Indus script

Also known as Harappan script, Indus, Inds

script, short strings of symbols associated with the Indus Valley Civilization

Key facts

Script type: Undeciphered , possibly Bronze Age writing or proto-writing
Period: c. 2800–1900 BCE , (possible proto-script from c. 3500 BCE ) , (rarely, later "graffiti" till c. 1300 BCE )
Direction: Right-to-left script , boustrophedon
Languages: Unknown, possibly Harappan language
Iso 15924: Inds (610) , Indus (Harappan)

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Wikidata facts

Image: Brahmi and Indus seal proposed connection.jpg

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Commons category: Indus script
name: indus
inception: 2800-00-00
end time: 1900-00-00

Sources (2)

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Article

The Indus script, also known as the Harappan script and the Indus Valley script, is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilisation. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not they constituted a writing system used to record a Harappan language, any of which are yet to be identified. Despite many attempts, the "script" has not yet been deciphered. There is no known bilingual inscription to help decipher the script, which shows no significant changes over time. However, some of the syntax (if that is what it may be termed) varies depending upon location.

The first publication of a seal with Harappan symbols dates to 1875, in a drawing by Alexander Cunningham. By 1992, an estimated 4,000 inscribed objects had been discovered, some as far afield as Mesopotamia due to existing Indus–Mesopotamia relations, with over 400 distinct signs represented across known inscriptions.