Indic Languages

[S.Kalyanaraman]

Prof. Witzel's recent article in EJVS on the overlay of languages is a
path-breaking innovation indeed of using linguistics to establish chronology
of ancient India. While detailed comments can be offered after a careful study
of the brilliant and painstaking piece of work, I have one basic question
which I should express at the outset. How can we date the words so precisely
as, say, between 1900 and 1500 BCE? The dates could as well be between 5000
and 7000 BCE. The work of Witzel is certainly an eye-opener for relative
chronology. 

The only firm dates available by other scientific techniques are: dating of
the Sarasvati River waters from the deep wells in Jaisalmer (by Atomic
scientists of BARC using tritium isotope analysis) to be between 4000 and
14000 years BP and the carbon 14 (MASCA corrected) for many of the thousands
of sites located on the river banks of Sindhu and Sarasvati. (See the list of
2600 sites listed in Prof. Possehl's recent magnum opus). My decipherment of
the script seems to indicate the inscriptions to be lists of bronze age
weapons, as bills of lading and the language is Prakrit which seems to explain
the rebus-based homonyms without resort to phonetic laws. I look forward to
Web version URL of which will be cross-linked with the
http://sarasvati.simplenet.com if Prof. Witzel permits. Thanking Prof. Witzel
again and with the best regards. Kalyanaraman

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