Sarasvati-Sindhu (Indus): Bronze-age civilization, language and script

A River

SITE MAP Home Indian Lexicon Corpus of Inscriptions Artefacts Decipherment

Inscriptions

Civilization: Maps and Images

A warrior, ca. 2500 B.C. with helmet, battle-axe and sickle-sword; a small plaque of engraved shell from the ancient city of Mari on the Euphrates (Musee National de Louvre, Paris)

Sarasvati-Sindhu (Indus): Bronze-age civilization, language and script

Sarasvati Sindhu Civilization

Locus: Sarasvati River, Ancient Sites
Sites on Sarasvati River extending from Rupar to Lothal
Locality index: archaeological sites mostly in Sarasvati River basin
Discovery sites: Indus inscriptions and seals: List; Map
Evolution, settlement plans, architecture
Mohenjodaro
People called MAR-TU
Seals from NearEast
Contacts with Mesopotamia (1)
Contacs with Mesopotamia (2)
Seals found in Mesopotamia (Ur)

Bronze-age
Dawn of bronze age
Minerals and Metals of the civilization
Metal artefacts, links with Mesopotamia
Fire workers: stoneware bangles, bronze
Workshops
Weapons, implements etc. made by fire-workers of Sarasvati-Sindhu
Trade among ancient bronze-age civilizations: Sarasvati-Sindhu, Mesopotamia,/Anatolia, Persia

Decipherment of Sarasvati-Sindhu Inscriptions (language and script)

Language

Organizing (clustering) the lexemes of Indian languages

Discovering the language of India ca. 3000 B.C.
(pdf with footnotes)(HTML version without footnotes)
Formation of Indian Languages

Indian Lexicon: objectives
Indian Lexicon
Indian Lexicon: English meanings index
Indian Lexicon: Semantic clusters

Sarasvati River: key dates and the Indian linguistic area

Script

Map showing Discovery sites of inscriptions
Large size: 3498X2550 resolution
Small size: 1024x746 resolution

List of Discovery sites of inscriptions
Corpus of Inscriptions
Re-organization of and clustering the Corpus (including slide shows)

See: Prof. Parpola's analyses of Copper Tablets
See: Iravatham Mahadevan: An Interview
See and hear the views of Prof. Dani
See the views of Prof. Parpola

Sign List: signs, variants and ligatures
Hieroglyphic nature of many signs

Inscribed weapons; pictorial motifs or field symbols on seals/tablets

Axe

Decipherment: internal evidence (structure and form)

Analyses and Method
The script decipherment problem
Pictorials in inscriptions of the Harappan script
Decipherment of pictorials: problems in method
Definition of pictorials in inscriptions of the Harappan script
Pictorials of the script and pictorial ligatures
Graphemes or 'signs' of the scripts and ligatures of graphemes
Types of objects, find-spots and functions served by the messages conveyed through the objects

Dotted circles are important message symbols
Trefoils are important message symbols
Fish signs can be distinctly recognized
Mating scenes (copulation of animals) explained
Spearing a buffalo/bull; man lifts one of his feet onto the head of the buffalo/bull and attacks it with a spear
Inscribed pottery, ball and stone slab

Standard in front of the urus/ibex ('unicorn' bull) as a composition: orthography of ligature elements analyzed: lathe/gimlet, turning lathe, portable furnace, dotted circles

Bull (urus/ibex) with one curved horn as a composition: orthography of ligature elements analyzed: single horn, rings on neck, pannier

Decipherment: external evidence (bronze age and language)

Decipherment: external evidence (bronze age and language)
Decipherment proceeds from the known to the unknown
Sharp, conically-shaped ploughshare: sag-kus' (in cuneiform)

References to IL -- Indian Lexicon entries elucidate the semantics of the ancient forms preserved in one or more Indian languages in just one category: the language repertoire of an armourer (776kb.)

Hundreds of other homonyms of other categories can be found in the IL.

It has not been found necessary to reconstruct the Proto-Indian phonemes since one or more Indian languages have preserved many of these as attested by the decipherment.

Indian Hieroglyphic Dictionary:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Sarasvati River: historic legacy and developmental challenge

Rigveda and Sarasvati Sindhu Civilization August 3, '98

Central Asia, Mesopotamia and Sarasvati Sindhu Civilization July 24, '98

Horse in Sarasvati Sindhu Civilization

Central Asia: Altyn-depe and Parkhai

Sarasvati Sindhu Civilization and Mesopotamia: Cultural parallels and armour

Sources of minerals and metals

Substrate Language of Sumer and Indian Lexemes

Rigveda references to metalsmithy

Milakku, Meluhha and copper

Tilmun, Telmun, Dilmun, the land of the famous red stone