Just came across this blog - All Things Pakistan:Science Unmasks New Knowledge about the Indus Civilization
Posted on July 20, 2008 Filed Under Adil Najam
It reports on an Andrew Lawler article in the June, 2008 issue of Science Magazine - available online only by subscription. I will probably subscribe just to get access to the full article.
The Indus Civilization is a fascinating connumdrum. We can't figure out the written language - heck, as far as I'm aware there isn't even a consensus that those symbols found on seals and pottery ARE actually writing.
This article looks to be the most comprehensive treatment in a popular science magazine to date - written in understandable terminology (no "terms of art" by archaeologists clouding things up) and this map which really shows how widespread the Indus influence was - and how close some of the Indus sites were to such cities as Shar-i Sokhtah in the border area where modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran all meet.
It is sad, silly and frustrating that scientists on either side of the borders of India and Pakistan cannot work together and combine their efforts in collaboration to advance knowledge of the Indus civilization because of religion and politics! Why can't people realize that in the flow of history, gods come and go; the gods of thousands of years ago are dead to us today, and thousands of years from now (if we manage not to destroy all life on this planet in the meantime), the gods of today will be dead, too. But knowledge - that is something that can live forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment