Archeologists and linguists, assemble! An eye-wateringly huge prize awaits whoever can decipher a 5,300-year-old Indus language.
Crack the code, get $1 million.
Interested? Well, the offer is real but you have your work cut out for you, as deciphering this 5,300-year-old-language is a tricky proposition.
The government of the state of Tamil Nadu, in south-east India, is offering the €960,000 reward to anyone who can decipher the writing of the Indus Valley civilisation.
The BBC reported that MK Stalin, the chief minister of the Tamil Nadu state, recently made the prize announcement following the publication of a study revealing similarities between the Indus signs and inscriptions found on local pottery.
The Indus Valley civilisation, also known as the Harappan, lived 5,300 years ago in what is now north-west India and Pakistan. Its inhabitants were farmers and traders, and they established one of the world’s earliest urban societies.
The reasons behind the society’s sudden decline are unknown, and no evidence of war or natural disaster has been found.
Made up of signs and symbols, the writing consists of around 4,000 short inscriptions, most of them engraved on small objects such as seals and pottery. Theories link the script to early Brahmi scripts, Indo-Aryan languages and Sumerian.
Decyphering the script would allow researchers to gain further knowledge on governance and beliefs. However, despite numerous efforts by linguists and archeologists, the Indus script remains shrouded in secrecy.
Anyone got a Rosetta Stone or an Enigma machine handy? Or maybe the number for one of Champollion’s great great grandchildren? Let us know.
Additional sources • BBC
