion. I submit that the greatest human document Rgveda and Susa archaeological evidences provide enough details which validate an Indus Script decipherment. A few examples of vivid Indus Script hieroglyphs are seen in the following archaeologially attested evidences: Karen Bronze drum with Indus Script hieroglyphs Failaka (Persian Gulf) Cylinder seal Gaṇeśa in a dance-step, appearance in Bhimaswarga (Indonesian Java version of Mahābhārata) rendered in sculptural frieze of Candi Sukuh together with Bhīma as 'smith' and Arjuna as 'bellows blower'. A 5th century marble Ganeśa found in Gardez, Afghanistan, now at Dargah Pir Rattan Nath, Kabul. The inscription says that this "great and beautiful image of Mahāvināyaka" was consecrated by the Shahi King Khingala. For photograph of statue and details of inscription, see: Dhavalikar, M. K., 1991, "Gaņeśa: Myth and Reality" in: In: Brown RL (ed) Ganesh: studies of an Asian God. State University of New York, pp.50,63. When Brāhmī and Kharoṣṭhī scripts were deciphered, the available inscriptions clearly pointed to the use of spoken forms of language, called prākṛta. It appears that, the key to the cipher, and decipherment of Indus Script hieroglyphs lies in the reconstruction of spoken forms of language of the people who lived and engaged in life activities in over 2000 archaeological sites of Sarasvati River and over 600 sites of Sindhu (Indus) River basins, Persian Gulf, & Tigris-Euphrates doab. There is evidence from Shu-ilishu cylinder seal that the language spoken was called Meluhha. The cuneiform Akkadian text reads: Shu-Ilishu EME.BAL.ME.LUH.HA.KI 'interpreter of Meluhha language'. The challenge is thus to reconstruct the spoken forms of Meluhha and match these forms with the Indus Script hieroglyphs (without starting with any preconceived notions that the hieroglyphs -- both pictorial narratives and so-called 'sign' sequences --are likely to be 'syllabic' connotations). Thanks to the brilliant works on many language and etymological dictionaries, a good framework for the spoken forms of language on Sarasvati and Sindhu river basins is available at https://www.academia.edu/37229973/Indian_Lexicon_--Comparative_dictionary_of_over_8000_semantic_clusters_in_25_ancient_Bharatiya_languages The underlying cipher for the decipherment presented by S. Kalyanaraman is that Meluhha was not restricted to expression of esoteric and philosophical ideas but contained a repository of economic activities of artisans and seafaring merchants who were engaged in creating the wealth of a nation. Here they are, two books titled: 1. Indus Script Primer -- karṇika 'scribes' convey wealth account ledgers 2. Indus Script, Rgveda, Susa connections -- Archaeology & Traditions Susa connections provide archaeological evidence to validate the decipherment and Rgveda connections provide the economic framework for creating the wealth of a nation, documented as wealth accounting ledgers by lapidaries and metalwork artisans and seafaring Meluhha merchants. Meluhha spoken form firmly anchors Indian sprachbund, 'language union' also called Indian Linguistic Area where people speaking from their traditions of language families (e.g.Mon-Khmer or Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Proto-Indo-European) lived together in a commonwealth, interacted with one another in economic and trade activities of the Tin-Bronze Revolution from ca. 4th millennium BCE, absorbing language features from one another and made them their own. This sprachbund, yields the words and expressions of Meluha language matched with Indus Script hieroglyphs and hypertexts (which are compositions of combined hieroglyphs) An example of hypertext may be seen on a Kalibangan tablet incised with Indus Script inscription on two sides of the tablet). Sign 418 (Mahadevan 1977 ASI Concordance) The centrepiece of Rgveda tradition of yajna of the Bronze Age is concluding त्रैधातवीइष्टि is an investiture and closing ceremony for पोतृ who is यज्ञस्य शोधयिट्रि with a garment embroidered with trefoils. He also receives पट्ट 'fillet', 'an upper or outer garment ' (भट्टि-काव्य). पट्टी f. a forehead ornament is composed of gold-bead. त्रैधातवीइष्टि is an investiture ceremony for पोतृ who is यज्ञस्य शोधयिट्रि with a garment embroidered with trefoils. He also receives पट्ट 'fillet', 'an upper or outer garment ' (भट्टि-काव्य). पट्टी f. a forehead ornament is composed of gold-bead. Rgveda पोतृ Potr̥ 'purifier priest' & Traidhâtavî (ishti) is traced to ପୋଦ୍ଦାର୍ Poddār 'assayer of metals' (Oriya) potadāra पोतदार An officer under the native governments. His business was to assay all money paid into the treasury. He was also the village-silversmith. He is one of the 12 बलुतेदार or बलुता balutēdāra or balutā, public servant of a village entitled to a share of the produce in the commonwealth. Hieroglyph of trefoil on the shawl of Mohenjo-daro priest is tri-dhātu : ḍāv m. ʻdice-throwʼ rebus: dhāu 'ore'; thus, three dotted circles signify: tri-dhāu, tri-dhātu 'three ores' (copper, tin, iron). தாயம் tāyam , n. < dāya Number one in the game of dice; கவறுருட்ட விழும் ஒன்று என்னும் எண். Colloq. डाई ḍāī m f (Poetry. Pop. डाव) Victory or the game. At games with सोंगट्या &c. Ex. माझा डाई तुजकडे राहिला or मी तुझा डाई देतों; also डाई आमुची नेदुनी ॥ एथें आलासी पळोनी ॥. 2 A throw (of the dice): also the turn to throw. डाव ḍāva m ( H) A game (at chess, ball, सोंगट्या &c.) v खेळ. 2 A throw or cast (of dice, cowries &c.) v टाक. 3 The turn up (of dice). v पड, Pr. फांसा पडेल तो डाव राजा बोलेल तो न्याव. 4 The time or turn to cast or play. (Marathi) Indus Script hieroglyphs of Potr̥ 'purifier priest', dhā̆vaḍ 'smelter of iron, copper, silver, gold'. These metaphors constitute the written ciphertext renderings of metaphors described in Rgveda as gāthā, 'narratives', as Traidhâtavî (ishti) 'yajna worshipping & investiture of priest three mineral ore (sewn, embroidered) beads'. -- Itihāsa, Indus Script hieroglyphs of Rgveda Potr̥ 'purifier priest' &Traidhâtavî (ishti) traced into . , ṭhākur 'deity, blacksmith पोतदार, ପୋଦ୍ଦାର୍ Poddār 'assayer of metals, silversmith, treasurer' SBr. 13.6.2.17. ...The Traidhâtavî is the final offering (Udavasânîyâ): the mystic import is the same (as before 1). (Note: The process is as set forth in V, 5, 5, 6 seqq. As noted in V.5.5.7, the Traidhâtavî ends with presentation of gold coins. Such gold coins are either tied as gold-bead-fillets on the forehead and right shoulder of the priest or stitched on as embroidered adornments on the robe of the priest.
The Alphabet of Sindhu Prakrit (The decipherment of the Indus Script)
2022
The principal aspect of the paper is the structural analysis of the signs of the Indus script and comparison with archaic scripts. The outcomes are not based on surmise, but have been established on logic. The paper encompasses approximately all more than 400 signs of Indus script rather than any section of selected signs or texts. It justifies each sign and classifies vowels, diphthongs, consonants, dual consonants, aspirates, combined consonants and ligatures. It convincingly identifies the uniform procedure of diacritical marks, diphthongs, dual consonants, and aspirates in the alphabet. It also recognizes the writing styles of combining consonants. Some vowel and consonant signs are elaborated meticulously in the context of the Indus Texts. The context verifies the Indus Texts as an earlier documentation of Rig-Veda, and links up the sequence of opaque and lost history. Hence the language of Indus seals, Sindhu Prakrit possessed a completely phonetic alphabet/ script with consonants, aspirated consonants, vowels diphthongs implosive and dual sounds. It was made scientifically the extraction of signs is based on phonological classification and methodical logic, it appears more perfect than even modern scripts. However the decipherment of the Indus script as an alphabet is an innovative idea and definitely it will provoke the scholars to verify the results, any scholar in the field can apply the alphabet for the readings of Indus texts. The Paper unveils the long-lasted mystery and enigma of the Indus civilization and sums up the debate about human history and its origins.
Decipherment of two unpublished Indus Script seals reported by Massimo Vidale et al. Wealth accounting ledgers, metalwork catalogues.
The two unpublished seals from a private collection are reported in 2018 and discussed by Massimo Vidale et al in the context of use of Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy for miniature objects like Indus script seals. This monograph presents a decipherment of the Indus Script Hypertexts on these two seals. One seal has the field symbol of bos gaurus PLUS feeding trough; the second seal has one-horned young bull PLUS a standard device in front. Seal 1 Fig. 1, Fig. 2 pp.456, 347 (21 mm square seal; Bos gaurus, Smith, 1827) Seal and seal impression. Seal 2 Fig. 6. Seal with unicorn and inscription: map obtained for the reconstruction of 144 3D laser images, recorded using a 5x objective and a 40% image overlay, with a dimensional scale of 4854 micrometers (X) and 4847 micrometers (Y). Private collection, Indus Valley, ca. 2600-2200 B.C.E Source: p.461 opcit. The unicorn - depicted almost exclusively on this type of molded seals - is undoubtedly the most characteristic iconographic element of the