Challenges in Deciphering Harappan Script

Why in News?

Recently, the scholars have struggled to solve many subproblems to decipher the Harappan writing system.

• Challenges – Deciding if set of symbols actually represent a writing system.
• Devising appropriate procedures to isolate or segment the stream of symbols into a sequence of single signs.
• Reducing the set of signs to the minimal set by forming (its alphabet, syllabary, or inventory of signs) by identifying all allographs.

Allograph is the different representations of the same character in different typefaces. It is the same sign written in a variant form, for example a printed ‘a’ and a cursive ‘a’

• Assigning to each symbol their specified value, whether phonetic or otherwise.
• Trying to match these values to a specific language.
• No multilingual inscriptions – IVC had robust trade links with the contemporaneous Mesopotamian Civilisation whose cuneiform script was deciphered but there isn’t any multilingual inscriptions found.

The most famous multilingual inscription is the Rosetta Stone, which contains a decree passed during the reign of Ptolemy V in 196 BCE in 3 scripts: Greek, demotic (a later ancient Egyptian script), and hieroglyphics.

• Unknown Script and/or Language – The Indus script is under the category of ‘an unknown script writing an unknown language’.

• Insufficient material evidences – Although some 3,500 seals have been identified till date, given that each seal has on average only 5 characters inscribed, it isn’t sufficient to decipher the script.
• This general paucity of information has made it difficult to decipher its script.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has announced a $1 million prize for deciphering the script of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Reference

The Indian Express| Challenges in Deciphering Indus Script

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