Paropola, Asko, BM Pande and Petteri Koskikallio, 2010, Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions 3.1 supplement to Mohenjoo-daro and Harappa, Helsinki, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia: Book review by S. Kalyanaraman
A new book on Corpus of Indus Inscriptions (443 pp. + lx pages of introductory notes) is a welcome addditiohn to the Indus script reference library.
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Kenoyer and Meadow refer to decipherment of the Indus script as an 'unattainable goal' : " [(Farmer, Sproat and Witzel (2004)] They argue that the Indus script is not likely to have been linked directly to a spoken language and was probably a system of non-linguistic symbols, Wem however, contend that given the development in the system of inscriptions over time as seen at Harappa and given the extensive use of the 'signs' or 'symbols' both formally and informally and on many media (see text discussion), making the distinction between a language-based script and a not-so-tied-
The origins of Indus writing can now be traced to the Ravi Phase (c. 3300-2800 BC) at Harappa. Some inscriptions were made on the bottom of the pottery before firing. Other inscriptions such as this one were made after firing. This inscription (c. 3300 BC) appears to be three plant symbols arranged to appear almost anthropomorphic. The trident looking projections on these symbols seem to set the foundation for later symbols… (Slide 124 Harappa.com) An Early Harappan: Ravi phase inscribed potsherd (H-1522A) contains a symbol which is comparable to the later evolved sign of Indus script. This phase is dated to c. 3700 -2800 BCE. If this is evidence of an Indus script inscription, Indus script could be chronologically dated as an early writing system, coterminous with the Late Uruk period (c. 3500-3100 BCE) in southern Metopotamia. This inscription can be called a 'graphic expression using a symbol.'
Inclusion of the inscribed material from Harappa excavations between 1986-2007 is a significant advancement of understanding of the evolution of the script. As Kenoyer and Meadow note: "When both seal carving styles and boss types are considered together, there is good evidence for an evolution in seal forms over time. Whethere there were parallel changes in the script needs to be investigated in detail. In the past, studies of the Indus script have lumped all of the best-preserved seal impressions together and used this combined assemblage as the basis for a study of the script. Based on the discoveries at Harappa, it is now possible for that site at least to separate out different chronological periods of seal production and to compare seal inscriptions with those foujnd on other types of objects such as incised and molded tablets and potttery, which together greatly outnumber the seals and seal impressions recovered from the site." (ibid., p. lvi) That incised and molded tablets and pottery inscriptions outnumbered the seals is significant, indeed. They point to the use of Indus writing by a group of artisans within a guild; the incised and molded tablets were, perhaps, identical professional identity cards of the artisans of guilds.
Some remarkably exquisite photographs have been included in the volume (though many of the incised and molded tablets have already been published earlier by the HARP team; cf. slides on harappa.com)
This is one example of ten identical tablets with four molded sides (h2023 to h2032). From this set, some sides can be shown with clarity to enable the reading of the inscription with easonable precision and avoiding ambiguity.
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h2026A, h2031A, h2028D, h2026C, h2026D
Pictures of various tablets thus show an inscription with 5 signs on one side (including an antelope with a tail ending in a rice-plant glyph); the glyph of a horned, standing person with horns and bangles on the arms on the second side; two persons wearing bangles seated on stools on the third side (with one of the two seated in a penance posture); and a person on all-fours, bent down facing the bos gaurus (bison) on the fourth side. Thanks to the excellent photographic production achieved in this volume, Parpola et al have indeed contributed to a better reading of the glyptic elements depicted on inscribed objects. Of significance are the photographs of the following seals depicted for the first time in any corpus:
m1908A, m1906A (The rhinoceros seal m1906 is taken from photo archive of ASI, Sind series, vol. 12 91926-27), no. 542).
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The volume also includes an essay by Ute Franke, with an extensive bibliography. She provides clear pictures of the two compartmented seals from Mohenjo-daro, reproductions from MIC, pl. CLVIII:3 and MIC, pl. CLVIII:7) Preserved on MIC, pl. CLVIII:3 is the head off an animal shown in profile. 'The dome-shaped head, the eye and a nostril are easily discernable. It seems that a bell is depicted below the head. Two small horns are shown en face. On the right, an ear might be visible. Judging from the physiognomy, the depiction seems to be that of a small calf…it might rather be a short-horned bull…(compartmented seals) their presence is important evidence for long distance trade interaction at a time when Margiana was emerging as a new centre." (Ute Frank, 2010, From the Oxus to the Indus: two compartmented seals from Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan), in: Parpo, Asko, BM Pande and Petteri Koskikallio, 2010, Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions 3.1 Supplement to Mohenjo-daro and Harapa, Helsinki, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, pp. xvii to xliii; p. xxxv, p. xxxvii)
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To show this interaction for trade, the MIC, pl. CLVIII:3 compartmented seal showing a bull calf is compared with other such seals:
(ibid. Fig. 4. Seals and copper tablets. (1) Compartmented seal fragment from Mohenjo-daro (MIC, pl. CLVIII:3) (2) Seal from Nausharo (CISI 2, NS-1); (3) Silver seal from Bactria (Sarianidi, 1986: 292) (4) Seal from Altyn Depe (Masson, 1988, p[l. XXIX:9); (5) Seal from Altyn Depe (Masson, 1988, pl. XVII:14 (6) Seal, Kelleli (Sarianidi, 1986: 293).
Another welcome addition in this volume 3.1 of the Corpus is the depiction, in brilliant color photographs, of some earlier published (CISI 1,2) inscribed objects. Scholars engaged in Inddus script studies owe a deep sense of gratitude to the authors Asko Parpola, BM Pande and Petteri Koskikallio for producing this volume with numbers ranging from m1660 to m2132 and h1020 to h2590 – an addition of 472 and 1570 inscriptions, respectively from Mohenjo-daro and Harappa to the corpus of Indus script inscriptions, including a large number of incised potsherds and incised/molded tablets from HARP excavations of 1986-2007. Hopefully, Part 2 of the volume with inscribed objects outside India and Pakistan will be brought out soon, including many new objects discovered in sites outside of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, in sites such as Bhirrana, Farmana, Kanmer, Gola Dhoro – sites in the proximity of the Sarasvati river basin.
The price is exhorbitant and one fondly hopes that an edition at a price affordable to students and researchers will be produced soon for promoting extensive Indus script studies.
Now, the challenge is 1) to define glosses of the Indus language and 2) decipher the inscriptions of artisans who created a bronze-age civilization.
This challenge will be met in my next book to be published soon, thanks to the resources and insights provided by many savants 1. of archaeo-technology studies like those of Massimo Vidale, JM Kenoyer, BB Lal, DK Chakrabarti, John Muhly; 2. of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization archaeology; 3. of language studies of Munda, Indo-Aryan and Dravidian like those of Hemacandra, Przyluski, Kuiper; and 4. of indus script corpus editions like those of Bryan Wells, I. Mahadevan and Asko Parpola et al. This will make any Indus script reference library meaningful.
S. Kalyanaraman July 10, 2010 kalyan97@gmail.
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