Indus Civilization. This enigmatic creature represents about 75% of all images engraved on the Indus seals, with peaks of over 90% in minor urban settlements, but its interpretation is still at the center of a heated debate (For an overview of the different interpretations and hypotheses on the nature of the Indus unicorn, (Parpola A. 2011, The Harappan Unicorn in Eurasian and South Asian Perspectives, in Osada T., Endo H. (eds), Linguistics, Archaeology and the Human Past Occasional Paper 12, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, 142-143; Frenez, D., Vidale M. 2012, Harappan Chimeras as ‘Symbolic Hypertexts’: Some thoughts on Plato, Chimaera and the Indus Civilization, South Asian Studies, 28.2, 107-130; Kenoyer, JM 2013, Iconography of the Indus Unicorn: Origins and Legacy, in Abraham S., Gullapalli P., Raczek T.,Rizvi U. (eds), Connection and Complexity: New approaches to the archaeology of South and Central Asia, Walnut Creek, 107-125.) [quote]Abstract When Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) is applied to small stone artefacts carved or shaped in complex and intricate fashions, the images surprisingly acquire a monumental character and their surfaces reveal a universe of details, ranging from tools traces, firing and glazing defects and wear-consumption patterns. The paper will shortly demonstrate the potentials of this new powerful 3D-imaging technique on two unpublished steatite stamp seals of the Indus Civilization, which characterized present-day Pakistan and northwestern India between ca. 2600 and 1900 BC. Keeping in mind the unexhausted interest that Sara Santoro had for technological innovation and archaeometry in the investigation of the past, we propose that the same non-destructive, high resolution imaging techniques could be fruitfully applied to the semiprecious stone seals of the Graeco-Roman period, which have been studied so far mainly on stylistic and iconographic grounds [unquote] (Massimo Vidale, Ivana Angelini e Dennys Frenez , Miniature in steatite. Un passo nel mondo dei sigilli della civiltà dell’Indo, in: A cura di Marco Cavalieri e Cristina Boschetti 2018, Il polisemico significato della moderna ricerca archeologica. Omaggio a Sara Santoro, Vol. 1, Presses universitaires de Louvain, 2018, ISBN: 978-2-87558-666-7, pp.447 to 472) Translation: Miniature in steatite. A step in the world of the seals ofIndo Civilization in: The polysemic meaning of modern archaeological research. Homage to Sara Santoro. https://www.academia.edu/36877552/Miniature_in_steatite._Un_passo_nel_mondo_dei_sigilli_della_Civilt%C3%A0_dell_Indo Seal 1: Field symbol: bos gaurus PLUS feeding trough barat, barad, 'ox, bos gaurus' Rebus: bharat 'mixed alloys' (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Marathi) There are two orthographic variants of this 'feeding-trough' hieroglyph which are read in Meluhha lexis (vocbulary) rebus:Ta. paṭṭai painted stripe Ma. paṭṭa stripe. Ka. paṭṭe, paṭṭi id. Koḍ. paṭṭe striped; Tu. paṭṭè stripe. Te. paṭṭe stripe or streak of paint; paḍita stripe, streak, wale. (DEDR 3877). Rebus: పట్టీ paṭṭī . [Tel.] n. A list or inventory, a roll of names పట్టి paṭṭi A list. PLUS pāṭroṛo, pattar 'feeding trough' Rebus: పట్ర paṭra, patta 'village, hamlet, maritime town' pāṭan 'market'. paṭan ʻ quarter of a town; village, hamlet, town'. Thus, the hypertext, striped feeding trough reads: pattar paṭṭi 'feeding trough+ stripes' rebus: 'market inventory, market list'. Rebus 2: pattar 'goldsmith guild' బత్తుడు battuḍu, baḍaga 'a professional title of five artificers'. It may be seen from Variant 2 of the 'feeding-trough' hieroglyph, that an unambiguous signifier 'three stripes' has been ligatured at the bottom of the trough as a phonetic determinant of the intended 'feeding trough' signifier word. Phonetic variants of related lexis (vocabulary) are: Feeding trough: Ta. pātti bathing tub, watering trough or basin, spout, drain; pattal wooden bucket; pattar id., Ka. pāti basin for water round the foot of a tree. Tu. pāti trough or bathing tub, spout, drain. Te. pādi, pādu basin for water round the foot of a tree. (DEDR 4079) patta -- n. ʻ bowl ʼ, °aka -- n. ʻ little bowl ʼ, pātĭ̄ -- f.; K. pāthar, dat. °tras m. ʻ vessel, dish ʼ, pôturu m. ʻ pan of a pair of scales ʼ (gahana -- pāth, dat. pöċü f. ʻ jewels and dishes as part of dowry ʼ ← Ind.); S. pāṭri f. ʻ large earth or wooden dish ʼ, pāṭroṛo m. ʻwooden troughʼ; P. pātar m. ʻ vessel ʼ, parāt f., parātṛā m. ʻ large wooden kneading vessel ʼ, ḍog. pāttar m. ʻbrass or wooden do.