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Landsat, geology and Indus-Sarasvati Civilization
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To: alt-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: Landsat, geology and Indus-Sarasvati Civilization
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From: kalyans@ix.netcom.com (Srinivasan Kalyanaraman )
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Date: 17 Jun 1995 03:58:06 GMT
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From netnews@ix.netcom.com Fri Jun 16 23: 47:20 1995
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Newsgroups: alt.hindu
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Organization: Netcom
I will be happy to provide, to interested readers, a note together with
an annotated bibliography (of, mainly, earth sciences references and
analysis of Landsat imagery) to supplement the cumulative
archaeological rationale for the suggested name for the civilization.
The core of the argument is that the 'lost' river around and in the
Maru-sthali (Thar desert) was 2 to 10 miles wide in long stretches and
had run parallel to the Indus into the Rann of Cutch/Gulf of Cambay
region. The valley had supported cultivation circa 2500 BC.
It is notable that many riverine-maritime Harappan culture sites are
found in this 'lost' river valley: e.g., Rupar, Kalibangan,
Bhagawanpura, Dholavira, Banawali, Lothal. The southern-most discovery
site is Daimabad on the banks of an estuary of Godavari river in
Maharashtra.
Sarasvati is another name for brAhmI, the name of the script used in c.
300 BC epigraphs (Note: no apriori assumption may be made that the
Harappan script is linked to this script). Dholavira and Banawali sites
seem to provide a historical continuum of settlements beyond
proto-historic circa 1700 BC into the historical periods. Premised on
this finding, the search for the language of the civilization may be
focussed on ancient forms of the present-day lingua franca of the
region covered by and migrations out of the Indus_Sarasvati river
systems. This search may provide a firm basis for deciphering the
script on seals/sealings.
Dr. S. Kalyanaraman kalyans@ix.netcom.com
