{"id":150361,"date":"2025-01-06T19:36:37","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T14:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=150361"},"modified":"2025-01-06T19:36:37","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T14:06:37","slug":"indus-valley-script","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/indus-valley-script","title":{"rendered":"Indus Valley Script"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently , Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has announced a<\/span><b> $1-million prize <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for experts or organizations that can successfully decipher the scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation in a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comprehensible manner.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About the Indus Valley Script<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indus script found on seals, pottery, and tablets at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Dholavira<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pictogram-Based Writing:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The script is written using pictograms, often accompanied by animal or human motifs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Boustrophedon Style:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It employs the boustrophedon writing style, alternating between right-to-left in one line and left-to-right in the next.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Undeciphered Nature: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The script has not been deciphered yet despite extensive research.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-150338 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/67-677bd80ca4f2e.webp\" alt=\"Indus Valley Script\" width=\"401\" height=\"305\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/67-677bd80ca4f2e.webp 753w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/67-677bd80ca4f2e-300x228.webp 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px\" \/><b>Numerical System: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The numeral system is based on the decimal system, with single downward strokes representing units and semicircles representing tens.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Material Used: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indus Script inscriptions appear on diverse materials, including <\/span><b>seals, pottery, bronze tools, stoneware bangles, bones, shells, ivory, steatite, bronze, and copper tablets.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Seals and Animal Motifs:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Seals typically feature the script at the top and an animal motif in the center, often serving identification and administrative purposes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Functionality:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Seals may have been used as<\/span><b> amulets or talismans,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but their primary function was<\/span><b> to mark trade goods for identification.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Trade Connections:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Clay tags bearing the Indus script have been discovered in<\/span><b> Mesopotamia,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> indicating the extensive trade networks of the Indus Valley Civilisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Narrative Imagery: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The script often combines text with depictions of humans, animals, and mythical creatures, hinting at possible religious or liturgical significance.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Indus Valley Civilization<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Historical Importance: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the world&#8217;s oldest urban civilizations, discovered in 1924 by Sir John Marshall.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Language Mystery: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The script remains undeciphered even after 100 years, hindering a complete understanding of its culture and society<\/span><b>.<\/b><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cultural Parallels:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Archaeologists have found connections between<\/span><b> Indus graffiti marks and Tamil Nadu&#8217;s symbols, suggesting links to Dravidian culture.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/store.pw.live\/govt-entrance-exams\/upsc-books\/upsc-modules?utm_source=SEO&#038;utm_medium=PW+Live&#038;utm_campaign=UPSC+Modules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check Out UPSC Modules From PW Store<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Challenges in Decipherment<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Short Texts:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Indus texts are generally brief,<\/span><b> averaging five characters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the <\/span><b>longest text containing only 26 characters.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Absence of Bilingual Texts: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike the Rosetta Stone for Egyptian hieroglyphs, no bilingual inscriptions have been discovered to aid in deciphering the Indus script.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Significance of Deciphering IVC Script<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cultural Insights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provides clarity on societal structure, economy, and daily life in the IVC.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthens connections between IVC and Tamil Dravidian heritage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Historical Understanding<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Confirms IVC&#8217;s precedence over Aryan civilization.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthens the hypothesis of a Dravidian language being spoken.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Academic Recognition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Encourages global collaboration among linguists, archaeologists, and technologists.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promotes Tamil Nadu as a hub for historical research and scholarship.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<span class=\"vc_button\"><b>Additional Readings: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/harappan-civilisation-and-their-achievements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Harappan Civilisation: A Century of Exploration and Mysteries<\/b><\/a><\/span>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6375%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 111.19%; text-align: center;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Also Read<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 49.797%; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/editorial-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>UPSC Daily Editorials<\/b><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 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Indus Valley Civilisation in a comprehensible manner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":150341,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"paper-wise":[2088],"subject":[2610],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/150361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/current-affairs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150361"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/150361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150364,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/150361\/revisions\/150364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150361"},{"taxonomy":"paper-wise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper-wise?post=150361"},{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=150361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}