ʼ; Ku.gng. pāiʻ wooden potʼ (CDIAL 8055). Seal 1: Text of inscription The rhombus sign Variant of Sign 261 is a square is read as mũh 'metal ingot' The Sign 261 is ligatured with four 'splinters': sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop'. Thus, the expression of the hypertext is: mũh sal 'metal ingots workshop' kolmo 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'alloy metal' The lozenge shape is of a bun ingot: mũh 'metal ingot' PLUS खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā 'tools, pots and pans, metal-ware'. Thus, mũh khāṇḍā 'ingots and equipment'. koḍa 'one'(Santali) Rebus: koḍ 'artisan's workshop'.PLUS ḍhaṁkaṇa 'lid' rebus dhakka 'excellent, bright, blazing metal article' Oriya. kāṇḍa, kã̄ṛ ʻstalk, arrow ʼ(CDIAL 3023) Rebus: ayaskāṇḍa 'a quantity of iron, excellent iron' Rebus: khāṇḍā 'equipment'. bicha 'scorpion' rebus:; bica 'haematite, ferrite ore' Thus, the text message is: metal ingots workshop; alloy metal smithy/forge; metal ingots and equipment'; blazing metal articles workshop; haematite ferrite ore equipment. Seal 2: Field symbols: One-horned young bull PLUS standard device Note on the identification of the young bull as bos primegenius; see: Zebu (Bos primigenius indicus) are descended from Indian aurochs (stylized as unicorns) https://tinyurl.com/yc4dj5gz Bos primigenius (unicorns as young bulls with one horn): khōṇḍa m A young bull, a bullcalf. rebus: kunda, 'one of कुबेर's nine treasures', kundaṇa 'fine gold' Hypertext kō̃da 'young bull, with one horn' signifies payĕn-kō̃da wôlu पयन्-कोँद 'metal smelter' payĕn-kō̃da पयन्-कोँद । परिपाककन्दुः f. a kiln (a potter's, a lime-kiln, and brick-kiln, or the like); a furnace (for smelting). -thöji - or -thöjü ; । परिपाक-(द्रावण-)मूषा f. a crucible, a melting-pot. -ʦañĕ ञ । परिपाकोपयोगिशान्ताङ्गारसमूहः f.pl. a special kind of charcoal (made from deodar and similar wood) used in smelting furnaces. -wôlu -; । धात्वादिद्रावण-इष्टिकादिपरिपाकशिल्पी m. a metal-smelter; a brick-baker. -wān -वान् । द्रावणचुल्ली m. a smelting furnace. (Kashmiri)pácana n. ʻ means for cooking ʼ RV., pacanikā -- f. ʻ frying pan ʼ lex. [√pac]Pa. pacana -- n. ʻ cooking ʼ, Pk. payaṇa -- , °ṇaga -- n. ʻ cooking pot ʼ; L.awāṇ. paeṇī ʻ a partic. measure ʼ; N. paini ʻ earthen vessel in which rice -- spirit is distilled ʼ; G. peṇɔ m. ʻ large frying pan ʼ, °ṇī f. ʻ small do. ʼ. (CDIAL 7651) kándu f. ʻ iron pot ʼ Suśr., °uka -- m. ʻ saucepan ʼ.Pk. kaṁdu -- , kaṁḍu -- m.f. ʻ cooking pot ʼ; K. kō̃da f. ʻ potter's kiln, lime or brick kiln ʼ; -- ext. with -- ḍa -- : K. kã̄dur m. ʻ oven ʼ. -- Deriv. Pk. kaṁḍua -- ʻ sweetseller ʼ (< *kānduka -- ?); H. kã̄dū m. ʻ a caste that makes sweetmeats ʼ. (CDIAL 2726) *kandukara ʻ worker with pans ʼ. [kdu -- , kará -- 1] K. kã̄dar, kã̄duru dat. °daris m. ʻ baker ʼ.(CDIAL 2728) kāndavika m. ʻ baker ʼ Pañcad. [kándu -- ]Pk. kaṁdaviya -- , °dōiya -- , °duia -- (u from kaṁdua -- ) m. ʻ sweetmeat seller ʼ; G. kãdoī m. ʻ confectioner ʼ.Addenda: kāndavika -- : S.kcch. kandhoyo m. ʻ confectioner ʼ(CDIAL 3034) kã̄dur m. ʻovenʼ; kō̃da f. ʻpotter's kiln, lime or brick kilnʼ (Kashmiri) Phonetic variant of kã̄dur m. ʻovenʼ seems to link to an early phonetic form of kō̃da to signify a smelter's kiln as defined in the expression: .payĕn-kō̃da पयन्-कोँद 'melting in a smelter'. Thus, the seal 1 and seal 2 are Wealth accounting ledgers with metalwork catalogues with Indus Script Hypertexts rendered as Meluhha expressions.
Michael Philip Oakes answers Richard Sproat, affirms statistical significance of vocabulary of Indus Script signs and field symbols. Kalyanaraman deciphers Indus Script inscriptions as wealth-accounting ledgers, Meluhha Indian sprachbund metalwork catalogues
The decipherment of Indus Script inscriptions as Meluhha metalwork catalogues, wealth-accounting ledgers by S.Kalyanaraman is reinforced by the statistical analyses of Michael Philip Oakes (2017) which also provide computational refutation of the claims of Richard Sproat et al., that the script (may contain meanings but) does not encode language. S. Kalyanaraman (2018) affirms Indus Script inscriptions are wealth-accounting ledgers, metalwork catalogues and has provided Meluhha -spoken dialectical variant forms of Indian sprachbund, language union -- rebus readings of over 8000 inscriptions. Some examples are cited in the context of Michael Philip Oakes' answer to Richard Sproat. Farmer, Sproat and Witzel (2004) think that Indus script symbols may simply be religious or political symbols, like totem poles or coats of arms or family names and may not encode sounds of a human language. Richard Sproat defines linguistic writing encodes a particular language and symbols refer to specific phonemes, syllablesor even words (2014, p.457) and considers the mean length of utterance to be the most basic feature