script summary

[Dominik Wujastyk]

On Wed, 5 Jul 2000, Rajesh Kochhar wrote:

> What are the facts pertaining to the interpretation of the Harappan
> script on which there is a consensus among researchers? If a fresher
> were to enter the field,what can he/she take for guaranteed?

The best starting point for a fresher is certainly

Deciphering the Indus script / Asko Parpola
                 New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 1994

However, the field changes all the time, as new evidence is unearthed, and
new interpretations suggested, as Michael Witzel has just demonstrated.
But Parpola's book is a good overview, and very even-handed, even though
of course he has his own ideas about the meaning of the IV
characters.

Parpola's two photographic volumes,

Corpus of Indus seals and inscriptions / edited by Jagat Pati Joshi and
Asko Parpola ; with the assistance of Erja Lahdenpera and
Virpi Hameen-Anttila
                 Helsinki : Suomalainen tiedeakatemia, 1987-

are absolutely essential for anyone thinking seriously about the IV
script.

--
Dominik Wujastyk
Founder, INDOLOGY list.