Decoding the Indus Script: A Mystery Unsolved
The Challenges Faced by Scholars
Scholars have so far not been able to decode the Indus script for several reasons. One of the main challenges is the lack of a Rosetta Stone or similar artifact that contains both a known and unknown text. This makes it difficult to establish a key for deciphering the script.
The Direction of Writing
One misconception among scholars was that the Indus script was written from right to left. However, historical evidence suggests that no language during the Indus Valley Civilization period was written in that direction. This false belief hindered progress in deciphering the script.
The Unknown Language
Another obstacle is the mystery surrounding the language spoken by the Indus people. Without knowing the language, scholars struggle to interpret the meaning of the texts. Additionally, the surviving texts are extremely short, further complicating the decoding process.
1. Why haven't scholars been able to decode the Indus Script? Scholars have so far not been able to decode the Indus script as there is no Rosetta Stone, or ancient artifact that contains in the same text both a known and unknown text. They also don't know what language the Indus people spoke, and the texts the scholars do have are extremely short.