which distinguishes linguistic and non-linguistic systems. Since the Indus sign sequences are short, Richard Sproat rejects Indus inscriptions to be a true linguistic script. I suggest that Indus Script is a linguistic writing system (as defined by Richard Sproat) and is composed of wealth accounting Meluhha language (dialectical, spoken forms) ledger entries which do not have to be composed of long utterances, but could signify lists from a 1000+-word set of wealth categories signified by 1000+ word set which signify hieroglyphs (e.g. animals, dotted circles)/hypertexts (e.g. ligatured signs or animals). The underlying Meluhha language has a vocabulary of dialectical forms (with variant pronunciations) of spoken words from Indian sprachbund (speech union). The decipherment results in the discovery of a wealth-accounting classification system using hieroglyphs such as young bull (to signify kundaṇa 'finegold'), zebu (to signify poḷa magnetite, ferrite ore), tiger (to signify kol 'working in iron'), crocodile (to signify khār 'blacksmith'); scorpion (to signify bicha 'haematite ore'), mr̤eka 'goat' reusb: milakkhu, mleccha 'copper'; rangā 'buffalo' rebus: rangā 'pewter'; kāṇṭā 'rhinoceros' gaṇḍá4 m. ʻ rhinoceros ʼ lex., ˚aka -- m. lex. 2. *ga- yaṇḍa -- . [Prob. of same non -- Aryan origin as khaḍgá -- 1: cf. gaṇōtsāha -- m. lex. as a Sanskritized form ← Mu. PMWS 138]1. Pa. gaṇḍaka -- m., Pk. gaṁḍaya -- m., A. gãr, Or. gaṇḍā.2. K. gö̃ḍ m., S. geṇḍo m. (lw. with g -- ), P. gaĩḍā m., ˚ḍī f., N. gaĩṛo, H. gaĩṛā m., G. gẽḍɔ m., ˚ḍī f., M. gẽḍā m.Addenda: gaṇḍa -- 4. 2. *gayaṇḍa -- : WPah.kṭg. geṇḍɔ mirg m. ʻ rhinoceros ʼ, Md. genḍā ← H.(CDIAL 4000)(to signify khaṇḍa 'metal equipment'). See three pure tin ingots found in a Haifa shipwreck with Indus script inscriptions. ranku 'antelope/liquid measure' rebus: ranku 'tin'; dāṭu 'cross (Te.) rebus: dhatu = mineral (Santali) Hindi. dhāṭnā 'to send out, pour out, cast (metal)' (CDIAL 6771); mũh 'a face' Rebus: mũh, 'ingot' or muhã 'quantity of metal produced at one time from the furnace' (Santali). 'to These results are confirmed by Michael Philip Oakes’ estimate (2017) of the total size of vocabulary of Indus Script to be 1396 signs. This estimate is arried at using the statistical analysis model of family of Large Number of Random Events (LNRE) and a parametric model, Generalized Inverse Gauss Poisson (GIGP)(Baayen, 2001, p. 89-93) to extrapolate frequencies of each character type listed in Mahadevan Concordance of Indus Script -- to arrive at the vocabulary size of underlying Indus language.(Oakes, M.P. ,2017, Statistical Analyis of the Texts in Mahadevan's Concordance of the Indus Valley Script. Journal of Quantitative Linguistics, 2017. Article Number: NJQL 1406294. Full text pdf embedded.) Analysing the distribution of field symbols by object types, Michael Oakes identifies the following categories of field symbols: 1 Unicorn kōnda 'young bull' rebus: ‘engraver' kunda; m. ʻ a turner's lathe ʼ lex. [Cf. *cunda -- 1] N. kũdnu ʻ to shape smoothly, smoothe, carve, hew ʼ, kũduwā ʻ smoothly shaped ʼ; A. kund ʻ lathe ʼ, kundiba ʻ to turn and smooth in a lathe ʼ, kundowā ʻsmoothed and rounded ʼ; B. kũd ʻ lathe ʼ, kũdā, kõdā ʻ to turn in a lathe ʼ; Or. kū˘nda ʻ latheʼ, kũdibā, kū̃d° ʻ to turn ʼ (→ Drav. Kur. kū̃d ʻ lathe ʼ); Bi.kund ʻ brassfounder's lathe ʼ; H. kunnā ʻ to shape on a lathe ʼ, kuniyā m. ʻ turner ʼ, kunwā m. (CDIAL 3295). kod. 'one horn'; kot.iyum [kot., kot.i_ neck] a wooden circle put round the neck of an animal (G.)kamarasa_la = waist-zone, waist-band, belt (Te.)kot.iyum [kot., kot.i_ neck] a wooden circle put round the neck of an animal (G.) [cf. the orthography of rings on the neck of one-horned young bull]. Te. kōḍiya, kōḍe young bull; adj. male (e.g. kōḍe dūḍa bull calf), young, youthful; kōḍekã̄ḍu a young man. Kol. (Haig) kōḍē bull. Nk. khoṛe male calf. Konḍa kōḍi cow; kōṛe young bullock. Pe. kōḍi cow. Manḍ.kūḍi id. Kui kōḍi id., ox. Kuwi (F.) kōdi cow; (S.) kajja kōḍi bull; (Su. P.) kōḍi cow.(DEDR 2199). Ka. gōnde bull, ox. Te. gōda ox. Kol. (SR.) kondā bull; (Kin.) kōnda bullock. Nk. (Ch.) kōnda id. Pa. kōnda bison. Ga. (Oll.) kōnde cow; (S.) kōndē bullock. Go. (Tr.) kōnḍā, (other dialects) kōnda bullock, ox (DEDR 2216). खोंड khōṇḍa m A young bull, a bullcalf. kōnda bullock (Kol.Nk.); bison (Pa.)(DEDR 2216). Te. kōḍiya, kōḍe young bull; adj. male (e.g. kōḍe dūḍa bull calf), young, youthful; kōḍekã̄ḍu a young man. Kol. (Haig) kōḍē bull. Nk. khoṛe male calf. Konḍa kōḍi cow; kōṛe young bullock. Pe. kōḍi cow. Manḍ.kūḍi id. Kui kōḍi id., ox. Kuwi (F.) kōdi cow; (S.) kajja kōḍi bull; (Su. P.) kōḍi cow (DEDR 2199) Rebus: koṭ 'artisan's workshop'.