Unsealing the Indus Script (Hardcover)  | Released: 2010

The book presents a decoding of the script of proto-historic civilization of the Indus valley which flourished in the north and west of the Indian subcontinent between 30001850 B.C. This decoding comes after several failed attempts. According to this book, the script belongs to the earliest type of writing invented and used by man to keep accounts. It is classified as logographic which means it is oriented to meaning rather than to sound or language. The other contemporaneous scripts in Egypt and Sumer were also of the same type. The tie-up between language and a set of symbols was not yet conceptualized. Consequently, the inscriptions found on the seals of the Indus civilization only enlist things and their quantities transacted. The contents are thus totally mundane and secular. The author relates the script to the earlier and later scripts and unravels the system of the script as well as the making of signs individually. Thus, when related to the iconic original, every sign yields its authentic meaning. The method and argument take the decoding to its logical end, viz. to unravel the economic system of the Harappans. With the decline of the Indus civilization, the script is assumed to have gone out of use, which is not confirmed by this study. The approach is altogether innovative, objective and professional. The meanings of signsthe most crucial element in the decodingare supported by tracing the scientific traits in the icons and usage confirmed in archaeological data. With this methodology, this probably is the final decoding.