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The Indus Valley Script usually features an animal accompanied by a short series of signs. Image credit: Ismoon, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Awriting system developed by one of the world’s earliest urban societies has given linguists nothing but grief since it was first discovered on an unintelligible stone seal in the ancient city of Harappa, in what is now Pakistan, 150 years ago. Hoping to finally crack the code, authorities have now announced a $1 million prize to anyone who manages to decipher the so-called Indus Valley Script (IVS). Also known as the Harappan Script, the IVS was invented...

Meluhha: the Indus Civilization and Its Contacts with MesopotamiaMark Kenoyer, University of Wisconsin, MadisonThe Oriental Institute | 211,313 views | October 7, 2010

A huge marble cross discovered high in the mountains of Baltistan is thought to be up to 1,200 years old A Christian cross believed to be up to 1,200 years old and weighing more than three tons has been discovered in Skardu in northern Pakistan. A three-member expedition team from the University of Baltistan, Skardu, discovered the huge marble cross high in the mountain range of Kavardo in Baltistan. The team — led by vice-chancellor Muhammad Naeem Khan together with director of academics Zakir Hussain Zakir and director of external links Ishtiaq Hussain Maqpoon — visited the site to study...

Whatever their differences, all Indus researchers agree that there is no consensus on the meaning of the script. There are three main problems. First, no firm information is available about its underlying language. Was this an ancestor of Sanskrit or Dravidian, or of some other Indian language family, such as Munda, or was it a language that has disappeared? Linear B was deciphered because the tablets turned out to be in an archaic form of Greek; Mayan glyphs because Mayan languages are still spoken. Second, no names of Indus rulers or personages are known from myths or historical records: no...