(Kuwi) koḍ = place where artisans work (G.lex.) kō̃da कोँद । कुलालादिकन्दुः f. a kiln; a potter's kiln (Rām. 1446; H. xi, 11); a brick-kiln (Śiv. 133); a lime-kiln. -bal -बल् ।कुलालादिकन्दुस्थानम् m. the place where a kiln is erected, a brick or potter's kiln (Gr.Gr. 165)(Kashmiri) kod. = place where artisans work (Gujarati) kod. = a cow-pen; a cattlepen; a byre (G.lex.) gor.a = a cow-shed; a cattleshed; gor.a orak = byre (Santali.lex.) कोंड [ kōṇḍa ] A circular hedge or field-fence. 2 A circle described around a person under adjuration. 3 The circle at marbles. 4 A circular hamlet; a division of a मौजा or village, composed generally of the huts of one caste.कोंडडाव (p. 180) [ kōṇḍaḍāva ] m Ring taw; that form of marble-playing in which lines are drawn and divisions made:--as disting. from अगळडाव The play with holes.कोंडवाड [ kōṇḍavāḍa ] n f C (कोंडणें & वाडा) A pen or fold for cattle.कोंडाळें (p. 180) [ kōṇḍāḷēṃ] n (कुंडली S) A ring or circularly inclosed space. 2 fig. A circle made by persons sitting round. कोंडण kōṇḍaṇa, 'cattlepen', Rebus: kundakara m. ʻ turner ʼ W. [Cf. *cundakāra -- : kunda -- 1, kará -- 1] A. kundār, B. kũdār, °ri, Or. kundāru; H. kũderā m. ʻ one who works a lathe, one who scrapes ʼ, °rī f., kũdernā ʻ to scrape, plane, round on a lathe ʼ.(CDIAL 3297). Ta. kuntaṉam interspace for setting gems in a jewel; fine gold (< Te.). Ka. kundaṇa setting a precious stone in fine gold; fine gold; kundana fine gold.Tu. kundaṇa pure gold. Te. kundanamu fine gold used in very thin foils in setting precious stones; setting precious stones with fine gold. (DEDR 1725). 03 Humped bull पोळ [pōḷa], 'zebu, dewlap' rebus: पोळ 'magnetite, ferrite ore' 04 Short-horned bull barad 'bull' rebus: baraDo 'alloy of pewter' 07 Elephant karibha, ibha, 'elephant'. ibbo (merchant of ib 'iron'), karba 'iron' 11 Rhinoceros generally with a trough in front kāṇṭā 'rhinoceros' rebus: khaṇḍa 'implements'.pattar 'trough' rebus: pattar 'goldsmith guild'' 13 Goat-antelope with a short tail mr̤eka 'goat' rebus: milakkhu, mleccha 'copper' 25 Fabulou animal with the body of a ram, horns of a bull, trunk of an elephant, hind legs of a tiger and an up-raised serpent-like tail A truly fascinating paper by Dennys Frenez and Massimo Vidale on composite Indus creatures and their meaning: Harappa Chimaeras as 'Symbolic Hypertexts'. Some Thoughts on Plato, Chimaera and the Indus Civilization at a.harappa.com/... Hypertext includes the following hieroglyphs rendered rebus and read as vākyapadīya, sentence composed of words : The deciphered text is: metal ingots manufactory & trade of magnetite, ferrite ore, metals mint with portable furnace, iron ores, gold, smelters' guild. The Meluhha rebus words and meanings are given below. सांगड sāṅgaḍa f A body formed of two or more (fruits, animals, men) linked or joined together. Rebus:sangara 'trade' 1. zebu पोळ [ pōḷa ] 'zebu, bos indicus' rebus: पोळ [ pōḷa ] 'magnetite, ferrite ore' 2. human face mũhe ‘face’ (Santali) ; rebus:mũh metal ingot 3. penance kamaḍha 'penance' (Prakrit) kamaḍha, kamaṭha, kamaḍhaka, kamaḍhaga, kamaḍhaya = a type of penance (Prakrit) Rebus: kamaṭamu, kammaṭamu = a portable furnace for melting precious metals; kammaṭīḍu = a goldsmith, a silversmith (Telugu) kãpṛauṭ jeweller's crucible made of rags and clay (Bi.); kampaṭṭam coinage, coin, mint (Tamil) 4. elephant karabha, ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba, ib 'iron' ibbo 'merchant' kharva 'a nidhi of nine treasures of Kubera' 5. markhor miṇḍāl markhor (Tor.wali) meḍho a ram, a sheep (G.) Rebus: meḍ (Ho.); mẽṛhet ‘iron’ (Mu.Ho.)mẽṛh t iron; ispat m. = steel; dul m. = cast iron (Mu.) Allograph: meḍ ‘body ' (Mu.) 6. young bull kondh ‘young bull’ rebus: kũdār ‘turner, brass-worker, engraver (writer)’ kundana 'fine gold' 7. tiger kul 'tiger' (Santali); kōlu id. (Te.) kōlupuli = Bengal tiger (Te.)Pk. kolhuya -- , kulha -- m. ʻ jackal ʼ < *kōḍhu -- ; H.kolhā, °lā m. ʻ jackal ʼ Rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter' kolle 'blacksmith' kole.l 'smithy, forge' kole.l 'temple'
Related papers
Decipherment of Indus script
Decipherment of the Indus script This paper describes a decipherment of the Indus script. The decipherment is based on observed similarities between Protocuneiform script and the Indus script. Meanings were transferred from Protocuneiform characters to characters in Indus script, and Dravidian words were used to obtain sounds for Indus script characters. Correlation between Brahmi letters and corresponding Indus characters were further used to correct the readings obtained. These readings show that Indus civilisation was largely Dravidian. It also shows that caste divisions specific to modern South India
