Tasks, Methods and Results in the Study of the Indus Script

Abstract

The Indus script is at present known from about 3,000 inscriptions with an average length of only five signs. The longest continuous text (1400) comprises only 17 characters divided over three lines. There are no bilingual inscriptions. Also, direct historical data relating to the Indus civilization are extremely scanty, being limited to the scarce references in cuneiform texts of the 3rd and early 2nd millennia B.C. to trade and other contacts with Meluḫḫha, the most distant country known to the Mesopotamians of those times, whose identity with the Indus civilization at the period in question is now widely accepted. More texts in the Indus script are, and will be, forthcoming from recent and imminent excavations, and perhaps the excavations that are under way in ancient Lagaš will bring to light the long-expected bilingual, possibly in the form of a cuneiform document mentioning Meluḫḫan proper names and bearing the impression of an Indus seal. In the absence of such a clue, the prospects of ever understanding the Indus script have generally been considered rather meagre. This pessimistic attitude has long been obstructing progress in the study of the Indus script. The very first point I should like to make is, that despite the scantiness of the material, it is indeed possible to promote our knowledge in many ways, and that important results are sure to come from more work by more people. One of our greatest needs at the moment is an increase of interest in the Indus script, and the coordination of scholarly efforts.

The Indus script: A challenging puzzle

“…This dating coincides with the peak of the Indus civilisation, which, like other early urbanized cultures, needed some form of calendar. The practice of astronomy and its importance for religion is shown by the orientation of Harappan cities according to the cardinal directions (Parpola 1975).…”

Multilanguage block ciphering using two dimensional substitution array

“…So this Multilanguage encryption process provides the very good immunity against Brute force attack. During 300 BC, In Tamil language, which is one among the Dravidian languages [7][8] [9] of South India,…”