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The scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation was ____.
  • a)
    Boustrophedon, still not satisfactorily deciphered
  • b)
    Brahmi
  • c)
    Nagri
  • d)
    None of these
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
Most Upvoted Answer
The scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation was ____.a)Boustrophedon,...
Introduction
The Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, was one of the earliest urban civilizations in the world. It flourished around 2500-1900 BCE in the region that is now present-day Pakistan and northwest India. One of the significant aspects of this civilization is its script, which is still not satisfactorily deciphered.

Boustrophedon Script
The script of the Indus Valley Civilization is believed to be written in a form known as boustrophedon. Boustrophedon is a style of writing in which the text alternates direction with each line. The term "boustrophedon" comes from the Greek words "bous" meaning ox and "strophe" meaning turn, referring to the way an ox turns while plowing a field.

Direction and Structure
In the boustrophedon script, the writing starts from left to right in one line, then turns back and continues from right to left in the next line, and so on. This pattern resembles the path an ox takes while plowing a field. The lines are usually horizontal, and the text can also be read vertically from top to bottom.

Decipherment Challenges
Despite extensive research and efforts by linguists, the script of the Indus Valley Civilization remains undeciphered. Several factors contribute to this challenge:

1. Lack of Bilingual Inscriptions: Unlike ancient scripts such as Egyptian hieroglyphs or Mesopotamian cuneiform, which were deciphered by comparing them with known languages, the Indus script lacks bilingual inscriptions. This absence of a Rosetta Stone-like artifact makes it difficult to decipher the script.

2. Limited Textual Corpus: The corpus of Indus script texts available for study is relatively small compared to other ancient scripts. This limited sample size hampers the ability to identify patterns, grammatical structures, or the meanings of individual signs.

3. Complexity and Symbolism: The script consists of a combination of pictographic and abstract signs, making it challenging to determine the phonetic values or meanings of these signs. Additionally, the symbols used in the script may have had multiple meanings or represented concepts rather than specific words.

4. Missing Linguistic Clues: The Indus Valley Civilization has no known linguistic descendants, further complicating decipherment attempts. Without a clear link to a known language, deciphering the script becomes even more challenging.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the script of the Indus Valley Civilization remains undeciphered, and it is written in a boustrophedon style. The lack of bilingual inscriptions, limited textual corpus, complexity of symbols, and missing linguistic clues have all contributed to the difficulties in deciphering this ancient script. Although progress has been made in understanding certain aspects of the script, a comprehensive decipherment is yet to be achieved.
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Community Answer
The scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation was ____.a)Boustrophedon,...
The Harappan script is regarded as pictographic since its signs represent birds, fish and a verity of human forms. The script was boustrophedon, written from right to left on one line and then from left to right in the next line. The number of signs of the Harappan script is known to be between 400 and 600. It is not deciphered yet.
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