Decipherment of the Indus Valley Script: In Search of an “Entering Wedge”
***Draft - Not for Citation***
A dozen Indus Script inscriptions incl m
PLUS bhaṭa 'warrior' rebus: bhaṭa 'furnace'. क्ण क kárṇaka, 'rim of jar', karaṇī'scribe, supercargo, a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale.', kañi-āra 'helmsman'.PLUS ग ट [ gōṭī ] f (Dim. of ग टा) A roundish stone or pebble.rebus: गोटी [gōṭī ] 'A lump of silver'. m-546A (Copper tablet) kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' PLUS kūdī 'bunch of twigs' (Sanskrit) rebus: kuṭhi 'smelter furnace' (Santali) PLUS gaṇḍa 'four' rebus: kaṇḍa 'fire-altar' khaṇḍa 'implements, metalware'. Thus, the hypertext signifies smelter implements. PLUS baraḍo 'spine, backbone' rebus: baran, bharat 'mixed alloys' (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi).PLUS khār खा 'backbone, spine' rebus: khār खा ् 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri) This could be a semantic reinforcement , determinative of with bharat khār blacksmithy work (on) mixed alloys. Referenced without comment, leaving the reader to judge the validity of the divergent translation/decipherment claims. See variant readings by Wim J Borsboom: https://www.academia.edu/7751469/Decipherment_Interpretation_and_Translation_of_Indus_Sc ript_Sign_430_Sinha "Decipherment, Interpretation and Translation of Indus Script Sign 430 (Sinha) "The Indus Script sign 430 (Sinha), consisting of four vertical uprights that look like sticks/twigs/branches and a number of crosswise horizontals that look like woven-like twigs, had been identified by S. M. Sullivan in her "Indus Script Dictionary" (2011) as the phoneme 'gat', which together with 'ja' forms the Sanskrit word 'jagat'-'world', 'people'. Instead, I propose that it stands for the Sanskrit phoneme 'gar', as in '-nagar', 'garta'-area, place (SP) and 'gada'-'fence', 'screen', 'enclosure', (phonologically, the 'd' and 'r' are interchangeable). The grapheme resembles the way 'wattle & daub' walls and fences were constructed out of woven twigs."-Wim J Borsboom Lothal seal 97 presents a variant of Sign 169.'twig'. Lothal 97 seal Text kūdī 'bunch of twigs' (Sanskrit) rebus: kuṭhi 'smelter furnace' (Santali) PLUS kolom 'three' rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge' PLUS dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting'. Variants of Sign 190 (as reported by Wim Borsboom) and by Mahadevan
Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: Volume 3: New material, untraced objects, and collections outside India and Pakistan, Part 1: Mohenjo-daro and Harappa
Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 2010
That "writing" and "script" are appropriate terms to employ in reference to what has commonly been called the "Indus script" has been contested by Fanner, Sproat and Witzel (2004). They argue that the Indus script is not likely to have been linked directly to a spoken language and was probably a system of non-linguistic symbols. We, however, contend that given the development in the system of inscriptions over time as seen at Harappa and given the extensive use of the "signs" or "symbols" both fonnally and infonnally and on many media (see text discussion), making the distinction between a language-based script and a not-so-tied-to-Ianguage symboling system is not a particularly interesting distinction. In any event, in the absence of multilingual texts, long texts, and/or a successor symboling system or script, there can be no widely accepted understanding of what the symbols or signs of the "Indus script" actually meant to those who employed them, and thus there can be no true resolution of tIus issue. As a result, we continue to employ tenns like "script" and even "writing" in their broadest senses and are well aware that not everyone may agree with such usage. We are also rather imprecise in our use of the tenns "inscribed" and "inscription", which we employ broadly in relation to the Indus script and not in the restricted sense of something engraved, incised, or written. Thus pieces with script in relief are also referred to as inscribed (although not "incised"). Finally the tenn "tablet" is used in the sense employed in all volumes of the Corpus of Indus Signs and Inscriptions to refer to small inscribed pieces specially made of stone, terracotta, faience, or copper-with images and/or script incised or in relief-that are not intaglio seals. 2 The Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP), a long-tenn program of investigations into the origins and character ofIndus urban centers, was first initiated at Harappa by the late Prof. George F. Dales and Dr.
Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions Volume 3 : New material , untraced objects , and collections outside India and Pakistan
2010
That "writing" and "script" are appropriate terms to employ in reference to what has commonly been called the "Indus script" has been contested by Fanner, Sproat and Witzel (2004). They argue that the Indus script is not likely to have been linked directly to a spoken language and was probably a system of non-linguistic symbols. We, however, contend that given the development in the system of inscriptions over time as seen at Harappa and given the extensive use of the "signs" or "symbols" both fonnally and infonnally and on many media (see text discussion), making the distinction between a language-based script and a not-so-tied-to-Ianguage symboling system is not a particularly interesting distinction. In any event, in the absence of multilingual texts, long texts, and/or a successor symboling system or script, there can be no widely accepted understanding of what the symbols or signs of the "Indus script" actually meant to those who employed them, and thus there can be no true resolution of tIus issue. As a result, we continue to employ tenns like "script" and even "writing" in their broadest senses and are well aware that not everyone may agree with such usage. We are also rather imprecise in our use of the tenns "inscribed" and "inscription", which we employ broadly in relation to the Indus script and not in the restricted sense of something engraved, incised, or written. Thus pieces with script in relief are also referred to as inscribed (although not "incised"). Finally the tenn "tablet" is used in the sense employed in all volumes of the Corpus of Indus Signs and Inscriptions to refer to small inscribed pieces specially made of stone, terracotta, faience, or copper-with images and/or script incised or in relief-that are not intaglio seals. 2 The Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP), a long-tenn program of investigations into the origins and character ofIndus urban centers, was first initiated at Harappa by the late Prof. George F. Dales and Dr.
Field symbols of Indus Script Corpora
The Indus Script Cipher is a rebus representation of hieroglyphs (either as pictorial motifs/field symbols) or as text signs. The rebus uses Meluhha lexemes and expressions which is Indian sprachbund, 'speech union' of spoken forms of language which find expression in a variety of phonetic dialectical variants across the impact region of Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization. This monograph presents decipherment of 150 field symbols of Indus Script Corpora. The decipherment is explained in the context of accompanying text messages with these field symbols. The text messages are also hieroglyphs and combined hieroglyphs to signify Meluhha expressions of related artisanal competence in lapidary/metalwork or guild and caravan activities of seafaring Meluhha merchants. These text messages complement the semantics of the field symbols related to lapidary/metal-work to create wealth resources for the guilds and nations. Text: kor̤ u 'sprout' Rebus: kor̤ u 'bar of metal' gaṇḍa 'four' Rebus: kaṇḍa 'equipment' PLUS kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy/forge'. Thus, bar of metal (of) smithy, forge.
Decipherment of Indus Valley script and rebuses
Indus Valley inscriptions have defied decipherment because: there are no bilinguals, the language is unknown, there are profuse compound letters, similar letters in other scripts have not been deciphered, and it is not known how the lettters represented words. Only numbers are known with certainty. What I bring to the table is an understanding of the language and grammar, a vast collection of similar syllables, not letters, utter certainty of how each syllable was pronounced, and a 20,000-word dictionary of Indus Valley words. My first attempt on a complicated seal stone took only two days to decipher completely. In addition, I know how to read rebuses that delighted Indus Valley scribes. The most famous syllable, a fish with two fin-like arms that stands on its tail, is MI that spells mies meaning ‘man’. The Indus Valley civilization in India and Pakistan encompassed distinct periods, roughly: 3600-3200 BC, catastrophe, 3100-2600 BC, catastrophe, 2600-2350 BC, catastrophe, 2150-1940 BC, chaos. Based on their inscriptions, each period spoke Finnish. From the earliest period survive names and notes on pottery, and a button seal that describes the torment of slavery. From the latest period, seal stones concern courtship and marriage, the philosophy of wizards, and multiple aspects of war: can war be stopped, confession of war crimes, indiscriminate killing of men, raping of women. Out of 4000 texts, I’ve selected only a few in good condition in order to reduce spelling errors. A typical inscription had one to three sentences, while the longest had five. Also included are translations of Indus Valley names, a table of syllables, a table of numbers, and a table of weights and measures. Names indicate that the earliest high-tech inhabitants of Harappa came from Dilmun.
Book Review: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions. Volume 3.3 Indo-Iranian Borderlands
Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies (IJAS), 2022
The book under review is the fifth volume of the series ‘Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions’ and the first one dealing with artefacts not from the Indus valley but from the territory of the Indo-Iranian borderland. In the preface to the book Asko Parpola explains why non-Indus seals and other small objects are published in a series about Indus seals and inscriptions. The author’s intension is to supplement the corpus of Indus inscriptions with foremost geometric seals that predated the Indus civilization and were also found in the Indus valley. Some of the signs or symbols that can occasionally be found on the objects from the Indo-Iranian borderlands are the forerunners of the Indus script. Thus, the book appears to be an important contribution to the study of the origin of Indus writing and seal production.
The language of the Indus people: What Indus seals do convey?
Indus script or symbols so far has posed a problem before the scholars because though various approaches and efforts are made to decipher it, still, so far, there is no success. In absence of the Rosetta stone, a bilingual inscription, Indus script could not be read conclusively to help understand the language of the people of those times and who were they. Aryan Invasion or Migration theory had led some scholars to think the script could belong to the Dravidian speaking people and hence the language of the script could have Dravid origin. Asko Parpola has devoted his life in the decipherment of the script on this basis. Many Sanskritist scholars rather think the language of Indus script is Vedic Sanskrit while making the bold claims to have deciphered it. However, these claims have been refuted outright or even have been called fraudulent. The evidence indicates that the languages spoken in Indus times were proto-Prakrit forms of the vernaculars those are being spoken in the same regions even today!
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.